Unit 8: 1960s

New Frontier

JFK's term for the challenges and goals of his administration, including civil rights and economic reforms.

Bay of Pigs

A failed CIA invasion of Cuba by Cuban exiles intending to overthrow Fidel Castro's government.

Cuban Missile Crisis

A 1962 confrontation between the US and the USSR over missile deployment in Cuba, marking the closest the two nations came to nuclear war.

Great Society

Lyndon B. Johnson's domestic program aiming to eliminate poverty and racial injustice in America.

Economic Opportunity Act of 1964

Legislation aimed at combating poverty, which created programs like Head Start and Job Corps.

Executive Order 8802

A 1941 order by FDR prohibiting racial discrimination in the defense industry.

Thurgood Marshall

A key civil rights attorney and the first African American Supreme Court Justice, known for his role in Brown v. Board of Education.

Brown v. Board of Education

The landmark 1954 Supreme Court case that declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students unconstitutional.

Peace Corps

A volunteer program created by JFK aimed at helping people in other countries by providing education, health care, and development assistance.

Flexible response

Kennedy's strategy of maintaining a range of options available in dealing with international crises, rather than relying solely on nuclear deterrence.