APUSH 36: American Pageant Chapter 36: The Stormy Sixties

Civil Rights Act

1964 law banning racial discrimination in private businesses open to the public, mandating racial equality in hiring, empowers federal government to take action against discrimination

Title VII

Stipulation in Civil Rights Act which bans discrimination based on race, national origin, sex, and religion in employment/hiring, enforced by EEOC

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

Federal agency created by JFK in 1961 which was later authorized to enforce Title VII of the Civil Rights Act

Affirmative Action

Program in which federally-funded projects were required to take definitive and swift action to eliminate hiring discrimination, introduced by LBJ in 1965, later meant “reverse” discrimination

The Other America

Michael Harrington’s 1963 novel revealing that 20% of Americans lived under the poverty line, with 40% of African-Americans living in poverty, influenced LBJ’s policies

Great Society

LBJ’s domestic policy which aimed to restore domestic prosperity, promote Civil Rights, and end poverty

War on Poverty

LBJ’s creation of Medicare/medicaid, expansion of educational systems, and creation of welfare programs to end poverty

Tonkin Gulf Resolution

Congressional agreement in August 1964 giving LBJ complete power to respond to attacks on US ships in the Tonkin Gulf, saw a massive increase in military involvement in Vietnam

1964 Election

LBJ defeats Goldwater 486-52, wins 61% of popular vote, secures supermajorities in both Congressional houses

Department of Housing and Urban Development

Cabinet department established in 1965 to reform federal housing policy, led by Robert C. Weaver, the 1st black cabinet secretary

Medicare

Federal healthcare for the elderly established in 1965, allowed to increase spending without Congressional approval, decreased elderly poverty

Immigration and Nationality Act

1965 law abolishing national-origin quotas in immigration, doubling number of immigrants allowed in per year, setting a limit on number of immigrants from Western Hemisphere, changed immigrant demographics

Project Head Start

Educational program to improve education among underprivileged and minority children, helped decrease black poverty

24th Amendment

1964 constitutional amendment banning poll taxes from being levied on voters in federal elections, in response to taxes on poor black voters

Freedom Summer

Voter registration drive in Mississippi in 1964 led by civil rights groups, marred by the killing of 3 activists by racists, 21 Whites were arrested

Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party

Political party established in 1964 to replace racist delegates of Mississippi’s Democratic Party at 1964 DNC, denied by party bosses

Voting Rights Act

1965 law banning racial disenfranchisement and literacy tests in federal elections, sent federal overseers to Southern states to enforce it

Watts

Black neighborhood in LA that saw massive riots on 8/11/1965 after a policeman allegedly brutalized a black man, killed 34 and left 1000 dead, turned civil rights groups to a more violent style of protest

Black Panther Party

Armed black militants who operated in Oakland starting in 1966 to prevent police brutality and protect black rights

Black Power

Doctrine of black separatism, militancy, and supremacy which spread among black activists after 1965, promoted by Stokely Carmichael

Stokely Carmichael

SNCC leader who began to promote Black Power doctrine in 1965 and wanted to “smash everything Western civilization has created”

James Earl Ray

Supposed assassin of Martin Luther King Jr, convicted and sentenced to 99 years in prison but believed by Coretta Scott King to be innocent, won 1993 mock trial on HBO

Six-Day War

1967 military conflict between Israel and Egypt, Syria, and Jordan, resulted in Israeli expansion into Gaza, West Bank, and Golan Heights, laid foundations for modern Arab conflicts

West Bank

Jordanian-occupied territory in Eastern Israel which was taken by Israel during Six-Day War, settled by Israelis and became contentious

William Fulbright

Anti-war Senator (D-AR) who was the head of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, held hearings on TV in 1966 and 1967 which turned public opinion against war

Cointelpro

FBI’s counterintelligence program which was weaponized against anti-Vietnam War activists and accused them of being communist

Tet Offensive

Surprise attacks by the Viet Cong in 1/1968 that saw heavy losses on both and a key political victory for Ho Chi Minh

1968 Election

Richard Nixon defeats Hubert Humphrey and George Wallace, 301-191-46, wins 56% of popular vote without major cities

George Wallace

Governor of Alabama who was radically pro-segregation, won 5 states, 46 electoral votes, and 9.9 million votes in 1968

Second Vatican Council

21st Catholic Ecumenical council from 1962-1965 which liberalized the Church and allowed for relations with other faiths

Rebel Without a Cause

1955 movie starring James Dean which displayed the frustrations young people had with authority and conformity

Free Speech Movement

Organized protests at UC Berkeley in 1964 opposing the ban on political speech on campus, lasted several months

Mattachine Society

Gay rights organization founded in Los Angeles in 1951 which demanded sexual tolerance for gays and lesbians

Stonewall Rebellion

Violent riots in NYC in 1969 after off-duty cops attacked gay men at a gay bar, led to the gay rights movement’s power

Students for a Democratic Society

Leftist student organization which started as an anti-war and pro-equality group, quickly became radical and violent

