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New Frontier
Kennedy’s plan of supporting civil rights, education, health care, and urban renewal. This stimulated the economy by increasing spending for defense and space exploration.
Peace Corps
An organization that recruited young American volunteers to give technical aid to developing countries. They helped countries struggling with poverty, illiteracy, and disease.
Alliance for Progress
This promoted land reform and economic development in Latin America. It achieved short lived public relations success, had limited economic advances, and was seen as a failure.
Trade Expansion Act of 1962
Authorized tariff reductions with the recently formed European Economic Community of Western European Nations. This allowed the president to cut or impose international trade tariffs.
Bay of Pigs
A failed CIA operation to overthrow Castro and take over Cuba using Cuban exiles. Castro used the failed invasion to get more aid from the Soviet Union and strengthened his grip on power.
Berlin Wall
Kennedy met with Khrushchev in Vienna. Khrushchev threatened the president by renewing Soviet demands that the US pull out of Berlin, Kennedy refused. A wall was built to stop East Germans from fleeing to West Germany. The Berlin Wall was a symbol of the Cold War until it was torn down.
Cuban Missile Crisis
US planes discovered the Russians were building underground sites in Cuba for launching missiles that could reach the US. Kennedy announced the was setting off a naval blockade of Cuba until the weapons were removed. Khrushchev agreed to remove the missiles from Cuba in exchange for Kennedy to not invade the island and remove missiles from Turkey. This showed how both countries were ready to use nukes for fear of the other’s retaliation.
Nuclear Test Ban Treaty
This ended the testing of nuclear weapons in the atmosphere. This banned nuke testing.
Flexible Response
A policy developed by Kennedy that involved preparing for a variety of military responses to international crises rather than focusing on the use of nuclear weapons. This allowed the US to use military or non military options to a crisis.
Warren Commission
A committee that investigated the assassination of president Kennedy. It came to the conclusion that Lee Harvey Oswald killed him.
John F. Kennedy
A senator from Massachusetts who became president. He was the president during the Bay of Pigs and the Cuban Missile crisis. He made sure Americans had equal rights and opportunities.
Lyndon B. Johnson
LBJ became president when JFK died. He wanted to expand the social reforms of the New Deal. He persuaded Congress to pass an expanded version of Kennedy’s Civil Rights Bill, and Kennedy’s proposal for an income tax cut. This caused an increase in jobs, consumer spending, and long period economic expansion in the sixties.
Michael Harrington, The Other America
A book on poverty which helped focus national attention on the 40 mil Americans living in poverty. This caused LBJ to declare a war on poverty.
War on Poverty
Programs introduced by LBJ to fight poverty. This significantly reduced the amount of people living in poverty.
Election of 1964/ Barry Goldwater
Republicans nominated Sen. Barry Goldwater from Az, he advocated ending the welfare state, including tvas and social security. An ad portrayed Goldwater as an extremist who would involve the US in a nuclear war. Johnson won the election, Democrats controlled both houses of Congress. A Democratic president and Congress were no longer in the position to pass economic and social reforms originally proposed by Truman.
Medicare
This provided healthcare insurance for all people 65 and older. This reduced the amount of uninsured Americans.
Medicaid
This provided funds to states to pay for medical care for the poor and disabled. This increased the access and affordability of health care.
Immigration Act
This abolished discriminatory quotas based on national origins. This abolished the National Origins Formula.
Great Society
LBJ’s reform programs. This included medicare, civil rights legislation, and federal aid to education. The Great Society pushed the country in directions of greater equality and opportunity.
DOT and HUD
Dept. of transportation and the dept. of housing and urban development. Dot plans fed transportation projects, hud addressed housing needs. Dot set safety rules for regulations and hud enforced fair housing laws.
Rachel Carson
She wrote and expose of pesticides called Silent Spring. This caused clean air and water laws to be enacted.
