U8A APUSH

1945 - 1960s good luck! :D

Yalta Conference

1945 meeting between Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin about what to do with post-war Europe. Divided Germany and Berlin into 4, created UN, Russia wanted to fight Japan

United Nations

International organization founded in 1945 to promote world peace and cooperation. It replaced the League of Nations.

Potsdam Conference

July 1945 - Allied leaders Truman, Stalin and Churchill met in Germany to set up zones of control, call for unconditional surrender of Japan, convince Stalin to only take german reparations from Soviet zone(east part of Germany) and in exchange Americans recognized german polish border. Paved way for division of germany into East and west

Iron Curtain

Winston Churchill's term for the Cold War division between the Soviet-dominated East and the U.S.-dominated West of Europe. USSR blocked itself/satellite states from open contact with the west

Containment

A U.S. foreign policy adopted by President Harry Truman in the late 1940s, in which the United States tried to stop the spread of communism by creating alliances and helping weak countries to resist Soviet advances. Fundamental US policy of the Cold war.

George Kennan & the Long Telegram

1946, this diplomat proposed with a 5,540-word cable message explaining his views of Soviet goals. In this, he came up with containment policy and said that the Soviet System was inherently unstable. Said the west has to meet Soviets with unalterable counterforce, long term, but firm.

Truman Doctrine

1947, President Truman's policy of providing economic and military aid to any country threatened by communism or totalitarian ideology, mainly helped Greece and Turkey. Justified US intervention in Cold War. Created bc Britain was declining

Marshall Plan

1948 US economic aid plan created by secretary of state George C. Marshall to help European economies recover from WWII. (reconstruction very influencial)

\

Berlin Blockade

(1948- 1949) The US wanted to make Berlin communist, so Stalin blockaded Berlin. The US airdropped food and supplies until Stalin lifted the blockade. (Berlin airlift)

North atlantic treaty organization (NATO)

Military alliance formed among US, canada, and west european nations to counter any possible soviet threat.

Created West Germany, so soviets created east germany

\

USSR detonated atom bomb

1949 - part of arms race

They built one which made everyone scared bc now us and ussr both had nuclear bombs

Mao victory in China's civil war

1949 - Mao Zedong was communist. The US gave $2 billion to the anticommunists, but were losing so Truman pulled out. Mao allied with the USSR and won. (BAD)

Warsaw Pact

An east European communist alliance between the Soviet Union and other Eastern European nations(czecho, east germany, hungary, poland, romania). This was in response to NATO.

NSC-68

National Security Council memo \#68 US "strive for victory" in cold war, pressed for offensive and a gross increase ($37 bil) in defense spending, determined US foreign policy for the next 20-30 yrs

Korean War

North korea = commy backed/Republic of china backed

South Korea = US/UN backed

Soviets let North Korea go to war, US sent troops in to help, ended with Korea still divided(stalemateish)

1948 Election

The democratic party was split. The left wing of the party became the Progressive party and the right wing became the Dixiecrats.

Dixiecrats

Southern segregationist Democrats

Truman won the election against Thomas E. Dewey.

Dewey = nominated by Dixicrats(for segregation), Truman = able to salvage troubled campaign

Red Scare

Intense fear of communism and other politically radical ideas. People "hunted" for communist, afraid they had infiltrated the US.

Loyalty-Security Program

A program created in 1947 by President Truman that permitted officials to investigate any employee of the federal government for "subversive" activities. This was intended to fight communism, but went further; over 1 thousand gay men and lesbians were dismissed from federal positions in the 1950s.

* represented centralization of power
* concept of “Disloyalty” = legitimized by Truman admin

Consequences of the Red Scare

\
* HUAC (House Un-American Activities Committee)
* Congressional committee esp prominent during the early years of the Cold War that invesigated Americans who might be disloyal to the govt or might have associated with Communists or other radicals (1940s).
* Widely publicized hearings
* Hollywood 10 (bunch of ppl fired)
* Ppl were blacklisted and unable to find work
* Alger Hiss = found out ab lying to Congress about his communist ties (found by HUAC)

Senator Joseph McCarthy

Exposed for reckless communist accusations/bullying tactics against Democrats mostly (Margeret Chase Smith stood up against him)

Wheeling Speech

1950- Senator Joseph McCarthy said he had a list of ppl part of communist party and who are still shaping state red policy

* Didn’t give any names or proof and kept changing the number

Smear campaign

accusing ppl with communist ties(everyone was being accused and if u spoke against it(McCarthy) ppl accused you of being soft to communists)

"New Look" defense (Eisenhower)

The defense policy of the presidential admin that stepped up production of the hydrogen bomb and developed long-ranging bombing capability

USSR matched them tho

Intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs)

Hydrogen bombs both the USSR and US had

arms race

Cold war competition between the U.S. and Soviet Union to build up their respective armed forces and weapons. This caused a huge increase in the US defense budget and economy.

