APUSH Nine Weeks Keyterms

Watergate Scandal

• CRP/ CREEP (Committee for the re-election of the President) attempted to spy on Democrats at their headquarters in the Watergate hotel

• Men with connections to CRP/CREEP were arrested and convicted

• Nixon stated that the burglars had no connection to his administration

• James McCord, one of the convicted burglars, claimed a Republican cover-up

• An investigation uncovered wire taps, presidential tapes, and further evidence of espionage

• Robert Woodward and Carl Bernstein, writers for The Washington Post, helped reveal the details behind the break-in

• This deception at the highest political level caused many Americans to become disenchanted with the government

Furman v. Georgia

Date: 1972

• Supreme Court ruled that the death penalty was unconstitutional unless fairly applied

• Subsequent Supreme Court decisions have allowed the death penalty in certain circumstances

War Powers Act

Date: 1973

• Required the President to report to Congress within forty-eight hours of committing United States troops in foreign conflicts

• Congressional approval was necessary for any military commitment of troops for more than ninety days

• The requirement was enacted by Congress over Nixon’s veto

Saturday Night Massacre

Date: 1973

• Followed Nixon’s refusal to give tapes to Archibald Cox, the government’s special prosecutor

• Nixon ordered Attorney General Elliot Richardson to fire Cox from this appointment

• Rather than fire Cox, Richardson quit

• Eventually, the tapes surfaced and Nixon resigned in August 1974

Rise of the New Right

Date: 1960s - 1980s

• Barry Goldwater, a U.S Senator and Republican presidential nominee in 1964, sparked the resurgence of the conservative movement.

• Ronald Reagan, California governor and U.S president, was “Reagamonics” and standing firm against the Soviet Union, which he dubbed “The Evil Empire”

• Moral Majority movement was led by evangelical Christians, including Jerry Falwell, and focused on a conservative agenda and “traditional” values

• Abortion became an important topic during this time; fundamentalist Protestants and Catholics joined forces.

Roe v. Wade

Date: 1973

• Supreme Court decision that ruled first trimester abortions were permitted

• All state laws prohibiting such abortions were made unconstitutional

• The decision was based on a woman’s right to privacy

• Led to criticism from Roman Catholics and right-to-life groups

Gerald Ford

Date: 1974-1977

• Thirty-eighth President

• Became vice president after Spiro Agnew resigned as a result of an investigation into financial irregularities

• Took office after Nixon, though the former president had not been charged with anything

• His rise to power represented the first use of the Twenty-fifth Amendment, which provided for action in case of a vice presidential vacancy.

Jimmy Carter

Date: 1977-1981

• Thirty-ninth President

• Defeated Gerald Ford for presidency

• Wanted to make a "responsible government"

• Reduced unemployment and eased the energy crisis

• Negotiated the Camp David Accords, in which Israel returned land in the Sinai Peninsula in exchange for Egyptian recognition of Israel's rights

• Iran's holding of American hostages, along with inflation, led to his loss to Ronald Reagan in 1980

• Both during his tenure in office and since his loss to Reagan, Carter has worked for improvements in human rights, including tying foreign aid to their protection

Bakke v. Regents of the University of California

Date: 1978

• The Supreme Court upheld the university's use of race in its admissions decisions

• The Court also found that
  Bakke, a white, should have been admitted to the university's medical school

• This finding banned The use of racial quotas

America Hostages in Iran

Date: 1979

• America had supported the Shah of Iran, who lost power after a coup by the Ayatollah Khomeini

• Supporters of Khomeini were anti-American because of this support of the Shah

• Carter allowed the Shah to receive medical attention in the United States, upsetting
  Iranians

• Iranian revolutionaries stormed the American embassy in Iran and took hostages

• Carter froze Iranian assets in the United States and sent ships within striking distance

• An accord was finally signed and the revolutionaries freed the hostages on Reagan's inauguration day

Three Mile Island

Date: 1979

• A nuclear power plant located south of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, overheated, causing part of its uranium core to melt

