final history exam

End of Grand Alliance

After WWII, the U.S. and USSR split due to deep ideological differences (capitalism vs. communism), mutual distrust, and disagreements over rebuilding Europe, especially Eastern Europe.

Delay of 2nd Front

The U.S. and Britain delayed opening a Western front against Germany, forcing the USSR to absorb heavy losses; Stalin saw this as intentional weakening of the Soviet Union.

Stalin's Goal

Establish a "buffer zone" of friendly communist governments in Eastern Europe to protect the USSR from future invasions.

Iron Curtain

Term describing the political and ideological division of Europe between democratic Western nations and Soviet-controlled Eastern Bloc countries.

George F. Kennan / Containment

U.S. diplomat who argued the U.S. should "contain" communism where it already existed rather than try to eliminate it.

Marshall Plan

Massive U.S. economic aid program (over $13 billion) to rebuild Western Europe, stabilize economies, and prevent communist influence.

Berlin Blockade & Airlift

USSR blocked land access to West Berlin; U.S. and allies responded by flying in supplies for nearly a year, successfully keeping the city alive without war.

Rosenbergs

American couple executed in 1953 for passing atomic secrets to the Soviets, heightening fear of internal communist threats.

NSC-68 (1950)

Secret U.S. report recommending a major military buildup and global commitment to stop communism, marking militarization of containment.

McCarthyism

Senator Joseph McCarthy led aggressive investigations accusing people of being communists without evidence; ended after public backlash.

Truman Loyalty Program

Required federal employees to undergo background checks; thousands investigated or fired over suspected disloyalty.

HUAC / Hollywood Ten / Blacklist

Congressional committee investigated communist influence; those who refused to testify (Hollywood Ten) were jailed and blacklisted from jobs.

Eisenhower's New Look

Defense policy emphasizing nuclear weapons over expensive conventional forces to save money.

Massive Retaliation / MAD

Strategy threatening full nuclear response to aggression; "Mutually Assured Destruction" meant both sides would be destroyed, preventing war.

CIA in Latin America

U.S. covert operations to overthrow governments seen as communist threats (e.g., Guatemala, Iran).

Domino Theory

Belief that if one nation fell to communism, neighboring countries would follow, justifying U.S. involvement in Vietnam.

Suburban Dream

Postwar economic boom led to mass homeownership, suburban growth, and consumer culture.

Baby Boomers

Large population increase (1946-1964), impacting schools, economy, and future politics.

Interstate Highway Act (1956)

Built nationwide highway system for defense and economic growth; boosted suburbanization.

1950s TV Culture

Television shaped national identity, consumerism, and reinforced traditional family roles.

JFK Flexible Response

Expanded military options (conventional forces + special forces) instead of relying only on nuclear weapons.

Bay of Pigs (1961)

Failed CIA-backed invasion of Cuba that strengthened Fidel Castro and embarrassed the U.S.

Berlin Wall (1961)

Built by East Germany to stop citizens from fleeing to West Berlin; became a symbol of Cold War division.

Cuban Missile Crisis (1962)

USSR placed nuclear missiles in Cuba; U.S. imposed blockade; resolved through diplomacy, avoiding nuclear war.

Blacks & WWII

African Americans served in the military and worked in war industries, leading to the "Double V" campaign (victory abroad and at home).

Eisenhower & Civil Rights

Enforced school integration (Little Rock, 1957) and signed early civil rights legislation.

Brown v. Board (1954)

Supreme Court ruled school segregation unconstitutional, overturning "separate but equal."

Rosa Parks

Refused to give up bus seat; her arrest sparked organized protest against segregation.

Montgomery Bus Boycott

Year-long boycott led to desegregation of buses and rise of MLK as a leader.

MLK & SCLC

Advocated nonviolent resistance, protests, and civil disobedience inspired by Gandhi.

Southern Manifesto

Southern politicians' declaration opposing desegregation and defending segregation.

Emmett Till

14-year-old murdered in Mississippi; his death exposed brutality of racism.

SNCC / Sit-ins

Student-led protests at segregated lunch counters; spread across the South.

Freedom Riders

Activists rode interstate buses to challenge segregation; faced violence.

March on Washington (1963)

Massive rally for civil rights; MLK's speech called for equality.

Civil Rights Act (1964)

Banned segregation and discrimination in public places and employment.

Freedom Summer (1964)

Effort to register Black voters in Mississippi; met with violence.

Bloody Sunday (1965)

Police attacked peaceful marchers in Selma; shocked nation.

Voting Rights Act (1965)

Eliminated barriers like literacy tests; increased Black voter participation.

Ghetto Riots (1965-68)

Urban uprisings due to poverty, discrimination, and police brutality.

Malcolm X

Advocated Black pride, self-defense, and separation rather than integration.

Stokely Carmichael / Black Power

Promoted racial pride, economic independence, and sometimes separatism.

Black Panthers

Armed group advocating self-defense and community programs (food, education).

CRM Strategies

Nonviolence, legal challenges, grassroots organizing, and direct action protests.

LBJ & Vietnam

Escalated U.S. involvement by sending troops to stop communism.

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution (1964)

Gave president authority to wage war without formal declaration.

Tet Offensive (1968)

Large-scale surprise attack by North Vietnam; weakened U.S. public support.

Anti-War Movement

Students, activists, and citizens protested war through demonstrations and draft resistance.

