Unit 9 American Dilemma Key Terms

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms and concepts from Unit 9 American Dilemma.

26th Amendment

Ratified in July 1971, the amendment to the U.S. Constitution lowered the voting age from 21 to 18, ensuring that citizens aged 18 years and older are granted the fundamental right to vote in federal, state, and local elections.

17th Parallel

is an approximate line of latitude that served as the military demarcation line between North Vietnam and South Vietnam following the Geneva Accords of 1954, marking the division of Vietnam into two separate entities.

Bay of Pigs

refers to the U.S.-supported invasion of Cuba in April 1961, which aimed to overthrow the communist regime of Fidel Castro; however, the invasion was a disastrous failure and significantly embarrassed the U.S. government.

Cuban Missile Crisis

was a 13-day confrontation in October 1962 between the United States and the Soviet Union over the presence of Soviet ballistic missiles in Cuba, culminating in a naval blockade and the eventual withdrawal of the missiles by the USSR.

Dien Bien Phu

was a strategic French fortress in Vietnam that fell to the Viet Minh in 1954, marking a pivotal point in the First Indochina War and leading to the French withdrawal from Indochina and the subsequent division of Vietnam.

Domino Theory

was a significant Cold War-era belief propagated by President Eisenhower; it suggested that the fall of one nation to communism would trigger a chain reaction, leading neighboring countries to also fall under communist influence.

Fidel Castro

was the Cuban revolutionary leader who came to power in January 1959, establishing a socialist state. He became the main target of the failed Bay of Pigs invasion and played a crucial role in Cold War dynamics.

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

was passed by the U.S. Congress in August 1964, granting President Lyndon B. Johnson the authority to take military action in Vietnam following reported attacks on U.S. naval vessels.

Henry Kissinger

served as National Security Advisor and later Secretary of State under Presidents Nixon and Ford, playing a pivotal role in U.S. foreign policy including the Vietnam War negotiations and the opening of diplomatic relations with China.

Ho Chi Minh

was the communist leader of North Vietnam, a key figure in the Vietnam War who sought independence for Vietnam from foreign domination and is often regarded as a nationalist hero by many Vietnamese.

Kent State Massacre

refers to the tragic incident on May 4, 1970, when the Ohio National Guard fired into a crowd of protesting students at Kent State University, resulting in the deaths of four students and sparking national outrage.

My Lai Massacre

was the mass murder of unarmed South Vietnamese civilians by U.S. Army soldiers during the Vietnam War in March 1968, revealing the brutal realities of the conflict and leading to widespread condemnation.

Ngo Dinh Diem

was the American-backed leader of South Vietnam from 1955 until his assassination in 1963, whose authoritarian regime faced growing resistance, contributing to increasing American military involvement in the Vietnam War.

Nikita Khrushchev

served as First Secretary of the Communist Party of the USSR from 1953 to 1964; known for his aggressive Cold War policies and the de-Stalinization of the Soviet Union, he was a key actor during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Pentagon Papers

were a classified Department of Defense report that outlined U.S. political and military involvement in Vietnam, leaked in 1971, revealing misleading information provided to Congress and the public.

Tet Offensive

was a significant military campaign conducted by North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces during January 1968, marked by surprise attacks across South Vietnam that shifted American public perception of the Vietnam War.

Vietnamization

was a policy introduced by President Nixon aimed at reducing U.S. military presence in Vietnam by transferring combat responsibilities to South Vietnamese forces, with the goal of enabling the South Vietnamese to take control of their own defense.

Bayard Rustin

was a prominent civil rights activist who played a key role in organizing the 1963 March on Washington, where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his iconic 'I Have a Dream' speech.

Betty Friedan

was a noted feminist author and activist best known for her book 'The Feminine Mystique,' which challenged traditional gender roles and sparked a significant movement for women's rights in the 1960s.