• The overheating was caused by human, design, and mechanical errors

• Radioactive water and gases were released

• Led to a slowdown in the construction of other reactors and changes in the Nuclear Regulatory Commission

• Americans became more aware of environmental concerns

Ronald Reagan

Date: 1981-1989

• Fortieth President

• Defeated Carter after carrying a large majority

• Increased military spending, including the Strategic Defense Initiative (Star Wars Program), which was a space-based defense system

• Succeeded in getting a tremendous tax cut, aiming to increase investments and improve the job market (Reaganomics)
  After first increasing the number of nuclear weapons, Reagan worked with Gorbachev toward the reduction of nuclear weapons

• Won re-election over Democratic nominees Walter Mondale and
  Geraldine Ferraro

Mikhail Gorbachev

Date: 1985-1991

• Soviet political leader

• Worked with Reagan to reduce nuclear weapons

• Removed Soviet troops from
  Afghanistan

• Worked to liberalize repressive atmosphere of country under governmental policies of "glasnost"

• (openness) and
  "perestroika" (restructuring)

• Key players in the fall of communism in Russia

Iran-Contra Affair

Date: 1986

• Scandal involving CIA, National Security Council, and the
  Reagan administration

• The United States sold weapons to Iranians friendly to America in order to encourage them to free hostages

• Profits from sales of weapons funded Nicaraguan revolutionaries fighting the Sandinista government

• Congress had approved neither the sale nor the funding, and hearings led to convictions of Oliver North, Robert McFarlane, and John Poindexter

• For many, the hearings echoed the Watergate scandal;
  American citizens became increasingly skeptical of their
  government

Black Monday (Stock Market Crash)

Date: October 19, 1987

• The Dow Jones dropped 22.6%, the largest single-day drop since 1914

• Causes included trade deficits, computerized trading, and American criticism of West
  Germany's economic policies

• The crash later affected the insurance industry and was a cause of the savings and loan crisis

Savings and Loan Scandal

Date: 1980s

• The lax regulation of the savings and loan industry led to poor investments and high insolvency

• The economic environment following
  Black Monday worsened the savings and loan financial disaster

• As the federal government guaranteed deposits up to $100,000, it made a $166 billion rescue appropriation

• The scandal is representative of the effects of poor governmental regulation

George H.W Bush

Date: 1989-1993

• Forty-first President

• Prior to becoming president, he served as a congressman, director of the C.I.A., U.N.
  Ambassador, and vice president to Ronald Reagan

• Sent troops to overthrow Manuel Noriega in Panama

• Led the United States to success in the Gulf War, forcing Iraq to withdraw from Kuwait

Persian Gulf War

Date: 1991

• Saddam Hussein, dictator and leader of Iraq, invaded

• Kuwait on August 2, 1990

• American interests in oil were threatened

• After Iraq failed to meet the deadline for peaceful withdrawal, the United States launched Operation Desert Storm on January 18, 1991, led by General Norman
  Schwarzkopf

• Air strikes were followed by a ground war

• Multi-national forces defeated Iraqi troops and liberated
  Kuwait

• Though under heavy embargos, Saddam was left in power, which would lead to a second war with Iraq in the George W. Bush presidency

Effects of the Collapse of Soviet Union

Date: 1990s

• Break-up of nations created new foreign policy challenges in Europe and Asia as well as a proliferation of weaponry

• Provided new opportunities for
  United States trade

• Left former Soviet territories with challenges in political stability and corruption

Bill Clinton

Date: 1993-2001

• Forty-second President

• Former law professor, attorney general of Arkansas, and governor of Arkansas

• Achieved gun control measures, a strong economy, acts supporting time off for family leave, and welfare reform

• Led the United States into joining the North American Free Trade Agreement
  (NAFTA), lifting trade barriers between the United States, Canada, and Mexico

• Became the second president to be impeached by the House of
  Representatives after an extra-marital affair with Monica Lewinsky

Branch Davidian Incident

Date: 1993

• Apocalyptic Christian group founded during the 1930s

• David Koresh and his followers lived at a compound outside Waco, Texas

• A shootout occurred between the FBI, ATF, and Branch Davidians as a warrant for illegal weapons and child abuse was attempted to be served

