Unit 8B AP US History Review

John F. Kennedy

US President from 1961-1963 who oversaw the Bay of Pigs invasion, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the growing civil rights movement and support of the Vietnam war.

Peace Corps

Agency established in 1961 to provide volunteer assistance to developing nations in Asia, Africa, and Latin America

Bay of Pigs Invasion

Failed invasion of Cuba in 1961 when a force of 1,200 Cuban exiles, backed by the United States, landed at the Bay of Pigs and were promptly captured by the Castro government

Berlin Wall

A wall separating East and West Berlin built by East Germany in 1961 to keep citizens from escaping to the democratic West

Cuban Missile Crisis (1962)

An international crisis in October 1962, the closest approach to nuclear war at any time between the U.S. and the USSR. When the U.S. discovered Soviet nuclear missiles on Cuba, President John F. Kennedy demanded their removal and announced a naval blockade of the island; the Soviet leader Khrushchev acceded to the U.S. demands 13 days later.

Lyndon B. Johnson

Democratic President from 1963-1969 who assumed office on the death of President Kennedy; known for the Great Society, Civil Rights advancements and deepening America's involvement in Vietnam

War on Poverty

President Lyndon B. Johnson's program in the 1960's to provide greater social services for the poor and elderly

Great Society

The domestic program of President Lyndon B. Johnson that fought poverty, increased civil rights and improved education

Medicare/Medicaid

Great Society programs that guaranteed healthcare for specific groups, medicare for 65 and older, and medicaid for poor

Elementary and Secondary Education Act

1965 - Provided federal funding to improve the education of poor people. This was the first federal program to fund education.

"The Other America"

This novel was an influential study of the poverty in the U.S., published by Michael Harrington & it was the driving force behind the "war on poverty." 1/5 of the U.S. was living below the poverty line.

"Silent Spring"

1962 book by Rachel Carson that started the environmental movement; voiced concerns about the use of the pesticide DDT

Jackie Robinson

The first African American player to break the color barrier in major league of baseball

Brown v. Board of Education

1954 case that overturned the separate but equal doctrine established in Plessy v. Ferguson; demanded an end to segregation in public education

Thurgood Marshall

NAACP legal counsel and the first African-American Supreme Court Justice

Earl Warren

Chief Justice during the 1950's and 1960's who used a loose interpretation of the Constitution to expand rights for both African-Americans and those accused of crimes.

Little Rock Nine

The first group of black students who were enrolled in a white high school in Little Rock, Arkansas

Montgomery Bus Boycott

In 1955, after Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat on a city bus, Dr. Martin L. King led a boycott of city buses. After 11 months the Supreme Court ruled that segregation of public transportation was illegal.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Civil rights leader of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference who organized nonviolent resistance and peaceful mass demonstrations. He was assassinated in Memphis, TN in 1968

Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC)

An organization formed in 1957 by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to work for civil rights through nonviolent means

Sit-Ins

Protests by black college students, 1960-1961, who took seats at "whites only" lunch counters and refused to leave until served

SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee)

Group formed by student activists; used the sit-in as an effective method of protest

Civil Rights Act of 1964

Law that outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin; considered the most important civil rights legislation since Reconstruction

Voting Rights Act of 1965

Law that ended literacy testing and enabled federal protection of voting rights

James Meredith

The first African American student at the University of Mississippi.

March on Washington

1963 demonstration in which more than 200,000 people rallied for economic equality and civil rights; famous for Dr. King's "I Have a Dream Speech"

Malcolm X

Nation of Islam's most dynamic street orator and recruiter; his beliefs were the basis of the Black Power movement built on separatism and self-defense

Stokely Carmichael

Civil rights leader who coined the phrase "black power" and led SNCC away from a nonviolent approach.

Black Power

A slogan used to reflect solidarity and racial consciousness, used by Malcolm X. It meant that equality could not be given, but had to be seized by a powerful, organized Black community.

Black Panthers

A militant African-American political organization formed in 1966 by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale to fight police brutality and to provide services in poor communities of northern California

Gideon v. Wainwright

Landmark Supreme Court ruling that state courts are required under the Sixth Amendment of the Constitution to provide a lawyer in criminal cases for defendants unable to afford their own attorneys.

Miranda v. Arizona

Supreme Court held that criminal suspects must be informed of their right to consult with an attorney and of their right against self-incrimination prior to questioning by police.

New Left

Coalition of younger members of the Democratic party and radical student groups. Believed in participatory democracy, free speech, civil rights, and opposed the war in Vietnam.

Students for a Democratic Society (SDS)

Founded in 1962; College student organization that protested shortcomings in American life, notably racial injustice and the Vietnam War. It led thousands of campus protests before it split apart at the end of the 1960s.

Hippies/Counterculture

A cultural movement that began around 1969, where followers wanted to detach themselves from the traditional restrictions of society. They dressed differently so they could immediately recognize each other and not conform to expected patterns of dress and hygiene.

