DCUSH Semester 2 Final

Herbert Hoover’s handling of the Great Depression

Hoover believed in limited government involvement and relied on voluntary cooperation and local charities. Many Americans thought he did too little to help struggling citizens. His policies made him unpopular during the Depression.

Critics of the New Deal

Critics said Roosevelt’s New Deal gave the federal government too much power. Some thought it did not help enough, while others believed it threatened capitalism.

Mexican American and Asian American repatriation

During the Great Depression, many Mexican Americans and some Asian immigrants were pressured or forced to leave the U.S. to reduce competition for jobs. The government blamed immigrants for taking jobs during economic hardship.

John Maynard Keynes and pump priming

Keynes believed the government should spend money during economic downturns to stimulate the economy, a policy called pump priming.

Roosevelt presidency and the 22nd Amendment

Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected to four terms, leading to the 22nd Amendment, which limits presidents to two terms.

Genocide

The deliberate and systematic killing of a large group of people, especially based on ethnicity or religion. During World War II, Adolf Hitler and the Nazis carried out the Holocaust, murdering about six million Jews and millions of others.

Blitzkrieg

“lightning war,” was a fast military strategy used by Germany in the early years of World War II. It combined quick attacks with tanks, airplanes, and infantry to overwhelm enemies. This tactic helped Germany rapidly conquer countries like Poland and France.

Significance of the Battle of the Bulge

Germany’s last major offensive in Western Europe during WWII. The Allied victory weakened Germany and helped lead to the end of the war in Europe.

V-E Day

Victory in Europe Day celebrated Germany’s surrender on May 8, 1945, ending WWII in Europe.

Truman’s decision to drop the atomic bombs

Truman ordered atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki to force Japan’s surrender and avoid a costly invasion.

Dwight D. Eisenhower

Supreme Allied commander in WWII who later became the 34th U.S. president and promoted highway construction and containment of communism.

Manhattan Project

Secret U.S. project during WWII that developed the first atomic bombs.

Nuremberg Trials

Trials held after WWII where Nazi leaders were prosecuted for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Band of Brothers

Refers to the close bond among soldiers during WWII and is also the title of a famous WWII book and TV series.

Auschwitz

Largest Nazi concentration and extermination camp where over a million people, mostly Jews, were killed during the Holocaust.

Beatniks

Young people in the 1950s who rejected traditional society and promoted artistic expression, poetry, and nonconformity.

Support of Mao Zedong and the Chinese civil war

Mao Zedong led the communist forces that won the Chinese Civil War in 1949, creating the People’s Republic of China.

Iron curtain

Term used by Winston Churchill describing the division between communist Eastern Europe and democratic Western Europe during the Cold War.

Truman Doctrine

U.S. policy promising support to countries resisting communism, first used to aid Greece and Turkey.

Eisenhower Doctrine

Policy stating the U.S. would help Middle Eastern countries resist communism.

McCarthyism

Campaign led by Senator Joseph McCarthy accusing people of being communists without solid evidence, causing fear during the Cold War.

Suburbs

Residential communities outside cities that grew rapidly after WWII due to affordable housing and highways.

Television

Became a major form of entertainment and advertising in the 1950s and strongly influenced American culture.

Beat movement and rock n roll

Cultural movements in the 1950s that challenged traditional values through music, literature, and rebellion against conformity.

Dr. Jonas Salk

Developed the first successful polio vaccine in 1955, greatly reducing cases of the disease.

Warren Commission and Lee Harvey Oswald

The Warren Commission investigated President Kennedy’s assassination and concluded Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone.

Brown v. Board of Education and “separate but equal”

1954 Supreme Court case that ruled school segregation unconstitutional and overturned “separate but equal” in public education.

Black Power movement and critics

Movement encouraging African American pride, self-defense, and economic independence. Critics believed some groups promoted violence and separatism.

Goal of the Montgomery Improvement Association during the bus boycotts

to end segregation on Montgomery buses and gain equal treatment for African Americans.

Montgomery Bus Boycotts

Protest against segregated buses in Montgomery, Alabama, sparked by Rosa Parks’ arrest and led by Martin Luther King Jr.

Southern Christian Leadership Conference

Civil rights organization led by Martin Luther King Jr. that used nonviolent protest to fight segregation.

Freedom Riders

Civil rights activists who rode interstate buses into the South to challenge segregation in bus terminals.

Malcolm X

Civil rights leader who promoted Black empowerment and initially supported separation from white society before later changing some views.

De jure segregation

Segregation enforced by laws, especially in the South before the Civil Rights Movement.

Purpose of the March on Washington

Massive 1963 civil rights rally advocating for jobs, freedom, and equal rights, where MLK gave his “I Have a Dream” speech.

Fall of Saigon

Capture of South Vietnam’s capital by North Vietnamese forces in 1975, ending the Vietnam War.

US main goal in Vietnam

To prevent the spread of communism in Southeast Asia under the policy of containment.

General William Westmoreland

U.S. commander in Vietnam who supported using large numbers of troops and attrition warfare.

Draft deferment

Delay or exemption from military service, often granted to college students during the Vietnam War.

Events in 1968

Major events included the Tet Offensive, assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy, and violent protests at the Democratic Convention.

United States aid to France post-WWII

The U.S. financially supported France in its attempt to keep control of Vietnam after WWII to stop communism.

Ho Chi Minh Trail

Supply route used by North Vietnam through Laos and Cambodia to send troops and weapons into South Vietnam.

War Powers Act

1973 law limiting the president’s power to send troops into combat without Congressional approval.

Tet Offensive

Large surprise attack by North Vietnam in 1968 that weakened American public support for the war.

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

Congressional resolution giving President Johnson broad military powers in Vietnam after reported attacks on U.S. ships.

Domino Theory

Belief that if one country became communist, nearby countries would also fall to communism.

Silent majority

Term used by Nixon to describe Americans who supported U.S. policies but were not vocal protesters.

White House Tapes and executive privilege

Nixon tried to use executive privilege to keep secret recordings private during Watergate, but the Supreme Court ordered the tapes released.

Fall of East Germany and the Berlin Wall

In 1989 the Berlin Wall fell, symbolizing the collapse of communist control in Eastern Europe and the nearing end of the Cold War.

Public’s support of Reagan during the 1980 election

Many voters supported Reagan because they wanted lower taxes, a stronger economy, and a tougher stance against communism.