• Four federal agents and five Branch Davidians were killed

• A fifty-one day standoff occurred, ending with the burning of the compound and the death of Koresh and the rest of his followers

Oklahoma City Bombing

Date: 1995

• Timothy Mc Veigh destroyed the Oklahoma City

• Federal Building with a fertilizer bomb

• 168 people were killed in the destruction caused by the explosion

• McVeigh said he was upset with the government about the Branch Davidian fiasco and the events at
  Ruby Ridge

• McVeigh was executed by lethal injection in 2001

George W. Bush

Date: 2001-2009

• Forty-third President

• Former Texas governor sworn into office in 2001

• Won presidential race after the Democratic nominee and former vice president, Al Gore, conceded following a voting ordeal in Florida

• Gore had more popular votes than Bush but fewer electoral votes

• Passed initiatives in attempts to improve education (No Child Left Behind Act)

• His declaration against terrorism led to the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq

• Son of former president, George Bush

• Re-elected in 2004

September 11, 2001

Date: September 11, 2001

• Day of attacks by terrorist cells connected to the Al Qaeda network, which was led by Osama bin Laden, a Saudi dissident

• Al Qaeda operatives hijacked two airliners and crashed them into New York's World Trade Center, destroying the buildings and killing thousands

• Another hijacked plane hit the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.

• A final hijacked plane was diverted from its mission, crashing in Pennsylvania

• As a result of the attacks, Congress passed the USA Patriot Act, which broadened government authority to gather intelligence and further defined crimes that were punishable as terrorism

• Attacks led to the invasion of Afghanistan

Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan

Date: 2001-Present

• War in Afghanistan began on October 7, 2001, as U.K forces responded to the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States

• Objectives include ending the safe haven of Al Qaeda fighters and ending the Taliban's reign

• War in Iraq began on March 20, 2003, with an invasion of multinational forces

• War based on U.S. and U.K. claims that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, which posed threats to them and their allies

• United States continues to fight in Iraq to support democracy and human rights and to end the threat of terrorism

Hurricane Katrina

Date: August 29, 2005

• A large hurricane that caused major destruction and loss of life along the Gulf Coast of the United States

• The levee system in New Orleans, Louisiana, flooded due to catastrophic failure; water covered the city and nearby areas for weeks, and more than 1500 people died

• The federal government was widely blamed for its slow response to the crisis, and the federal, state, and local governments were criticized for their lack of communication

• Issues of race, poverty, and political power were debated nationwide as news of the tragedy spread

• The levee failures led to investigations of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which had designed and built them, and into local levee boards that managed the system

Barack Obama

Date: 2009-2017

• Forty-fourth President

• Member of the Democratic Party

• First African American to be elected President

• Signed the American
  Recovery and

• Reinvestment Act in
  February 2009

Evolution of the Major Political Parties from Civil War to Modern Day

Date: 1854 - Modern Day

• Key Moment: Passage of the Kansas Nebraska Act

• Lincoln's Republicans were concerned mainly with preventing the extension of slavery into the territories, while Democrats were split North-South over the issue

• Modern-day Republicans tend to emphasize business activity while modern-day Democrats support broad social programs

SALT I & II

Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty

SALT I: Agreement signed by the United States and the Soviets to stop building nuclear ballistic missiles for five years

SALT II: Signed by Carter and Brezhnev; it reduced and limited nuber of missile launchers and bombers

These treaties helped to reduce tension between the United States and the U.S.S.R.

Henry Kissinger

National Security Advisor and Secretary of State under Nixon

Pursued relations with China

Played significant role in SALT

Negotiated talks after Six Day War between Arab countries and Israel

Twenty-Sixth Amendment

Ratified in response to Vietnam War

Gave the right to vote to citizens eighteen and older

By November 1971, eleven million Americans between eighteen and twenty-one were eligible to vote.