Nixon / Vietnamization

Strategy to shift fighting to South Vietnamese forces while withdrawing U.S. troops.

New Left / SDS

Student activists pushing for civil rights, anti-war efforts, and social change.

Counterculture

Youth movement rejecting traditional values; emphasized peace, freedom, and alternative lifestyles.

American Indian Movement (AIM)

Advocated Native sovereignty, rights, and cultural preservation.

Red Power / Alcatraz Occupation

Protest highlighting Native land rights and injustices.

Cesar Chavez / UFW

Organized farmworker strikes and boycotts for better wages and conditions.

Chicano Movement

Sought equality, education reform, and political power for Mexican Americans.

Brown Power / Brown Berets

Militant group advocating Latino rights.

Stonewall Riots (1969)

Resistance to police raids sparked modern LGBTQ+ rights movement.

Second-Wave Feminism

Focused on workplace equality, reproductive rights, and legal protections.

Roe v. Wade (1973)

Supreme Court legalized abortion based on right to privacy.

1968 Events

Political unrest, assassinations (MLK, RFK), Vietnam protests, and Democratic Convention chaos.

Nixon Southern Strategy

Won support of white Southern voters by appealing to conservative views.

Détente

Easing of tensions with USSR and China through diplomacy.

Energy Crisis / OPEC

Oil embargo caused shortages, higher prices, and economic problems.

Stagflation

Economic condition with inflation + unemployment + slow growth.

Watergate

Break-in and cover-up scandal that forced Nixon to resign.

Carter (1976)

Campaigned as honest outsider after Watergate distrust.

Panama Canal Treaty

Returned canal control to Panama.

Iran Hostage Crisis

52 Americans held hostage for 444 days, damaging U.S. confidence.

Camp David Accords

Peace agreement between Egypt and Israel brokered by Carter.

Reaganomics

Supply-side economics: tax cuts, deregulation, reduced government spending.

Reagan & Cold War

Increased military spending and pressure on USSR.

Strategic Defense Initiative

Proposed space-based missile defense system.

Nicaragua Revolution

U.S. supported Contras against socialist government.

Iran-Contra Affair

Secretly sold arms to Iran to fund Contras illegally.

U.S. & Libya

Conflict with Qaddafi over terrorism.

End of Cold War

Improved relations through diplomacy with USSR.

Fall of Berlin Wall (1989)

Marked collapse of communist control in Eastern Europe.

Eastern Europe Collapse

Communist governments fell, ending Soviet influence.

Black Codes

Laws passed in the South after the Civil War to restrict African Americans' freedom (labor contracts, vagrancy laws), effectively keeping them in a system similar to slavery and ensuring a cheap labor force.

Redeemers

White Southern Democrats who regained political control after Reconstruction, aiming to restore pre-war social order and enforce white supremacy through segregation laws.

13th Amendment

Abolished slavery in 1865, but allowed forced labor as punishment for crime, which led to systems like convict leasing.

14th Amendment

Granted citizenship to all born in the U.S. and guaranteed equal protection under the law, forming the legal basis for many civil rights cases.

15th Amendment

Prohibited denying the right to vote based on race, but loopholes (literacy tests, poll taxes) still prevented many Black men from voting.

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

Supreme Court ruled segregation constitutional under "separate but equal," legally justifying Jim Crow laws for decades.

Homestead Act (1862)

Gave 160 acres of land to settlers willing to farm it, encouraging westward expansion but also displacing Native Americans.

Barbed Wire

Cheap fencing that ended open-range ranching, forcing cattle drives to decline and changing Western agriculture.

Dawes Act (1887)

Broke up tribal lands into individual plots to force Native Americans into farming and assimilation; resulted in massive loss of Native land.

Big Business

Large corporations (railroads, steel, oil) dominated the economy, often using monopolies and trusts to eliminate competition.

Vertical Integration

Business strategy where a company controls all stages of production (raw materials → distribution), used by Andrew Carnegie to dominate steel.

Railroad Strike of 1877

Nationwide strike over wage cuts; turned violent and showed growing conflict between labor and big business.

Immigration Push/Pull

Push = poverty, war, persecution; Pull = jobs, land, freedom in the U.S.

New vs Old Immigrants

"Old" from Northern/Western Europe; "New" from Southern/Eastern Europe (Italians, Jews), often faced more discrimination.

Haymarket Affair (1886)

Labor protest in Chicago turned violent after a bomb exploded; led to fear of anarchists and harmed labor movement reputation.

Homestead Strike (1892)

Violent conflict between steel workers and management at Carnegie Steel; showed power of corporations over labor.

Populist Movement

Farmers and workers formed a political party demanding reforms like regulation of railroads and direct election of senators.

Triangle Shirtwaist Fire (1911)

Factory fire killed many workers due to unsafe conditions; led to major workplace safety reforms.

Progressivism

Reform movement (late 1800s-early 1900s) aimed at fixing problems of industrialization: corruption, inequality, unsafe labor.

Booker T. Washington vs W.E.B. Du Bois

Washington supported gradual economic progress; Du Bois demanded immediate civil rights and higher education.

Muckrakers

Journalists who exposed corruption and social problems (e.g., unsafe food, poor working conditions).

Square Deal

Theodore Roosevelt's program: government should ensure fairness between business, workers, and consumers.