Unit 15 Terms AH

Kent State Massacre

Event in which college students were killed by National Guard troops during a protest of American attacks on Cambodia.

George Bush

President who oversaw final stages of the collapse of the Soviet Union and announced the end of the Cold War; faced multiple post-Cold War challenges

Election of 1980

Event in which conservative Ronald Reagan became president, which represented a conservative reaction to liberal government policies during the 1960s and 1970s

OPEC Oil Embargo

Event in which Arab-Muslim, oil-producing countries restricted the oil sold to the United States, which caused gas shortages and damaged the American economy

Reagan Doctrine

Foreign policy that sought to defeat communism by helping anti-communist groups worldwide, especially in Afghanistan and Latin American countries

Watergate scandal

Event in which President Nixon abused power to cover up his possible connection to a crime; resulted in his resignation

My Lai Massacre

Event in which South Vietnamese civilians were killed by American soldiers during the Vietnam War, causing increased anti-war protests

Camp David Accords

Foreign policy victory for President Carter in which Egypt became the first Arab-Muslim country in the Middle East to recognize Israel as a country

Peace through Strength

Reagan’s strategy of starting a major military buildup to fight the Cold War and bait the Soviet Union into an arms race it could not afford

Challenger Disaster

Event in which a NASA Space Shuttle exploded on live television

Détente

Term for the lowered Cold War tension that occurred between the United States and communist countries during Nixon’s presidency

Iran-Contra Affair

Event in which members of President Reagan’s administration were caught illegally funding anticommunist Nicaraguan rebels, tarnishing Reagan’s reputation

Reaganomics

Strategy of lowering taxes, especially for wealthy business owners, so they could invest more in their businesses, create more jobs and raise wages, and cause prosperity to “trickle down” to middle and lower classes too

Liberalism

Political ideology characterized by a belief in stronger government regulations and social programs and higher taxes on the wealthy; often associated with the Democratic Party

Iranian Hostage Crisis

Foreign policy failure for President Carter in which Americans were held against their will for over a year by revolutionaries in Iran

Cultural pluralism

The idea that minority groups, including immigrants, should embrace their unique culture within the United States

New Federalism

President Nixon’s conservative domestic policy to return more federal government power to states

War Powers Act

Law that limited the power of the president to wage war and returned more of this power to Congress

Fall of Saigon

Event in which South Vietnam fell to communism

Pentagon Papers

Leaked secret government documents that revealed mistakes, lies, and illegal activities made by government officials regarding the Vietnam War

Mikhail Gorbachev

Leader of the Soviet Union who increased economic and political freedom in the Soviet Union and satellite nations; oversaw the collapse of the Soviet Union

Home media

Widespread use of cassette and VHS tapes, cable and satellite television, and video games which made the consumption of media more personally customized

Discount retailing

Business strategy of selling items in bulk at low prices; led to the rise of major chain stores such as Wal-Mart

Conservatism

Political ideology characterized by a belief in limited government regulations and social programs, lower taxes on the wealthy, and the promotion of traditional values; often associated with the Republican Party

Stagflation

Term that represented economic conditions of the 1970s; the combination of job stagnation and inflation