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The Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944 (The G.I. Bill)

Signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on June 22, 1944, this act provided World War II veterans with funds for college education, unemployment insurance, and housing. It put higher education within the reach of millions of veterans of WWII and later military conflicts.

The Baby Boomers

A member of the generation born between the end of World War II and the mid-1960s, which was just after World War II in a time of relative peace and prosperity. These conditions allowed for better education and job opportunities, encouraging high rates of both marriage and fertility.

Containment

The United States and its allies would work to "contain" the threat of further Soviet expansion after World War II.

Marshall Plan

The 1948 U.S. plan of economic assistance to all European nations (even communist nations) to help rebuild; would invest $12 billion over the next 3 years into Europe, helping to preserve democracy in Western Europe.

Truman Doctrine

1947 policy against Soviet pressures in Europe that stated it must be the policy of the United States to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures." Would give $400 million to Greece and Turkey as a way to bolster democracy there.

Korean War

Under a UN resolution, the United States intervene to help stop the North Korean invasion into South Korea. This 3 year conflict is the 1st "proxy" war of the Cold War.

Armistice

an agreement made by opposing sides in a war to stop fighting for a certain time; a truce.

Berlin Blockade

One of the first major international crises of the Cold War. During the multinational occupation of post-World War II Germany, the Soviet Union cut off the Western Allies' railway, road, and canal access to the sectors of Berlin under Western control.

Berlin Airlift

Year-long mission of flying food and supplies to blockaded West Berliners, whom the Soviet Union cut off from access to the West in the first major crisis of the Cold War.

Montgomery Bus Boycotts

A political and a social protest campaign against the policy of racial segregation on the public transit system of Montgomery, Alabama. First protest movement led by MLK.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

An African American Baptist minister and activist who became the most visible spokesperson and leader in the American civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968.

Emmitt Till

an African-American teenager who was murdered in Mississippi at the age of 14 after reportedly flirting with a white woman. His death would impact people pushing for more awareness within the Civil Rights movement in the south.

Little Rock Nine

A group of nine African American students enrolled in Little Rock Central High School in 1957. Their enrollment was followed by the Little Rock Crisis, in which the students were initially prevented from entering the racially segregated school by Orval Faubus, the Governor of Arkansas.

North Atlantic Treaty Organization

Twelve nations sign an alliance between Western Europe and the U.S. for collective security from Soviet threats.

The Warsaw Pact

A collective defense arrangement similar to NATO, to protect the Eastern bloc from Western aggression. It also served to solidify Soviet control over Eastern Europe.

The 2nd Red Scare

A period of anti-Communist paranoia in the late 1940s-1950s, focused on government officials and entertainment figures.

McCarthyism

A vociferous campaign against alleged communists in the US government and other institutions carried out during the period of 1950-54. Many of the accused were blacklisted or lost their jobs, although most did not in fact belong to the Communist Party.

House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC)

Created in 1938 to investigate alleged disloyalty and subversive activities on the part of private citizens, public employees, and those organizations suspected of having fascist or communist ties.

Proxy War

a war that results when opposing powers use third parties as substitutes for fighting each other directly. While powers have sometimes used governments as proxies, violent non-state actors, mercenaries, or other third parties are more often employed.

Sit-Ins

Protests by black college students, 1960-1961, who took seats at "whites only" lunch counters and refused to leave until served; in 1960 over 50,000 participated in sit-ins across the South. Their success prompted the formation of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee.

Freedom Rides

Organized mixed-race groups who rode interstate buses deep into the South to draw attention to and protest racial segregation, beginning in 1961. This effort by northern young people to challenge racism proved a political and public relations success for the Civil Rights Movement.

Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC)

The principal channel of student commitment in the United States to the civil rights movement during the 1960s.

Congress of Racial Equality (CORE)

An interracial American organization established by James Farmer in 1942 to improve race relations and end discriminatory policies through direct-action projects. Non-violent movement inspired by the policies of Ghandi in India.

Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC)

Organization formed by MLK in 1957. Aimed to mobilize the vast power of the black churches on behalf of black rights. Trained and tested African Americans for ability to remain calm so they could participate nonviolently in marches and "sit ins"

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)

founded in 1909 to abolish segregation and discrimination, to oppose racism and to gain civil rights for African Americans. Would be successful in the courts challenging segregation systems, including the landmark Brown v. Board of Education case that ended "Separate but Equal."

Bay of Pigs Invasion

On April 17, 1961, 1,400 Cuban exiles launched what became a botched invasion on the south coast of Cuba. It was a CIA-designed covert op designed to overthrow the communist government of Fidel Castro.

March on Washington (1963)

Peaceful demonstration led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, and attended by 200,000 black and white supporters, in August 1963 at the Lincoln Memorial; King gave his legendary "I Have a Dream" speech, calling for civil rights legislation and an end to racial discrimination.

Cuban Missile Crisis

A 1962 incident where Soviet missiles were placed in Cuba as a response for help. The event greatly increased tensions between the Soviets and the Americans. As a result, a hotline was established between the two nations to avoid any accidents.

Berlin Wall

A fortified wall made up of concrete and barbed wire made to prevent East Germans escaping to West Berlin. It was one of the most visible signs of the Cold War and the Iron Curtain.

John F. Kennedy

35th president, he was the youngest, and first Catholic president ever elected. He won the 1960 presidential election against Nixon. During his presidency, he sent the Green Beret (Marines) to Vietnam and he helped develop the Peace Corps. He was assassinated on November 22nd, 1963.