Unit 1: Rise of the Silent Majority Key Terms

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering key historical figures, political movements, legislation, foreign policy events, and general social studies terms from Unit 1: Rise of the Silent Majority.

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

A civil rights law passed in 1990 that prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in all areas of public life, including jobs, schools, transportation, and all public and private places open to the general public.

Barry Goldwater

Unsuccessful presidential candidate against Lyndon Johnson in 1964 who called for dismantling the New Deal, escalation of the war in Vietnam, and the status quo on civil rights; considered the grandfather of the 1980s conservative movement.

Bill Clinton

President of the United States (1993-2001) whose centrist Democratic leadership included NAFTA, welfare reform, and a balanced budget, and who became the second president in American history to be impeached.

Camp David Accords (1979)

An agreement brokered by President Carter between Israel and Egypt where Israel surrendered land seized in earlier wars and Egypt recognized Israel as a nation.

Civil Rights Act of 1964

Proposed by John Kennedy and signed by Lyndon Johnson, it desegregated public accommodations, libraries, parks, and amusements, while broadening federal power to protect individual rights and prevent job discrimination.

Contract with America

A document drafted under Republican Newt Gingrich promising to enact ten items—including congressional term limits, a balanced budget amendment, tax cuts, tougher crime laws, and welfare reform—if Republicans won control of Congress.

Crisis of Confidence (Malaise) Speech

A televised national address by President Carter complaining that a weak national spirit struck "at the very heart and soul of our national will."

Deregulation

The cutting back of federal regulation of industry, such as Reagan's 1980s removal of oil price controls, elimination of nursing home health and safety inspections, and reduction of rules for the airline and savings and loan industries.

Earl Warren

Controversial Chief Justice of the Supreme Court (1953-1969) who led far-reaching racial, social, and political rulings, including school desegregation and protecting the rights of persons accused of crimes.

George H.W. Bush

President of the United States (1989-1993) who campaigned on the promise "Read my lips: no new taxes," led the Persian Gulf War against Saddam Hussein, but lost his 1992 re-election bid due to an economic recession and reversing his tax promise.

George McGovern

Unsuccessful Democratic candidate for president in 1972 who called for immediate withdrawal from Vietnam and a guaranteed income for the poor.

George W. Bush

Republican President of the United States (2001-2009) who advocated "compassionate conservatism" and whose presidency was defined by the post-9/11 "War on Terror," including the Patriot Act, Department of Homeland Security, and wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

George Wallace

Alabama governor and third-party presidential candidate in 1968 and 1972 who ran on a segregation and law-and-order platform.

Gerald Ford

President (1974-1977) who served without being elected president or vice president, assuming the VP spot via the Twenty-Fifth Amendment after Spiro Agnew resigned, and taking the presidency when Nixon resigned.

Geraldine Ferraro

House Representative from New York selected by Walter Mondale in 1984 as his Vice-Presidential running mate, making her the first woman on a major political party's presidential ticket.

Great Society

President Lyndon Johnson's social and economic program aiding the poor, aged, and young through civil rights initiatives and a "war on poverty" that included Medicare, Medicaid, the Immigration Act of 1965, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Henry Kissinger

Advisor to Presidents Nixon and Ford who served as the architect of the Vietnam settlement, the diplomatic opening to China, and détente with the Soviet Union.

Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1965

A law that ended nationality-based quotas, opening the door for many non-European immigrants to settle in the United States.

Iran Hostage Crisis (1979-1981)

Incident where government-supported Iranian radicals seized 52 Americans from the U.S. embassy and held them for 444 days to demand the return of the deposed Shah and punish the U.S.

Iran-Contra Affair (1986-1987)

Scandal where the Reagan administration secretly sold weapons to Iran to free U.S. hostages in Lebanon and illegally diverted the proceeds to fund anti-Communist Contras in Nicaragua.

Jimmy Carter

President (1977-1981) whose foreign policy was marked by the high point of the Camp David Accords and the low point of the Iran Hostage Crisis.

Lyndon Johnson

President (1963-1969) whose escalation of U.S. troops in Vietnam from 16,000 in 1963 to 540,000 in 1968 destroyed his political support and led him to not seek re-election after the Tet Offensive.

