MUSH unit 4 & 5

GI Bill

Gave WWII veterans benefits like education and home loans.

Taft-Hartley Act

Restricted labor union power; vetoed by Truman but overridden by Congress.

The Fair Deal:

Truman’s domestic agenda—focused on civil rights, housing, and employment.

House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC)

Investigated suspected communists in U.S., especially in Hollywood.

Julius & Ethel Rosenberg

Executed for passing atomic secrets to Soviets.

Project Venona

Secret U.S. project decoding Soviet messages—confirmed espionage fears.

Red Scare / McCarthyism / Joseph McCarthy

Heightened fear of communist influence in U.S. gov't and society.

McCarran Act (1950)

Required communist organizations to register; restricted immigration of subversives.

“Duck and Cover”

Civil defense drill for nuclear attacks, illustrating Cold War anxieties.

Iron Curtain

Metaphor for Soviet-dominated Eastern Europe, coined by Churchill.

UN Atomic Energy Commission

Proposed international control over atomic energy—rejected by USSR.

Containment

U.S. strategy to stop spread of communism (George Kennan).

Concerns in Greece & Turkey

Led to Truman Doctrine—U.S. support against communism.

Marshall Plan

Economic aid to rebuild Western Europe to prevent communist influence.

Molotov Plan

Soviet counter to the Marshall Plan for Eastern Europe.

The Cold War

Ideological, political, and military tension between the U.S. and USSR.

Korean War (1950–1953)

North (communist) vs. South Korea; U.S. intervenes under UN.

Middle of the Road / Dynamic Conservatism

Eisenhower’s balanced approach to governance.

Military-Industrial Complex

Eisenhower warned about the influence of defense industries on politics.

1950s & The Affluent Society

Postwar prosperity; consumerism, conformity.

Suburbs / Levittown

Mass-produced housing; symbol of postwar suburbia.

HOLC/FHA

Helped home buying but also facilitated Redlining—racially discriminatory housing policies.

Shelley v. Kraemer (1948)

Outlawed enforcement of racial covenants in housing.

Massive Retaliation

Policy of threatening nuclear response to Soviet aggression.

Brinkmanship

Willingness to go to the brink of war.

Taiwan Crisis (1954–58)

U.S. defended Taiwan against China.

Suez Crisis (1956)

U.S. intervened diplomatically during British-French-Israeli invasion of Egypt.

Iran Covert Operation (1953)

CIA-backed coup restored pro-Western Shah.

Guatemala Covert Operation (1954)

CIA ousted leftist government.

Nikita Khrushchev

Soviet Premier, successor to Stalin.

Eisenhower Doctrine

U.S. would aid Middle Eastern countries resisting communism.

Television

Reinforced idealized family/gender roles.

Baby Boom

Huge population growth after WWII.

Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

Ended school segregation.

Kenneth & Mamie Clark’s Doll Experiments

Psychological basis for Brown ruling.

Sarah Keys

Challenged segregation in interstate travel.

Rosa Parks & Montgomery Bus Boycott

Sparked mass resistance to segregation.

Emmett Till

Brutal murder galvanized the movement.

Martin Luther King Jr.

Leader of nonviolent resistance.

Malcolm X

Advocated Black empowerment, initially more militant.

John Lewis

SNCC leader, future congressman.

Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC)

MLK’s group.

Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC)

Youth-led activism.

Congress of Racial Equality (CORE)

Civil rights organization focused on direct action.

The Little Rock 9

Integration of Central High in Arkansas.

1960 Greensboro Sit-ins

Nonviolent protest at segregated lunch counters.

Freedom Rides (1961)

Challenged segregation on buses.

Albany Movement

Broad civil rights campaign in Georgia.

James Meredith / Ole Miss

First Black student at University of Mississippi.

Birmingham Campaign (1963)

Protests met with violence—shocked the nation.

George Wallace

Segregationist Alabama governor.

March on Washington (1963)

“I Have a Dream” speech.

Civil Rights Act of 1964

Outlawed discrimination in public places/employment.

Freedom Summer (1964)

Voting rights push in Mississippi.

Selma March / “Bloody Sunday” (1965)

Led to Voting Rights Act of 1965.

New Frontier

JFK’s domestic program—focused on space, civil rights, and poverty.

Space Race / Sputnik / NASA / Project Apollo

U.S. vs. USSR for dominance in space.

Fidel Castro

Communist leader of Cuba.

Bay of Pigs (1961)

Failed CIA invasion of Cuba.

Cuban Missile Crisis (1962)

Soviet missiles in Cuba—brought world close to nuclear war.

Assassination of JFK (1963)

Shocked the nation; led to LBJ presidency.

1964 Election

Landslide win for LBJ.

The Great Society

LBJ’s domestic program—war on poverty, civil rights, healthcare.

Medicare

Health insurance for the elderly.

Civil Rights Act of 1968

Addressed housing discrimination.

Watts Uprising (1965)

Violent rebellion in LA over racial tensions.

LBJ Withdraws (1968)

Declines to run due to Vietnam War pressures.