APUSH: Unit 11 Key Terms

"Massive Resistance"

policy declared by U.S. Senator Harry F. Byrd, Sr. on February 24, 1956 to unite other white politicians and leaders in Virginia in a campaign of new state laws and policies to prevent public school desegregation after the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision in 1954

"Silent majority"*

A phrase used to describe people, whatever their economic status, who uphold traditional values, especially against the counterculture of the 1960s

"Silent majority"

A phrase used to describe people, whatever their economic status, who uphold traditional values, especially against the counterculture of the 1960s

"Stagflation"

a period of slow economic growth and high unemployment (stagnation) while prices rise (inflation)

American Indian Movement (AIM)

led by Dennis Banks and Russell Means; purpose was to obtain equal rights for Native Americans; protested at the site of the Wounded Knee massacre

Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini

Shi'ite philosopher and cleric who led the overthrow of the shah of Iran in 1979 and created an Islamic republic.

Bakke v. Board of Regents

US court case in which Bakke was denied to University of California Medical School twice to people less qualified based on race. Case determined that affirmative action is legal as long as filling quotas is not used.

Bay of Pigs

In April 1961, a group of Cuban exiles organized and supported by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency landed on the southern coast of Cuba in an effort to overthrow Fidel Castro. When the invasion ended in disaster, President Kennedy took full responsibility for the failure.

Betty Friedan

1921-2006. American feminist, activist and writer. Best known for starting the "Second Wave" of feminism through the writing of her book "The Feminine Mystique".

Black Panther Party

A group formed in 1966, inspired by the idea of Black Power, that provided aid to black neighborhoods; often thought of as radical or violent.

Brown v. Board of Education

1954 - The Supreme Court overruled Plessy v. Ferguson, declared that racially segregated facilities are inherently unequal and ordered all public schools desegregated.

Camp David Accords

A peace treaty between Israel and Egypt where Egypt agreed to recognize the nation state of Israel

Cesar Chavez

1927-1993. Farm worker, labor leader, and civil-rights activist who helped form the National Farm Workers Association, later the United Farm Workers.

Civil Rights Act of 1964

outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin

Community Action Program

Invited local communities to establish community action agencies (CAA's) to be funded through the office of economic opportunity; allowed poor to run antipoverty programs in their own neighborhoods.

Congress of Racial Equality (CORE)

Organization founded by pacifists in 1942 to promote racial equality through peaceful means

Counterculture

A culture with lifestyles and values opposed to those of the established culture.

Cuban Missile Crisis

The 1962 confrontation bewteen US and the Soviet Union over Soviet missiles in Cuba.

Détente

A policy of reducing Cold War tensions that was adopted by the United States during the presidency of Richard Nixon.

Dien Bien Phu

A town of northwest Vietnam near the Laos border. The French military base here fell to Vietminh troops on May 7, 1954, after a 56-day siege, leading to the end of France's involvement in Indochina.

Domino theory*

A theory that if one nation comes under Communist control, then neighboring nations will also come under Communist control.

Election of 1960

Brought about the era of political television. Between Kennedy and Nixon. Issues centered around the Cold War and economy. Kennedy argued that the nation faces serious threats from the soviets. Nixon countered that the US was on the right track under the current administration. Kennedy won by a narrow margin.

Election of 1968

The election in which Nixon won; conservative republican victory; demonstrated that the majority of the American electorate turned their back on liberal reform and activist governments

Election of 1972

Placed Nixon against Democrat George McGovern, with the former being the embodiment of the radical movements Nixon's "silent majority" of middle-class Americans opposed, resulting in a landslide victory for Nixon

Engel v. Vitale

The 1962 Supreme Court decision holding that state officials violated the First Amendment when they wrote a prayer to be recited by New York's schoolchildren.

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

The US federal agency with a mission to protect human health and the environment.

Equal Pay Act

1963 law that required both men and women to receive equal pay for equal work

Equal Rights Amendment (ERA)

constitutional amendment passed by Congress but never ratified that would have banned discrimination on the basis of gender

Flexible response

the buildup of conventional troops and weapons to allow a nation to fight a limited war without using nuclear weapons

Freedom Rides

a series of political protests against segregation by Blacks and Whites who rode buses together through the American South in 1961

Freedom Summer

In 1964, when blacks and whites together challenged segregation and led a massive drive to register blacks to vote.

Gay Liberation Movement

In the 1970s, homosexuals began an effort to win social and legal acceptance and to encourage gays to affirm their sexual identity. Despite some advances, the movement was slowed by the onset of the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s and the insistence of the military on banning openly gay individuals from the armed services.

