Studied by 81 peopleiron curtain speech
delivered in March 1946 by the former Prime Minister of Britain, Winston Churchill, in Missouri, in which he talks about the dangers of communism engulfing Europe; stressed the fact that the US and Great Britain needed to act as guardians of peace against Soviet communism
Truman Doctrine/Containment
Truman pledged to stop the spread of communism by giving financial aid, forming alliances, and supporting anti-communist governments whether they are democratic or not. Was done by the United States to prevent the Soviet Union from expanding its communist ideology. Started in Greece and Turkey; also started the rationale for an unprecedented arms buildup in the US
Marshall Plan
a plan signed by Harry Truman in order to aid the European nations in economic recovery after World War II in order to stabilize and rebuild their countries and prevent the spread of communism; transferred over $13 billion in recovery programs
HUAC (House Un-American Activities Committee)
congressional committee that investigated communist influence in the US in government agencies and the Hollywood movie industry the 1940s and 1950s; more than 500 people in the movie industry lost their jobs and were unable to work for again for more than a decade including federal government workers who lost jobs and asked to testify against their colleagues and take 'loyalty oaths'
Hollywood Ten
a group of 10 American producers, directors and screenwriters who appeared before HUAC refusing to answer questions about their possible affiliation in Communism; voted in contempt of congress and were then convicted to a year of prison in 1947
A. Philip Randolph
black civil rights activist that challenged segregation in the U.S. military; was able to gain audience with FDR but had trouble gaining public attention due to the white south and pushed for it more privately; his activism helped Truman to desegregate the armed forces
Executive Order 9981
an executive order issued by President Harry S. Truman in 1948 ending segregation in the U.S. military and the U.S. Armed Forces; it wasn't fully integrated until 6-7 years after its passing; the Vietnam War was the first war fought with a fully integrated U.S. military
Dixiecrats (States' Right Party)
Conservative southern Democrats who objected to President Truman's strong push for civil-rights legislation. Southern Democrats who broke from the party in 1948 over the issue of civil rights and ran a presidential ticket as the States' Rights Democrats with J. Strom Thurmond of South Carolina as a candidate
Brown v. Board of Education
1954 - The Supreme Court overruled Plessy v. Ferguson, in a unanimous vote, declared that racially segregated facilities are inherently unequal and ordered all public schools desegregated; was passed due to the number of black students who had to take buses and long walks rather than going to the nearest school (white)
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); On December 5th, she was found guilty for violating segregation laws and on that same day, the black population of Montgomery was boycotting the busses
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 with the Montgomery Improvement Association; After 11 months the Supreme Court ruled that segregation of public transportation was illegal; it was a successful campaign that focused national attention on racial segregation in the South
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, leading the Montgomery Bus Boycott for 11 months; He was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee. Nobel Peace Prize (1964)
SCLC (Southern Christian Leadership Conference)
established in 1957 by King and other black leaders in order to coordinate the action of local protest groups throughout the South; the organization drew on the power and the independence of black churches in order to support their activities; the catalyst for their formation was the Montgomery Bus Boycott
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.
