Cold War and Civil Rights Movement Review

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms related to the Cold War, Cuban Missile Crisis, civil rights movement, and Vietnam War.

Cold War

A global political and ideological struggle between capitalist and communist countries, particularly the U.S. and USSR, beginning after World War II.

Containment

The U.S. policy meant to restrict Soviet expansion and influence during the Cold War.

Truman Doctrine

The 1947 U.S. policy to support free peoples resisting subjugation by communism, marking the beginning of the containment strategy.

Marshall Plan

A U.S. program that provided $13 billion for the reconstruction of Western Europe post-World War II to discourage communism.

NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization)

A mutual defense alliance formed in 1949 by the U.S. and several Western European nations.

Bay of Pigs Invasion

A failed U.S. attempt in April 1961 to overthrow the Cuban government led by Fidel Castro.

Cuban Missile Crisis

A 1962 confrontation between the U.S. and the USSR over Soviet missiles deployed in Cuba.

McCarthyism

A period of intense anti-communist suspicion in the U.S. during the early 1950s, named after Senator Joseph McCarthy.

Red Scare

A period of heightened fear of communist influence in the U.S., particularly during the 1950s.

Black Power Movement

A movement that emerged in the 1960s advocating for social, political, and economic power for African Americans.

Civil Rights Act of 1964

Landmark legislation that prohibited discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.

Voting Rights Act of 1965

Legislation that prohibited racial discrimination in voting.

Great Society

A series of domestic programs launched by President Lyndon B. Johnson aimed at eliminating poverty and racial injustice.

Vietnam War

A conflict from the 1950s to 1975 involving the communist government of North Vietnam against South Vietnam and its principal ally, the U.S.

Domino Theory

The idea that if one country fell to communism, others in the region would follow.

Diem

The U.S.-backed leader of South Vietnam, whose government struggled to contain the communist insurgency.

Tet Offensive

A large-scale attack by North Vietnamese and Vietcong forces during the Vietnamese New Year that shifted American views on the war.

Black Panther Party

A militant group founded in 1966 that advocated for self-defense and social justice for African Americans.

LSD (Lysergic acid diethylamide)

A psychedelic drug popularized in the 1960s associated with counterculture movements.

Woodstock

A music festival in 1969 that became a symbol of the counterculture movement of the 1960s.

Freedmen's Bureau

A U.S. federal agency established to aid freed slaves during the Reconstruction era.

SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee)

A civil rights organization founded in 1960 that played a key role in the sit-ins and Freedom Rides.