Final Exam Study Flashcards: History of the United States II

poverty relief, disability care

The main accomplishments during Kennedy's presidency were in these two sectors.

Cuban exiles, Castro

The Bay of Pigs altercation was an attempt by trained _____ _______ to overthrow _______.

1954

In this year, Vietnamese forces defeated the French and finally gained independence.

(Ngo Dinh) Diem

This Vietnamese prime minister ousted his emperor, proclaimed himself President, and rounded up communists and supporters of ho chi minh.

True

True or false: One major motivation for 1960s civil rights legislation was the need to gain Asian and African allies during the Cold War.

Elementary and Secondary Education Act, Higher Education Act

These two laws increased funding for elementary, secondary, and higher education—particularly for low-income students.

arts, public broadcasting

Johnson also invested in the _____ and in ______ __________.

Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO)

This organization coordinated programs such as the Jobs Corps and the Neighborhood Youth Corps, which provided job training programs and work experience for the disadvantaged.

Economic Opportunity Act (EOA) of 1964

This act established and funded a variety of programs to assist the poor in finding jobs.

Social Security Act (of 1965)

This act created Medicare and Medicaid.

24th (amendment)

This amendment prohibited the imposition of poll taxes on voters.

USS Maddox

One of the events prompting US entry into the Vietnam War was a North Vietnamese attack on this ship.

Gulf of Tonkin resolution

This resolution gave President Johnson the authority to use military force in Vietnam without asking Congress for a declaration of war.

Tet Offensive

During this event in Vietnam, nearly 100 cities in the South were attacked. The US and South Vietnamese forces recaptured all the points taken by the enemy.

Freedom Riders

The intent of these African American and white volunteers, who took a bus ride south, was to test enforcement of a US Supreme Court decision prohibiting segregation on interstate transportation.

Freedom Summer

The summer of 1964, in which civil rights leaders registered African-American voters in Mississippi.

capitalism

The Black Panther Party believed African Americans were as much the victims of _________ as of white racism.

(Cesar) Chavez

This figure led the United Farm Workers in their fight to unionize.

birth control pill

This was the first medicine ever intended to be taken by people who were not sick.

Black Power

political ideology encouraging African Americans to create their own institutions and develop their own economic resources independent of whites

Black Pride

a cultural movement among African Americans to encourage pride in their African heritage and to substitute African and African American art forms, behaviors, and cultural products for those of whites

black separatism

an ideology that called upon African Americans to reject integration with the white community and, in some cases, to physically separate themselves from whites in order to create and preserve their self-determination

counterinsurgency

a new military strategy under the Kennedy administration to suppress nationalist independence movements and rebel groups in the developing world

flexible response

a military strategy that allows for the possibility of responding to threats in a variety of ways, including counterinsurgency, conventional war, and nuclear strikes

Great Society

Lyndon Johnson's plan to eliminate poverty and racial injustice in the United States and to improve the lives of all Americans

naval quarantine

Kennedy's use of ships to prevent Soviet access to Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis

Port Huron Statement

the political manifesto of Students for a Democratic Society that called for social reform, nonviolent protest, and greater participation in the democratic process by ordinary Americans

Title VII

the section of the Civil Rights Act in 1964 that prohibited discrimination in employment on the basis of gender

war on poverty

Lyndon Johnson's plan to end poverty in the United States through the extension of federal benefits, job training programs, and funding for community development

American Indian Movement (AIM)

An organization founded in the late 1960s that intended to improve the lives of Native Americans

Wounded Knee

Members of the American Indian movement occupied this significant site in February 1973.

expanded

As President, Nixon _______ many Great Society programs.

OPEC

Because the United States supported Israel in the Yom Kippur War, this organization imposed an embargo on oil shipments to the US, causing gas prices to increase.

Nixon Doctrine

a policy whereby the United States would continue to assist its allies but would not assume the responsibility of defending the entire non-Communist world

SALT

This treaty limited both the US and the Soviet Union to deploying only two antiballistic missile systems.

My Lai

During the Vietnam War, American soldiers opened fire and killed over 300 civilians in this village.

Cambodia

In 1970, Nixon started bombing ________, which had declared its neutrality, in an effort to destroy North Vietnamese and Viet Cong bases within that country and cut off supply routes between North and South Vietnam.

1973, 1975

The US withdrew troops from Vietnam in _____, and the conflict officially ended in ____.

North Vietnam

Who "won" the Vietnam War?

Saturday Night Massacre

During this event, Nixon ordered AG Richardson to fire Watergate special prosecutor Archibald Cox. Both Richardson and the Deputy AG refused and resigned. Control of the Justice Department then fell to Solicitor General Robert Bork, who complied with Nixon's order.

25th (amendment)

This amendment provides for the appointment of a vice president in the event the incumbent dies or resigns.

anti-Washington

Carter ran on an ____-__________ ticket in 1976.

False

True or false: As president, Carter regulated major industries and decreased social spending.

(Department of) Energy

Which federal agency did Carter create?

Camp David Accords

Meetings between president Carter, Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin, and Egyptian president Anwar Sadat led to the signing of this agreement.

Afghanistan

In 1980, Carter did not send a team to the Summer Olympics in Moscow because of the Soviet Union's invasion of this country.

Iranian hostages

President Carter's failure to free the _____ _______ hurt his performance in the 1980 election.

