United States History II Final Exam Study Guide 2026

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering the Cold War, the New Frontier, the Great Society, the Vietnam War, and the Nixon Administration based on the 2026 History II final exam study guide.

Cold War

A conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union in which neither nation directly confronted the other on the battlefield, characterized by a struggle between communism and capitalism.

Iron Curtain

A phrase used by Winston Churchill to describe the division in Europe between Soviet-dominated satellite nations in the East and democratic nations in the West.

Containment

The United States foreign policy focused on preventing the extension of communist rule to other countries.

Truman Doctrine

A U.S. policy providing economic and military aid to free nations, such as Greece and Turkey, threatened by internal or external opponents.

Marshall Plan

A program proposed by Secretary of State George Marshall in 1947 to supply economic aid to help European nations rebuild after World War II.

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

A defensive military alliance formed in 1949 by ten Western European nations, the United States, and Canada.

38th parallel

The line of latitude that formed the boundary between North Korea and South Korea prior to and after the Korean War.

House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC)

A congressional committee that investigated Communist influence inside and outside the U.S. government in the years following World War II.

McCarthyism

The name given to the practice of making unfair accusations of disloyalty and communism, named after Senator Joseph McCarthy.

Brinkmanship

The practice of threatening an enemy with massive military retaliation for any aggression, a policy associated with Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Warsaw Pact

A military alliance formed in 1955 by the Soviet Union and its Eastern European satellites.

Sputnik

The world's first artificial satellite, launched by the Soviet Union in 1957, which started the Space Race.

Flexible Response

A defense policy, developed during the Kennedy administration, that involved preparing for a variety of military responses to international crises rather than focusing solely on nuclear weapons.

Bay of Pigs

An unsuccessful invasion of Cuba in 1961 by Cuban exiles supported by the U.S. government.

Cuban Missile Crisis

A 1962 confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union over the installation of Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba.

New Frontier

President John F. Kennedy's legislative program, which included proposals to provide medical care for the elderly, rebuild blighted urban areas, and aid education.

November 22, 1963

The date of President John F. Kennedy's assassination in Dallas, Texas.

Great Society

President Lyndon B. Johnson's program to reduce poverty and racial injustice and to promote a better quality of life in the United States.

Economic Opportunity Act

A law, enacted in 1964, that provided funds for youth programs, antipoverty measures, small-business loans, and job training.

Domino Theory

The idea that if one nation in Southeast Asia comes under Communist control, then neighboring nations will also come under Communist control.

Geneva Accords

A 1954 peace agreement that divided Vietnam into Communist-controlled North Vietnam and non-Communist South Vietnam until unification elections could be held.

Tonkin Gulf Resolution

A resolution adopted by Congress in 1964, giving President Johnson broad powers to wage war in Vietnam.

Napalm

A gasoline-based substance used in bombs that U.S. planes dropped in Vietnam in order to burn away jungle and expose Vietcong hideouts.

Agent Orange

A toxic leaf-killing chemical sprayed by U.S. planes in Vietnam to expose Vietcong hideouts which was later blamed for causing cancer in veterans.

Credibility Gap

A public distrust of statements made by the government, specifically during the Vietnam War regarding the discrepancy between LBJ administration reports and reality.

Tet Offensive

A massive surprise attack by the Vietcong on South Vietnamese towns and cities in early 1968.

Vietnamization

President Nixon's strategy for ending U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War, involving a gradual withdrawal of U.S. troops and their replacement with South Vietnamese forces.

War Powers Act

A law enacted in 1973, limiting a president's right to send troops into battle without consulting Congress.

Détente

The flexible policy, involving a willingness to negotiate and an easing of tensions, adopted by President Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger in their dealings with communist nations.

SALT I Treaty

A five-year agreement between the United States and the Soviet Union, signed in 1972, that limited the nations' numbers of intercontinental ballistic missiles and submarine-launched missiles.

Watergate

A scandal arising from the Nixon administration's attempt to cover up its involvement in the 1972 break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters.

Saturday Night Massacre

A name given to the resignation of the U.S. attorney general and the firing of his deputy in October 1973, after they refused to carry out President Nixon's order to fire the special prosecutor investigating the Watergate affair.

Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

A landmark Supreme Court case that ruled "separate educational facilities are inherently unequal."

Miranda v. Arizona (1966)

The Supreme Court case that established all suspects must be informed of their constitutional rights before questioning.

Tinker v. Des Moines (1969)

A Supreme Court case that protected students' rights to free speech in public schools, specifically involving the wearing of black armbands to protest the Vietnam War.

U.S. v. Nixon (1974)

Supreme Court case that ruled that executive privilege does not grant a president the right to withhold evidence from a criminal investigation.