Edexcel GCSE History Paper 3 - The USA, 1954–75: conflict at home and abroad

Flashcards covering key terms and concepts from the Civil Rights Movement and U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War.

Jim Crow Laws

State laws that enforced racial segregation in the southern United States after 1876.

Ku Klux Klan (KKK)

A white supremacist group founded in 1865 that used intimidation and violence to oppose African American rights.

Brown vs Topeka (Brown v. Board of Education)

1954 Supreme Court case that declared racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional.

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)

Established in 1909 to fight for civil rights through legal challenges.

Congress of Racial Equality (CORE)

Founded in 1942 and known for its non-violent direct action against segregation.

Little Rock Nine

A group of nine African American students who integrated Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1957.

Montgomery Bus Boycott

A civil rights protest beginning in 1955, sparked by Rosa Parks' arrest, focusing on racial segregation in public buses.

Freedom Summer

A 1964 campaign to increase voter registration among African Americans in Mississippi.

Civil Rights Act 1964

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

Voting Rights Act 1965

Legislation aimed at overcoming legal barriers at the state and local levels such as literacy tests and poll taxes that prevented African Americans from exercising their right to vote.

Tet Offensive

A major surprise attack by North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces during the Vietnamese New Year in 1968; it marked a turning point in U.S. public opinion about the Vietnam War.

Vietnamization

Nixon's policy aimed at reducing American involvement in the Vietnam War by transferring responsibility to the South Vietnamese forces.

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

Legislation passed in 1964 that granted the President authority to use military force in Vietnam without a formal declaration of war.

My Lai Massacre

A mass killing of unarmed South Vietnamese civilians by U.S. troops in March 1968, which stirred public outrage and drew attention to the Vietnam War.

Sit-ins

A form of direct action protest against racial segregation, where participants occupy a place and refuse to leave.

Black Panthers

A revolutionary socialist organization founded in 1966, advocating for black rights and self-defense against police brutality.

Emmett Till

A 14-year-old African American boy who was murdered in 1955, his death galvanized public opinion and became a pivotal moment in the civil rights movement.

Counterculture

A social movement in the 1960s that rejected conventional social norms, often associated with anti-war sentiments.

Montgomery Bus Boycott

A civil rights protest against the policy of racial segregation on the public transit system of Montgomery, Alabama from December 5, 1955, to December 20, 1956. Initiated by Rosa Parks' arrest for refusing to give up her seat to a white man, the boycott led to a 381-day mass action to end segregation on city buses.

Key Events of the Montgomery Bus Boycott

• Rosa Parks' arrest sparked the boycott.
• The Montgomery Improvement Association was formed, led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
• Extensive planning and organization involved carpool systems and community meetings.
• Supreme Court ruling in November 1956 declared bus segregation unconstitutional.

Freedom Summer (1964)

A campaign to increase voter registration among African Americans in Mississippi, it involved more than 1,000 volunteers from across the U.S. and focused on the violent suppression of black voting rights.

Key Events of Freedom Summer

• Launch of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP) to challenge the all-white delegation at the Democratic National Convention.
• Established Freedom Schools to educate and empower local black youth.
• Notable violence and the murders of civil rights workers James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner.

Impact of Freedom Summer

Highlighted the struggle for voting rights, mobilized national attention to civil rights issues, and ultimately contributed to the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.