US History 1945-1963 Practice Flashcards

Flashcards covering key dates, events, and figures from the Truman, Eisenhower, and Kennedy presidencies as described in the lecture notes.

In April $1945$, __________ became President of the United States after the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Harry Truman

The __________ Conference, held in July–August $1945$, saw Truman and Stalin discuss the post-war future of Europe and Germany.

Potsdam

The USA dropped atomic bombs on __________ on $6$ August and Nagasaki on $9$ August $1945$.

Hiroshima

In his February $1946$ Long Telegram, American diplomat __________ argued that the USSR was expansionist and needed to be contained.

George Kennan

In a March $1946$ speech, Winston Churchill warned that an "__________" had descended across the European continent.

Iron Curtain

The Truman Doctrine was officially established in March $1947$ when Truman pledged $400$ million in aid to __________ and Turkey.

Greece

Intended to rebuild Western European economies, the __________ Plan offered approximately $13$ billion in economic aid in June $1947$.

Marshall

The National Security Act of $1947$ created the CIA, the National Security Council (NSC), and the __________ to reorganize the security apparatus.

Department of Defense

During the Berlin Airlift of $1948$-$1949$, the USA and its allies flew in over __________ tons of supplies to bypass Stalin's blockade.

$$2 \text{ million}$$

Truman utilized __________ to desegregate the United States armed forces in July $1948$.

Executive Order 9981

The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), created in April $1949$, united North America and Western Europe in a military alliance against __________ expansion.

Soviet

In August $1949$, the __________ successfully tested its first atomic weapon, ending the nuclear monopoly held by the United States.

USSR

The period of intense anti-communist suspicion known as McCarthyism began after Joseph McCarthy's __________ Speech in February $1950$.

Wheeling

In April $1951$, Truman fired General __________ to ensure civilian control over the military after the general wanted to expand the Korean War into China.

Douglas MacArthur

The __________ Amendment to the Constitution, ratified in $1951$, limits future presidents to two elected terms.

$$22^{nd}$$

Eisenhower won the $1952$ election with the slogan "__________," representing Korea, Communism, and Corruption.

K1C2

In August $1953$, the CIA helped remove Prime Minister __________ to restore the Shah and protect Western oil interests in Iran.

Mossadegh

The Supreme Court decision in __________ ($1954$) ruled that school segregation was unconstitutional, overturning the "separate but equal" doctrine.

Brown v Board of Education

Following the French defeat at __________, the Geneva Accords divided Vietnam into a communist North and an anti-communist South.

Dien Bien Phu

The Montgomery Bus Boycott, which lasted $381$ days, was triggered in December $1955$ when __________ refused to surrender her seat.

Rosa Parks

The __________ Act of $1956$ funded the construction of $41,000$ miles of highways, the largest infrastructure project in US history.

Interstate Highway

In September $1957$, Eisenhower sent the __________ to enforce school integration for nine Black students in Little Rock, Arkansas.

101st Airborne Division

The launch of __________, the first artificial satellite, by the USSR in October $1957$ intensified the Space Race.

Sputnik 1

A rare attempt to improve superpower relations occurred in September $1959$ when __________ visited the USA.

Khrushchev

Hopes for improved US-Soviet relations were destroyed in May $1960$ following the __________, where a US spy plane was shot down.

U-2 Crisis

In April $1961$, a CIA-backed invasion of Cuba known as the __________ failed and caused significant embarrassment for President Kennedy.

Bay of Pigs

In September $1962$, __________ became the first Black student admitted to the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss).

James Meredith

Widely considered the closest the Cold War came to nuclear war, the __________ occurred in October $1962$ after the USSR placed missiles in Cuba.

Cuban Missile Crisis

President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas, on __________, and was succeeded by Lyndon B. Johnson.

$$22 \text{ November } 1963$$