US History 3 Final Exam

Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles

Long-range nuclear missiles capable of reaching targets across continents; central to Cold War arms race

Berlin Airlift

1948–49 Allied operation supplying West Berlin by air after the Soviet Union blockaded the city

Marshall Plan

U.S. program providing economic aid to rebuild Western Europe after WWII to prevent the spread of communism

Containment Policy (Communism)

U.S. Cold War strategy aimed at preventing the spread of Soviet communism to new countries

House Un-American Activities Committee

Congressional committee that investigated suspected communist influence in the U.S.; associated with McCarthyism

Korean War (38th Parallel)

1950–53 conflict between communist North Korea and U.S.-backed South Korea; ended in armistice at the 38th parallel

GI Bill

1944 law giving WWII veterans benefits including college tuition, home loans, and job training

Montgomery Bus Boycott

1955–56 civil rights protest where Black residents refused to ride Montgomery, AL buses to oppose segregation

Brown v. Board of Education

1954 Supreme Court ruling declaring racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional

Urban Sprawl

Post-WWII rapid expansion of cities and suburbs outward from urban centers

Franchise

Business model letting individuals operate under a larger brand (e.g. McDonald's); fueled suburban consumer culture

Johnson's Great Society

LBJ's sweeping domestic agenda to eliminate poverty and racial injustice through major federal programs

Johnson's War on Poverty

Federal programs under LBJ's Great Society targeting the root causes of poverty in America

Medicare

Federal health insurance created in 1965 for Americans aged 65 and older

Medicaid

Federal/state health insurance created in 1965 providing coverage for low-income individuals

HUD

Department of Housing and Urban Development; federal agency created to address the nation's housing needs

VISTA

Volunteers in Service to America; the domestic Peace Corps, part of LBJ's Great Society

Bay of Pigs

Failed 1961 CIA-backed invasion of Cuba by Cuban exiles attempting to overthrow Fidel Castro

Cuban Missile Crisis

1962 standoff between the U.S. and USSR over Soviet nuclear missiles placed in Cuba; brought world to brink of nuclear war

Peace Corps

JFK program sending American volunteers abroad to assist developing nations

Sit-ins

Civil rights protest tactic where activists sat at segregated lunch counters to demand equal service

Birmingham, Alabama

Site of 1963 civil rights protests where police used fire hoses and dogs on demonstrators, shocking the nation

EPA

Environmental Protection Agency; federal agency established in 1970 to regulate and enforce environmental policy

Kennedy's New Frontier

JFK's domestic and foreign policy agenda emphasizing space exploration, civil rights, and combating poverty

Counterculture

1960s youth movement rejecting mainstream values; linked to anti-war protest, hippie culture, and social change

Integration of Races

The process of ending racial segregation in schools, workplaces, and public institutions

Woodstock

1969 music festival in New York; iconic symbol of the counterculture and anti-Vietnam War movements

Viet Cong

Communist guerrilla fighters in South Vietnam who opposed U.S. and South Vietnamese forces

Gulf of Tonkin Incident

1964 alleged attack on U.S. naval vessels by North Vietnam, used to justify escalating U.S. involvement

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

1964 congressional authorization giving LBJ broad power to escalate military action in Vietnam without a formal declaration of war

Ho Chi Minh Trail

Network of jungle supply routes used by North Vietnam to move troops and supplies into South Vietnam

Tet Offensive

1968 surprise coordinated attack by North Vietnam and Viet Cong on over 100 South Vietnamese cities; turned U.S. public opinion against the war

Napalm

Highly flammable chemical used in U.S. bombing campaigns in Vietnam, causing severe burns and civilian casualties

Agent Orange

Toxic herbicide used by the U.S. to destroy jungle cover in Vietnam; caused long-term health effects for veterans and civilians

My Lai Massacre

1968 killing of hundreds of unarmed Vietnamese civilians by U.S. soldiers; a major war crimes scandal

Vietnamization

Nixon's policy of gradually withdrawing U.S. troops and handing combat responsibility to South Vietnamese forces

Cambodia Bombings

Nixon's secret bombing campaigns targeting North Vietnamese supply routes inside Cambodia

Pentagon Papers

Leaked 1971 Defense Department documents revealing the government had misled the public about the Vietnam War

Escalation

LBJ's gradual buildup of U.S. troops and military commitment in Vietnam

Kent State Shootings

1970 killing of four student anti-war protesters by the National Guard at Kent State University in Ohio

Deficit Spending

Government spending that exceeds tax revenue, increasing the national debt

Détente

Nixon and Kissinger's policy of easing Cold War tensions with the USSR and China through diplomacy

Ford

Gerald Ford; became president after Nixon's resignation; controversially pardoned Nixon