New Left

Label for 1960s political radicals who supported civil rights and opposed American foreign policy, particularly the Vietnam War, while drawing influence from the 1930s "Old Left."

No Child Left Behind

An education reform plan calling for mandatory achievement testing, greater state accountability for student success, and expanded school options for parents.

Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA)

A 1990 law (modified in 2024) providing for the protection and return of Native American human remains, funerary objects, sacred objects, and objects of cultural patrimony.

North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)

A trade agreement signed by Mexico, the United States, and Canada, championed by President Clinton on the premise that flourishing trade was essential to U.S. economic prosperity.

Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)

A cartel of oil-exporting nations that executed oil boycotts in the 1970s to alter U.S. Middle East policy, severely disrupting the U.S. economy.

Persian Gulf War (Operation Desert Storm)

A successful military campaign by an international coalition that launched a massive air assault and ground offensive from Saudi Arabia to liberate Kuwait from Iraqi control.

Richard Nixon

President (1969-1974) who slowly extracted the U.S. from Vietnam, recognized Communist China, and improved Soviet relations, but resigned due to the Watergate scandal.

Roe v. Wade (1973)

Landmark Supreme Court ruling establishing that first-trimester abortions are protected by a woman's right to privacy.

Ronald Reagan

President (1981-1989) who led a conservative movement against détente and federal government growth, advocating supply-side economics and anti-communist Cold War policies.

Sandra Day O'Connor

Appointed by President Reagan, she became the first female justice to serve on the United States Supreme Court.

September 11, 2001

A coordinated terrorist attack by al Qaeda in which hijacked commercial jets hit the World Trade Center twin towers and the Pentagon, with a fourth plane crashing near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Silent Majority

Nixon's term for middle-class Americans who obeyed laws, supported him, and sought "peace with honor" in Vietnam, in contrast to disruptive civil rights and student protesters.

Stagflation

1970s economic condition characterized by simultaneously rising prices (inflation), economic stagnation, and high unemployment, largely driven by rising oil prices.

Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI)

A proposed defense system popularly known as "Star Wars," designed to shield the United States from enemy missile attacks.

Sunbelt

Term for the South and Southwest regions of the U.S. that have experienced a rapid population boom since the late 1970s due to their warm climate.

Supply-side economics (Reaganomics)

President Reagan's economic policy focusing on tax cuts and budget reductions to boost private investment, jobs, and overall government revenue.

Thurgood Marshall

Leading NAACP attorney in the Brown v. Board of Education case who was later appointed by Lyndon Johnson as the first Black justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.

Voting Rights Act of 1965

Federal legislation that outlawed literacy tests, expanded voter registration protections, and increased federal authority to investigate voting irregularities.

War on Terror

Antiterrorism campaign initiated after September 11 that included military action in Afghanistan, increased aviation security, detention of foreign suspects, and the creation of the Department of Homeland Security.

Warren Burger

Chief Justice of the Supreme Court (1969-1986) whose court upheld school busing, protected abortion rights, and ordered Nixon to surrender the Watergate tapes.

Watergate scandal

Political scandal stemming from a June 1972 break-in and illegal wiretapping at Democratic headquarters, followed by Nixon White House cover-ups and obstruction of justice that forced Nixon's resignation.

Agenda

An underlying (often ideological) plan or program.

Bureaucracy

A body of non-elected government officials involved in the administration of policy.

Coalition

Groups allied for a common purpose.

Constituency

Those being represented by an elected official or group.

Deficit

A shortage; an excess of spending over revenue.

Demographic

Characteristics relating to population.

Discrimination

To show partiality in treatment.

Entitlement

The belief that one is deserving of certain privileges.

Fiscal

Relating to public revenue or public debt.

Ideology

A set of beliefs.

Inflation

Rising prices.

Marginalized

Lacking power.

Polarization

A division into two extremes of groups or interests.

Proliferation

An increase in the number of something.

Radical

One who wants immediate, extreme change.

Reactionary

One who wants to return to an idealized past.

Socioeconomic

Relating to class, wealth, and status.

Surplus

The amount that remains when use or need is satisfied.