Carter Doctrine

Jimmy Carter's declaration that efforts to interfere with American interests in the Middle East would be considered a act of aggression and be met with force if necessary

counterculture

a culture that develops in opposition to the dominant culture of a society

Deep Throat

the anonymous source, later revealed to be associate director of the FBI Mark Felt, who supplied reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein with information about White House involvement in the Watergate break-in

detente

the relaxation of tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union

executive privilege

the right of the U.S. president to refuse subpoenas requiring him to disclose private communications on the grounds that this might interfere with the functioning of the executive branch

Pentagon papers

government documents leaked to the New York Times that revealed the true nature of the conflict in Vietnam and turned many definitively against the war

plumbers

men used by the White House to spy on and sabotage President Nixon's opponents and stop leaks to the press

silent majority

a majority whose political will is usually not heard—in this case, northern, white, blue collar voters

southern strategy

a political strategy that called for appealing to southern whites by resisting calls for greater advancements in civil rights

stagflation

high inflation combined with high unemployment and slow economic growth

Vietnamization

the Nixon administration's policy of turning over responsibility for the defense of South Vietnam to Vietnamese forces

Yippies

the Youth International Party, a political party formed in 1967, which called for the establishment of a New Nation consisting of cooperative institutions that would replace those currently in existence

Economic Recovery Tax Act

This law, passed during the Reagan administration, phased in a 25 percent overall reduction in taxes over a period of three years.

Social Security, Medicaid

These two social spending programs were largely untouched during the Reagan administration.

(Department of) Veterans Affairs

Reagan created this new government agency.

air traffic control

Reagan fired twelve thousand people in this industry who went on strike to secure better working conditions.

Grenada

In 1984, Reagan authorized the invasion of this small Caribbean island nation.

anti-Sandinista

In 1982, Reagan authorized the CIA to equip and train a group of ____-__________ Nicaraguans known as the Contras to oust Nicaragua's Marxist government.

(Oliver) North

This figure, who was Reagan's National Security Council aid, found a way to sell weapons to Iran and secretly use the proceeds to support the Contras—a direct violation of a Congressional ban.

Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI)

This Reagan-era provision called for the development of a defensive shield to protect the United States from a Soviet missile strike.

Panama

The US overthrew this country's government in 1989.

No

Did Operation Desert Storm successfully remove Saddam Hussein from power?

Internet

Much of the prosperity of the 1990s was related to this phenomenon.

No

Did Clinton's healthcare bill ever pass?

Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act

This 1996 act set time limits on welfare benefits and required most recipients to begin working within two years of receiving assistance.

True

True or false: Clinton helped negotiate talks between Israel and Palestine and Israel and Jordan.

Rwanda, Somalia

Two countries the Clinton administration helped "peacekeep" included...

Contract with America

a list of eight specific legislative reforms or initiatives that Republican representatives promised to enact if they gained a majority in Congress in the 1994 midterm elections

New Right

a loose coalition of American conservatives, consisting primarily of wealthy businesspeople and evangelical Christians, which developed in response to social changes of the 1960s and 1970s

Operation Desert Storm

the U.S. name of the war waged from January to April 1991, by coalition forces against Iraq in reaction to Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in August 1990

START

a treaty between the United States and the Soviet Union that limited the number of nuclear warheads, ballistic missiles, and strategic bombers held by both sides

Vietnam Syndrome

reluctance on the part of American politicians to actively engage U.S. forces in a foreign war for fear of suffering a humiliating defeat

war on drugs

a nationwide political campaign to implement harsh sentences for drug crimes, which produced an explosive growth of the prison population

dangerous symbol

The US declared war on Iraq because neoconservatives believed that Iraq represented a dangerous symbol to _________ _______ around the world.

True

True or false: The US supported Saddam Hussein in the 1980s.

Department of Homeland Security (DHS)

President W. Bush created this federal government agency.

Patriot Act

This act, passed during the W. Bush administration, enabled law enforcement agencies to monitor citizens' emails and phone conversations without a warrant.

False

True or false: The CIA is the US's domestic intelligence agency, whereas the FBI is the US's international intelligence agency.

Guantanamo Bay

Due to their perceived threat, the US began transporting men suspected of being members of al-Qaeda to the US naval base at __________ ____ for questioning, and this method was later deemed unconstitutional.

True

True or false: In 2001, W. Bush enacted controversial tax cuts for the rich.

No

Did Kerry openly oppose the Iraq War during the 2004 presidential election?

outsourcing

During the 2000s, the _________ of jobs became an increasing concern.

Emergency Economic Stabilization Act

This law created the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) and gave emergency loans to auto companies.

Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act

This act, which was proposed by Congress in 2006, sought to simultaneously strengthen security along the US-Mexico border, increase the number of temporary "guest workers" allowed in the United States, and provide a pathway for long-term US residents who had entered the country illegally to gain legal status.

No

Did the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act become law?

al-Qaeda

a militant Islamist group originally founded by Osama bin Laden

boomerang generation

young people who must return to their parents' home in order to make ends meet

Bush doctrine

the belief that the United States has the right to protect itself from terrorist acts by engaging in pre-emptive wars or ousting hostile governments in favor of friendly, preferably democratic, regimes

civil unions

a civil status offered to gay and lesbian couples with the goal of securing the main privileges of marriage without granting them equal status in marriage

credit default swaps

financial instruments that pay buyers even if a purchased loan defaults; a form of insurance for risky loans

Great Recession

the economic recession that began in 2008, following the collapse of the housing boom, and was driven by risky and misleading subprime mortgages and a deregulated bond market

Kyoto Protocol

an international agreement establishing regulations designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by the world's industrialized nations

subprime mortgage

a type of mortgage offered to borrowers with lower credit ratings; subprime loans feature interest rates that are higher (often adjustable) than conventional mortgages to compensate the bank for the increased risk of default