Kent State

Site of a university protect against the Vietnam War and the Cambodian conflict

The Ohio National Guard killed four students during the event and wounded many others

Led to other uprisings on college campuses, including Jackson State, where two students were killed

Pentagon Papers

Defense Department papers that discussed America’s involvement in South Asia

Discussed how the government had falsely portrayed its intentions during the Vietnam War in the 1960s

The New York Times received the papers from Daniel Ellsberg, who had studied defense policies; the Times began publishing articles about the study in June 1871

The United States tried to stop the Time by arguing for national security, but the Supreme Court allowed publication based on freedom of the press

Set a precedent for future conflicts in the press over security versus liberty

Richard M. Nixon

37th president

Prior to becoming president in 1969, Nixon served as United States representative, senator, and vice president

Nixon oversaw “Vietnamization,” which called for the training of South Vietnamese troops to assume responsibility for military actions

He began to remove United States troops in phases from South Vietnam and ended the draft

Opened China for trade and reduced tension with USSR with the Salt agreements

Resigned following Watergate scandal, becoming the first president to do so

Credited with aiding detente, the easing of strained relations between the United States and the USSR

Moon Landing

Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the Earth’s moon

Armstrong made the famous statement, “That one small step for man…one giant leap for mankind”

Armstrong’s fellow astronauts were Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins

American Indian Movement

Supported Native American civil rights and recognition of past treaties within the United States

Militants associated with the organization staged an occupation of the town of Wounded Knee, South Dakota, arguing that treaties had been ignored.

Tet Offensive

North Vietnam violated a truce during Tet (New Year), attacking cities throughout South Vietnam

Despite initiating the fighting, the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong were defeated and suffered heavy casualities

The offensive surprised the United States and the American public because it showed that the communist were able to launch an organized attack.

Counterculture Movement

Began at Berkeley with free speech movement

Beliefs included women’s liberation, anti-materialism, and opposition to the war in Vietnam

Experimented with drugs and sex

Young people who favored the counterculture were called “hippies”

The Woodstock Music and Art Festival in New York State marked the culmination of the counterculture movement.

Cesar Chavez

Migrant farmer who founded the National Farm Workers Association

His goal was to defeat persecution throughout the migrant worker system

Used strikes, picketing, and marches to help protect workers

Robert F. Kennedy

Served as Attorney General under president Kennedy

Elected as senator from New York in 1964

Pushed for desegregation and election regulation

Presidential candidate in 1968

He was assassinated in California by Sirhan

Brother of President John F. Kennedy

Black Panthers

Initially focused on the protection of African American neighborhoods from police brutality, but its goals changed over the years

Provided a variety of social programs within the African American community, such as free lunches for children

Its political objectives were often hindered by the confrontational and sometimes violent means

A spit in party ideology over how to achieve these objectives led to its decline

Malcom X

African American advocate and leader who moved away from Martin Luther King’s non-violent methods of civil disobedience

While in prison, he became Black Muslim and later a minister in the Nation of Islam

Leader of Black Muslims suspended him when he made derogatory remarks about Kennedy’s assassination

Formed a new organization, Muslim Mosque

Converted to Orthodox Islam and began accepting cooperation between African Americans and whites

Was assassinated in New York during a speech

Watts Riots

6 day riot in Los Angeles

Causes include a drunk-driving American and claims of police brutality

34 deaths and over $200 million worth of property damage resulted

Sparked other riots throughout the country

Voting Rights Act of 1965

Signed into law by Lyndon Johnson

Resulted after demonstrations against the measures used to prevent African Americans from voting; these measures included violence

Voters could no longer be forced to take literacy tests

Provided federal registration of African American voters in areas that had less than fifty percent of eligible voters registered

Ralph Nadar

Political activist and advocate for consumers

His book Unsafe at Any Speed shed light on poor safety standards for automobiles, leading Congress to pass auto safety measures

Unsuccessfully ran as a third-party candidate for the United States presidency in 1996, 2000, and 2004

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

The North Vietnamese supposedly fired on American ships in the Gulf of Tonkin

Congress passed a resolution allowing President Johnson to use military action in Vietnam

Johnson retaliated against the Viet Cong with bombing attacks in the North followed by ground troops

