Kennedy, Johnson, and the Civil Rights Movement Practice Flashcards

A set of 58 cards covering the Kennedy and Johnson presidencies, Cold War crises, and the major figures, events, and laws of the Civil Rights Movement.

John F. Kennedy

35th president elected in 1960 who promoted the "New Frontier" and handled Cold War crises.

Flexible response

Kennedy’s military strategy that increased conventional military forces so the U.S. could respond to communist threats without always using nuclear weapons.

Bay of Pigs

Failed 1961 invasion of Cuba by CIA-trained Cuban exiles trying to overthrow Fidel Castro.

Cuban Missile Crisis

1962 confrontation between the U.S. and Soviet Union after nuclear missiles were discovered in Cuba.

Berlin Crisis

Conflict between the U.S. and Soviet Union over Berlin that led to the construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961.

New Frontier

Kennedy’s domestic program focused on economic growth, civil rights, education, healthcare, and the space program.

Peace Corps

Volunteer program created by Kennedy in 1961 that sent Americans abroad to help developing nations through education, healthcare, and agriculture.

Alliance for Progress

Kennedy program providing aid to Latin American countries to reduce poverty and stop the spread of communism.

Lee Harvey Oswald

Man accused of assassinating Kennedy in Dallas, Texas, on November 22, 1963.

Warren Commission

Government commission led by Chief Justice Earl Warren that investigated Kennedy’s assassination and concluded Oswald acted alone.

Lyndon B. Johnson

President who succeeded Kennedy; he expanded federal programs through the Great Society and supported major civil rights laws.

Economic Opportunity Act

1964 law that launched Johnson’s "War on Poverty" by creating programs like Job Corps and VISTA.

Great Society

Johnson’s reform program aimed at ending poverty and racial injustice while improving education, healthcare, and the environment.

Medicare

Government healthcare program created in 1965 to help the elderly.

Medicaid

Government healthcare program created in 1965 to help low-income Americans.

Immigration Act of 1965

Ended the old quota system favoring Europeans and increased immigration from Asia, Latin America, and Africa.

Warren Court

Supreme Court under Chief Justice Earl Warren known for expanding civil rights and liberties.

Reapportionment

Redistributing legislative seats based on population to ensure districts have roughly equal populations.

"one person, one vote"

The principle established by Warren Court reapportionment cases requiring districts to have roughly equal populations.

Thurgood Marshall

NAACP lawyer who argued Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka and became the first African American Supreme Court justice.

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka

Supreme Court case that ruled school segregation unconstitutional and overturned "separate but equal" in public education.

Rosa Parks

African American woman arrested in 1955 for refusing to give up her bus seat in Montgomery, Alabama.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Leader of the nonviolent civil rights movement and president of the SCLC who delivered the "I Have a Dream" speech.

Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC)

Civil rights organization founded by King and other ministers to organize nonviolent protests.

Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC)

Student-led civil rights organization that organized sit-ins, Freedom Rides, and voter registration drives.

Freedom Rides

1961 protests where interracial groups rode buses through the South to challenge segregated interstate transportation.

March on Washington

1963 civil rights rally where King delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech supporting civil rights legislation.

Civil Rights Act of 1964

Law banning segregation and discrimination in public places, employment, and education.

Freedom Summer

1964 campaign in Mississippi to register African American voters and challenge segregation.

Fannie Lou Hamer

Civil rights activist who fought for voting rights and challenged discrimination in the Democratic Party.

Voting Rights Act of 1965

Law banning literacy tests and other practices preventing African Americans from voting.

De jure segregation

Segregation that is established and enforced by law.

De facto segregation

Segregation by custom, economics, or social conditions.

Malcolm X

Civil rights leader who promoted Black pride, self-defense, and separation from white society during his time in the Nation of Islam.

Nation of Islam

Black Muslim organization promoting Black nationalism and self-sufficiency.

Stokley Carmichael

Civil rights leader who popularized the phrase "Black Power."

Black Power

Movement encouraging African Americans to build political and economic strength, cultural pride, and self-defense.

Black Panthers

Militant Black Power organization founded to protect African Americans from police brutality and provide community programs.

Kerner Commission

Government commission that investigated 1960s urban riots and concluded racism and poverty were major causes.

Civil Rights Act of 1968

Also called the Fair Housing Act; banned discrimination in housing sales and rentals.

Affirmative Action

Programs designed to increase opportunities for minorities and women in education and employment.

Televised debates

Debates that helped Kennedy look younger, more confident, and stronger than Nixon during the 1960 election.

Space program

 Kennedy's initiative expanded to compete with the Soviet Union and promote domestic growth.

Job Corps

A program created by the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 to fight the "War on Poverty."

VISTA

A program created as part of the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 to launch the "War on Poverty."

Montgomery Bus Boycott

A civil rights protest sparked by the arrest of Rosa Parks that led the Supreme Court to end bus segregation.

Sit-ins

A form of student-led civil rights activism organized by groups like SNCC.

Nonviolent resistance

The core tactic used by the SCLC and King involving civil disobedience and demonstrations.

Birmingham protests

One of the events that caused enough pressure to lead to the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Selma marches

Events characterized by violence against voting-rights activists that led to the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Urban riots causes

Identified by the Kerner Commission as poverty, unemployment, poor housing, and police brutality.

James Earl Ray

The individual who assassinated Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1968.

Rights of the accused

Legal protections expanded by the Warren Court, including the requirement for police to inform suspects of their rights.

1968 turning point

Significant year marked by King's death, the growth of Black Power, and increased urban violence.

"separate but equal"

The doctrine in public education that was overturned by the ruling in Brown v. Board of Education.

CORE

A group that utilized early tactics like boycotts, sit-ins, and Freedom Rides.

Fair Housing Act

Another name for the Civil Rights Act of 1968 which banned housing discrimination.

Legacy of the Civil Rights Movement

Ended legal segregation, expanded voting rights, and inspired other equality movements.