60s-70s flashcards (study guide)

Mercury Program

First U.S. human spaceflight program that sent astronauts into space to compete with the Soviet Union in the Space Race.

Apollo Program

NASA program that successfully landed humans on the Moon in 1969.

Khrushchev’s first meeting with Kennedy

1961 summit between Nikita Khrushchev and John F. Kennedy in Vienna where Cold War tensions increased.

Berlin Wall

Barrier built in 1961 dividing East and West Berlin to stop people from leaving communist East Germany.

New Frontier

Domestic reform program proposed by John F. Kennedy focused on space, civil rights, and economic growth.

Kennedy’s Economic Program

Policies promoting tax cuts and government spending to stimulate economic growth.

Bay of Pigs

Failed 1961 invasion of Cuba by U.S.-backed Cuban exiles trying to overthrow Fidel Castro.

Peace Corps

Volunteer program created by John F. Kennedy that sends Americans abroad to help developing countries.

Southern Strategy

Political strategy used by Republicans to gain support from white Southern voters by appealing to opposition to civil rights policies.

Silent Majority

Term used by Richard Nixon to describe Americans who supported his policies but were not protesting.

Flexible Response

Military strategy allowing the U.S. to respond to threats with different levels of force, not just nuclear weapons.

Ngo Dinh Diem

Anti-communist leader of South Vietnam supported by the United States in the early Vietnam War.

Military Advisers

U.S. troops sent to train and assist South Vietnamese forces before full U.S. involvement in Vietnam.

Modernization Theory

Idea that helping poorer countries develop economically would make them democratic and resistant to communism.

Cuban Missile Crisis

1962 confrontation when the Soviet Union placed nuclear missiles in Cuba, bringing the U.S. and USSR close to nuclear war.

Freedom Riders

Civil rights activists who rode buses in the South to challenge segregated interstate transportation.

Freedom Summer

1964 campaign to register African American voters in Mississippi.

Alliance for Progress

U.S. program providing aid to Latin American countries to promote development and prevent communism.

Civil Rights Act of 1964

Law banning segregation and discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.

LBJ’s Big Four

Major civil rights goals of Lyndon B. Johnson: civil rights, education, health care, and poverty programs.

Medgar Evers

Civil rights activist murdered in Mississippi in 1963.

MLK and his tactics

Martin Luther King Jr. used nonviolent protest, marches, and civil disobedience to fight segregation.

Assassination of JFK

Killing of John F. Kennedy in Dallas in 1963.

Great Society

Lyndon B. Johnson’s program to reduce poverty and racial injustice.

Election of 1960

Presidential election where John F. Kennedy defeated Richard Nixon.

Election of 1964

Lyndon B. Johnson won a landslide victory over Barry Goldwater.

Election of 1968

Richard Nixon elected president during Vietnam War unrest.

Election of 1972

Richard Nixon re-elected in a landslide victory.

Election of 1976

Jimmy Carter defeated Gerald Ford after Watergate.

LBJ’s negative campaigning

Johnson’s campaign ads attacked opponents (like the famous “Daisy ad” suggesting nuclear war risk).

Voting Rights Act of 1965

Law banning voting discrimination such as literacy tests.

Black Power

Movement encouraging African American pride, independence, and sometimes self-defense.

Riots in the North 1967

Urban riots in cities like Detroit and Newark caused by racial inequality and police brutality.

Black Panther Party

Militant group advocating Black self-defense and community programs.

Charles Manson

Cult leader whose followers committed several murders in 1969.

Hippies

Youth counterculture group promoting peace, love, and rejection of traditional values.

Summer of Love

1967 gathering of thousands of young people celebrating hippie culture.

Haight-Ashbury

San Francisco neighborhood that became the center of hippie culture.

Malcolm X

Civil rights leader who supported Black nationalism and self-defense.

Affirmative Action

Policies designed to increase opportunities for minorities and women in jobs and education.

Philadelphia Plan

Government program requiring companies with federal contracts to hire minority workers.

