Units 7&8 Terms

Dixiecrats

A short lived segregationist party from 1948. Strom Thurmond was a key figure. Determined to protect states' rights

Fair Deal

Plan launched by President Truman in 1949. Post-World War II domestic policy reforms including national health insurance, public housing, civil rights legislation and federal aid to education. A plan which tried to revive the stalled momentum of FDR's New Deal

38th Parallel

The boundary that separated North and South Korea. Intended to be a temporary division of Korea, but ended up being the line that separated communist Korea from non-communist Korea. Closest North and South Korea got to an armistice for the Korean War

Harry Truman

Was given the decision of whether or not to drop the nuclear bomb on Japan. Succeeded FDR after he died in office, and during his term he continued any of the policies such as the New Deal. This president supported the Marshall Plan to rebuild Europe as well as supporting the idea of containment

Iranian Hostage Crisis

U.S. Embassy in Tehran taken over by Iranian students. Cause was President Carter allowing the Iran Shah to receive cancer treatment in U.S. Helped raise international awareness about the anti-American revolution leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini

George Kennan

American diplomat who advised the Truman administration that the Soviet Union could not be dealt with as a normal government in his famous Long Telegram. Laid the foundation for what became known as the "containment" policy. Claimed that only the US had the ability to stop the Soviet Union from expanding their power throughout the world.

Douglas MacArthur

American General who commanded the Southwest Pacific in World War II. Seen as a very controversial and egotistical figure. Led United Nations forces in the Korean War until they clashed with President Truman and was removed from command

Joseph McCarthy

Anti-communist governor from Wisconsin. Known during the Cold War from catching pro-communist people in the U.S. Developed a campaign in which he would call out people who supported communism.

Julius and Ethel Rosenberg

Married Jewish couple. Tried, convicted and executed for espionage. Sobered Americans to dangers of Red hunting.

J. Robert Oppenheimer

Father of the atomic bomb. Director of the Manhattan Project. Was found suspicious of being a Communist Sympathizer and removed from his position.

Adlai Stevenson

I ran against Eisenhower in the 1952 election as a Democrat. I got defeated by Eisenhower again by a wider margin in 1956. I helped to found the United Nations through the Cold War until my death in 1965.

Dwight Eisenhower

34th President of the United States. Ended the Korean War during his presidency. US General who supervised the invasion of Normandy and helped with the defeat of Nazi Germany

Richard Nixon V.P.

Known for Kitchen Debates in Moscow in 1959. Seen as a controversial figure. Used the "Checkers Speech" to save his political career

Yalta Conference

A World War 2 meeting of the heads of Russia, America, and Britain. Was a meeting to shape post-war peace after World War 2. Poland was first on the agenda of this meeting due to its location between Russia and Germany.

U.N. Security Council

Responsible for maintaining world peace. Developed in 1944 at a conference in Dumbarton Oaks. Maintains five permanent members from Britain, China, France, the Soviet Union, and the United States.

Nuremberg Trials

A series of military tribunals held by the Allied Forces under international law after World War 2. It prosecuted notable figures that were involved in the planning of the Holocaust and other war crimes. This took place in Germany and marked a turning point from classical to contemporary international law

Iron Curtain

Term coined by Winston Churchill in his speech in Fulton, Missouri, on the Cold War. Describes the division between Western Europe and the Soviet's Eastern Europe. Symbolism deteriorated with the fall of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War in 1991.

Berlin Airlift

First international crisis in the split capital of Germany during the Cold War. The Soviet Union denied United States' access and aid to the non-communist side. Lots of tension, but the Soviet Union feared conflict and abstained from attacking

containment doctrine

containment doctrine was a Cold War geopolitical strategy that cut off western non-communist countries from Eastern Europe countries dominated by communism. Strategy in order to seize the spread of communism. First coined by George F. Kennan in 1947

Truman Doctrine

A core part of American foreign policy that sought to counter the geographic expansion of the Soviet Union and communism following World War Two. Focused on a strategy of "containment" which argued that the best method to deal with communism during the Cold War was to isolate and confine them to their current geographic positions. Prompted by George Kennan's "Long Telegram" to the sitting president which argued the best way to deal with the Soviet/Communist threat was through the preemptive containment of their current positioning.

Marshall Plan

Launched after the end of WW2 by President Truman. US system of economic aid to help Europe rebuild. Supported only Western, non-communist countries.

White Flight

Migration by people from the city to the suburbs, which left many cities depleted of tax dollars, thus causing urban decay

NATO

Alliance founded in 1949 by ten western European nations, the United States, and Canada to deter Soviet Expansion in Europe. First peacetime military alliance the United States entered into outside the western hemisphere. Main purpose was to defend each other from the possibility of communist Soviet Union taking control of their nation.

