Cold War and Civil Rights: Key Policies, Movements, and Events

Voting Rights Act of 1965

Law that eliminated literacy tests, poll taxes, and other barriers to Black voting.

Women's Movement 1960s-70s

Fought for equal rights in employment, education, and against gender discrimination.

Urban Renewal (1950s-60s)

Government programs to redevelop inner cities that often displaced minority communities with little support.

Truman Doctrine

US policy to provide military and political support to countries resisting communism (Greece and Turkey).

Interstate Highway Act (1956)

Federal law that funded a national system of highways; boosted trade, suburbs, and provided nuclear evacuation routes.

Domino Theory

Belief that if one country fell to communism, neighboring countries would fall like dominoes.

Warsaw Pact

Soviet response alliance (1955) with Eastern European satellite states.

Cold War

Period of tension (1945-1991) between the US (democracy/capitalism) and USSR (communism) without direct war between them.

Proxy War

Superpowers fighting through other countries (examples: Korea, Vietnam, Cuba).

Capitalism

Economic system with private ownership, free markets, and prices set by supply and demand.

Redlining

Government and bank practice of denying loans/insurance in minority neighborhoods, reinforcing segregation.

White Flight

White families moved to suburbs using GI Bill benefits, leaving inner cities neglected.

Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

Supreme Court case that ruled segregated public schools unconstitutional.

Little Rock Nine

Nine Black students who integrated Central High School in Arkansas (1957) with federal troops.

Greensboro Four Sit-Ins (1960)

Four Black students' protest at Woolworth's lunch counter that sparked nationwide sit-ins.

Malcolm X philosophy (early)

Black nationalism, self-defense 'by any means necessary,' and separation from whites.

Black Panther Party

Militant group founded by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale; focused on armed self-defense and community programs.

Korean War (1950-1953)

North Korea invaded South; ended in armistice with Korea still divided at 38th parallel.

Bay of Pigs (1961)

Failed US-backed invasion of Cuba to overthrow Fidel Castro.

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution (1964)

Gave President Johnson broad power to escalate US involvement in Vietnam.

Stonewall Riots (1969)

Police raid on NYC gay bar that sparked the modern Gay Liberation Movement.

Counterculture

1960s youth rebellion against mainstream society, including anti-war protests and alternative lifestyles.

Joseph McCarthy & Red Scare

Senator who made reckless accusations of communism; created climate of fear and blacklisting.

McCarthyism

Making unfounded accusations of disloyalty with little or no evidence.

Potsdam Conference (1945)

Meeting of Truman, Stalin, and Churchill; divided Germany and created the UN framework.

Interstate Highway Act significance

Boosted commerce and suburban growth while also serving as planned evacuation routes in case of nuclear attack.

Braceros Program

Mexican workers brought to the US on temporary contracts (1940s-1960s) to fill farm labor shortages; many stayed permanently.

Native American Termination Policy (1953)

US government policy to end federal support and reservations for tribes, aiming to assimilate Native Americans.

'Make Mine Freedom' (1948)

Anti-communist propaganda cartoon that promoted capitalism and warned against 'Isms' (socialism/communism).

What historical factors contributed to public opinion turning away from supporting the Vietnam War?

Heavy TV coverage of violence, high U.S. casualties, My Lai Massacre, draft unfairness, growing anti-war protests.

How did the Counterculture Movement contribute to public opinion turning away from the Vietnam War?

Rejected traditional values, promoted peace & love, protested the draft, and used music to criticize the war.

What did the popular attendance record at the Woodstock Music Festival prove about American society in the late 1960s?

It showed a large youth counterculture that rejected mainstream society and embraced peace, music, and anti-war values.

How did America's role in the Vietnam War lead to global embarrassment?

U.S. failed to stop communism in South Vietnam, withdrew in 1973, and Saigon fell in 1975 — seen as a major defeat despite not being officially 'lost' on the battlefield.

NATO

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (1949) — US-led alliance to contain Soviet expansion in Europe.

Martin Luther King Jr. philosophy

Nonviolent civil disobedience, integration, moral appeals, and Christian love.

MLK vs Malcolm X - Similarities

Both were powerful orators fighting for Black dignity and equality; both assassinated.

Levittowns

Mass-produced suburban 'cookie-cutter' homes for white middle-class families in the 1950s.

Baby Boom

Sharp increase in births after WWII due to prosperity and emphasis on nuclear families.

Marshall Plan

US economic aid program that gave food and loans to rebuild Western Europe after WWII to stop the spread of communism.

GI Bill

Post-WWII law that gave veterans education, job training, and home loans; helped fuel the economic boom.

Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD)

Cold War doctrine that if one superpower launched a nuclear attack, both would be destroyed.

Berlin Airlift (1948-49)

US and allies flew supplies into West Berlin when Stalin blocked land routes.

Berlin Wall (1961)

Barrier built by East Germany to stop citizens from fleeing to West Berlin; stood until 1989.

Communism

Economic system in which the state owns all businesses and controls distribution of goods.

Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955-56)

Protest after Rosa Parks' arrest that desegregated buses and launched MLK to national prominence.

March on Washington (1963)

Huge rally where Martin Luther King Jr. gave the 'I Have a Dream' speech.

Civil Rights Act of 1964

Banned discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.

MLK vs Malcolm X - Key Differences

MLK: nonviolence & integration; Malcolm X: militancy & Black nationalism (moderated later).

Black Power

Mid-1960s movement emphasizing racial pride, self-determination, and militant self-defense.

Stokely Carmichael

SNCC leader who popularized the 'Black Power' slogan.

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

Supreme Court decision that established 'separate but equal' segregation.

War Powers Act of 1973

Law limiting the president's ability to commit troops without Congress approval.

How Cold War affected Civil Rights

US had to improve race relations to counter Soviet criticism and win support from non-white nations.

Role of Media in 1950s

Promoted conformity, nuclear family ideals, strict gender roles, and fear of communism through TV, ads, and shows like Leave it to Beaver.

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