Heart of Atlanta Motel v. U.S

A motel operator refused to serve an African American customer

The Supreme Court upheld the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which outlawed discrimination in schools, places of work, voting sites, public accommodations, and public areas

Civil Rights Act of 1964

Passed by Lyndon Johnson

The March on Washington in 1963 aided passage of the Act

The Act strengthened voting rights protection

Prohibited discrimination in places of public accommodations

Required the federal government to withdraw support from any state or program that discriminated

Established the Equal Employment Commission to oversee hiring practices

Betty Friedan

Author and activist

Published The Feminine Mystique in 1963, which attacked the belief that a woman’s role satisfaction comes through homemaking

One of the founders of the National Organization of Women (NOW), which helped advance women’s rights and causes

Women’s Liberation Movement

Spurred by increasing employment opportunities and increasing numbers of educated women

It questioned “traditional” definitions of women

s roles

There became increased opportunities for women in work, education, and business

Gideon V. Wainwright

The Supreme Court held that all persons charged with a felony must be provided legal counsel

Escobedo v. Illinois

The Supreme Court found that the police must honor a person’s request to have an attorney present during interrogation

Miranda v. Arizona

The Supreme Court determined that an arrested person had the right to remain silent, the right to be told that whatever he said could be used against him, the right to be represented by an attorney, the right to have a lawyer even if he could not afford one, and the right to one phone call to obtain a lawyer

Lyndon Johnson

Previously served as a democratic senator from Texas, where he was both the whip and floor leader

Promoted Kennedy’s agenda through Congress, including tax cut and the Civil Rights Act of 1964

Called for war against poverty and promoted social and economic welfare legislation (his Great Society program)

36th president

Rachel Carson

America writer and marine biologist

Wrote Silent Spring a study on dangerous insecticides

Helped initiate the environmental movement

Baker v. Carr

Charles Baker, a Tennessee voter, brought suit against the state, arguing a violation of the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment

Baker claimed that his vote had been diluted

The Supreme Court held that the political question would be heard, opening the way for numerous voting suits

Engel v. Vitale

Supreme Court held that a prayer created by the New York State Board of Regents was unconstitutional

Even though the prayer was “non-denominational,” the Court held that state-sponsored prayer of any type went against the First Amendment’s establishment of religious clause

James Meredith

• Obtained a federal court order to allow him to enroll at the
  University of Mississippi in 1962

• On several occasions, he was barred from enrolling

• Federal marshals were called in to aid him in enrolling and attending classes

Cuban Missile Crisis

• An American spy plane discovered Soviet missile sites being placed in Cuba

• In response, President Kennedy blockaded Cuba and demanded that the Soviets remove the missile bases and all long-range weapons

• Kennedy declared that any missile attack on the United States would result in retaliation against the U.S.S.R.

• Khrushchev removed the missile sites; the United States lifted the blockade and removed its intermediate-range ballistic missiles from Turkey

• Led to Nuclear Test Ban (1963), in which the United States, Britain, and the U.S.S.R. agreed not to perform nuclear tests in the atmosphere or underwater

Alliance For Progress

• The Alliance was a "Marshall Plan" for
  Latin America

• Its purpose was to provide economic aid to help the region resist
  Communism

• The results of the Alliance were disappointing to those who supported it

Berlin Wall

Date: Erected in 1961

• Barrier erected by the East German government to separate East and West
  Berlin

• East Berlin was under
  Communist control, while West Berlin remained under Western control (American, British, and French)

• Meant to stop defections and travel of East Berliners

• "Fell" in 1989

John F. Kennedy

• Thirty-fifth President

• Democrat and first Catholic president

• Domestic program (New Frontier) included tax reforms, educational aid, and emphasis on the space program

• Raised minimum wage

• Approved the Bay of Pigs invasion

• Established the Peace Corps in 1961 as an agency to send American volunteers to developing countries

• Successfully led America through the Cuban
  Missile Crisis

M, was by sinated inVolvs of November

U-2 Spy Plane

• Soviets shot down a United States reconnaissance plane in Soviet airspace

• Eisenhower admitted to spying on the Soviets

• The pilot, Francis Gary Powers, survived and served eighteen months in a Soviet jail