Black Power

was a movement that emerged in the 1960s advocating for racial dignity, self-reliance, and empowerment among Black Americans, emphasizing a more militant stance compared to earlier civil rights efforts.

Brown v. Board of Education

was the landmark Supreme Court case in 1954 that declared racially segregated public schools unconstitutional, serving as a catalyst for the Civil Rights Movement.

Equal Rights Amendment (ERA)

was a proposed constitutional amendment aimed at guaranteeing equal legal rights for all American citizens regardless of sex; it was passed by Congress in 1972 but ultimately failed to be ratified.

Fair Deal

was President Harry S. Truman's ambitious legislative agenda proposed in the late 1940s to extend the New Deal's benefits, including healthcare and education reforms, which faced significant opposition in Congress.

Fannie Lou Hamer

was a civil rights leader known for her tireless efforts in voter registration and for her powerful testimony at the 1964 Democratic National Convention, highlighting racial discrimination and advocating for Black voting rights.

Federal Highway Act (1956)

was critical legislation that authorized the construction of a nationwide interstate highway system in the U.S., with an initial budget of $25 billion to improve national transportation infrastructure.

Freedom rides

were civil rights demonstrations that began in 1961, where Black and white activists rode buses into the segregated Southern United States to challenge and protest against discriminatory practices in bus stations.

Hubert Humphrey

was a U.S. Senator and Vice President who championed civil rights in the 1960s and attempted to unify the Democratic Party during the tumultuous 1968 convention that divided many factions within the party.

John Kennedy

was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963; he is noted for his progressive initiatives in domestic policy and confronting significant Cold War challenges.

John Lewis

was a civil rights leader and U.S. congressman known for his critical role in the Civil Rights Movement, particularly during the Freedom Rides and the Selma to Montgomery marches advocating for voting rights.

Lyndon Johnson

served as the 36th President of the United States from 1963 to 1969; he is recognized for his Great Society programs aimed at eliminating poverty and racial injustice, despite the divisive nature of the Vietnam War.

Malcolm X

was an influential African American leader and speaker who advocated for Black empowerment and civil rights, often critiquing Martin Luther King Jr.'s nonviolent approach; he was assassinated in 1965.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

was a prominent civil rights leader known for his advocacy of nonviolent resistance and his leadership role in advancing the civil rights movement, particularly through his famous 'I Have a Dream' speech.

Richard Nixon

served as the 37th President of the United States from 1969 to 1974; his presidency was marred by the Watergate scandal, which eventually led to his resignation, making him the first U.S. president to do so.

Robert Kennedy

was a U.S. Senator and Attorney General known for his support of civil rights, his fight against poverty, and his campaign for the presidency in 1968, during which he was assassinated.

Rosa Parks

was a civil rights activist famous for her act of defiance in refusing to give up her seat to a white man on a segregated bus, an event that sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott and became a symbol of the civil rights movement.

Sit-ins

protests by black college students, 1960-1961, who took seats at "whites only" lunch counters and refused to leave until served; in 1960 over 50,000 participated in sit-ins across the South. Their success prompted the formation of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee

Shirley Chisholm

First African American woman elected to the U.S. Congress representing New York’s 12th Congressional District. She was a strong advocate for civil rights, women's rights, and social justice. In 1972, she made history again by becoming the first African American woman to run for a major party’s presidential nomination, campaigning as a Democrat.

Strom Thurmond

Democratic governor of South Carolina who headed the States' Rights Party (Dixiecrats); he ran for president in 1948 against Truman and his mild civil rights proposals and eventually joined the Republican Party

Taft-Hartley Act (1946)

nti-labor law passed over Truman's veto; it provided a "cooling off" period wherein the president could force striking workers back to work for 80 days. It also outlawed closed shops and allowed states to pass right-to-work laws.

Thomas Dewey

twice-defeated Republican candidate for president (1944,1948); his overconfidence and lackadaisical effort in 1948 allowed Truman to overcome his large lead and pull off the greatest political upset in American history