Taft-Hartley Act

Also known as the Labor-Management Relations Act. Regulated rules set by labor unions. Vetoed by President Truman.

HUAC

Group that investigated into communist influence inside/outside the government after WWII. Communist Witch Hunt. Investigated the Hollywood Ten

McCarran Act

Revises US immigration laws in 1952. Includes Western Europeans and removes racial immigration barriers from countries like Japan and China. Members of the Communist party targeted.

Betty Friedan

American writer, activist, feminist. Wrote the Feminine Mystique. Sparked the second wave of American feminism.

Billy Graham

One of the most influential Christian leaders of the 20th century. Hosted radio show "Hours of decision from 1950-1954. He tried to bring people of different ethnic backgrounds together through religion.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Leader of Civil Rights Movement from 1954-1968. In 1955 led the Montgomery Bus Boycott. "I Have a Dream" speech.

Richard Nixon (Pres)

The Republican candidate that won the 1968 presidential elections against the democrats. He ushered in an era of détente with his talks with the Soviet Union and China and allowed communist China to take its UN seat. Was forced to resign as a result of scandal.

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Ho Chi Mihn

Communist leader of North Vietnam. Used guerilla warfare tactics to take out American funded, anticommunist troops. Leader who supported the Vietcong in the Vietnam War

Ngo Dinh Diem

Leader of South Vietnam during the Cold War. One of the only American allies from Asia during the Cold War. Fought intensively against North Vietnamese communism.

Nikita Khrushchev

First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Led the Soviet Union during the Cold War. Succeeded Stalin as Premier of the Soviet Union

Fidel Castro

A Cuban communist leader. His forces began a practice of guerrilla warfare. Then overthrow the Cuban leader at the time

John F Kennedy

Assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald 2 years into his presidency. First Roman Catholic to be elected president of the U.S. Brother was also assassinated while running President.

"Cult of domesticity"

Defined a women's role in marriage as maintaining the home for her working husband and raising the children, giving her limited opportunities. Idea of womanhood that countered the idea of Republican Motherhood. Concept of the role of women that formed as a result of the shift from the household to the factories as the center of the economy.

McCarthyism

He's a communist, she's a communist, and everyone is a communist. The practice or term for calling somebody a communist without evidence. Eventually fell out of favor after McCarthy accused the entire US army of being communists.

Sit ins

In Greensboro, North Carolina, four college students sparked national interest in the push for civil rights. Black customers sat at a lunch counter reserved for whites. These events launched the 1960s as a decade of integration of public places

"massive retaliation"

Defense policy by Eisenhower administration of the 1950's. Designed to combat Soviet aggression. Led to less spending on the army and Navy.

The Feminine Mystique

Written by Betty Friedan in 1963. It focused on the emptiness of consumer culture and the discontents of the middle class. It reawakened to the public the idea of women power.

Televangelists

People who used TV and radio to spread message of Christianity and anti-communism to millions. Ministers who use who use large portion of ministry to spread Christianity through TV. One prominent leader of these people was Billy Graham.

Checkers Speech

Given by Nixon. Saved Nixon's political career. Named after Nixon's family dog, which was a gift he received but would not return

Army-McCarthy Hearing

The cause of the end of a Communist-accusing era. Notorious televised Congressional hearing of an infamous Senator. Delivered a famous quote "Have you no sense of decency?"

Brown v Board of education

An extremely important Supreme Court decision made in 1954. Overturned the result from the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson decision. Declared that separate public schools were "Inherently Unequal" which banned racial segregation in public schools.

Montgomery Bus Boycott

Was sparked by Rosa Parks arrest in December of 1955 and was lead and endorsed by MLK. It was a huge out speak against the racism in transit. Ended successfully with the ruling of segregation in transit to be unconstitutional

Suez Canal

Israeli armed forces pushed into Egypt toward the canal. Egyptian President seized the Canal from its French and British owners, sparking an invasion by those Western nations and their ally, Israel. The aims were to regain Western control of the Canal and to remove Egyptian President

Eisenhower Doctrine

Forged the idea of "massive retaliation". Revolved around Cold War policies. Was an extension of "containment"

U-2 Incident

The Soviets shot down an American spy plane over their territory. Eisenhower first denied that the plane was involved in spying and refused to apologize even after the Russians captured the pilot. It ended a brief period of cooperation between the US and the Soviets and stopped a planned summit meeting in 1960.

Sputnik

The first manmade satellite in earth's orbit. Triggered the space race. Launched new US investment into technology and space flight

National Defense Education Act

Legislation signed into law by President Eisenhower in 1958. Provided funding to improve American schools and to promote post secondary education. Passed as a response to the Soviets launching the first earth orbiting satellite, Sputnik

Robert F. Kennedy

Brother to the 35th president of the United States. Attorney General who approved FBI wiretaps on Martin Luther King Jr. Assassinated in 1968 during the California Democratic presidential primary.