Fidel Castro

• Communist-friendly leader of Cuba

• Took power in Cuba after overthrowing Fulgencio Batista in 1959

• Signed agreements with Soviets for trade

• The United States broke diplomatic and trade relations with Cuba

Television

• Invented in the 1930s

• FDR was the first president to appear on TV; he gave a speech in 1939 at the New York World's Fair, where television was being officially introduced to the mass public

• Seminal shows during the 1950s and 1960s included The Honeymooners, I Love Lucy, and The Ed Sullivan Show

• By 1960, over forty million homes had televisions

Eisenhower Doctrine

• Created as a partial reaction to the Suez Canal crisis

• The doctrine committed forces and economic aid to the Middle East to stop
  Communist threats

• Some nations, including
  Egypt and Syria, denounced the doctrine

Sputnik

• Soviet satellite launched into space

• First unmanned spacecraft to escape Earth's gravity

• Caused concern in the United States because Americans realized they were not as technologically advanced as the Soviets

• Led to an increased emphasis on science education in the United StatesSoviet satellite launched into space

Civil Rights Organizations

• Congress of Racial Equality (CORE): Founded by James
  Farmer in Chicago and advocated non-violence

• CORE: Sponsored the 1961 Freedom Rides in the South, breaking segregation rules on buses and eventually changing those rules

• Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC):
  Founded in 1961 to support sit-ins

• Stokely Carmichael, a leader of the SNCC and the Black Panther Party, called for "Black Power," which urged independence and solidarity among African Americans; he worked separately from other civil rights organizations

National Association for Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)

• Formed in 1910 by a group of whites and African Americans, including W.E.B. DuBois, to stop racial discrimination

• Supported sit-ins as a form of protest against segregation as well as other methods of non-violent protest
  Disapproved of the moral radical groups such as SNCC and the Black Panthers

• Because of its mission, methods, and organization, the NAACP remains a force in social issues and political affairs

Civil Rights Movements Incidents

• Emmett Till, a teenage African American, was killed by two white men after supposedly whistling at one of their wives; the two men were acquitted

• In 1960, four African American students in Greensboro, North Carolina, sat at the Woolworth's
  "Whites Only" lunch counter and refused to leave until they were served, sparking sit-ins throughout the South

• An explosion at the Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, killed four African American girls (1963)

• During a voter registration drive in Mississippi, two white college students and a local African American were murdered; civil rights legislation was enacted as a result

• In 1965, a group marched from Selma, Alabama, to Birmingham, Alabama, for voting rights; the 1965 voting rights was signed soon thereafter

Little Rock Crisis

• Brown v. Board of Education (1954) called for desegregation of schools

• In 1957 the NAACP registered nine African American students to attend the previously all-white Little Rock Central High

• Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus used the Arkansas National Guard to try and block the students from entering school on September 4,1957

• President Eisenhower intervened with federal troops, and the students attended their first day on September 25, 1957

Civil Rights Act of 1957

• First civil rights act since
  Reconstruction

• Stimulated by Brown v.
  Board of Education of Topeka and civil rights activism

• Created a panel to ensure that voting rights of African Americans were not violated

Martin Luther King Jr.

• Civil rights leader and Chairman of Southern Christian
  Leadership Conference

• Believed in non-violent civil disobedience

• Key member of the 1963 March on Washington, a response to a civil rights bill by President Kennedy being stalled in Congress

• At the March on Washington, King delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech

• Opposed the war in Vietnam

• Assassinated by James Earl Ray in 1968

Interstate Highway Act (Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956)

• Under the Act, the interstate highway system was expanded to 41,000 miles

• Signed by President Eisenhower

• Federal government was to pay ninety percent of the cost of the expansion

• $25 billion was authorized from 1957 to 1969; $114 billion was eventually expended over thirty-five years

• Besides allowing motorists to travel easily throughout the country, the expanded highway system also allowed for troop movement and evacuation routes