Key Terms and Concepts from US History

These flashcards cover key terms and concepts related to U.S. history, focusing on significant events, legislation, and cultural movements from the post-World War II era through the early 21st century.

GI Bill

Legislation that provided benefits to returning World War II veterans, including access to education and home loans.

Baby boom

A significant increase in birth rates following World War II, peaking between 1946 and 1964.

Levittown

A mass-produced suburban community created by Levitt and Sons in the late 1940s and 1950s.

Interstate Highway System

A network of highways that facilitates transportation across the United States, initiated by the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956.

Military-industrial complex

The relationship between a country's military and the defense industry that supplies it.

Sputnik

The first artificial Earth satellite launched by the Soviet Union in 1957, marking the start of the space age.

Bretton Woods

An international monetary system established in 1944 to regulate the global economy.

Civil Rights Act (1964)

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

Voting Rights Act (1965)

Legislation aimed at eliminating various forms of racial discrimination in voting.

Roe v. Wade

A landmark Supreme Court decision in 1973 that legalized abortion in the United States.

Reaganomics

Economic policies associated with President Ronald Reagan, emphasizing tax cuts, decreased social spending, and deregulation.

Watergate

A major political scandal in the 1970s involving a break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters and the subsequent cover-up.

Détente

A period of relaxed tensions and improved relations between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

Stonewall Riots

A series of demonstrations by members of the LGBTQ+ community in response to a police raid at the Stonewall Inn in 1969.

Black Power

A movement in the 1960s and 1970s promoting racial pride, economic empowerment, and the creation of political and cultural institutions for black people.

Great Society

President Lyndon B. Johnson's program to eliminate poverty and racial injustice through a series of domestic policies.

NAFTA

The North American Free Trade Agreement, creating a trilateral trade bloc between the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

Silent Majority

A term used by President Nixon to describe the presumed moderate, mainstream Americans who did not publicly express their opinions.

Iran-Contra Affair

A political scandal during the Reagan administration involving the secret arms sales to Iran to fund Contra rebels in Nicaragua.

Emmett Till

A 14-year-old African American boy whose lynching in 1955 became a catalyst for the Civil Rights Movement.

Massive resistance

A policy of widespread opposition by Southern politicians and citizens to desegregation following the Brown v. Board of Education decision.

Tet Offensive

A major escalation and turning point in the Vietnam War, where North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces launched surprise attacks on South Vietnamese cities in 1968.