history 1302 potential mcqs

prof. tomaselli @ grayson co college

Viet Cong

name given to Guerrilla fighters employed by Ho Chi Minh and N. Vietnam; chose not to invade south vietnam but to weak south from inside

Gulf of Tonkin Incident and Resolution (1964)

a US warship cruising the vietnamese coast got fired at by N. Vietnam ships

• shots fired, US sails away even though shooting at an enemy ship is an act of war

the shots are reported twice/double reported as two separate incidents, leading to the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution: gave the president authority to use conventional military power w/out a declaration of war from congress

• LBJ uses this, escalates conflict

• resolution is made permanent (helpful for speed of modern war but takes away checks and balances)

My Lai Massacre (1968)

event: a couple of soldiers snapped and opened fire on My Lai Village, 300-500 killed (women, children, etc.), a pilot stopped the massacre by blocking the people from the soldiers with his helicopter blade

consequences: only one soldier punished(minimally), pilot discharged without honor, media finds out a year later and the public reacts terribly

“Vietnamization”

Nixon’s campaign/war policy; turned fighting over to S. Vietnam instead of relying on US to fight

• criticized as “retreating with honor”, US was basically abandoning an ally

slowly removed troupes, increased bombing

Bay of Pigs Invasion (1961)

plan chosen by Kennedy to attack Cuba; trained Cuban refugees to fight and lead a revolution against Castro’s new communist government

big fail by Kennedy- in four days all people were either executed or kicked out

Cuban Missile Crisis (1962)

Russia started building missile silos on Cuba as part of agreement to help Cuba

• grew US concern b/c missiles launched by Cuba could reach Dallas, Chicago, and eastern US

US created blockade in atlantic to stop missile shipments; if Russian ships tried to cross, they would be fired upon

• would result in massive retaliation then mutually assured destruction

agreement reached day before ship would cross and Russia turned around, agreed: Russia would have no missiles in Cuba, US would remove missiles from turkey

Camp David Accords (1978)

Nixon/Eisenhower doctrine continued plus detente

deal w/ middle east concerning Arab v Israel conflict

accords were between Israel + Egypt

• Egypt agreed to recognize Israel as a country (ie they won’t try to destroy Israel anymore and other Arab countries couldn’t fight w/out Egypt)

no other Arab v Israel war since then, results: step towards peace in middle east, victory for Carter and Reagan (became hated by some middle east countries)

Iranian Revolution and Hostage Crisis

Iran grew tired of US influence, revolution against US instituted gov., gov. overthrew in 1979

• Ayatollah Khomeini is new leader and hates US (“Ayatollah” is a religious title, making Iran an Islamic state)

US Embassy is stormed, 52 Americans held hostage, Carter worked to negotiate release

• Iran hated Carter for Camp David

Hostages kept until Reagan was inaugurated

Invasion of Grenada (1983)

US was still sending money and supplies but the dem. gov. had been overthrown by a left-leaning gov. amid internal conflcit

US launches 8 day invasion, old gov. put back but whole world criticized US for getting involved in an isolated, non-nationalized conflict

• Reagan used military in a local issue where other presidents would’ve used CIA

Mujahideen

Muslim fighters who used guerilla tactics against the USSR, funded by US at time

• They made the war very costly for the soviets, largely thanks to US arming and advising them

• Many of them went on to resent US interference, particularly because the US helped them win, but gave no aid to rebuild Afghanistan afterward despite promises to do that

• Probably the most famous leader of a mujahideen group was Osama bin Laden

NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People)

created to help African-Americans in Jim Crow South

• started all major civil rights court cases through NAACP lawyers or just pushing for change

• main group pushing for rights + reforms

focuses no changing the law as opposed to changing peoples’ minds

Governor Orval Faubus

Arkansas Gov. who called in the national guard to help the protestors instead of the Little Rock Nine; received national attention

• publicly criticized by Eisenhower for disobeying orders but didn’t fold

• closes entire Little Rock School System in favor of private schools that favored white after Eisenhower sent 101” Airborne