Studied by 2 peopleVietcong
The popular name for the National Liberation Front (NFL) in South Vietnam, which was formed in 1959. The Vietcong waged a military insurgency against the U.S.-backed president, Ngo Dinh Diem, and received support from Ho Chi Minh, the leader of North Vietnam.
Domino Theory
Prevalent belief during the Cold War maintaining that if one country fell under the influence of communism, other surrounding countries would soon similarly fall under the influence of communism, like a row of falling dominoes.
Gulf of Tonkin Rsolution
1964 congressional resolution giving President Johnson wide discretion in the use of U.S. forces in Vietnam. The resolution followed reported attacks by North Vietnamese gunboats on two American destroyers.
Escalation
Johnson administration policy of continuously increasing the numbers of ground troops in Vietnam and bombing campaigns.
Vietnam War
Conflict between the Communist nationalist government in North Vietnam backed by the Soviet Union and China, against the United Nations and U.S. backed South Vietnam government. The war is seen as part of a series of proxy wars as a result of Cold War tensions between the U.S. and Soviet Union between 1954 to 1975.
My Lai Massacre
March 16, 1968 unprovoked U.S. massacre of nearly 500 of the elderly, women, and children in the South Vietnam area of My Lai during the Vietnam War.
Tet Offensive
January 31, 1968 offensive mounted by Vietcong and North Vietnamese forces against population centers in South Vietnam. The offensive was turned back, but its ferocity shocked many Americans and increased public opposition to the war.
Vietnamization
President Richard Nixon’s strategy of turning over greater responsibility for the fighting of the Vietnam War to the South Vietnamese army.
Kent State Massacre
The killing of four students and wounding of nine others by the National Guard during a 1970 Kent State campus protest about the U.S. invasion of Cambodia as part of the Vietnam War. The incident sparked further anti-war sentiment and massive protests.
Pentagon Papers
Classified report on U.S. involvement in Vietnam leaked to the press in 1971. The report confirmed that the Kennedy and Johnson administrations had misled the public about the origins and nature of the Vietnam War.
War Powers Act
1973 act that required the president to consult with Congress within forty-eight hours of deploying military forces and to obtain a declaration of war from Congress if troops remained on foreign soil beyond sixty days.
Ho Chi Minh
Led the Vitnamese, a rvolutionary who had studied Communist doctrine in the societ Union, but was not controlled by the sovietsl Molded the Vietnamese Declaration of Independence. President of North Vietnam.
Ngo Dinh Diem
Anti-Communist to lead the Soviet Vietna, and than locked his regimes refusal to hold national elections in 1956. President of South Vietnam.
Henry Kissinger
Served as a national security adviser and then a secretary of state, continued peace talks with the North Vietnamese, which had been initaiated by Johnson Devised a stategy vietnamization.
New Frontier
President John F. Kennedy’s domestic agenda. Kennedy promised to battle “tyranny, poverty, disease, and war,” but, lacking strong majorities in Congress, he achieved relatively modest results
Great Society
President Lyndon Johnson’s vision of social, economic, and cultural progress in the United States.
Students for a Democratic Society
Student activist organization formed in the early 1960s that advocated the formation of a “New Left” that would overturn the social and political status quo.
Port Huron Statement
Students for a Democratic Society manifesto written in 1962 that condemned liberal politics, Cold War foreign policy, racism, and research-oriented universities. It called for the adoption of “participatory democracy.”
Free speech movement
Movement protesting policies instituted by the University of California at Berkeley that restricted free speech. In 1964 students at Berkeley conducted sit-ins and held rallies against these policies.
Counterculture
Young cultural rebels of the 1960s who rejected conventional moral and sexual values and used drugs to reach a higher consciousness.
National Orginization for Women
Feminist organization formed in 1966 by Betty Friedan, Gloria Steinem, and other like-minded activists.
Equal Rughts Amendment
A proposed amendment that prevented the abridgment of “equality of rights under law … by the United States or any State on the basis of sex.” Not enough states had ratified the amendment by 1982, when the ratification period expired, so it was not adopted.
Roe v. Wade
The 1973 Supreme Court decision that affirmed a woman’s constitutional right to abortion.
La Raza Unida
A Chicano political party, formed in 1969, that advocated job opportunities for Chicanos, bilingual education, and Chicano cultural studies programs in universities.
American Indian Movement
An American Indian group, formed in 1968, that promoted “red power” and condemned the United States for its continued mistreatment of American Indians.
Stonewall Riots
1969 uprising after New York City police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gathering place for gay men, and tried to arrest patrons. The uprising helped inspire the gay liberation movement of the 1970s.
Barry Goldwater
Ran agianst Johnson . Wing of the Republican Party. Condemed big governement, supported states rights, and accused liberals of not waging the Cold War enough.
Earl Warren
Rulling that made racial segrahation in public schools unconstitutional.
Tom Hayden
Helped apply the ideals of SNCC to predominanlty white college campuses. Was an influential leader of the students for a Democratic society.
Bob Dylan
Had a song in 1964 “The Times They Are A-Changin’” became an anthem for youth rebellion
Gloria Steinem
Founder of the NOW, established Ms. magazine in hopes of attracting readers from across the feminsist political spectrum.
Cesar Chavez
Emerged as the leader of oppressed Mexican Farm Workers in CA. Shared Kings nonviolent principles. Formed the National Farm Workers association, called a strike against CA grape growers.
William F. Buckley
Founder of the National Review, an influential journal of conservative ideas.
Jimmy Carter
39th president of the United States
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