Betty Friedan

American feminist, activist and writer. Best known for starting the "Second Wave" of feminism through the writing of her book "The Feminine Mystique" and founding of the National Organization for Women

"Feminine Mystique"

A publication by Betty Friedan that focused attention on the reality facing suburban women.

NOW

National Organization of Women, 1966, Betty Friedan first president, wanted the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to enforce its legal mandate to end sex discrimination

Equal Rights Amendment (ERA)

A constitutional amendment passed by Congress but never ratified that would have banned discrimination on the basis of gender

Vietcong

A group of Communist rebels who, with the help of North Vietnam, fought against South Vietnam and the US using guerrilla warfare.

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

1964 Congressional resolution authorizing President Johnson to take military action in Vietnam; considered a blank check to engage in military action without a declaration of war

Credibility Gap

American public's growing distrust of statements made by the government during the Vietnam War

Tet Offensive (1968)

A massive, coordinated Communist assault against more than 100 cities and towns in South Vietnam; demonstrated that the US was not as close to victory as the government was leading Americans to believe

Robert F. Kennedy

Former Attorney General, and democratic candidate for President until he was killed in 1968

Richard Nixon

1968 and 1972; Republican; Vietnam: advocated "Vietnamization" (replace US troops with Vietnamese), but also bombed Cambodia/Laos, created a "credibility gap," Paris Peace Accords ended direct US involvement; took US off gold standard (currency valued by strength of economy); created the Environmental Protection Agency, SALT I and new policy of detente between US and Soviet Union; first president to visit China; Watergate scandal: became first and only president to resign

Henry Kissinger

Awarded 1973 Nobel Peace Prize for helping to end Vietnam War and withdrawing American forces. Heavily involved in South American politics as National Security Advisor and Secretary of State. Supported covert tactics to prevent communism and Fascism from spreading throughout South America.

Vietnamization

President Nixon's policy of replacing American military forces with those of South Vietnam, and gradually withdrawing from the war

Kent State Shooting

1970 incident in which National Guard troops fired at a group of students during an antiwar protest at Kent State University in Ohio, killing four people.

My Lai Massacre

The killing of 200 Vietnamese old men, women and children by American soldiers in 1968

Pentagon Papers

Secret government documents published In 1971 that revealed that the government had misled Americans about the Vietnam War.

Detente

A policy of reducing Cold War tensions that was adopted by the United States during the presidency of Richard Nixon.

SALT I

Treaty signed in 1972 between the U.S. and the USSR that limited the number of missiles in each nation and led to a slowdown of the arms race between the two countries.

Title IX

A law that bans gender discrimination in schools that receive federal funds

Stagflation

Persistent high inflation combined with high unemployment and stagnant demand in a country's economy

Silent Majority

Term used by President Nixon to describe Americans who opposed the counterculture, upheld traditional beliefs and voted for him in 1968

Roe v. Wade

The 1973 Supreme Court decision holding that a state ban on all abortions was unconstitutional.

Watergate

The events and scandal surrounding a break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters in 1972 and the subsequent cover-up of White House involvement, leading to the eventual resignation of President Nixon under the threat of impeachment.

War Powers Act

1973 resolution of Congress that stated the President can only send troops into action abroad by authorization of Congress or if America is already under attack or serious threat.

Gerald Ford

1974-1977, Republican, first non elected president and VP, he pardoned Nixon

Jimmy Carter

(1977-1981), Created the Department of Energy and the Depatment of Education. He was criticized for his return of the Panama Canal Zone, he enacted an embargo on grain shipments to USSR and boycotted the 1980 Olympics in Moscow and his last year in office was marked by the takeover of the American embassy in Iran, fuel shortages, and the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan, which caused him to lose to Ronald Regan in the next election.

Camp David Accords

The first signed agreement between Israel and an Arab country, in which Egyptian president Anwar Sadat recognized Israel as a legitimate state and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin agreed to return the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt.; 1978

Iran Hostage Crisis

In November 1979, revolutionaries stormed the American embassy in Tehran and held 52 Americans hostage. The Carter administration tried unsuccessfully to negotiate for the hostages release. On January 20, 1981, the day Carter left office, Iran released the Americans, ending their 444 days in captivity.

Cesar Chavez

Non-violent leader of the United Farm Workers from 1963-1970. Organized laborers in California and in the Southwest to strike against fruit and vegetable growers. Unionized Mexican-American farm workers.

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

An independent federal agency established under Richard Nixon to coordinate programs aimed at reducing pollution and protecting the environment

Affirmative Action

A policy designed to redress past discrimination against women and minority groups through measures to improve their economic and educational opportunities

Bakke v. Board of Regents of California

(1978) Case in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against the California university system's use of racial quotas in admissions.