EPA

Environmental Protection Agency created to protect the environment and enforce environmental laws.

Rachel Carson

Environmental scientist whose book Silent Spring warned about pesticide dangers.

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

1964 law allowing the president to expand U.S. military involvement in Vietnam.

War Powers Act

1973 law limiting the president’s ability to send troops into combat without Congress.

Tet Offensive

Major 1968 surprise attacks by North Vietnam that weakened U.S. public support for the war.

Rolling Thunder

U.S. bombing campaign against North Vietnam during the Vietnam War.

Assassination of MLK

Killing of Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968.

Assassination of RFK

Killing of Robert F. Kennedy during the 1968 presidential campaign.

LBJ dropping out

In 1968 Lyndon B. Johnson announced he would not run for reelection.

Democratic National Convention of 1968

Convention in Chicago marked by violent protests and police clashes.

Vietnamization

Richard Nixon’s policy to gradually withdraw U.S. troops and let South Vietnam fight the war.

Credibility Gap

Public distrust caused by differences between government statements and the reality of the Vietnam War.

Six Day War / Yom Kippur War

Middle Eastern wars between Israel and Arab nations that increased global tensions.

Cointelpro

FBI program that secretly investigated and disrupted political activist groups.

Ho Chi Minh

Communist leader of North Vietnam during the Vietnam War.

George Wallace

Segregationist governor of Alabama who ran for president in 1968.

War on Poverty

Great Society programs aimed at reducing poverty in the United States.

Stonewall Inn

New York City bar where a 1969 police raid sparked major LGBTQ+ rights protests.

Stagflation

Economic condition of high inflation and high unemployment at the same time

Nixon Doctrine

Policy stating U.S. allies should take primary responsibility for their own defense.

My Lai

1968 massacre of Vietnamese civilians by U.S. soldiers.

Pentagon Papers

Secret government documents revealing misleading information about the Vietnam War.

Plumbers

Secret White House group created by Richard Nixon to stop information leaks.

Watergate

Political scandal involving the Nixon administration covering up a break-in at Democratic headquarters.

Kent State

1970 shooting of student protesters by the National Guard during Vietnam War demonstrations.

Bombing of Cambodia

Secret U.S. bombing campaign targeting North Vietnamese forces in Cambodia.

Nattering Nabobs of Negativism

Phrase used by Spiro Agnew to criticize the news media.

Détente

Relaxation of Cold War tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union.

Nixon goes to China

Historic 1972 visit by Richard Nixon that improved U.S.–China relations.

SALT

Strategic Arms Limitation Talks, agreements between the U.S. and USSR to limit nuclear weapons.

Warren Court

Supreme Court led by Earl Warren known for expanding civil rights and liberties.

Burger Court

Supreme Court led by Warren E. Burger that was more conservative but kept some earlier rulings.

Roe v. Wade

Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion nationwide.

Miranda

Miranda v. Arizona decision requiring police to inform suspects of their rights.

Gideon

Gideon v. Wainwright ruling guaranteeing the right to a lawyer for criminal defendants.

Griswold v. Connecticut

Supreme Court case recognizing a constitutional right to privacy in marriage.

Peace with honor

Nixon’s phrase describing his goal of ending the Vietnam War without appearing to lose.

Arab Oil Embargo of 1973

Oil-exporting Arab countries stopped selling oil to the U.S., causing an energy crisis.

Nixon resigns

Richard Nixon resigned the presidency in 1974 because of the Watergate scandal.

Ford pardons

Gerald Ford pardoned Nixon for crimes related to Watergate.

Camp David Accords

Peace agreement between Egypt and Israel brokered by Jimmy Carter.

Iranian Revolution / Hostage Crisis

1979 revolution in Iran followed by the capture of U.S. embassy staff for 444 days.

U.S. leaves Vietnam

Final withdrawal of American forces and fall of South Vietnam in 1975.

ERA

Equal Rights Amendment, proposed constitutional amendment guaranteeing equal rights for women.

SALT II

Second nuclear arms limitation agreement between the U.S. and Soviet Union.