DEUSH Unit 11 Review

Containment

The U.S. strategy during the Cold War to prevent the geopolitical spread of communism through forceful opposition.

Marshall Plan

A $13 billion economic aid package proposed in 1947 to rebuild Western Europe and undermine communist political gains.

Truman Doctrine

A 1947 pledge to provide military and economic aid to nations (specifically Greece and Turkey) resisting communist insurgencies.

Berlin Airlift

A massive 1948–49 operation that flew supplies into West Berlin after the Soviet Union blockaded land routes.

NATO

A collective defense alliance formed in 1949 between Western Europe and North America to deter Soviet aggression.

Warsaw Pact

A 1955 military alliance of the Soviet Union and its Eastern European satellite states formed in response to West Germany joining NATO.

NSC-68

A 1950 secret policy paper that described the USSR as seeking world domination and recommended tripling the U.S. defense budget.

G.I. Bill

A 1944 law providing World War II veterans with funds for college education and low-interest home mortgages.

Levittown

The first mass-produced suburban development, built on Long Island to provide affordable housing for returning veterans.

Keynesian Economics

An economic theory adopted post-WWII that uses government borrowing and spending to stimulate growth and end poverty.

McCarthyism

The practice of making public accusations of disloyalty or communist sympathies without providing evidence.

HUAC

The House Un-American Activities Committee, which investigated alleged disloyalty and subversive activities among private citizens and government employees.

Sputnik

The first man-made satellite, launched by the Soviet Union in 1957, which triggered the Space Race.

Brown v. Board of Education

The 1954 Supreme Court ruling that declared segregated public schools were inherently unequal and unconstitutional.

Montgomery Bus Boycott

A 381-day protest sparked by Rosa Parks' arrest that led to the desegregation of the city bus system.

The Great Society

President Lyndon B. Johnson's domestic program aimed at ending poverty and racial injustice through programs like Medicare and Medicaid.

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

A 1964 congressional act that granted the President authority to take "any measures" necessary to repel attacks in Southeast Asia.

Tet Offensive

A massive 1968 surprise attack by North Vietnamese forces that shattered American public confidence in the war effort.

The Feminine Mystique

A 1963 book by Betty Friedan that highlighted systemic gender inequality and sparked second-wave feminism.

Silent Spring

A 1962 book by Rachel Carson that exposed the environmental dangers of pesticides and launched the modern environmental movement.

Chicano Mural Movement

An artistic movement where Mexican-American artists depicted their culture and heritage on public buildings and housing projects.

Military-Industrial Complex

A term used by President Eisenhower in 1961 to warn against the unchecked influence of a permanent arms industry.

FHA and HOLC

Government programs that made homeownership accessible through long-term, low-interest mortgages.

The Baby Boom

The period between 1946 and 1964 characterized by a massive spike in U.S. fertility and birth rates.

Cuban Missile Crisis

A 13-day confrontation in 1962 between the U.S. and USSR over the presence of nuclear missiles in Cuba.

Eisenhower Doctrine

A 1957 policy pledging military and economic aid to Middle Eastern nations resisting communist aggression.

Voting Rights Act of 1965

Federal legislation that removed discriminatory barriers to voting, such as literacy tests.

Civil Rights Act of 1964

Landmark legislation that prohibited discrimination in public accommodations and federally funded programs.