Civil Rights Act of 1964
This made segregation illegal in all public facilities. This gave the fed gov the power to enforce school desegregation. It also set up the Equal Employment commission which ended discrimination in employment.
Voting Rights Act of 1965
This ended literacy tests and provided federal registrars in areas where blacks were kept from voting. African Americans could vote for the first time since Reconstruction.
Freedom Riders
Activists from the North rode buses through the South to push for desegregation. They convinced the fed gov to enforce federal law for the integration of interstate travel.
Malcolm X
A Black Muslim who preached black nationalism, separatism, and self improvement. He was seen as controversial, criticized King as an Uncle Tom, and advocated self defense. He shaped the debate on how to achieve freedom and equality.
Student Nonviolent Coordination Committee
Students whose purpose was to coordinate a nonviolent attack on segregation and other forms of racism. They strengthened efforts in community organizations and supported freedom rides.
Stokely Carmichael
The chairman of SNCC, repudiated non-violence and advocated black power and racial separatism. He popularized the saying “Black power”.
Black Panthers
Organized by Huey Newton, Bobby Seale, and other militants as a revolutionary socialist movement advocating self rule of black Americans. They were the most influential militant black power organization.
Congress of Racial Equality
An interracial group founded to work against segregation in Northern Cities. They challenged desegregation of interstate transportation and organized the journey of reconciliation.
Watts Riots
A 6 day race riot sparked from a white officer arresting a black motorist. This caused the death of 34 people and destroyed 700+ buildings.
Gideon vs Wainwright
Required that state courts provide attorneys for poor defendants. This gave a fair trial to all defendants.
Miranda Vs. Arizona
This extended the ruling in Escobedo to include the right to a lawyer being present during questioning by the police. This ruled that an arrested individual is entitled to rights under the 5th and 6th a.
Baker v. Yates
One man, one vote. Election districts would have to be redrawn to provide equal representations for all citizens. This established the right of federal courts to review redistricting issues.
Yates vs. US
This said the 1st a protected radical and revolutionized speech, even by communists, unless it was a “Clear and present danger” to the safety of the country. This protected free speech.
Students for a Democratic Society
A college student organization that protested shortcomings in American life such as the Vietnam war and racial injustice. This led to campus protests and advocated student power.
The weathermen
The most radical fringe of the SDS. They embraced vandalism and violence in their attacks on American institutions. Their extremist acts and language discredited the early idealism of the New Left.
Equal Rights Amendment
An amendment passed by congress that would’ve banned gender discrimination. It was never ratified.
Tonkin Gulf Resolution
This gave the president power to take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against forces of the US. This launched America’s full involvement in the Vietnam War.
Credibility Gap
American public’s growing distrust of statements made by the government during the Vietnam war. This made Americans realize defeating North Vietnam wouldn’t be as easy as the gov claimed.
Tet Offensive
A surprise attack on Lunar New Year by the Vietcong in South Vietnam, the US fought back. This caused LBJ to have declining approval and caused more anti war sentiment.
Chicago Convention of 1968
10,000 antiwar protests gathered outside as Hubert Humphrey was decided upon as the Democratic candidate in 1968. This was a turning point where youth and minorities got more involved with politics.
Robert Kennedy
A Democrat who ran for president promoting civil rights and other equality ideals, he was assassinated by an Arab nationalist who opposed his support for Israel. He instilled hope in Americans.
Spirit of Geneva
USSR and US conferring on peace, they couldn’t agree on demilitarization or open skies but suspended nuclear tests. This produced the first thaw in the Cold War.
Open Skies
A proposal by Eisenhower saying each country could fly over the other to inspect their nuclear weapons. Russia refused this, this increased transparency between European nations.
Bayard Rustin
He was a Civil Rights activist. He was the chief organizer of the March on Washington for jobs and freedom.
Thurgood Marshall
He was a Civil Rights lawyer and first black justice of the Supreme Court. He advocated for the poor and the rights of minorities.