John Foster Dulles & massive retaliation

said that the threat of all out nuclear war is the only way to combat the USSR

self-determination

the right of people/country to choose their own form of government/allegiances

* what the US practiced

Ho Chi Minh

communist leader of the Vietminh

US and Britain to allied with France against Vietnam bc he was communist

Vietminh

Vietnamese nationalist movement that led resistance against the Japnese and the French

domino theory

Pres Eisenhower’s theory of containment, that if one country fell to Communism then all the other nations in the region would too. extension of the containment doctrine

Dien Bien Phu

The place that the final siege of 56 days that forced the French out of Vietnam. Early 1954

Ngo Dinh Diem

American ally in South Vietnam from 1954 to 1963; his repressive regime caused the Communist Viet Cong to thrive in the South and required increasing American military aid to stop a Communist takeover. he was killed in a coup in 1963.

\
* Anti-communist catholic
* Became pres of south vietnam in a US rigged election
* Called off the scheduled reunification elections so that ho chi  minh wouldnt win

Eisenhower Doctrine

1957 declaration that the United States would actively combat communism in the Middle East

* also protected US’s oil supply

1960 Election & Nixon-Kennedy Debates

Series of four nationally televised debates

* Kennedy= favored on television
* Kennedy won by only 120,000 votes

JFK Inaugural Address

Speech talking to the world, about how they need to unite both sides of the world

“And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country”

Bay of Pigs

failed US-sponsored invasion of Cuba in 1961 by anti-Castro forces who planned to overthrow Fidel Castro’s govt

Cuban missile crisis

soviets had nuclear missle sites in Cuba. 1962 nuke standoff btwn the soviet union and the us when the soviets attempted to deploy nukes to canada

* Pres kennedy ordered a naval blockade of the island, leading to Soviets backing down and removing the missles
* Ended with kennedy pleging to not invade cuba, krushchev dismantle cuban missile base, and kennedy secretly removing turkey missiles aimed at ussr insistence.

Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty

Signed in 1963 between US, Soviet, and Britain

* prohibited nuclear weapons tests or other nuclear explosions under water, in the atmosphere, or in outer space
* allowed underground nuclear tests as long as no radioactive debris falls outside the boundaries of the nation conducting the test
* pledged signatories to work towards complete disarmament, an end to the armaments race, and an end to the contamination of the environment by radioactive substances.

Peace Corps

Program launched by President Kennedy in 1961 through which young American volunteers helped with education, health, and other projects in developing countries around the world.

Also helped prevent the spread of Communism

space race/Sputnik satellite

Kennedy committed to landing a man on the moon within a decade (proposed in 1962 speech)

Soviets had already beaten the US to space in 1957

Competing oo

US arrived on moon in 1969

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

They were given more funding by Congress, which enabled the US to pull ahead of the Soviet Union (space race)

brinksmanship

Threatening nuclear war to stop communism (extreme)

military-industrial complex

Term Pres Eisenhower used to refer to the military establishment and defense contractors who, he warned, exercised undue influence over the national government. 

mechanization/automation

industrial warfare with armored vehicles, tanks, and artillery

The Affluent Society

1958 book by John Kennath Galbraith that analyzed the nation’s successful middle class and argued that the poor were only an “afterthought” in the minds of economists and politicians

The Other America

962 book by left-wing social critiz Michael Harrington, chronicling “the economic underworld of American life.” His study made it clear that in economic terms the bottom class remained far behind.

G.I. Bill

Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944

* Roosevelt signed it 1944
* provided World War II veterans with funds for college education, unemployment insurance, and housing
* Made middle class status more accessible

1950s rock 'n' roll, religion

___ started with black ppl, moved to ELVIS. Catholic Christian = main ___

1950s consumerism

* Consumption for the home(including automobiles) drove the post-war US economy 


* More than 25 mil new houses wer built between 1945-1970
* Planned obolescence
* TV consumption (ppl loved it sm)

1950s teenagers

encouraged consumption bc the advertisements would follow them throughout their ages

Nuclear family

economically stable family made up of a father, housewife, and two or three prized children

50s jazz

cool *___* went with the new style and culture of suburban middle american lifestyle

Beat

Group of writers that emerged in the 1950s to reject literary formalism and the American culture built on capitalism and materialism

baby boom

In the United States many children were born between 1946 and 1964, which was just after World War II in a time of relative peace and prosperity. These conditions allowed for better education and job opportunities(although more competitive), encouraging high rates of both marriage and fertility.

