Unit 8 (Bolded Terms Only)

Cold War

Used to describe the rivalry and tension between the United States and the Soviet Union, along with their respective allies, following World War II. This conflict was characterized by ideological rivalry, military competition, and proxy wars rather than direct military confrontation, shaping international relations for decades.

Berlin

The capital of Germany. It represented the central flashpoint of the early Cold War, serving as a divided city deep within Soviet-controlled East Germany. It was also split into four zones even though it was in the middle of the Soviet Zone.

Iron Curtain

A metaphor coined by Winston Churchill in 1946 to describe the Eastern (communist, Soviet controlled) Europe and Western (free) Europe, following WW2.

Satellite Nation

A state controlled by another nation.

Buffer State

A state that is designed to serve as a buffer against future aggression.

The Marshall Plana

A U.S. initiative launched in 1948 to provide economic assistance to European countries recovering from World War II. Under this, the US offered financial aid to any country that wanted it as a means of opposing communism (a country with a strong economy was less likely to fall into communism).

Berlin Airlift

A massive humanitarian operation that was initiated in 1948 to supply West Berlin with food and other essential goods after the Soviet Union blockaded all ground access to the city. It was effective, and the Soviets ended the blockade.

NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization)

A military alliance established in 1949, designed for collective defense against aggression and to promote stability in the North Atlantic region. It consisted of the Allied Powers and Democratic Governments, led by the US.

Warsaw Pact

A military alliance formed in 1955 among the Soviet Union and seven Eastern European countries as a response to the formation of NATO. It consisted of Communist Governments and was led by the Soviet Union.

Chiang Kai-shek

The nationalistic, pro-Western Chinese leader during the early-mid 20th century. He was overthrown by Mao Zedong and the Communists.

Mao Zedong

A Chinese revolutionary leader who founded the People's Republic of China in 1949 after defeating the Nationalists led by Chiang Kai-shek in the Chinese Civil War.

North Korea

After WW2, this side of Korea was occupied by the Soviets and was given a communist system of government.

South Korea

After WW2, this side of Korea was occupied by the Americans and formed a representative system of government.

DMZ

Following the Korean War, North and South Korea were divided by this.

Berlin Wall

A concrete barrier that divided East and West Berlin. It was built in response to the massive flow of refugees from East Germany to the West.

Containment

A U.S policy to keep communism within its current boundaries. (limit its spread) George Kennan, a US diplomat, pushed this.

The Truman Doctrine

A U.S philosophy that would provide money to countries that were threatened by Communist Expansion.

Arms Race

The name given to the race between the US and the Soviet Union to build up their armies and nuclear weapons.

Serviceman's Readjustment Act (GI Bill)

A landmark piece of legislation that provided a variety of benefits to returning WW2 veterans. It provided them with educational and economic assistance. Large numbers of returning veterans went to college and bought housing in suburban areas.

Dwight D. Eisenhower

The 34th President of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961, is best known for his leadership during the Cold War. He was a general and military hero from WW2, and was counted by both parties for the election of 1952, he ultimately accepted the Republican nomination due to his more conservative personal politics.

Senator Joe McCarthy

A staunch anticommunist who accused numerous individuals in the federal government, Hollywood, and elsewhere of being communist.

Interstate Highway Act of 1956

A landmark legislation that authorized the construction of a nationwide system of interstate highways in the United States. It would transform America by boosting the trucking, auto, oil, and travel industries.

Suburbinization

The process by which cities grow is driven by populations moving from rural areas to urban centers, leading to increased density and the expansion of city infrastructure. The interstate highways led to the speeding of this, and led to the downfall of the railroads and some cities' downtowns.

Nikita Khrushchev

The Soviet premier following Stalin.

U2 Incident

This incident is where an American spy plane flown by Gary Powers was shot down over the USSR. Though denied at first, the UUS later admitted responsibility, leading to poorer tensions.

