US II Final

Flashcards about World War II, the Cold War, Civil Rights, and the Vietnam War.

Fascism

A government where most of the power is held by one ruler or party stressing nationalism where the country is more important than the individual

Neutrality Act of 1935

Prohibited the export of “arms, ammunition” to nations at war.

Neutrality Act of 1936

Prohibited American banks from extending any loans to belligerent nations.

Neutrality Act of 1937 - Cash and Carry Rule

Belligerents can pay cash for anything EXCEPT weapons; favored Britain and France.

Neutrality Act of 1939

Cash and Carry broadened to include arms and ammunition.

Holocaust

Destruction or slaughter on a mass scale, specifically Germany’s mass destruction/slaughter of Jews under Hitler.

Kristallnacht

The Night of Broken Glass; synagogues, Jewish homes, Jewish businesses, Jewish schools, and Jews in general were targeted, vandalized, looted from, and attacked.

Axis Powers

Germany, Japan, and Italy.

Lend-Lease Act

Provide supplies to be paid for in goods and services after the war; USA still technically neutral.

Hideki Tojo

Japanese Prime Minister.

A. Philip Randolph

Labor and civil rights leader who helped reach the desegregation of the military.

Rationing

Allowing each person to have only a fixed amount of a particular commodity; happened on the homefront during WWII.

D-Day

Operation Overlord (Northwest France); largest land-sea-air operation in military history; amphibious landing.

V-E Day

Victory in Europe Day.

Harry S. Truman

FDR dies and VP Truman becomes 33rd President.

Douglas MacArthur

American general and top commander during WWII.

Battle of Midway

Turning point in the war; stopped Japanese advances in the “east.”

Eastern Bloc

A group of communist states aligned with the Soviet Union.

Iron Curtain

Phrase to stand for the division of Europe as said in a speech by Churchill.

Containment policy

U.S. prevention of the spread of communism.

Truman Doctrine

To provide aid to support “free peoples who are resisting outside pressures.”

Marshall Plan

Proposed U.S. aid to ALL European nations, but rejected by Eastern Europe.

Mao Tse-tung

Leader of Chinese Communists.

Chiang Kai-shek

Leader of Chinese Nationalists.

Korean Conflict

Originally a civil conflict between North and South Korea that eventually involved the Soviet Union, China, and the United Nations.

N.A.T.O.

North Atlantic Treaty Organization; defensive alliance between the U.S., Canada, and 10 Western European Nations.

Warsaw Pact

Political and Military alliance between countries of Eastern Europe; all were communist.

H.U.A.C.

House Un-American Activities Committee; began investigating communist influence in the movie industry believing Communists were sneaking propaganda into films.

Hollywood Ten

Victims of the H.U.A.C.; 10 screenwriters/directors who refused to cooperate when subpoenaed because they believed the proceedings were unconstitutional and were sent to prison and lost their ability to work.

Joseph McCarthy

Republican from Wisconsin who took advantage of people’s concern about Communism by making unsupported claims that people in the government were communists.

C.I.A. (Iran, Guatemala)

Central Intelligence Agency; created as part of the National Security Act and began plans to weaken/overthrow governments “unfriendly” to the U.S.

Eisenhower Doctrine

1957; states that the U.S. would defend the Middle East against an attack by any communist country and gave U.S. president the authority to disperse military forces to “protect” the Middle East.

Bay of Pigs Invasion

Failed military operation by the U.S. and Cuban exiles attempting to overthrow Fidel Castro’s government.

Cuban Missile Crisis

U-2 spy plane takes photos of suspected USSR missile sites in Cuba, U.S. demanded that they would be dismantled.

Suburbs

Experienced rapid growth and was attractive for economic reasons.

White Flight

White Americans leaving large cities for suburbs.

Levittown

Refused to sell homes to African Americans.

Redlining

Discrimination as to where African Americans had the ability to purchase houses.

Braceros

An offensive, discriminatory term used to describe Mexican men in the labor force.

November 22nd, 1963

The Assassination of John F. Kennedy.

Montgomery Bus Boycott

Emergence of MLK Jr; A political and social protest against the policy of racial segregation on the public transit system.

