Post-War Prosperity and Cold War Fears, 1945-1960

Flashcards covering major people, events, policies, and cultural changes in the United States from 1945 to 1960, focusing on post-war prosperity, the Cold War, and the early civil rights movement.

What 1944 legislation provided unemployment compensation, low-interest loans, and education funding for returning veterans?

The Servicemen’s Readjustment Act, better known as the GI Bill of Rights.

Which groups often faced barriers to fully accessing the GI Bill’s benefits?

African American, Mexican American, gay, and Japanese American veterans (and many women).

What was President Harry Truman’s domestic program called and what were two of its key goals?

The Fair Deal; it sought to raise the minimum wage, expand Social Security and public housing, improve wages and healthcare, and protect civil rights.

Why did many of Truman’s Fair Deal proposals fail?

They were blocked by a Congress dominated by Republicans and southern conservative Democrats.

Which 1947 act limited the power of labor unions despite Truman’s veto?

The Taft-Hartley Act.

Define the Cold War.

The prolonged ideological, political, and economic struggle (without direct large-scale fighting) between the United States and the Soviet Union after World War II.

Who authored the “Long Telegram” and what strategy did it propose?

Diplomat George F. Kennan; it proposed the policy of containment to prevent Soviet expansion.

Explain the domino theory.

The belief that if one nation fell to Communism, neighboring nations would likely follow, like a row of dominos.

What 1947 policy pledged U.S. support to nations resisting Communist takeover, starting with Greece and Turkey?

The Truman Doctrine.

How much aid did the Marshall Plan provide to Europe between 1948 and 1951?

$13 billion in economic assistance.

What event triggered the Berlin Airlift of 1948–49?

Stalin’s Berlin blockade, which cut off land and water routes to West Berlin.

What defensive alliance was created in April 1949 in response to Soviet actions in Europe?

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

Who were Julius and Ethel Rosenberg and what happened to them?

American civilians convicted of passing atomic secrets to the USSR; they were executed in 1953 (later evidence implicated Julius but not Ethel).

What parallel became the dividing line after the Korean War armistice of 1953?

A border near the 38th parallel, with a Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) between North and South Korea.

What ultimately led to Senator Joseph McCarthy’s downfall in 1954?

Televised Army-McCarthy hearings exposed his intimidation tactics, leading the Senate to censure him.

What was Eisenhower’s “New Look” defense policy?

Reducing conventional forces while relying on “massive retaliation” with nuclear weapons.

What term describes the logic that neither the U.S. nor USSR would start a nuclear war because both would be destroyed?

Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD).

What 1957 Soviet achievement spurred the U.S. to pass the National Defense Education Act?

The launch of Sputnik, the first artificial satellite.

Which suburban development on Long Island became a symbol of post-war tract housing?

Levittown.

Name one social or environmental consequence of the Interstate Highway System begun in the 1950s.

It facilitated suburban commuting but destroyed many urban working-class neighborhoods and reduced funds for public transit.

During what years did the U.S. “baby boom” occur?

Approximately 1946 to 1964.

Which musical genre, popularized by artists like Elvis Presley, symbolized youth rebellion in the 1950s?

Rock and roll.

Who were the Hollywood Ten?

Ten film industry professionals who refused to testify before HUAC about Communist ties and were blacklisted.

By 1955 roughly what proportion of U.S. homes owned a television?

About half of all households.

Who broke Major League Baseball’s color barrier in 1947?

Jackie Robinson of the Brooklyn Dodgers.

What Supreme Court decision declared segregated public schools unconstitutional in 1954?

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas.

How did President Eisenhower enforce school integration in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1957?

He federalized the Arkansas National Guard and sent the 101st Airborne Division to escort the Little Rock Nine.

What was the Southern Manifesto of 1956?

A document signed by 96 congressmen accusing the Supreme Court of overreach and opposing school desegregation.

Whose 1955 murder galvanized national attention to racial violence in the South?

Emmett Till’s.

What 1955–56 protest began with Rosa Parks’ arrest and ended with desegregated buses?

The Montgomery Bus Boycott.