US History final

Cold War as characterized by 4 S's
Sputnik

On October 4, 1957, the USSR launched Sputnik, the first artificial satellite to orbit Earth.

communist oppression in Berlin

Berlin Wall was built to divide the capital

Identify the symbol of the new "openness" of the Soviet Union

Glasnost was taken to mean increased openness and transparency in government institutions and activities in the Soviet Union (USSR).

Senator McCarthy

Accused people of being communists with little proof

Julius and Ethel Rosenberg

Communists who received international attention when they were executed having been found guilty of conspiracy to commit espionage in relation to passing information on the American atomic bomb to the Soviet Union

significance of the slogan "Better Dead than Red" 1950's

one would rather die or be dead than to become or be a communist'

the "Miracle on Ice"

the United States won six gold medals at the Lake Placid Games

Bay of Pigs

An unsuccessful invasion of Cuba in 1961, which was sponsored by the United States. Its purpose was to overthrow Cuban dictator Fidel Castro.

Cuban Missile Crisis

1962 crisis that arose between the United States and the Soviet Union over a Soviet attempt to deploy nuclear missiles in Cuba

Nuclear Test Ban Treaty

1963 nuclear-weapons agreement, which banned aboveground nuclear tests

first person to orbit Earth

Yuri Gagarin

United States' Apollo space program

A program that resulted in American astronauts' making a total of 11 spaceflights and walking on the moon.

freedom rides

a series of political protests against segregation by Blacks and Whites who rode buses together through the American South in 1961

1963 march on Washington

A massive rally for civil rights highlighted by Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech.

Griswold v. Connecticut court case

a married couple has a right of privacy that cannot be infringed upon by a state law making it a crime to use contraceptives.

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

1964 Congressional resolution authorizing President Johnson to take military action in Vietnam

Twenty-sixth Amendment

Changed the legal voting age from 21 to 18.

Iran hostages

Iranian students seized the embassy and detained more than 50 Americans,

President Nixon's resignation

President Richard Nixon delivered a nationally-televised speech to the American public from the Oval Office announcing his intention to resign the presidency the following day due to the Watergate scandal

Roe v. Wade

(1973) legalized abortion on the basis of a woman's right to privacy

Title IX

A law that bans gender discrimination in schools that receive federal funds

President Nixon's historic trip to China

On July 15, 1971, the President announced on live television that he would visit the PRC the following year. The week-long visit, from February 21 to 28, 1972, allowed the American public to view images of mainland China for the first time in over two decades.

End of Vietnam War

Ended in 1975 when North Vietnam gained control over all of Vietnam.

SALT

negotiations between the United States and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics opened in 1969 in Helsinki designed to limit both countries' stock of nuclear weaponsOPEC

OPEC

Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries

Kent State shooting

Incident in which National Guard troops fired at a group of students during an antiwar protest at Kent State University in Ohio, killing four people.

MTV

a popular "rock" music cable channel that began to challenge radio during the 1980s as an outlet for promoting new acts.

Savings and loans crisis

This involved the tax payer bailout of deregulation gone wrong with banks loaning too freely and corporations giving big bonuses

Iran Contra Affair

scandal including arms sales to the Middle East in order to send money to help the Contras in Nicaragua even though Congress had objected

John Lennon assassination

Was assassinated by a fan on December 8th, 1980

AIDS

acquired immune deficiency syndrome

Exxon Valdez

an oil tanker accident in 1989 on the coast of Alaska (Largest spill)

Challenger explosion

Americana ship. Occurred on January 28, 1986, when Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart 73 seconds into its flight, leading to the deaths of its seven crew members

trickle down economics

Hoover's strategy battling the Great Depression in which the money is given to the big corporations and eventually they will pay their workers more, and then the workers will spend their money and save the economy.

Sally Ride

First American woman in space

Sandra Day O'Connor

served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1981 to 2006