APUSH Unit 8 Anchors

Harry S. Truman

33rd U.S. president who helped start Cold War containment policies and created the Truman Doctrine to stop the spread of communism.

Dwight D. Eisenhower

34th U.S. president and WWII general who used nuclear deterrence and alliances to contain communism during the Cold War.

John F. Kennedy

35th U.S. president who dealt with major Cold War events like the Cuban Missile Crisis and promoted domestic reforms through the New Frontier.

Lyndon B. Johnson

36th U.S. president who expanded civil rights laws and created the Great Society programs to fight poverty and inequality.

Richard Nixon

37th U.S. president who improved relations with China and the Soviet Union but resigned after the Watergate scandal.

Jimmy Carter

39th U.S. president known for emphasizing human rights and negotiating the Camp David Accords.

Ronald Reagan

40th U.S. president who increased military pressure on the Soviet Union and promoted conservative economic policies known as Reaganomics.

Bill Clinton

42nd U.S. president who governed during economic growth in the 1990s and focused on domestic policy and globalization.

George W. Bush

43rd U.S. president who led the U.S. during the War on Terror following the September 11 terrorist attacks.

Barack Obama

44th U.S. president who passed the Affordable Care Act and worked to end major U.S. military involvement in Iraq.

Fidel Castro

Communist leader of Cuba who came to power in 1959 and became a major Cold War ally of the Soviet Union.

Nikita Khrushchev

Soviet leader during the early 1960s who confronted the United States during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Mikhail Gorbachev

Last leader of the Soviet Union who introduced reforms such as glasnost and perestroika that helped lead to the end of the Cold War.

Martin Luther King Jr.

Civil rights leader who advocated nonviolent protest and helped lead the movement to end segregation and discrimination.

Malcolm X

Civil rights leader who promoted Black pride, empowerment, and self-defense for African Americans.

Stokely Carmichael

Civil rights activist who helped popularize the slogan "Black Power" and pushed for stronger Black political control.

Betty Friedan

Feminist leader and author of The Feminine Mystique who helped launch the modern women's rights movement.

Phyllis Schlafly

Conservative activist who opposed the Equal Rights Amendment and promoted traditional gender roles.

The Truman Doctrine

A U.S. policy announced in 1947 stating that America would support countries resisting communism.

The Marshall Plan

A U.S. program that gave billions of dollars in economic aid to rebuild Western Europe after World War II.

NATO vs. Warsaw Pact

NATO was a military alliance of Western democratic nations, while the Warsaw Pact was a Soviet-led alliance of communist Eastern European countries.

The Berlin Airlift

A U.S. and Allied effort from 1948-1949 to fly supplies into West Berlin after the Soviet Union blocked land access.

The U-2 Incident

A 1960 event where the Soviet Union shot down an American spy plane, increasing Cold War tensions.

The Korean War

A war from 1950-1953 between communist North Korea and democratic South Korea, with the U.S. supporting the South.

The Bay of Pigs Invasion

A failed 1961 attempt by Cuban exiles supported by the U.S. to overthrow Fidel Castro's communist government.

The Cuban Missile Crisis

A 1962 confrontation between the U.S. and Soviet Union after Soviet nuclear missiles were discovered in Cuba.

Détente

A period during the 1970s when the United States and Soviet Union reduced tensions and improved diplomatic relations.

The Vietnam War

A long conflict in which the U.S. supported South Vietnam against communist North Vietnam and its allies.

The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

A 1964 law that allowed President Johnson to expand U.S. military involvement in Vietnam.

The Tet Offensive

A major surprise attack by North Vietnamese forces in 1968 that weakened U.S. public support for the Vietnam War.

Vietnamization

Nixon's policy of gradually withdrawing U.S. troops while training South Vietnamese forces to take over fighting.

The Fall of Saigon

The 1975 capture of South Vietnam's capital by communist forces, officially ending the Vietnam War.

Glasnost and Perestroika

Reform policies introduced by Gorbachev that increased openness and attempted to restructure the Soviet economy and government.

The Fall of the Berlin Wall

The 1989 destruction of the wall dividing East and West Berlin, symbolizing the collapse of communist control in Eastern Europe.

The Fall of the Soviet Union

The breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991, which marked the official end of the Cold War.

The New Frontier

President Kennedy's domestic program aimed at expanding social programs, space exploration, and economic growth.

The Great Society

President Johnson's set of programs designed to eliminate poverty and racial injustice in the United States.

The Civil Rights Movement

A nationwide movement in the 1950s and 1960s that worked to end racial segregation and discrimination.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964

A landmark law that outlawed segregation and discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.

The Immigration Act of 1965

A law that ended national origin quotas and greatly changed U.S. immigration patterns.

The Voting Rights Act of 1965

A law that banned discriminatory voting practices and protected voting rights for African Americans.

Watergate

A political scandal involving a break-in at Democratic Party headquarters that eventually forced President Nixon to resign.

Reaganomics

Economic policies of Ronald Reagan focused on tax cuts, reducing government regulation, and encouraging economic growth.

The War on Terror

A global campaign led by the United States after the September 11 attacks to combat terrorist organizations.

The Cold War (1945-1991)

A long period of political, military, and ideological rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union.

Kennedy Election (1960)

The U.S. presidential election in which John F. Kennedy narrowly defeated Richard Nixon.

The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution (1964)

Congressional resolution that gave the president authority to expand military action in Vietnam.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964

Landmark civil rights law that ended legal segregation in public places.

The Immigration Act of 1965

Reform that removed restrictive immigration quotas based on nationality.

The Voting Rights Act of 1965

Federal law protecting minority voting rights.

The Tet Offensive (1968)

Large-scale North Vietnamese attack that shifted American opinion about the Vietnam War.

The Fall of Saigon (1975)

The collapse of South Vietnam and victory of communist forces.

The Election of Reagan (1980)

Ronald Reagan defeated Jimmy Carter and began a more conservative era in American politics.

The Fall of the Berlin Wall (1989)

Event symbolizing the collapse of communist control in Eastern Europe.

The Fall of the Soviet Union (1991)

Dissolution of the USSR, ending the Cold War.