Levittown, suburbia

William J Levitt’s developments of mass produced homes (NY)

* Racist tho and didn’t let everyone in.
* Suburbia = affordable housing shopping centers, fast food restaurants, etc

Federal Housing Authority (FHA)

* Brought the home mortgage market within the reach of a broader range of Americans


* 30 year mortgages with little percent down payment and interest

\

restrictive covenants

Levitt’s houses were restricted for Jews, Asian Americans in California, and African Americans

Shelley v. Kraemer

1948 Supreme Court decision that outlawed restrictive covenants on the occupancy of housing developments by African Americans, Asian Americans, and other minorites.

* Because the Court decision did not actaully prohibit racial disrimination in housing, unfair practices against minority groups continued until passage of the Fair Housing Act in 1968

National Interstate and Defense Highways Act

1956 law authorizing the construction of a national highway system

Sunbelt

Name applied to the Southwest and South, which grew rapidly a after WWII as a center of defense industries and non-unionized labor. Texas to California

Displaced Persons Act of 1948

Truman signed (1948) - assist in the resettlement of thousands of European refugees (largely through granting American visas) who had been displaced from their home countries due to World War II.

McCarran-Walter Act

1952, Immigration and Nationality Act

* U.S. federal law that revised the country's immigration policies.
* established quotas based on nationality
* prioritized immigrants with skills and education
* expanded the grounds for deportation.
* Amined to stop communist subversion, but was still xenophobic and discriminatory even though it abolished racial restrictions on immigration.

Truman vetoed the bill, but Congress overrode it.

Bracero Program

1942 - US program that allowed Mexican laborers to work in the U.S. agricultural sector on temporary contracts.

* aimed to address labor shortages during World War II and continued until 1964.
* manhhy farm owners didn’t live up to the requirements though

Jim Crow

System of racial segregation in the South that lasted a century, from after the Civil War until the 1960s.

A. Philip Randolph

head of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. Planned to bring 100,000 protesters to the nation’s capital if AA were not given equal opportunity in war jobs. canceled it after Executive Order 8802

Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters

A prominent black trade union of railroad car porters working for the Pullman Company

Executive Order 8802

Prohibited racial discrimination in defense industries (FDR) 1941

Fair Employment Practices Commission (FEPC)

result of the executive Order 8802. established by FDR to help prevent discrimination in defense/govt jobs

Few enforcement powers but set an important precedent of white federal actions by AA action

Double V Campaign

Victory of facism abroad and victory over racism at home

Congress of Racial Equality (CORE)

Civil rights organization founded in 1942 in Chicago by James Farmer and other members of the Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR) that espoused nonviolent direct action. In 1961 they organized a series of what were called Freedom Rides on interstate bus lines throughout the South to call attention to blatant violations of recent Supreme Court rulings against segregation in interstate commerce.

James Farmer

Founded CORE

Bayard Rustin

led 1947 Journey of Reconciliation(first freedom ride)

Truman's desegregation orders

1947 report that desegregated employment in federal agencies and desegregated armed forces

\

States' Rights Democratic Party (Dixiecrats)

A breakaway party of white Democrats from the South, formed for the 1948 election. Its formation shed light on an internal struggle between the civil rights aims of the party’s liberal wing and southern white Democrats

Mendez v. Westminster

1947 5 mexican american fathers in Cali sued local school district for placing their children in separate “Mexican” schools

Didnt make it to US supreme court but the segregation was ruled unconstitutional (laid legal groundwork for other challenges)

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka

Supreme Court ruling that overturned the “separate but equal” precedent established in Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896. The Court declared that separate educational facilities were inherently unequal and thus violated the Fourteenth Amendment

\
1952-1954

Thurgood Marshall

NAACP lawyer

* Helped prepared legal ground for a series of lawsuits challenging racial discrimination


* Used 14th amendments “Equal protection” clause to overturn Plessy v. Ferguson (seperate but equal)

