50s - Vietnam

NATO

North Atlantic Treaty Organization; a military alliance formed by Americans and Western Europeans to protect Europe from Russian expansion.

Warsaw Pact

An alliance of Russian and other communist Eastern European countries in response to NATO.

Domino Theory

The theory that once one country falls to communism, others will follow, exemplified by the sequence of China, Korea, and Vietnam.

Berlin Airlift

Operation where American and British planes flew supplies into West Berlin daily for 15 months after the Soviets cut off access.

Marshall Plan

U.S. economic aid program designed to help European countries recover from the devastation of WWII.

Truman Doctrine

U.S. policy of providing military aid to countries resisting communist uprisings.

Red Scare / McCarthyism

The period of intense fear of communist infiltration in American institutions, led by Senator McCarthy and the House Un-American Activities Committee.

Korean War

Conflict beginning in 1950 between Communist North Korea (backed by China) and U.S.-backed South Korea, escalating to U.S. military involvement.

General Douglas MacArthur

U.S. General who criticized Truman's decisions during the Korean War; wanted to use atomic bombs on China and was subsequently fired.

GI Bill

Legislation providing veterans with benefits such as free education, healthcare, and low-cost housing loans.

Election of 1948

Truman (Democrat) defeated Dewey (Republican); the Dixiecrats, led by Strom Thurmond, split the vote.

Eisenhower Elected (1952)

Eisenhower won the presidential election and promoted a policy of 'dynamic conservatism' with Nixon as his Vice President.

Baby Boom

A significant increase in birth rates post WWII, peaking in 1957 with one baby born every 7 seconds, leading to rapid suburban growth.

Cold War Tensions

The state of geopolitical tension between the Soviet Union and the United States post-WWII, marked by public fear of nuclear war and methodology such as 'Duck and Cover' drills.

Space Race Begins (1957)

Start of competition between the U.S. and USSR to achieve significant milestones in space exploration, marked by the launch of Sputnik.

Role of Women (1950s)

During the 1950s, women were often pushed into traditional homemaker roles, with societal prescriptions for tranquillizers to manage 'hysteria'.

Military Desegregation (1948)

The integration of armed forces initiated by an executive order from President Truman.

Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

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

Murder of Emmett Till (1955)

A brutal killing that became a pivotal moment in galvanizing the Civil Rights Movement.

Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955)

A protest led by Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. against segregated buses in Montgomery, Alabama.

Little Rock Nine (1957)

A group of nine black students who integrated Little Rock Central High School, requiring U.S. Army protection.

Termination Policy

U.S. government policy that aimed to end the recognition of Native American reservations.

Jim Crow Laws

State and local laws that enforced racial segregation in the Southern United States.

White Flight / Housing Covenants

The phenomenon of white populations moving out of neighborhoods as they integrated, accompanied by informal segregation practices.

Martin Luther King Jr.

Key civil rights leader who founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) in 1957 following the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

Greensboro Sit-Ins (1960)

A series of nonviolent protests by four NC A&T students at segregated lunch counters.

Freedom Riders (1961)

Civil rights activists who rode interstate buses into the segregated Southern United States to challenge non-enforcement of U.S. Supreme Court decisions.

Birmingham Movement (1963)

A campaign led by Martin Luther King Jr. to end segregation in Birmingham, Alabama, highlighted by violent police responses.

16th Street Baptist Church Bombing (1963)

A KKK attack that killed four African American girls and highlighted the severity of racial violence in the United States.

March on Washington (1963)

A famous civil rights rally where Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his 'I Have a Dream' speech, attended by 250,000 people.

Freedom Summer (1964)

A campaign aiming to increase voter registration among Black residents in Mississippi, which resulted in the murder of three activists.

Election of 1960

John F. Kennedy (Democrat) defeated Richard Nixon (Republican) in a pivotal election characterized by influential television debates.

Cuban Missile Crisis

The 1962 confrontation between the U.S. and the Soviet Union that was the closest the Cold War came to nuclear war; resolved diplomatically.

Space Race Milestones

Key achievements in space exploration, including Alan Shepard being the first American in space, John Glenn orbiting the Earth, and JFK's moon landing goal.

JFK Assassination (1963)

John F. Kennedy was assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald, who was later killed by Jack Ruby; Lyndon B. Johnson became president.

Lyndon B. Johnson (LBJ)

President focused on civil rights legislation, including the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Great Society Programs

A set of domestic programs launched by LBJ aimed at eliminating poverty and racial injustice, which included Medicare and Medicaid.

New Left

A political movement in the 1960s focused on social issues like war protests and women's rights, including the legalization of abortion with Roe v. Wade.

Hippie Movement

A countercultural movement that promoted peace, love, and rebellion against societal norms, accompanied by a rise in drug culture.

Environmentalism

A movement focused on protecting the environment, exemplified by Rachel Carson’s book Silent Spring and President Nixon creating the EPA in 1969.

1968: A Year of Chaos

A tumultuous year marked by the assassinations of MLK and RFK, as well as violent protests at the Chicago Democratic National Convention.

Vietnam War Background

The U.S. escalated its involvement in Vietnam following its victory over Japan and the subsequent withdrawal of French colonial forces.

Gulf of Tonkin Incident (1964)

A controversial reported attack on USS Maddox that led to the escalation of U.S. military involvement in Vietnam.

Americanization of Vietnam War

The significant deployment of U.S. military forces in Vietnam, with 500,000 troops sent to fight.

Tet Offensive (1968)

A large-scale surprise attack by North Vietnamese forces that shifted American public opinion against the Vietnam War.

Nixon’s Vietnam Policy

A strategy to withdraw U.S. troops while transferring combat responsibilities to South Vietnam, including illegal bombings of Laos & Cambodia.

U.S. Withdrawal from Vietnam

The end of U.S. military involvement in Vietnam, which Nixon referred to as 'peace with honor.'