Kennedy-Nixon Debates
first televised debate, poll results from this debate illustrated the visual power of television in American politics....people listening to the radio gave edge to Nixon and thought he showed mastery in the issues and people watching television thought Kennedy won because of his relaxed and self-confident manner
Firs/ French Indo-China War
1945-1953 between the French and the Vietnamese rebels who wanted the French out of the country; some Vietnamese people sided with the French; most saw this as a colonial war so it wasn't taken seriously by other nations
Ho Chi Minh
1950s and 60s; communist leader of North Vietnam; declared the Northern part of Vietnam as an independent communist country; used guerilla warfare to drive out anti-communists which led to America paying for 80% of France's war efforts
Geneva Accords
By 1954, the French were over the war and just wanted peace; they signed the peace agreement which ended the first Indo-China War and kicked out the French; divided Vietnam into Communist-controlled North Vietnam and non-Communist South Vietnam
Viet Cong
south Vietnamese rebels, a Communist-led army and guerrilla force in South Vietnam that fought against the South Vietnamese government; the U.S. fights them when they join the war
ARVN (Army of the Republic of Vietnam)
the southern Vietnamese soldiers with whom U.S. troops fought against communism and forces in the North during the Vietnam War; the U.S. supplied and supported this army; JFK had military advisors fly to Vietnam where they would train ARVN soldiers on war tactics and weapons
Gulf of Tonkin Crisis
1964; two U.S. destroyers are stationed in the Gulf of Tonkin in Vietnam, they are then attacked by North Vietnamese torpedo boats; Johnson then ordered the bombing of military targets in North Vietnam
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution was a joint resolution of the U.S. Congress passed on August 7, 1964 in direct response to a minor naval engagement known as the Gulf of Tonkin Incident. It is of historical significance because it gave U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson authorization, without a formal declaration of war by Congress, for the use of military force in Southeast Asia
Operation Rolling Thunder
A bombing campaign began in 1965 and authorized by President Johnson. This tactical movement relentlessly bombed Viet Cong-occupied land, decimating the landscape of hundreds of miles of land. However, the intricate and enormously large network of tunnels the guerrilla soldiers had built were largely unharmed, and it failed to stop the Viet Cong from continuing to press on.
Tet Offensive
January 1968; North Vietnam violated a truce during Tet (New Year), attacking cities throughout South Vietnam; despite the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong initiating the conflict, they were defeated and suffered heavy casualties; the offensive surprised the US and the American public because it showed that the communists were able to launch an organized attack
Lyndon B. Johnson
36th U.S. President.; was sworn into office after JFK'S assassination after serving as his vice president; played a huge role in the Vietnam War by escalating U.S. involvement in the war; he was able to gain congressional approval to use military force against attacks from North Vietnam
Vietnamization
sometimes referred to as the "Nixon Doctrine"; a war policy in Vietnam initiated by Nixon in 1969; called for dramatic reduction of U.S. troops followed by an increased injection of South Vietnamese troops in their place; a considerable success, this plan allowed for a drop in troops to 24,000 by 1972
Operation Frequent Wind
final phase in the extraction of American civilians and "at risk' Vietnamese from Saigon, South Vietnam as it fell and was captured by North Vietnam; more than 7,000 people were evacuated by helicopter
Fall of Saigon
April 1975; communist forces marched into Saigon, shortly after officials of the Thieu regime and the staff of the American embassy had fled the country in humiliating disarray; the forces quickly occupied the capital, renamed it Ho Chi Minh City and began the process of uniting Vietnam under Hanoi
Watergate
1972; 6 months before the presidential election, 5 men broke into the Watergate building (Democratic National Committee Headquarters) and wiretapped the offices and stole important documents; they were arrested and there investigators found a phone number in one of their pockets and found that they were connected to Nixon; after the election Nixon was impeached and stepped down due to the scandal
1980 US Olympic Hockey Team
known as one of the greatest sporting events of all-time and as 'Miracle on Ice'; the underdog U.S. hockey team, made of college players, was able to defeat the gold winning USSR hockey team at the Winter Olympic Games in NY
Desert Storm
Bush gave the order for U.S. troops to lead an international coalition in an attack on Saddam Hussein's army; led the operation by bombing Hussein's armies in Iraq and Kuwait; The code name used by the United States and its coalition partners in waging war against Iraq in early 1991 to liberate Kuwait
9/11
terrorist attacks that occurred in 2001, in which 19 militant Islamist men hijacked and crashed 4 commercial aircraft. Two planes hit the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, causing them to collapse. One plane crashed into the Pentagon in Washington, D. C., and the fourth, overtaken by passengers, crashed into a field in rural Pennsylvania. Nearly 3,000 people were killed in the worst case of domestic terrorism in American history.
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