Sputnik

The first artificial satellite was launched into space by the Soviet Union on October 4, 1957. It gave the Soviet Union immense confidence, while causing an uproar in the US that the communists were more scientifically advanced.

Beatniks

The precursor to the Hippies of the 1960's. This group challenged the conformity of the 1950's with different styles of music, dress, and behavior towards mainstream culture.

Brown vs Board of Education

A landmark Supreme Court case decided in 1954 ruled that separate education was unequal, and desegregation must happen, "with all deliberate speed."

Little Rock 9

Refers to a group of nine African American students who enrolled at Little Rock Central High School in 1957. This was due to the governor of Arkansas attempting to prevent desegregation in Little Rock, so Eisenhower ordered federal troops to escort these students.

Martin Luther King Jr.

A prominent leader in the American civil rights movement, advocating for nonviolent resistance to combat racial injustice and discrimination. He formed the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) to mobilize black churches on behalf of black rights.

Rosa Parks

An African American civil rights activist, best known for her pivotal role in refusing to give up her seat to a white man in Montgomery, Alabama in 1955.

Montgomery Bus Boycotts

In response to the arrest of Rosa Parks, these were a yearlong protest lasting until the Supreme Court rulings declaring segregated rulings unconstitutional were enforced.

Freedom Ride(rs)

In 1961, this group went on buses across the South and aimed at ending segregation, but they were attacked by white mobs.

"New Frontier"

A set of domestic programs and policies proposed by President John F. Kennedy in the early 1960s aimed at addressing various social and economic issues in the United States. It served as his slogan and would inspire many.

Trade Expansion Rate

A 1962 policy that cut tariff rates by up to half with Common Market countries.

"Flexible Response"

a defense strategy implemented by John F. Kennedy in 1961 to address the Kennedy administration's skepticism of Dwight Eisenhower's New Look and its policy of Massive Retaliation. It could use a wide variety of military options to match each individual crisis.

Bay of Pigs

A failed 1961 invasion of Cuba by U.S.-backed Cuban exiles attempting to overthrow the communist government of Fidel Castro shortly after John F. Kennedy took office. This led to Castro moving closer to the Soviet Union, and resulted in a major embarrassment for the U.S.

Cuban Missile Crisis

A 13-day confrontation in 1962 between the United States and the Soviet Union after the discovery of Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba, just 90 miles from the U.S. President John F. Kennedy demanded their removal and set up a naval blockade, bringing the world to the brink of nuclear war before the Soviets agreed to withdraw the missiles.

Civil Rights Act of 1964

This act officially expanded the government's ability to end segregation and discrimination based on race and gender.

"Great Society"

A set of domestic programs launched by President Lyndon B. Johnson in the 1960s aimed at eliminating poverty and racial injustice while promoting social welfare and civil rights. It was his type of New Deal programs.

24th Amendment

This eliminated poll tax

Voting Rights Act (1965)

This abolished literacy tests

Vietcong

Communist guerrilla fighters in South Vietnam who fought against the U.S.-backed South Vietnamese government and U.S. forces during the Vietnam War

Gulf of Tonkin

Just prior to the election, US Navy ships cooperating with South Vietnamese ships were "attacked" by the North Vietnamese in this region.

Tonkin Gulf Resolution

A congressional resolution passed in August 1964 that authorized President Lyndon B. Johnson to take military action in Vietnam without a formal declaration of war. It also gave him a blank check to use additional force in Southeast Asia.

Tet Offensive

A major military campaign during the Vietnam War, launched by North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces in January 1968, that destroyed the illusion of the war being close to done.

Ho Chi Minh Trail

A system of roads, trails, bike paths, and river systems to move supplies from North Vietnam into South Vietnam for use by the Vietcong or North Vietnamese Army

George Wallace

A 3rd party Southern candidate from Alabama. He was pro-segregation and won 10 million votes, along with 5 states.

Richard Nixon

The 37th US president, who was well-known, won the election with his promise of going to pull the US out of Vietnam.