Young Americans for Freedom

Conservative student organization which propelled Barry Goldwater’s campaign and led to the rebirth of conservatism

Weather Underground

Radical leftist terrorist organization which was created in SDS in 1969, sought to overthrow the US Government

LSD

Psychedelic drug popularized during the 1960s which was popular among hippies and led to the birth of “acid rock” music

Vietnamization

Military strategy launched in 1969 to reduce the number of US troops in Vietnam and to to train Vietnamese soldiers to fight northern Communists with American weapons & training

Nixon Doctrine

Nixon’s military policy which upheld prior military agreements, but future wars would be fought without US involvement

Silent Majority

Nixon’s term for the law abiding middle class that supported the Vietnam War, used to justify a counteroffensive

My Lai

Vietnamese village which was attacked by the US Army in March 1968, 347/504 villagers were killed, caused controversy

Kent State Shooting

Killing of 4 anti-war rioters by National Guardsmen at Kent State University in Ohio on 5/4/1970

26th Amendment

1971 constitutional amendment which decreased the minimum age to vote in federal elections from 21 to 18

Pentagon Papers

Government report leaked to the New York Times in 1971, revealing failures of JFK and LBJ in handling of the war, along with secrecies and cover ups by the government

Détente

Period of the Cold War with relaxed tensions after Nixon visited the USSR in 1972

Strategic Arms Limitation Talks

Agreement between the USA and USSR which stipulated that no new long-range nuclear missiles can be built for 5 years

Salvador Allende

Marxist ruler of Chile who rose to power in 1970 and was killed by an army attack on his headquarters in 1973, hated by CIA

Griswold v. Connecticut

1965 Supreme Court case striking down a state law banning the use of contraceptives, established a right to privacy

Gideon v. Wainwright

1963 Supreme Court case which held that all criminal defendants were entitled to legal counsel regardless of ability to pay

Miranda v. Arizona

1966 Supreme court case which established that arrested people have the right to remain silent, any statements collected before they are informed aren’t admissible

Miranda Warning

Statement of an arrested person’s rights that must be told to them before interrogation

Engel v. Vitale

1962 Supreme Court case which ruled that public schools cannot encourage prayer or Bible reading under 1st Amendment

Roe v. Wade

1973 Supreme Court case inventing a Constitutional right to abortion, overturned by Dobbs (2022)

Warren E. Burger

Chief Justice of the Supreme Court nominated by Nixon who betrayed his nominator by continuing Warren Court trends

Supplemental Security Income

Welfare program created by Richard Nixon which gave money to the blind and disabled who couldn’t work

Philadelphia Plan

Richard Nixon’s 1969 program to force construction unions to hire more black apprentices, shifted affirmative action to groups

Griggs v. Duke Power Co.

1971 Supreme Court case banning hiring measures like IQ tests if they had the result of excluding women and minorities

Silent Spring

1962 exposé by Rachel Carson which exposed harmful effects of pesticides, influenced environmentalist movement

Environmental Protection Agency

Federal agency created in 1970 to regulate pollution, emissions, and pesticides, massive win for environmentalists

Earth Day

Global holiday celebrated on 4/22 to spread awareness of environmental issues, first observed in 1970

Clean Air Act

1970 law regulating emissions of gases by vehicles, buildings, and companies, enforced by the EPA

Endangered Species Act

1973 law establishing protections for species of organisms listened as threatened or endangered, enforced by EPA

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

Federal agency created in 1970 which improves working conditions, prevents accidents, and issues safety standards

Consumer Product Safety Commission

Federal agency created in 1972 to hold companies accountable for dangerous products, increases government control

Southern Strategy

Nixon’s reelection strategy which valued law and order, and careful Civil Rights legislation to court Southern Democrats

Primary Elections

Party elections at the state level to determine delegate representation at nominating conventions based on popularity, introduced in 1960s/1970s

1972 Election

Nixon defeats McGovern 520-17, won over 66% of popular vote, McGovern wins only 1 states and DC

Thomas Eagleton

Senator (D-MO) who was removed from 1972 VP nomination when his psychiatric hospitalizations were revealed after DNC

George McGovern

Senator (D-SD) who was far-left and was dominated in the 1972 election when the young people he pandered to didn’t vote

Pol Pot

Murderous communist dictator of Cambodia who ruled from 1976 until his overthrow by Vietnam in 1979, killed 2 million people

War Powers Act

1973 law which required president consult Congress within 48 hours of ordering troops into a foreign country, shortening presidential war period

All-Volunteer Force

Armed forces with full-time professionals as soldiers, more technologically advanced and trained, used overseas with less losses

Yom Kippur War

Syrian and Egyptian attack on Israeli Sinai in 1973, countered by Israel with US aid, led OPEC to enact oil embargo on USA

Henry Kissinger

Nixon’s head military adviser who became his Secretary of State, shaped much of his policy in Vietnam and Israel

Special Economic Zone

Designation of Shenzhen, China in 1979 which allowed it to operate under regulated capitalism, helped China become a superpower