Modern U.S. History: WWII to Contemporary Eras

Practice flashcards covering key terms and events from World War II, the Cold War, Civil Rights, the Vietnam War, and contemporary U.S. history.

Fascism

An authoritarian style of government where most of the power is held by an individual or a singular party, characterized by extreme levels of nationalism where the country is placed above all.

Neutrality Act of 1935

A law that prohibited the export of arms and ammo to nations in the midst of war.

Neutrality Act of 1936

A law that prohibited US Banks from giving loans to any belligerent nations.

Cash and Carry (1937)

A policy regarding oil, gasoline, iron, and steel (except weapons) that favored Britain and France during the early stages of global conflict.

Holocaust

The systematic and sponsored persecution and mass murder of around $6\,million$ Jews by the Nazi, including another $5\,million$ people based on racial, biological, political, or ideological backgrounds.

Kristallnacht

Also known as the Night of Broken Glass, it involved extreme violence and murder against Jews by Nazi paramilitary forces and served as a formal declaration of war against German and Austrian Jews.

Axis Powers

The alliance consisting of Japan, Germany, and Italy during WWII.

Lend-Lease Act

A program to provide supplies to be paid for with goods and services when the war was over.

Hideki Tojo

The General of the Imperial Japanese Army and Prime Minister of Japan who was the architect behind aggressive militarism and authorized the Pearl Harbor attack.

A. Philip Randolph

A major Civil Rights and labor rights leader who advocated for equal pay.

Rationing

A mandatory process to ensure fair distribution and divert crucial supplies like gasoline and butter to the war effort.

D-Day

The Allied invasion of Normandy, France, known as the largest seaborne invasion in history.

V-E Day

Victory in Europe Day, marking the formal surrender of Nazi Germany on May $8th, 1945$, following the suicide of Hitler.

Harry S. Truman

The $33rd$ President of the United States known for the decision to drop atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Douglas MacArthur

Leader of Allied powers in the Pacific theater who pioneered the island-hopping strategy and accepted Japan's formal surrender on Sept $2nd, 1945$.

Battle of Midway

A decisive naval battle where the US Navy fought off an invading Japanese fleet, helping turn the tide of the war for the Allies.

Eastern Bloc

An unofficial coalition of communist states led by the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

Iron Curtain

A boundary formed by ideological, political, and physical means that divided Europe from the end of WW2 to the end of the Cold War.

Policy of Containment

A strategy meant to prevent the further expansion of communism.

Truman Doctrine

A US foreign policy pledging political, military, and economic assistance to democratic nations under threat from internal or external forces like communism.

Marshall Plan

A massive aid initiative that gave a total of $13.3\,billion$ US dollars to $17$ Western and southern European countries to counter Soviet influence.

Mao Tse-tung

The founder and first Chairman of the People's Republic of China (PRC) and leader of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

Chiang Kai-shek

The anti-communist leader of the Republic of China who united China against Japan before being exiled to Taiwan.

Korean Conflict

A geopolitical standoff and armed conflict stemming from the division of the Korean Peninsula between communist North Korea and democratic South Korea.

N.A.T.O.

A defensive alliance of $12$ founding countries established for security against the Soviet Union.

Warsaw Pact

A political and military alliance between the Soviet Union and seven of its Eastern European satellite states.

H.U.A.C.

The House Un-American Activities Committee, used to investigate alleged disloyalty and subversive activities.

Hollywood Ten

A group of film industry professionals held in contempt of Congress for refusing to testify about allegations of Communist affiliations.

Joseph McCarthy

A senator known for aggressive, unsubstantiated claims of communist infiltration in the US government, fueling the Red Scare.

McCarthyism

A term used to describe reckless, baseless attacks on political opponents, shaped by the threat of nuclear attack.

C.I.A. (Iran; Guatemala)

The agency that engaged in covert operations to overthrow democratically elected leaders in favor of pro-Western, autocratic regimes.

Eisenhower Doctrine

A policy stating any Middle Eastern nation could request US military or economic assistance if threatened by armed aggression from communist-controlled forces.

Bay of Pigs

A failed CIA-backed invasion of Cuba meant to overthrow Fidel Castro.

Cuban Missile Crisis

The peak point of Cold War tension and the closest the US and USSR came to nuclear war.

White Flight

The large-scale migration of predominantly white residents to outer suburbs due to racism and opposition to desegregation.

Levittown

Mass-produced, pre-planned suburbs pioneering assembly-line home construction, originally made only for White Citizens.

Redlining

The discriminatory practice of denying financial services or insurance to neighborhoods based on racial or ethnic composition rather than creditworthiness.

Braceros

Mexican manual laborers who came to the US on short-term contracts for agriculture and railroad maintenance.

November 22, 1963

The date President JFK was assassinated in Dallas, Texas.

