AP US History Unit 8 Vocabulary

Flashcards about the unit 8 of the AP US history curriculum

Cold War

A conflict between two belligerents in which neither engages in open warfare with the other.

Harry Truman

Took office after FDR's death and oversaw the final negotiations for the World War II peace settlement; in power as the Cold War began.

United States Ideology

Democratic and capitalist.

Soviet Union Ideology

Communist.

Post-WWII Agreement

Central and Eastern European countries would hold free elections.

Stalin's Actions

Kept Central and Eastern European countries under Soviet control as a buffer zone.

Germany Post WWII

Divided into four occupation zones controlled by the Soviets, Americans, British, and French.

Soviets on Germany

Wanted to keep Germany weak and extract reparations.

Western Powers on Germany

Wanted economic recovery for Germany as key to a stable Europe.

Winston Churchill

Said, 'An Iron Curtain has descended across the continent.'

Policy of Containment

Truman's policy to contain the spread of communism.

Truman Doctrine

The U.S. would provide military and economic support to any nation threatened by the spread of communism.

Truman Doctrine Implementation

U.S. support of Greece during a communist uprising and in response to Soviet demands for control of the Dardanelles.

Marshall Plan

An extensive economic aid plan to help European nations rebuild and revive their economy to prevent the adoption of communism.

NATO

North Atlantic Treaty Organization, a military pact created for the defense of Western Europe.

Warsaw Pact

Organization formed by the Soviets as a counterpart to NATO for communist nations of Eastern Europe

Arms Race

A competition between the U.S. and the Soviet Union to develop superior weapons systems.

Hydrogen Bomb

Approved by Truman in 1952, had about a thousand times the destructive power of the atomic bomb.

Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD)

If either the US or the Soviet Union launched nuclear weapons, it would provoke retaliation that would result in the destruction of both.

Korean War

A proxy war between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, Korea was divided along the 38th Parallel.

Korean War Start

North Korea invaded South Korea in June 1950.

General Douglas MacArthur

Led UN forces in pushing North Korean forces back to the Chinese border during the Korean War.

Second Red Scare

A general fear among Americans that communist spies had infiltrated American society.

House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC)

Searched for communist influence in American society.

Joseph McCarthy

Senator who claimed to have a list of communists working in the State Department.

Army-McCarthy Hearings

Hearings held in 1954 where McCarthy was unable to prove his claims, leading to his censure by the Senate.

GI Bill

Serviceman's Readjustment Act of 1944, gave veterans the opportunity to go to college on the government's dime.

Baby Boom

Postwar explosion of babies being born between 1945 and 1960.

Levittown

Mass-produced, low-cost homes in New York, a milestone in the development of the American suburb.

Sun Belt

States in the South and West where middle-class families moved to pursue economic opportunities, especially in the defense industry.

Rise of television

Programming was dominated by a few networks who produced sports programming and comedies and variety shows. Provided Americans a common language and cultural norms.

Advertising Golden Age

Aggressive advertisers began to appeal to Americans' emotional needs, leading to a boom in consumer spending.

Civil Rights Movement

A movement in the 1950s racial segregation was still the law of the land.

Brown versus the Board of Education

Overturned Plessy versus Ferguson, ruling that separate schools were inherently unequal.

Southern Manifesto

Southern congressmen argued that the Supreme Court had engaged in a gross abuse of power with Brown vs Board.

Martin Luther King Junior

Atlanta Preacher that rose to prominence as one of the most powerful voices for non violent movement dedicated to civil disobedience.

Civil Rights Act of 1964

Made discrimination on the basis of race, religion, or sex illegal.

Voting Rights Act of 1965

Prohibited racial discrimination in the voting booths.

Malcolm X

Argued that King's vision for the integration of the races was a foolish quest and advocated for separatism and even militarism.

The Feminine Mystique

Book by Betty Friedan; explored the boredom and imprisonment of the typical housewife who was beholden to the needs of her family at the expense of her own

National Organization for Women (NOW)

Founded by Friedan to advocate for women's rights using tactics similar to those of civil rights activists.

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

Created by Congress in 1970, it sought to put limits on the environmental impact of industry on the land and the air and in the water.

Gulf Of Tonkin resolution

Congress basically gave Johnson a blank check to exercise whatever powers were necessary to protect American interests, which is to say democracy and capitalism in the region.