Henry Kissinger
He was the secretary of state during Nixon’s presidency. He was the main negotiator of the peace treaty with the North Vietnamese. He was awarded the Nobel Peace prize for helping end the Vietnam war and withdrawing American forces.
Vietamization
Nixon’s policy of withdrawing US troops, giving the South Vietnamese the money, weapons, and training needed for the war. This allowed US troops to come home and cut US involvement.
Nixon Doctrine
This declared that in the future, Asian allies would receive US support but without the extensive use of US grand forces. This caused US troops to slowly be withdrawn.
Kent State
A nationwide protest on college campuses against the US invading Cambodia led to 4 students being killed by the National Guard at Kent State in Ohio, and 2 students at Jackson state in Mississippi. This forced hundreds of colleges/universities to close.
My Lai Massacre
US troops massacred women and children in the village of My Lai. This caused more anti-war sentiment.
Pentagon Papers
A secret government history documenting the mistakes and deception of government policy-makers in dealing with Vietnam. The papers were leaked. This showed Americans that their government was untrustworthy.
Paris Peace Accords of 1973
This promised a cease fire and free elections. This didn’t end the war. This allowed the US to extricate itself from the war.
Election of 1968
An election between Nixon and Hubert Humphrey. Nixon won the election, he promised peace with honor in Vietnam, and law and order at home.
Nixon’s visit to China
Nixon traveled to Beijing to meet with Mao Zedong, he initiated diplomatic exchanges. This led to US recognition of the communist government in 1979.
Detente with USSR
A reduction in the tension between the US and USSR. This enhanced world peace.
Strategic Arms Limitation Talks
Negotiations between the US and USSR that reduced both nation’s supply of nuclear weapons. This reduced Cold War tensions and brought about detente.
New Federalism
Congress approved giving local governments $30 bil in block grants over 5 years to address local needs as they saw fit. This expanded the national gov’s powers relative to the states.
Wage and Price Controls/Off the Gold Standard/Cost of Living Indexed
Mexico imposed a 90 day wage and price control. He took a dollar off the gold standard. Congress approved automatic increases for social security benefits based on the annual rise in the cost of living. This improved the US economy.
Title IX
This ended sex discrimination in schools that receive federal funding. This allowed women and girls to have equal opportunities in schools.
Burger Court
A more conservative court under Warren E. Burger. The Burger Court gave women the rights to have abortions.
Roe v. Wade
This struck down laws prohibiting abortions as a violation of a women’s right to privacy. This allowed women to have abortions.
Watergate
A break in at the Democratic National Committee offices in the Watergate complexes in Washington was carried out under discretion of the White House employees. This caused Nixon to resign. This had a paralyzing effect on the political system.
ERA
An amendment passed by Congress that would’ve banned gender discrimination. It was never ratified.
Cultural pluralism
A condition in which many cultures coexist within a society and maintain their cultural differences. This replaced the melting pot as the model for US society.
Immigration reform and control act
This penalized employers for hiring illegal immigrants or people who overstayed their visa. This brought penalties to employers who hired undocumented immigrants.
Cesar Chavez
He led boycotts because Hispanic workers were exploited and paid low wages. This caused farm workers to get collective bargaining rights.
American Indian Movement/Indian Self Determination Act
This gave reservations and tribal lands greater control over internal programs, education, and law enforcement. This allowed Natives to regain property and compensation for treaty violations.
Gay Liberation Movement
The movement was aimed at liberating homosexuals from legal, social, or economic oppression. Being gay was no longer classified as a mental illness, and the federal civil service dropped its ban on employment of homosexuals.
Stonewall Riots
The police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in NYC. This caused the gay rights movement.
Earth Day
A holiday that encouraged support and increased awareness of environmental concerns. This reflected the nation’s growing concerns over pollution and the environment.
Exxon Valdez Incident
An oil tanker incident in Alaska. This reinforced fears about the deadly combination of human error and modern technology.
