Truman and Eisenhower Vocab

Servicemen’s Readjustment Act (GI Bill)

Legislation that provided a range of benefits to returning World War II veterans.

Baby boom

A significant increase in the birth rate following World War II.

Suburban growth

The expansion of suburbs as more people moved out of urban areas.

Sunbelt

Region in the southern U.S. noted for its warm climate and rapid economic growth.

Harry Truman

33rd President of the United States, who implemented the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan.

Employment Act of 1946

Legislation aimed to promote jobs and economic growth in the post-war economy.

Council of Economic Advisers

A group established to advise the president on economic policy.

Committee on Civil Rights

A committee established to investigate civil rights issues and promote racial equality.

Twenty-second Amendment

Constitutional amendment that limits presidents to two terms in office.

Taft-Hartley Act (1947)

Legislation that restricted the activities and power of labor unions.

Progressive party

A political party formed to promote progressive reforms, notably in the 1940s.

States-Rights party (Dixiecrats)

A segregationist political party that split from the Democratic Party in 1948.

J. Strom Thurmond

A politician who was the Dixiecrat candidate for president in 1948.

Thomas Dewey

Republican candidate defeated by Harry Truman in the 1948 presidential election.

Fair Deal

Harry Truman's set of proposals aimed at improving social conditions.

United Nations

An international organization founded in 1945 to promote peace and cooperation.

World Bank

An international financial institution that provides loans and grants for development.

Communist satellites

Countries in Eastern Europe that were aligned with the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

Iron Curtain

The term popularized by Winston Churchill to describe the division between Eastern and Western Europe.

Winston Churchill

British Prime Minister known for his leadership during World War II and his post-war speeches.

Containment policy

U.S. strategy to prevent the spread of communism during the Cold War.

Truman Doctrine

A policy to support countries resisting communism.

Marshall Plan

A U.S. program for aiding Western Europe to rebuild after World War II.

Berlin airlift

Operation to supply West Berlin during the Soviet blockade in 1948-1949.

East Germany; West Germany

Post-war division of Germany into communist East and democratic West.

North Atlantic Treaty Organization

Military alliance formed in 1949 among Western nations for mutual defense.

National Security Act (1947)

Legislation that reorganized U.S. military and intelligence agencies after World War II.

Arms race

Competition between the U.S. and the Soviet Union to develop more powerful weapons.

Korean War; U.N. police action

Conflict between North and South Korea, with U.N. forces intervening under U.S. leadership.

38th parallel

The dividing line between North and South Korea.

McCarran Internal Security Act (1950)

Law that required Communist organizations to register with the government.

House Un-American Activities Committee

Committee that investigated alleged disloyalty and subversive activities.

Alger Hiss & Whittaker Chambers

Key figures in a high-profile espionage case during the Red Scare.

Rosenberg case

The case of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, executed for espionage during the Cold War.

Joseph McCarthy

Senator known for his anti-communist campaigns during the 1950s.

Modern Republicanism

Political philosophy embraced by Eisenhower, focusing on moderate policies.

Highway Act (1956); interstate

Legislation that authorized the construction of the Interstate Highway System.

John Foster Dulles; “brinksmanship”

Eisenhower's Secretary of State known for his aggressive foreign policy.

Iran

Country whose 1953 coup was orchestrated by the U.S. CIA to maintain Western influence.

Geneva Conference

1954 conference that sought to resolve issues in Indochina and the future of Vietnam.

Ho Chi Minh

Communist leader of North Vietnam who fought against foreign rule.

Vietnam

Southeast Asian country involved in a prolonged and controversial war in the 1960s.

Domino theory

Theory that political events in one country can cause similar events in neighboring countries.

Eisenhower Doctrine

U.S. policy to provide military and economic assistance to Middle Eastern countries.

Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)

Intergovernmental organization of oil-producing countries to coordinate oil production.

“spirit of Geneva”

Desire for peaceful coexistence articulated at the 1955 Geneva Summit.

Nikita Khrushchev

Leader of the Soviet Union during part of the Cold War known for his thaw in relations.

Warsaw Pact

Military alliance of communist nations in Eastern Europe formed in 1955.

Sputnik

The first artificial satellite launched by the Soviet Union in 1957.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

U.S. agency responsible for the nation's civilian space program.

U-2 incident

Event in which an American spy plane was shot down over Soviet airspace in 1960.

Fidel Castro

Cuban revolutionary who established a communist state in Cuba.

Military-industrial complex

Term used to describe the relation between military policymakers and defense contractors.

Civil rights

Movement aimed at ending racial discrimination against African Americans.

Jackie Robinson

First African American athlete to break the color barrier in Major League Baseball.

NAACP

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, civil rights organization.

Desegregation

The process of ending the separation of different races in public spaces.

Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka

Landmark Supreme Court case that declared racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional.

Earl Warren

Chief Justice of the Supreme Court who presided over the Brown v. Board of Education case.

Little Rock crisis

1957 event where federal troops were deployed to enforce school desegregation.

Rosa Parks

Civil rights activist known for her pivotal role in the Montgomery bus boycott.

Montgomery bus boycott

Protest against racial segregation on public buses in Montgomery, Alabama.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Civil rights leader known for nonviolent activism and inspiring speeches.

Civil rights acts of 1957, 1960

Legislation aimed at promoting and protecting voting rights for African Americans.

Civil Rights Commission

Government body established to investigate civil rights violations.

Southern Christian Leadership Conference

Organization founded to coordinate and support nonviolent protests for civil rights.

John Kenneth Galbraith, The Affluent Society

A book that critiques the post-World War II affluence in the United States.

Beatniks

A group of writers and artists in the 1950s known for their opposition to mainstream culture.