Robert McNamera

Secretary of defense under both Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson. Brought the US further into the Vietnam War and helped during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Came up with the idea of a "flexible response" to be prepared and not end up in nuclear war with the soviets

Lyndon Johnson

36th president of the U.S. Known for his "Great Society" social programs. Reputation hurt by involvement in the Vietnam War.

Barry Goldwater

Senator from Arizona who became Johnson's opponent in the 1964 presidential election. Critiqued the New Deal, called for abolition of the graduated income tax, and voted against the Civil Rights act. Campaign marked a resurgence of American conservatism.

Malcolm X

Radical Civil Rights Movement speaker. Said that blacks need to rise on their own and not rely on whites. Individual changed their last name to separate from history of slavery

Stokely Carmichael

Activist of Civil Rights movement in the 1950 and 1960s. Was the national chairman of the Students Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. Gave the famous "We Ain't Going" Speech in 1967

Eugene McCarthy

A challenger for the democratic ticket. Ran in the election of 1968. Lost to Senator George McGovern for presidential nomination.

Hubert Humphrey

Vice President to Lyndon B. Johnson. Ran against Robert Kennedy and McCarthy in 1968 for democratic nomination. Elected to Senate in 1948 and worked for a proposal to end racial segregation in the Democratic National Convention party platform

George Wallace

I was governor of Alabama when Goldwater ran against Johnson, with a new resurgence of conservatism. I banned voting rights campaigns even though Martin Luther King went against my ruling in Selma, Alabama. Ran as an independent in the election of 1968 against Lyndon B Johnson and Nixon.

Flexible Response

Policy made that prepares people for international crises rather than using nuclear weapons. Made during the Kennedy administration that prepared a variety of military responses, in case the US was attacked and chooses not to use nuclear weapons. Build up of supplies that allow a nation to fight a limited war and not use nuclear weapons.

Credibility gap

A lack of popular confidence in the claims made by the federal government. Term frequently used during Lyndon B. Johnson's administration. Describes skepticism towards the president's policies on the Vietnam War.

New Frontier

Term used for Kennedy's political agenda. Contained a heavy anti-poverty agenda such as an increase in social security benefits and minimum wages. Kennedy's strong counter to Eisenhower's heaving conservative view.

Peace Corps

Sent young Americans abroad to aid in the economic and educational progress of developing countries. Established to improve the image of the United States in developing countries. By 1966, more than 15,000 young men and women were serving as volunteers in this organization.

Bay of Pigs

Failed military invasion of Cuba in 1961. It was undertaken by the Central Intelligence Agency (C.I.A.). The military force was mostly made up of Cuban exiles that were trained by the C.I.A

Cuban Missile Crisis

Lead to increased tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union in 1962. Lead to naval "quarantine" carried out by the United States against the Soviet Union. Soviets armed Fidel Castro's communist regime with nuclear warheads.

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Alliance for Progress

This was President John F. Kennedy's economic policy towards Latin America. Was an almost Marshal Plan type policy for Latin America. It failed due to corrupt governments pocketing money

Freedom Rides

These were buses full of people black and white that rode into segregated areas. These rides were to protest the unconstitutional rulings of segregation in which deep south law enforcement purposely unrecognized. Freedom rides were to protest and to stop segregation on interstate buses and bus terminals.

War on Poverty

A series of legislation initiated by President Johnson that sought to aid the poorest Americans. Included the establishment of Medicare and Medicaid, as well as the distribution of food stamps to low-income Americans. The unofficial name of Johnson's crusade against rising rates of economic inequality within America during the 1960's

Great Society

Domestic program launched by president Lyndon Johnson. Instituted education, healthcare, and federal welfare programs as part of the 'War on Poverty'. Included Civil Rights legislation.

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

Under LBJ. Congressional approval to begin combat with Vietnam. Gave LBJ a "blank check" to combat communist aggression in Southeast Asia.

Civil Rights Act of 1964

Outlawed discrimination in public accommodations. Banned employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. One of the crowning legislative achievements in this movement for social justice

Voting Rights Act of 1965

Signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson. Established equal suffrage for all races in America, banned literacy tests, and gave access for more people to register to vote. Was a part of the 24th Amendment.

"black power"

Advocated for African American autonomy and even violence to achieve their rights. Coined by Steely Carmichael. Malcolm X based his beliefs on this

"hawks" & "doves"

Nicknames given to the pro and anti-Vietnam War factions. Their differences spark the large anti-war movement. Many protests took place on college campuses

Tet offensive

Also known as the General Offense. 1968 National Liberation Front and North Vietnamese forces launched a huge attack on Vietnamese New Year. Defeated after a month of fighting. Tet

"Beat" poets

A group of writers who were part of a nonconformist counterculture movement.. Wrote about rejecting work ethic, desperate materialism of the middle class, and militarization of America.