Three Mile Island
A nuclear power plant in Pa which failed, resulting in radiation being admitted in the air. This created new regulations for the nuclear industry.
Chernobyl Meltdown
A nuclear power plant in the USSR exploded, killing many people. This caused public opinion to turn against building additional power plants.
Clean Air Act
This set emission standards for cars, and limited release of air pollutants. This provided funds for the fed gov to research air pollution.
Clean Water Act
This set maximum permissible amounts of water pollutants that can be discharged into waterways. This caused the ban of polluted discharge into surface water and required metals to be removed from waste.
Environmental Protection Agency
An agency created to administer all environmental legislation. This declined 1/3 to 1/2 of air pollution emissions in the US.
Endangered Species Act
This identified threatened and endangered species in the US, and put their protection ahead of economic considerations. This stabilized populations of species at risk, prevented the extinction of many others, and conserved habitats.
US vs Nixon
The SC decided that Pres Nixon must hand over incriminating tapes because presidential power isn’t above the law. The rejected any form of executive privilege.
War Powers Act 1973
This required Nixon and future presidents to report to Congress within 48 hours after taking military action. This provided that Congress would have to approve any military action that lasted more than 60 days.
Middle East War/OPEC/Oil Embargo
On Yom Kippur, the Syrians and Egyptians attacked Israel in an attempt to recover lost lands in the Six Day War. Arab members of OPEC placed an oil emargo on oil sold to Israel supporters. This caused a worldwide oil shortage and long lines at US gas stations.
Impeachment and resignation
Nixon was faced with certain impeachment in the house and a trial in the Senate, Nixon chose to resign. VP Ford took oath and was the first unelected president in US history.
Fall of Saigon
The US supported government in Saigon fell to the enemy. Vietnam became one country under communist rule. This marked the end of the Vietnam war.
Cambodian Genocide
Cambodia fell to rule of Khmer Rouge, a radical communist faction that killed over 1 mill people in a brutal relocation program to rid the country of Western influence. Cambodian refugees fled to the US.
Election of 1976
An election between Carter and Ford. Carter won because of the conflict with Reagan.
James Carter
He was the 39th president, carried most of the South in his votes, he had an informal style, and he focused on human rights. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for finding solutions to international conflicts.
Imperial Presidency
The president is seen as taking actions without consulting Congress or seeking its approval. This is a danger to the constitutional system by allowing presidents to abuse their privileges.
Human Rights
Carter appointed Andrew Young to serve as US ambassador for the UN. They championed the cause of human rights around the world by opposing the oppression of the black majority in South Africa and Zimbabwe by all white governments. This led the Dept. of State to do an annual report on human right practices around the world.
Panama Control Treaty
The Senate ratified a treaty that would gradually transfer operations and control of the Panama Canal from the US to the Panamanians. This ceased American control over the Canal and guaranteed its neutrality.
Camp David Accords
Egypt became the first Arab nation to recognize Israel. Israel withdrew its troops from the Sinai territory taken from Egypt in the 6 day war. This was the first step to negotiating peace in the Middle East.
Soviet-Afghanistan Invasion/US response
Soviet Troops invaded Afghanistan, an aggressive action that ended a decade of improving US-Soviet relations. US feared the invasion would lead to Soviet control of the oil rich Persian Gulf. Carter reacted by placing an embargo on grain exports and the sale of high tech to the USSR, and boycotting the 1980s Olympics in Moscow. This caused Carter to switch to an arms build up after campaigning an arms reduction.
Environmental Superfund
This allows EPA to clean up contaminated sites. This protects public health and restores the environment.
Election of 1972/George McGovern
An election between Nixon and Democratic Senator George McGovern of SD. Nixon won a second term by defeating McGovern in every state except Ma.
Gerald Ford
He was a Republican, first non elected president and Vp, he pardoned Nixon. President Ford lost the goodwill of many people for pardoning Nixon.
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Flashcard (61)