Period 8 (1945-1980)

Vocabulary flashcards from lecture notes covering 1945-1980 US history.

Prosperous Post-WWII Economy

Fueled by federal spending, the baby boom, and technological developments. (1945-1960, Truman & Eisenhower)

G.I. Bill

Improved higher education access, contributing to economic growth and the rise of the Sunbelt states. (1944, FDR)

Beat Generation

Artists challenging conformity in the 1950s, similar to the Lost Generation of the 1920s. (1950s, Various)

Containment

US foreign policy post-WWII aimed at preventing the spread of communism, as advocated by George Kennan. (1947, Truman)

NATO (Collective Security)

A post-WWII alliance demonstrating a departure from Washington's non-alignment stance. (1949, Truman)

Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan

Economic frameworks providing aid to Europe for rebuilding and resisting communism. (1947 & 1948, Truman)

Détente

A period of eased tensions and indirect confrontation during the Cold War. (1969-1979, Nixon, Ford, Carter)

McCarthyism

Led to the Red Scare, fueled by HUAC and events like the Rosenberg trial. (1950s, Truman & Eisenhower)

Military-Industrial Complex

Eisenhower's warning about excessive military spending during peacetime. (1961, Eisenhower)

Southern Manifesto

A document stating desegregation was not mentioned in the Constitution or the 14th Amendment. (1956, Eisenhower)

E.O. 9981

Executive Order issued by Truman that desegregated the military. (1948, Truman)

Southern Manifesto

Document expressing white resistance to desegregation. (1956, Eisenhower)

Black Power

A movement that emerged among activists post-1965, advocating for Black empowerment. (1960s, Johnson)

The Feminine Mystique

Betty Friedan's book challenging the 1950s 'Cult of Domesticity'. (1963, Kennedy)

Cesar Chavez

A figure known for the grape pickers' strike and hunger strike to raise awareness for Mexican-American farmworkers. (1960s-1990s, Johnson & onward)

Indians of All Tribes (IAT) and American Indian Movement (AIM)

Organizations that used protests to raise awareness for American Indian issues. (1960s-1970s, Johnson & Nixon)

The Other America

Michael Harrington's book that influenced LBJ's Great Society by raising awareness of poverty. (1962, Kennedy)

Great Society

A program under LBJ that sought to end discrimination, eliminate poverty, and fix social issues. (1964-1967, Johnson)

Griswold v. Connecticut

Supreme Court case that established the 'Right to Privacy'. (1965, Johnson)

Counterculture

Hippies challenged their parents' generation ideals and instituted a sexual revolution. (1960s, Johnson)

Immigration Act of 1965

Reversed the quota system from the 1920s, favoring immigration from Asia and Latin America. (1965, Johnson)

Silent Spring

Rachel Carson's book that brought awareness to environmental problems caused by pesticides. (1962, Kennedy)

Bay pigs

was a failed 1961 attempt by the CIA to overthrow the Cuban government of Fidel Castro

Cuban missile crisis

a 13-day standoff in October 1962 between the United States and the Soviet Union, brought on by the Soviet Union secretly installing nuclear missiles in Cuba

The Kent state massacre

The Kent State shootings were the killing of four and wounding of nine unarmed college students by the Ohio National Guard on the Kent State University campus.

Great Society

A program developed under President tyndon Johnsot that significantly expanded federally sponsored social programs

Marshall Plan

An expansive plan to provide economic and social aid to Western Europe in order to prevent the spread of communism

Cold War

A period of diplomatic tension between the United States and the Soviet Union that pitted capitalism against communism