Impeachment

The formal process of charging a sitting president with misconduct (Nixon faced this over Watergate)

Watergate

1972 political scandal in which Nixon's administration broke into Democratic headquarters and covered it up, leading to his resignation

Watergate Tapes

White House recordings proving Nixon's role in the Watergate cover-up; key evidence that forced his resignation

SALT I

Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (1972); U.S.–USSR agreement to cap the number of nuclear missiles

Helsinki Accords

1975 international agreement recognizing European borders and establishing human rights commitments

War Powers Act

1973 law requiring the president to notify Congress within 48 hours of deploying troops and limiting unauthorized military action

Camp David Accords

1978 peace agreement brokered by President Carter between Egypt and Israel

Three Mile Island

1979 partial nuclear meltdown at a Pennsylvania power plant; raised major concerns about nuclear energy safety

Iran Hostages 1979

52 Americans held hostage in Iran for 444 days after revolutionaries seized the U.S. Embassy in Tehran

Islamic Revolution 1979

Overthrow of Iran's U.S.-backed Shah by Ayatollah Khomeini, establishing an Islamic theocracy

Arab-Israeli Conflict

Ongoing wars and tensions between Arab nations and Israel, including the 1973 Yom Kippur War and OPEC oil embargo

Stagflation

Simultaneous high inflation and high unemployment that plagued the U.S. economy in the 1970s

Supply-Side Economics

Theory that cutting taxes on businesses and the wealthy stimulates economic growth that benefits everyone

SDI

Strategic Defense Initiative ("Star Wars"); Reagan's proposed space-based missile defense system against Soviet nuclear attack

START II

Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty; agreement between the U.S. and USSR to reduce long-range nuclear warheads

Deregulation (Reagan)

Reagan's policy of reducing government regulation of industries to stimulate economic growth

National Defense of Education Act

Federal law funding science, math, and foreign language education to strengthen national security

Reaganomics

Reagan's economic program combining tax cuts, deregulation, reduced social spending, and increased defense spending

Grenada

1983 U.S. military invasion of the Caribbean island of Grenada to remove a Marxist government

Afghanistan

Soviet invasion of Afghanistan (1979–89); U.S. covertly armed Afghan rebels (mujahideen) to resist the Soviets

1992 Presidential Election

Bill Clinton defeated incumbent George H.W. Bush; key issues were the economy and third-party candidate Ross Perot

Iraq War

(Gulf War 1991) U.S.-led coalition drove Iraq out of Kuwait after Saddam Hussein's invasion

1996 Presidential Election

Bill Clinton won re-election over Republican challenger Bob Dole

Terrorism

Growing threat of domestic and international terrorist attacks as a major national security concern in the 1990s

Gerald Ford

38th U.S. President; assumed office after Nixon's resignation; granted Nixon a full pardon

American Indian Movement

1968 activist organization advocating for Native American rights, sovereignty, and an end to federal abuses

Warren Commission

Government body that investigated JFK's assassination; concluded Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone

Harry Truman

33rd U.S. President; ordered atomic bombs dropped on Japan; initiated containment policy and led U.S. in Korean War

Cesar Chavez

Labor leader and co-founder of the United Farm Workers union; fought for migrant farm workers' rights in California

Neil Armstrong

First human to walk on the Moon during NASA's Apollo 11 mission in July 1969

Jonas Salk

Developed the first safe and effective polio vaccine, announced in 1955

NATO

North Atlantic Treaty Organization; military alliance of Western nations formed in 1949 for collective defense against the Soviet Union

Henry Kissinger

Nixon's National Security Advisor and Secretary of State; key architect of détente, the opening to China, and Vietnam peace talks

Mao Zedong

Communist leader who ruled China from 1949–1976; Nixon's 1972 visit opened U.S.–China diplomatic relations

Rachel Carson

Marine biologist and author of Silent Spring (1962); her work exposing pesticide dangers helped launch the environmental movement

Julius and Ethel Rosenberg

American couple executed in 1953 for passing atomic bomb secrets to the Soviet Union

Mikhail Gorbachev

Soviet leader whose reforms of glasnost and perestroika helped end the Cold War and led to the collapse of the USSR

Martin Luther King Jr.

Civil rights leader who championed nonviolent protest; delivered the "I Have a Dream" speech in Washington D.C.; assassinated in 1968

N.O.W.

National Organization for Women; feminist organization founded in 1966 to advocate for women's legal and social equality

OPEC

Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries; oil cartel that imposed a 1973 embargo on the U.S. over its support for Israel

Warsaw Pact

Soviet-led military alliance of Eastern Bloc communist nations formed in 1955 as a counterpart to NATO