Strategic Arms Limitations Treaty

Negotiations between the United States and the Soviet Union aimed at curbing the arms race, particularly focusing on limiting the production and deployment of nuclear weapons. Nixon negotiated these with the Soviet Union in 1972.

Silent Spring

A muckraking novel written by Rachel Carson regarding the problem of pesticides. The EPA was created in 1970 in response to environmental concerns around the country, especially because of the publication of this novel.

Warren Court

The Supreme Court of the 1960s under Chief Justice Earl Warren, who continued to expand rights regarding sexual freedom, rights of criminals, civil rights, religion, etc.

Important Cases:

-Miranda v Arizona

-Roe v Wade

"New Left"

A political and social movement that emerged in the 1960s, advocating for civil rights, social justice, and anti-war sentiments, particularly in opposition to the Vietnam War. They had support from many sources, including liberals, socialists, and civil rights activists. College students played a large role in the movement.

Hippies

Members of a countercultural movement that emerged in the United States during the 1960s, characterized by their rejection of conventional values, pursuit of peace, and embrace of alternative lifestyles. They came to symbolize a new youth culture that was openly scornful of middle-class America.

Betty Friedan

A pivotal American femenist author and activist who wrote The Feminist Mystique which said that women had become frustrated as housewives in the suburbs.

Phyllis Schlafly

A prominent anti-feminist activist that oppossed modern feminism and worked to defeat the ERA.

Henry Kissinger

Nixon's National Security Advisor and later his Secretary of State. He was a key figure in shaping American foreign policy. He and Nixon created the policy known as "Vietnamization."

Vietnamization

Nixon's 1969 strategy to end U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War by gradually withdrawing American troops.

Kent State Incident

This incident included Ohio National Guardsmen firing on unarmed students protesting the Vietnam War expansion into Cambodia, killing four and wounding nine

Jackson State Incident

A violent shooting at Jackson State College in Mississippi where police and highway patrolmen fired on Black students protesting the Vietnam War and the Kent State shootings

The Pentagon Papers

A top-secret Department of Defense study leaked to the New York Times, detailing 1945-1967 U.S. political/military involvement in Vietnam. It confirmed that the US Govt had been dishonest in its reporting of the war

Paris Peace Accords

A series of agreements signed in 1973 aimed at establishing peace in Vietnam and ended the US involvement in Vietnam.

Gerald Ford

A popular Michigan Congressman who became VP during the Nixon administration and then President after Nixon's resignation. His most controversial act as president was his pardon of Nixon.

Pardon

An executive action granting legal forgiveness for federal crimes, eliminating punishment and restoring civil rights like voting or holding office.

OPEC

An intergovernmental organization founded in 1960 that coordinates and unifies the petroleum policies of its member countries to ensure stable oil prices and a regular supply of oil to consumers. They kept raising oil prices as the US became further reliant and addicted to Mideast oil.

Stagflation

An economic condition in the 1970s characterized by the simultaneous occurrence of high inflation, slow economic growth, and high unemployment.

Détente

The period of relaxed tensions and improved relations between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War, particularly from the late 1960s to the late 1970s.

Helsinki Accords

An agreement between 34 nations, including the US and USSR that attempted to improve relations between communist and non-communist countries.

Inflation

The rate at which the general level of prices for goods and services rises, eroding purchasing power.

Crisis of Confidence

Delivered by President Jimmy Carter on July 15, 1979, addressing the American public's growing disillusionment and unease regarding the nation's direction. Many said he was blaming his problems on the American people. While much of what he said was true, it was not well received by many Americans.

Camp David Accords

A landmark peace treaty brokered by U.S. President Jimmy Carter between Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin. It marked a major victory in Carter's foreign policy, reducing conflict between Egypt and Israel but drawing criticism from other Arab states.

Ronald Reagan

Elected in 1980, he helped spark the Conservative Revolution in the United States.