\

Brown II

1955 Court declared that integration should proceed “ with all deliberate speed” opening up ways white people could resist

massive resistance

White southerners tryna keep racism after Brown v Board of Education

KKK levels swelled

\

White Citizens' Councils

White southerners tryna stop school integration(half a mil southerners joined)

The Southern Manifesto

Signed in 1956 by 101 members of congress that denounced Brown decision as “a clear abuse of judicial power” and encouraged local officers to defy it

Emmett Till

14 yr old AA from the South Side of Chicago who was tortured and murdered because he talked to a white woman in a grocery store. Summer of 1955. Murderers were found innocent by all-white jury

Montgomery Bus Boycott

Yearlong boycott of Montgomery’s segregated bus system in 1955–1956 by the city’s African American population. The boycott brought Martin Luther King Jr. to national prominence and ended in victory when the Supreme Court declared segregated seating on public transportation unconstitutional.

Rosa Parks

1955\. Montgomery, Alabama. Refused to give up her seat on a bus to a white man. She was arrested/charged with local segregation ordinance. Foundation of the bus boycotts

Dr King

Pastor of Montogomery’s Dexter Street Baptitst Church

Worked closely/behind the scenes with Bayard Rustin

Public spokesperson/leader of the civil rights movement

Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC)

After the Montgomery Bus Boycott, Martin Luther King Jr, Wheeling(?) and other civil rights leaders formed this in 1957 to coordinate civil rights activity in the South.

Little Rock Nine/Central High School

group of African American students who enrolled in an Arkansas high school 1957. Their enrollment was a significant event in the Civil Rights Movement, as it marked the first time that African American students attended a previously all-white school in the United States. The students faced intense opposition and were initially prevented from entering the school by the Arkansas National Guard. However, they eventually gained access with the help of federal intervention. The teenager’s bravery and perseverance played a crucial role in advancing desegregation in American schools.

John Lewis

an American politician and civil rights leader. He served as the U.S. Representative for Georgia's 5th congressional district from 1987 until his death in 2020.

* was a prominent figure in the Civil Rights Movement and played a key role in the Selma to Montgomery marches. He was known for his advocacy of nonviolent protest and his commitment to fighting for equality and justice.

Diane Nash

civil rights activist who co- founded SNCC and organized the Freedom Rides in 1961. She also played a crucial role in desegregating Nashville through nonviolent action. Her activism has left a lasting impact on racial equality in the US.

Freedom Rides

aimed to call attention to obvious violations of recent Supreme Court rulings against segregation in interstate commerce

* Taken on interstate bus lines through the south
* Many buses were attacked and the people beaten, but state authorities refused to intervene, leading to RFK having to dispatch federal marshals bc of the beatings(JFK also failed to deliver civil rights bill)

\

Ella Baker

worked for the New Deal agencies and the NAACP

* Believed in making leaders from the grass roots (encouraging ordinary ppl to stand up for their rights rather than depend on figureheads)

Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC)

Student civil rights group founded in 1960 under the mentorship of activist Ella Baker.

* initially embraced an interracial and nonhierarchical structure that encouraged leadership at the grassroots level and practiced the civil disobedience principles of Martin Luther King Jr.
* As violence toward civil rights activists escalated nationwide in the 1960s, this group expelled nonblack members and promoted “black power” and the teachings of Malcolm X.

Sit-ins 1960

started in Greensboro, North Carolina. 4 Black college students sat at a whites-only lunch counter.

* For three weeks hundreds of Black students did sit ins
* They were taunted but held their nonviolent values
* Their tactics worked

Letter from a Birmingham Jail

king was in jail and scribbled in pencil and composed one of the classic documents of nonviolent direct action

March on Washington

1963 - a quarter of a million people marched to the Lincoln Memorial to demand that Congress end Jim Crow racial discrimination and launch a major jobs program to bring needed employment to black communities.

Civil Rights Act of 1964

Law that responded to demands of the civil rights movement by making discrimination in employment, education, and public accommodations illegal. It was the strongest such measure since Reconstruction and included a ban on sex discrimination in employment.

Freedom Summer

black organizations mounted major campaign in Mississippi for voting rights (1964)

Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP)

Party founded in Mississippi during the Freedom Summer of 1964. Its members attempted to attend the 1964 Democratic National Convention in Atlantic City, New Jersey, as the legitimate representatives of their state, but Democratic leaders refused to recognize the party.

* Made bc the regular Mississippi Democratic Party was whites only

\