Key Events and Movements in Cold War America

Containment

The main US foreign policy goal during the Cold War aimed at preventing the spread of Communism.

NATO

North Atlantic Treaty Organization founded in 1949, a mutual defense pact between the US and many countries in Western Europe to defend west from attacks from Soviet Union.

Truman Doctrine

A policy by President Truman to give $400 million in US aid to Greece and Turkey to help those governments stop Communist uprisings.

Marshall Plan

An aid package organized by President Truman in 1947 that granted $14 billion in financial support to US allies in Europe.

Cold War

An era (1947-1991) of intense political, military, economic and ideological tension and competition between the US and the Soviet Union. This affected US foreign policy to avoid soviet influence and American society with fear of war and spies.

Suburbanization

The growth of suburban communities outside of major cities in the US after WWII, driven by growing families and affordability. Suburbs were mostly segregated and had more white people move to Suburbs to avoid racial integration.

Baby Boom

A significant increase in birth rates after WWII (1945-1964) leading to larger families and a focus for women on caretaking.

Korean War (1950-1953)

A Cold War conflict that began when communist North Korea invaded democratic South Korea, resulting in a stalemate. South Korea got support from US to try to stop spread of communism in Asia.

McCarthyism AKA the Second Red Scare

A period where government leaders accused liberals of being communists, led by Senator Joseph McCarthy, resulting in blacklists/firing and ruined careers/reputations.

Lavender Scare

A part of McCarthyism where government workers suspected of being gay were accused and fired, spreading homophobia and fear.

Cuban Missile Crisis

A Cold War conflict in 1962 in which the US and USSR clashed over the placement of nuclear weapons in Cuba (and in Turkey, on the USSR border)

Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)

A federal agency established to collect and analyze foreign intelligence - information about different countries interactions with other nations

Covert operations

Secret actions carried out by the CIA to achieve US foreign policy goals, especially to achieve containment

Guatemala coup (1954)

A covert operation carried out by President Eisenhower's government; The CIA overthrew the democratically elected government of Jacobo Arbenz

Redlining

A federal policy that coded majority-black neighborhoods as 'red' and deemed risky for financial investment; Led to the growth of poverty in many majority-black areas as insurance, loans and investment were actively prevented by banks, the government and other financial institutions

Civil Rights Act (1964)

A federal law that prohibited discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin

Voting Rights Act (1965)

A federal law that prohibited state policies such as poll taxes and literacy tests that served as obstacles to voting

Equal Rights Amendment (ERA)

A Constitutional amendment (that never got passed) that would have prohibited discrimination based on sex/gender

Freedom Rides

A series of interstate bus rides taken by an integrated group of civil rights activists to force the federal government to enforce bans on segregation on buses

Principles of Non-violence

A strategy for achieving social change that relied on direct action in the form of marches, rallies, sit-ins and that required participants to prepare to stay focused and nonviolent in the face of violent reaction

March on Washington (1963)

A national protest in DC that called for federal civil rights legislation

Selma March (aka "Bloody Sunday")

A four-day march in Alabama in 1965 for voting rights led by Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee leader John Lewis and Dr. Martin Luther King

NOW (National Organization of Women)

A feminist organization founded in 1966 that fought for women's rights, especially equal pay, an end to sexual harassment, reproductive rights

Chicano Movement

A movement of Mexican Americans in the 1960s that fought for farm workers union rights and more bilingual education

American Indian Movement (AIM)

A movement of Native Americans in the late 1960s-early 1970s who fought for treaty rights, recognition, aid for indigenous(native) people as well as a revival of traditional culture

Stonewall Rebellion

A 1969 uprising against attacks by police on LGBTQ people; it began when police raided a gay bar (the Stonewall Inn) in NYC in 1969; This uprising led to the first national gay rights movement

Environmental Movement

In the 1960s and 1970s, students began to protest for environmental protections, wanting federal laws to ban certain toxic chemicals, reduce pollution in the air and water, and to protect endangered species.

Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965

A federal law that removed national quotas on groups of immigrants; opened US immigration to people with families in the US, labor and professional skills, and who were refugees.

Black Nationalism

A belief that focused on the improvement of African American society through independence, Black pride and unity among Black people, often anti-capitalist and Pan-Africanist in its outlook.

Black Panther Party

A militant and revolutionary group of Black nationalists and revolutionaries that fought for Black liberation, against police brutality and that carried out programs to help the Black community.

Young Lords

A militant group of Puerto Rican activists in New York and Chicago that fought for resources for the community and against anti-Latino racism.

Urban riots

A series of riots in US cities in the mid-1960s made up of mostly African Americans, caused by police brutality, poverty, lack of jobs and poor housing, institutional racism, and deindustrialization.

Great Society

A group of federal programs designed to reduce poverty and provide a better quality of life for Americans, including Medicare and Medicaid, which provide health care to the elderly and low-income people. Which also federal fund for education and job training.

Vietnam War

A Cold War conflict between Communist North Vietnam and US ally South Vietnam, where US troops fought with South Vietnam against pro-North Vietnamese forces due to the domino theory (that other Asian countries would become communist if North Vietnam won).

Tet Offensive

A coordinated attack by North Vietnam against the US and South Vietnam that showed the US was not close to defeating North Vietnam.

My Lai Massacre

US troops massacred(killed) around 400 unarmed women, children, elderly in Vietnam, hurting the reputation of the US and leading Americans to question the war.

Draft lottery

A random process by which young men ages 18-24 were selected to fight in Vietnam, with most drafted going to fight in combat, disproportionately affecting working class or lower income, especially Black and people of color.

Counterculture

A trend in the 1960s-1970s among young people in which they rejected traditional norms of society and adopted different lifestyle choices, including Afrocentrism, changes to language, and new forms of style and dress.