George McGovern

A Senator from South Dakota who ran for President in 1972 on the Democrat ticket. His promise was to pull the remaining American troops out of Vietnam in ninety days which earned him the support of the Anti-war party, and the working-class supported him, also. He lost however to Nixon.

George Wallace

Racist gov. of Alabama in 1962 ("segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever"); runs for pres. In 1968 on American Independent Party ticket of racism and law and order, loses to Nixon; runs in 1972 but gets shot

Gerald Ford

1974-1977, Republican, first non elected president and VP, he pardoned Nixon

Gideon v. Wainwright

A person who cannot afford an attorney may have one appointed by the government

Great Society

President Johnson called his version of the Democratic reform program the Great Society. In 1965, Congress passed many Great Society measures, including Medicare, civil rights legislation, and federal aid to education.

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

1964 Congressional resolution authorizing President Johnson to take military action in Vietnam

Henry Kissinger

The main negotiator of the peace treaty with the North Vietnamese; secretary of state during Nixon's presidency (1970s).

Ho Chi Minh Trail

A network of paths used by North Vietnam to transport supplies to the Vietcong in South Vietnam

Ho Chi Minh

1950s and 60s; communist leader of North Vietnam; used geurilla warfare to fight anti-comunist, American-funded attacks under the Truman Doctrine; brilliant strategy drew out war and made it unwinnable

Immigration Act of 1965

Abolished the national-origins quotas and providing for the admission each year of 170,000 immigrants from the Eastern Hemisphere and 120,000 from the Western Hemisphere

Jackie Robinson

The first African American player in the major league of baseball. His actions helped to bring about other opportunities for African Americans.

James Meredith

He was a civil rights advocate who spurred a riot at the University of Mississippi. The riot was caused by angry whites who did not want Meredith to register at the university. The result was forced government action, showing that segregation was no longer government policy.

Jimmy Carter

(1977-1981), Created the Department of Energy and the Depatment of Education. He was criticized for his return of the Panama Canal Zone, and because of the Soviet war in Afghanistan, he enacted an embargo on grain shipments to USSR and boycotted the 1980 Olympics in Moscow and his last year in office was marked by the takeover of the American embassy in Iran, fuel shortages, and the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan, which caused him to lose to Ronald Regan in the next election.

John F. Kennedy

president during part of the cold war and especially during the superpower rivalry and the cuban missile crisis. he was the president who went on tv and told the public about hte crisis and allowed the leader of the soviet uinon to withdraw their missiles. other events, which were during his terms was the building of the berlin wall, the space race, and early events of the Vietnamese war.

Kent State

Ohio college where an anti-war protest got way out of hand, the Nat'l Guard was called in and killed 3 students (innocent & unarmed,wounded 9) in idiscriminate fire of M-1 rifles

La Raza Unida

A party organized in the late 1960s as a means of getting Mexican Americans to unite politically and to identify ethnically as one people.

Little Rock Central High School

Was the site of forced desegregation in 1957 when the governor of Alabama wouldn't allow the "Little Rock nine" access to the school. President Eisenhower then mobilized the 101st airborne division to force the school to admit the students.

Malcolm X

1952; renamed himself X to signify the loss of his African heritage; converted to Nation of Islam in jail in the 50s, became Black Muslims' most dynamic street orator and recruiter; his beliefs were the basis of a lot of the Black Power movement built on seperationist and nationalist impulsesto achieve true independence and equality

March on Washington

held in 1963 to show support for the Civil Rights Bill in Congress. Martin Luther King gave his famous "I have a dream..." speech. 250,000 people attended the rally

Martin Luther King, Jr.

U.S. Baptist minister and civil rights leader. A noted orator, he opposed discrimination against blacks by organizing nonviolent resistance and peaceful mass demonstrations. He was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee. Nobel Peace Prize (1964)

Medicaid

A federal and state assistance program that pays for health care services for people who cannot afford them.

Medicare

A federal program of health insurance for persons 65 years of age and older

Miranda v. Arizona

Supreme Court held that criminal suspects must be informed of their right to consult with an attorney and of their right against self-incrimination prior to questioning by police.

Montgomery Bus Boycott

In 1955, after Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat on a city bus, Dr. Martin L. King led a boycott of city busses. After 11 months the Supreme Court ruled that segregation of public transportation was illegal.

National Organization for Women (NOW)

Founded in 1966, the National Organization for Women (NOW) called for equal employment opportunity and equal pay for women. NOW also championed the legalization of abortion and passage of an equal rights amendment to the Constitution.

