Civil Rights Movement and Cold War Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards for reviewing key terms and events from the Civil Rights Movement and Cold War lecture notes.

NAACP

Founded in 1909 to advocate for the rights of African Americans.

Brown v. Board of Education

Supreme Court decision that overturned Plessy v. Ferguson, ruling segregation in schools unconstitutional.

Rosa Parks

Her arrest for refusing to give up her bus seat sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

Martin Luther King Jr.

Civil rights leader who delivered the 'I Have a Dream' speech and advocated for nonviolent protest.

Civil Rights Act of 1964

Legislation that outlawed discrimination based on race, sex, or religion.

Voting Rights Act of 1965

Legislation that gave African Americans the right to vote.

Little Rock Nine

A group of African American students who integrated Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Malcolm X

Civil rights leader who founded the Organization of Afro-American Unity.

Freedom Riders

Civil rights activists protesting segregation in interstate bus travel and terminals.

Greensboro Sit-ins

Protests that took place at Woolworth’s lunch counters to challenge segregation.

Medgar Evers

Civil rights activist assassinated in his driveway.

24th Amendment

Prohibited poll taxes in federal elections.

Freedom Summer

Massive voter registration drive in 1964.

Black Panther Party

Group founded in 1966 that promoted Black Power.

Fair Housing Act

Another name for the Civil Rights Act of 1968, aimed to prevent housing discrimination.

16th Street Baptist Church Bombing

Four young girls were killed in a bombing in Birmingham by the KKK.

Thurgood Marshall

First Black Supreme Court Justice.

Letter from Birmingham Jail

MLK's response to a public statement by white clergymen criticizing his protests.

Civil Disobedience

A strategy of nonviolent resistance adopted by Martin Luther King Jr. from Gandhi.

Montgomery Bus Boycott

Event considered a catalyst for the Civil Rights Movement.

Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC)

Organization established by MLK to coordinate nonviolent protest.

Yalta Conference

An event that marked the beginning of the Cold War.

Iron Curtain

An event that marked the beginning of the Cold War.

Truman Doctrine

U.S. policy to provide aid to countries resisting communism, especially Greece and Turkey.

Marshall Plan

U.S. economic aid program to rebuild Western Europe after World War II.

Korean War

Began in 1950.

Iron Curtain

A metaphor for the division between Western Europe and Soviet-controlled Eastern Europe.

Space Race

Began with the Soviet Union’s launch of Sputnik in 1957.

Cuban Missile Crisis

Occurred in 1962.

Bay of Pigs Invasion

A failed U.S.-backed attempt to overthrow Fidel Castro in Cuba.

Warsaw Pact

The communist version of NATO.

U-2 Incident

A U.S. spy plane was shot down over the Soviet Union in 1960.

Nikita Khrushchev

Soviet Premier during the Cold War who clashed with the U.S. over Berlin and Cuba.

Kitchen Debate

A 1959 debate between Nixon and Khrushchev over capitalism and communism.

Tet Offensive

A significant event in the Vietnam war where most U.S. soldiers died.

Gulf of Tonkin Incident

Alleged attack on a U.S. ship by North Vietnam that led to military escalation.

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

Congressional authorization for President Johnson to use military force in Vietnam.

Domino Theory

The belief that if one country fell to communism, neighboring countries would follow.

Berlin Wall

Built in 1961.

Berlin Airlift

U.S. and British planes supplied West Berlin during a Soviet blockade (1948–1949).

Peace Corps

A program started by JFK to send volunteers abroad for education and development.

Massive Retaliation

A political policy introduced by Dwight D. Eisenhower.

SALT

Strategic Arms Limitation Talks between the U.S. and Soviet Union to limit nuclear weapons