Sit-Ins

A form of nonviolent protesting where young students would refuse to leave their seats at a lunch counter after being denied service.

March on Washington (1963)

MLK delivers “I have a dream” speech before ~250,000 people gathered in front of the Lincoln Memorial in D.C. to advocate for the civil and economic rights of African Americans.

Civil Rights Act of 1964

Made by President Johnson; no segregation in public places and no discrimination in employment based on race, gender, national origin.

Voting Rights Act of 1965

Made by President Johnson; outlawed the discriminatory voting practices adopted in many southern states after the Civil War.

Malcom X

African American nationalist and religious leader.

Black Panther Party

Ideology of Black nationalism, socialism, and armed self-defense; were against police brutality and had community outreach programs.

Fred Hampton

American activist and revolutionary socialist who was drugged, shot, and killed in his bed.

Operation Wetback

An immigration enforcement campaign primarily targeting undocumented Mexican immigrants.

The Feminine Mystique

Book by Betty Friedan that described the dissatisfaction among women in mainstream American society after WWII.

Title IX passed

Prohibited gender based discrimination in education.

Ho Chi Minh

Leader of the Vietnamese Independence Movement based in North Vietnam.

Viet Minh

One of several groups to form and struggle against foreign rule in Vietnam; evolved into a significant political movement.

Dien Bien Phu

French defeated by Vietminh.

Geneva Accords

Result of Dien Bien Phu; Vietnam divided at 17th parallel and elections for reunification of Vietnam.

Ngo Dinh Diem

“Chosen by the U.S./C.I.A. to serve as President of South Vietnam of 1955 who was Western educated and Catholic; was very unpopular with the Vietnamese people.

Domino Theory

Belief that if 1 or 2 more Asian/Southeast Asian countries “fall” to communism, ALL of the rest will “fall” as well.

Gulf of Tonkin Incident

1964; North Vietnamese warships supposedly attacked U.S. warships on two separate occasions in the Gulf of Tonkin.

Tonkin Gulf Resolution

1964; Congress authorizes President Johnson to take any measures necessary to retaliate.

Vietcong

Communist guerrillas in Vietnam that fought “in secret” and supported North Vietnamese army and opposed the South Vietnam and U.S. forces.

Ho Chi Minh Trail

Military supply route from North Vietnam through Laos and Cambodia to South Vietnam that sent weapons, manpower, ammunition, and other supplies.

“Search & Destroy”

American war strategy to search for enemy, make contact, and destroy.

“Light at the End of the Tunnel”

Said by General William Westmoreland and represented a hopeful prediction of the war’s conclusion.

Tet Offensive

A series of surprise attacks launched by North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces that changed American opinions about the war.

“Credibility Gap”

The public's growing distrust in the U.S. government's statements and actions regarding the war.

Vietnamization

US policy of withdrawing its troops and transferring the responsibility and direction of the war effort to the government of South Vietnam.

Paris Peace Accords

Agreement Ending the War with an immediate cease-fire and withdrawal of military personnel.

War Powers Act

Federal law intended to check the president’s power - goes against Tonkin Gulf Resolution.

Watergate

Scandal where President Nixon hired spies to wire and listen in on conversations in the Democratic National Convention at the Watergate Hotel led to his controversy and forced him to resign from office.

Pardoning of Nixon

Done by Ford and was seen by the public as a bad thing, like the government trying to cover the scandal.

Camp David Accords

Shining moment of Carter’s foreign policy where Israel + Egypt find peace agreement - Egypt regains Sinai peninsula and Israel can use Suez Canal + Egypt recognizes Israeli statehood.

SALT II arms agreement

Nuclear arms reduction between U.S. and Russia.

Strategic Defense Initiative aka “Star Wars”

Missile defense system using satellites to shoot down Russian missiles.

Iran-Contra Affair

Reagan’s biggest scandal where he set money aside/negotiated with terrorists after explicitly saying that he wouldn’t just because they supported his cause (anti-communist).

Exxon Valdez Oil Spill

Worst oil spill on American territory under Bush Sr.

Operation Desert Storm

Launched air strikes against Iraq and signaled the beginning of the military phase of the Persian Gulf War.