Montgomery Bus Boycott

A protest sparked by the arrest of Rosa Parks that led to the desegregation of public transportation in Alabama.

Sit-ins

A form of direct-action protest where people occupy a location and refuse to leave until demands are met.

March on Washington (1963)

A mass gathering to advocate for the civil and economic rights of African Americans.

Civil Rights Act of 1964

A landmark law prohibiting discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.

Voting Rights Act of 1965

A federal law that prohibited racial discrimination and dismantled Jim Crow-era tactics in voting.

Malcolm X

A prominent activist known for his advocacy of Black empowerment, self-determination, and racial pride.

Black Panthers Party

A Revolutionary Marxist-Leninist organization founded by Huey P Newton and Bobby Seale to challenge police brutality through armed self-defense patrols.

Fred Hampton

Chairman of the Illinois Black Panther Party and builder of the Rainbow Coalition who was assassinated in a police raid.

Operation Wetback

A mass deportation initiative under the Eisenhower administration targeting undocumented workers.

The Feminine Mystique

A groundbreaking book that sparked the second wave of the feminist movement in the United States.

Title IX

A law prohibiting sex discrimination in any federally funded education program or activity.

Ho Chi Minh

The Vietnamese revolutionary who founded the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and led the campaign for independence.

Viet Minh

A political organization and military force that defeated the French in $1954$.

Dien Bien Phu

The final battle where the French surrendered to the North Vietnamese.

Geneva Accords

An agreement involving rigged elections for the unification of Vietnam.

Ngo Dinh Diem

The president of South Vietnam chosen by the CIA and the US.

Domino Theory

The belief that if South Vietnam fell to communism, the rest of Southeast Asia would follow, justifying US involvement.

Gulf of Tonkin incident

A notable event in 1964 where the US reported attacks on its naval vessels by North Vietnamese forces, leading to escalated US military involvement in Vietnam.

Tonkin Gulf Resolution

A 'blank check' that gave President Johnson authority to use all necessary measures in Vietnam without a formal declaration of war.

Vietcong

Communist guerrillas operating in Southern Vietnam.

Ho Chi Minh Trail

A secret network of paths through Laos and Cambodia used to transport military supplies to the Vietcong.

Search & Destroy

A military strategy using numbers and firepower to decimate the enemy through search and contact.

Light at the end of the tunnel

An idiom used by US officials to suggest progress was being made in winning the Vietnam War.

Tet Offensive

A series of surprise attacks by North Vietnamese forces that shattered American public confidence in the war.

Credibility Gap

The widening divide between the US government’s optimistic statements and the grim reality of the war shown by media.

Vietnamization

A US policy aimed at ending direct American involvement in the Vietnam War.

Paris Peace Accords

Negotiations aimed at establishing peace in Vietnam that ultimately led to the withdrawal of US troops.
Ceasefire between all forces in Vietnam.

War Powers Act

A law requiring the president to report to Congress within $48$ hours of sending troops and mandating their withdrawal under certain conditions.

Watergate

A political scandal involving a break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters that forced Richard Nixon to resign.

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

An independent agency of the US federal government formed during the Nixon administration.

pardoning of Nixon [FORD]

The act by President Gerald Ford to officially forgive former President Richard Nixon for any crimes he may have committed while in office, aimed at promoting national healing after the Watergate scandal.

Helsinki Accords (1975) [FORD]

An international agreement to reduce Cold War tensions and promote economic cooperation and human rights.

Camp David Accords

A peace treaty between Egypt and Israel brokered by Jimmy Carter.

1980 Summer Olympic Boycott [Carter]

• Carter led a multinational protest that ended with the ban of American athletes in the Moscow Olympics

  • Objected Soviet invasion of Afghanistan

Operation Urgent Fury (1983) [Reagan]

The US invasion of Grenada to dismantle a Marxist regime and protect American medical students.

Iran-Contra Affair [ Reagan]

A scandal where the Reagan administration illegally sold weapons to Iran to fund anti-communist rebels in Nicaragua.

Operation Desert Shield

A military operation to protect Saudi Arabia from Iraqi invasion prior to the Gulf War.

Operation Desert Storm

The combat phase of the Gulf War used to liberate Kuwait from Iraqi forces.

Family and Medical Leave Act

A Clinton-era law granting employees unpaid, job-protected leave for medical conditions or family care.

Impeachment & Scandals [CLINTON]

Personal controversies led to the historic impeachment by decision of the HOR, charges of perjury and obstruction of justice

No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB)

A George Bush Jr. reform aimed at improving school performance through mandatory standardized testing.

Affordable Care Act

Also known as Obamacare, it expanded healthcare access and prohibited denials based on pre-existing conditions.

Operation Fast and Furious

A botched federal sting intended to track illegal gun sales to Mexican drug cartels.