Studied by 22 people
Al Qaeda
a global militant Sunni Islamist terrorist group founded by Osama bin Laden, responsible for the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon
World Trade Organization
International organization that moderates global trade, Clinton
NAFTA
a free trade agreement signed in 1994 between the United States, Canada, and Mexico to reduce tariffs and promote investment
Group of Eight
An international organization of the leading capitalist industrial nations: the United States, Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, Canada, and Russia
ARPANET
A decentralized computer network developed in the late 1960s by the US Department of Defense in conjunction with MIT.
The Tea Party
a political movement in the United States that emerged in 2009. It advocated for limited government, lower taxes, and reduced government spending.
The “Axis of Evil”
George W. Bush's term for Iraq, Iran, and North Korea based on accusations that they harbored terrorists, developing weapons of mass destruction
Abu Ghraib
a prison under Saddam Hussein where the torturing of Americans happened
USA PATRIOT ACT
after 9/11 the legislation passed that expanded surveillance and investigation of suspected tourism
Ngo Dinh Diem
South Vietnamese President during the Vietnam War → opposed communism
Ho Chi Minh
a nationalist leader in Vietnam → who led North Vietnam and created the Viet Cong (communist guerrilla force in North Vietnam)
17th Parallel
Line of latitude that separated North and South Vietnam
Domino Theory
1950s to the 1980s, that speculated that if one state in a region came under the influence of communism, then the surrounding countries would follow in a domino effect → Truman after sending help to Greece and Turkey
The Viet Cong
a communist guerrilla force in North Vietnam under Ho Chi Minh
Credibility Gap
a difference in perception between the government and its people → during Vietnam War/ lbj
Tet Offensive
Viet Cong launched an all-out surprise attack on almost every provincial capital and American base in South Vietnam on Lunar New Year
War Powers Act
a law intended to check the president's power to commit the United States to an armed conflict without consent from Congress.
The Silent Majority
Nixon described a large group of people in a country or group who do not express their opinions publicly → he believed this applied to people who agreed with him/policies but didn’t voice their support
The Southern Strategy
Nixon's plan to achieve a solid majority vote in 1972
Stagflation
A period of slow economic growth and high unemployment → Carter
SALT
a series of bilateral conferences and international treaties signed between the United States and the Soviet Union → which would reduce the number of strategic arms each side possessed
Detente
easing of Cold War tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union from 1967 to 1979
The Freedom of Information Act
a bill designed to give the public greater access to government records
The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act
procedures for requesting a judge's authorization for electronic surveillance and physical search of people engaged in espionage or international terrorism against the United States on behalf of a foreign power.
WIN
an economic program launched by Ford aimed at curbing inflation and stimulating economic growth through voluntary action rather than government controls
Rust Belt
northern industrial states of the United States, including Ohio, Michigan, and Pennsylvania, in which heavy industry was once the dominant
OPEC
an economic organization consisting primarily of Arab nations that control the price of oil and the amount of oil
Helsinki Accords
signed by Canada, the US, the Soviet Union, and 32 others which pledged cooperation between East and West Europe and to reduce tension associated with the Cold War
Silent Spring
A book written to voice the concerns of environmentalists → Rachel Carson
Affirmative Action
a program designed to redress historical racial and gender imbalances in jobs and education → from JFK
Camp David Accords
peace treaty between Israel and Egypt signed in 1978 at Camp David → Carter
Roe v. Wade
prohibited state legislatures from interfering with a woman's right to abortion (1973)
Phyllis Schlafly
conservative female political activist. She stopped the ERA from being passed
The “New Right”
Opposition to liberal policies on taxes, abortion, affirmative action, as well as foreign policy stances on the Soviet Union. -War against communism → regan
Reaganomics
policies combined a monetarist fiscal policy, supply-side tax cuts, and domestic budget cutting. Their goal was to reduce the size of the federal government and stimulate economic growth
Iran-Contra Scandal
the scandal that erupted after the Reagan administration sold weapons to Iran in hopes of freeing American hostages in Lebanon
The New World Order
a sudden shift from a bipolar world to one of unquestioned American predominance promised to redefine the country's global role → G.H.W.B
The Mujahideen
members of several guerrilla groups operating in Afghanistan during the Afghan War → opposed invading Soviets
Perestroika
restructuring → a plan to reform the Soviet economy, increase economic growth, and bring the economy up to par with the U.S
Glasnost
openness and freedom of expression
The Commonwealth of Independent States
a regional intergovernmental organization of nine members, and two founding non-member states, formed during the dissolution of the Soviet Union
The Moral Majority
political action committee dedicated to moral values and in opposition to feminism and gay rights
Saddam Hussein
President of Iraq from 1979 to 2003, ordered an invasion of Kuwait but was defeated by the United States and its allies in the Gulf War (1991), Defeated by a US-led invasion in 2003.
Strategic Defense Initiative
proposed missile defense system intended to protect the United States from attack by ballistic strategic nuclear weapons → Reagan
Mikhail Gorbachev
Last leader of the Soviet Union →created glasnost and perestroika, met with Reagan