Students for a Democratic Society

Student activism against the Vietnam War. President of SDS Tom Hayden. Port Huron Statement

Spiro Agnew

Began his political career as the governor of Maryland. Served as Nixon's running mate in both 1968 and 1972. Resigned after the uncovering of a bribe scandal, forcing Nixon to appoint Gerald Ford as Vice President.

Henry Kissinger

Nixon's national security adviser and secretary of State. Won Nobel Peace Prize for negotiating ceasefire in Vietnam. Pursued policy of detente in the Cold War

George McGovern

Senator from the Democratic Party most known for his strong opposition to the Vietnam War. Ran from president in 1972 as a Democratic Party Nominee. Addressed issues regarding nationwide agriculture, food, and hunger

Gerald Ford

38th president of the United States. The first president unelected president. Restored public confidence in government after the Watergate Scandal.

Jimmy Carter

Create foreign policy around human rights. Created peace between nations with the Camp David Accord. Once out of office, joined the Habitat for Humanity and won a Nobel Peace Prize.

Thurgood Marshall

First African American Supreme Court justice. Won brown v. Board of education case. Succeeded by Clarence Thomas.

Détente

Nixon's foreign policy of decreasing tensions with the Soviet Union at the end of the Cold War. The "thawing out" of hostility between the United States and the USSR, starting in 1969. Foreign policy that helped to end the Cold War as the superpowers agreed to respect basic liberties of their citizens and eventually developed SALT I and the Helsinki Accords.

Vietnamization

The policy adopted under Nixon on how to deal with Vietnam. Consisted of training the South Vietnamese to fight the war while slowly removing the United States. Came about due to the public and the declining popularity of the war and constant protests.

Nixon Doctrine

Put forth during a press conference by the president and later formalized in his speech on Vietnamization. The president stated that the United States would assist in the defense and developments of allies, but would not take on the defense of all free nations of the world. Argued for the pursuit of peace through a partnership with American allies while shifting the direction on international policies in Asia.

My Lai Massacre

This event occurred in a village in Vietnam in 1968. Led to the death of mainly many women and children. Lieutenant William Calley Jr., who was responsible for this, was sentenced to life in prison, but only served 3- later apologized for his action

Cambodian incursion

A series of military operations conducted during the Vietnam War under Nixon. The U.S sent troops to combat communist forces in the sanctuaries of a neutral country. Resulted in many anti-war protests in the U.S(such as the Kent State shootings) and the rise of Khmer Rouge

Kent State killings

Killing of four antiwar protesters by Ohio National guard. Public university with a working class students that demonstrated antiwar sentiment spread beyond campuses like Berkeley. Demonstrated that antiwar sentiment spreading greatly.

Environmental Protection Agency

Oversaw programs to combat pollution. Cleaned hazardous wastes. Required "environmental impact" statements from federally funded projects.

Saturday Night Massacre

Nixon refused to comply with prosecutor Archibald Cox when Cox ordered Nixon to present the tapes. Event that led the public to the demand of impeaching President Nixon. U.S. Attorney General resigned rather than obeying the President

Title IX

Provision of the 1972 Education Amendments that prohibited gender discrimination and opened sports and other arenas to women. Banned gender discrimination in higher education. Commonly referenced in athletics.

Equal Rights Amendment

Introduced in 1932, by Alice Paul but was not ratified by enough states. Resurged in popularity in the 1970's along with 2nd wave-feminism and finally passed in 1972. Proposed to eliminate all legal distinctions "on account of sex

Roe V. Wade

Was the landmark Supreme Court decision in regard to legalized abortion. Made it a crime to perform an abortion unless a woman's life was at stake. The case is filed by Norma McCorvey, against the district attorney of Dallas County

Bakke Case

Upheld affirmative action but outlawed racial quotas. Deemed that it violated 14th Amendment. White man argued that he had been rejected from UC Davis solely because of his race

SALT II Treaty

Signed by Carter and Brezhnev in 1979. It attempted to reduce the number of missiles, bomber, and nuclear warheads of Russia and the US. It was disliked by many conservative politicians, including Reagan, and it was never ratified, but its provisions were still met regardless.

Mikhail Gorbachev

Last general secretary of the Soviet Union. Involved in nuclear disarmament. Caused the downfall of communism in Europe

Sandra Day O'Connor

The first woman to serve on the Supreme Court. Appointed to the Supreme Court by President Reagan in 1981 and received unanimous Senate approval. A moderate conservative; served on the Supreme Court for 24 years; a key swing vote in many important cases, such as Roe v. Wade.