New Frontier

The campaign program advocated by JFK in the 1960 election. He promised to revitalize the stagnant economy and enact reform legislation in education, health care, and civil rights.

New Left

Coalition of younger members of the Democratic party and radical student groups. Believed in participatory democracy, free speech, civil rights and racial brotherhood, and opposed the war in Vietnam.

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.

Nixon Doctrine

During the Vietnam War, the Nixon Doctrine was created. It stated that the United States would honor its exisiting defense commitments, but in the future other countries would have to fight their own wars without support of American troops.

Nixon's visit to China

This was an important step in formally normalizing relations between the United States and the People's Republic of China

OPEC

An organization of countries formed in 1961 to agree on a common policy for the production and sale of petroleum.

Operation Wetback

Program which apprehended and returned some one million illegal immigrants to Mexico

Pentagon Papers

A 7,000-page top-secret United States government report on the history of the internal planning and policy-making process within the government itself concerning the Vietnam War.

Rachel Carson

United States biologist remembered for her opposition to the use of pesticides that were hazardous to wildlife (1907-1964)

Richard Nixon

Vice President under Eisenhower and 37th President of the United States

Robert Kennedy

He was a Democrat who ran for president in 1968 promoting civil rights and other equality based ideals. He was ultimately assassinated in 1968, leaving Nixon to take the presidency but instilling hope in many Americans.

Roe v. Wade

(1973) legalized abortion on the basis of a woman's right to privacy

Rosa Parks

United States civil rights leader who refused to give up her seat on a bus to a white man in Montgomery (Alabama) and so triggered the national civil rights movement (born in 1913)

SALT I

Treaty signed in 1972 between the U.S. and the USSR. This agreement limited the number of missiles in each nation and led to the SALT II discussions and a slowdown of the arms race between the two countries.

Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC)

1957 group founded by Martin Luther King Jr. to fight against segregation using nonviolent means

Spiro Agnew

Nixon's vice-president resigned and pleaded "no contest" to charges of tax evasion on payments made to him when he was governor of Maryland. He was replaced by Gerald R. Ford.

Stonewall Riot

Riot by homosexuals in New York City against the police for the poor treatment they received

Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC)

students whose purpose was coordinate a nonviolent attack on segregation and other forms of racism

Students for a Democratic Society (SDS)

Founded in 1962, the SDS was a popular college student organization that protested shortcomings in American life, notably racial injustice and the Vietnam War. It led thousands of campus protests before it split apart at the end of the 1960s.

Tet offensive

1968; National Liberation Front and North Vietnamese forces launched a huge attack on the Vietnamese New Year (Tet), which was defeated after a month of fighting and many thousands of casualties; major defeat for communism, but Americans reacted sharply, with declining approval of LBJ and more anti-war sentiment

The Feminine Mystique

written by Betty Friedan, journalist and mother of three children; described the problems of middle-class American women and the fact that women were being denied equality with men; said that women were kept from reaching their full human capacities

U.S. v. Richard Nixon

1974--The court rejected Richard Nixon's claim to an absolutely unqualified privilege against any judicial process.

Viet Cong

A Communist-led army and guerrilla force in South Vietnam that fought its government and was supported by North Vietnam.

Vietnamization

President Richard Nixons strategy for ending U.S involvement in the vietnam war, involving a gradual withdrawl of American troops and replacement of them with South Vietnamese forces

Voting Rights Act (1965)

a law designed to help end formal and informal barriers to African-American suffrage

War on Poverty

President Lyndon B. Johnson's program in the 1960's to provide greater social services for the poor and elderly

Warren Commission

committee that investigated the assassination of President Kennedy

Watergate

The events and scandal surrounding a break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters in 1972 and the subsequent cover-up of White House involvement, leading to the eventual resignation of President Nixon under the threat of impeachment.

Watts Riot

1964 riots which started in an African-American ghetoo of Los Angeles and left 30 dead and 1,000 wounded. Riots lasted a week, and spurred hundreds more around the country.

Weathermen

group that branched off of the SDS; advocated terrorism in the US to stop another Vietnam from happening; name came from Bob Dylan lyrics "don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows"; dwindle away after 4 of them die in an explosion in Greenwich Village

Wounded Knee

In 1890, after killing Sitting Bull, the 7th Cavalry rounded up Sioux at this place in South Dakota and 300 Natives were murdered and only a baby survived.

Youth counterculture

challenge the assumptions of the affluent society. Baby boom children grew yp in an era of political liberalism and they hated totalitarian government. Inspired by US Civil rights movement