Unit 8 vocab test

nationalist movements/decolonization

nationalist movements/decolonization

the collapse of colonial empires which was among the most important developments of the era following World War II

“Third World” countries

Often lacked stable political and economic institutions. Their need for foreign aid from either the United States or the Soviet Union often made them into pawns of the Cold War.

covert action

The act of influencing political, economic, or military conditions abroad

Suez Crisis

Led by Arab nationalist Adbel Nasser, Egypt asked the United States and the soviet union for funds to build the ambitious Aswan Dam project on the Nile River. After they both refused to help fully, Nasser precipitated an international crisis by seizing the British/French-owned Sue Canal that passed through Egyptian territory. The loss of the canal threatened European oil so to get it back Britain, France, and Israel made a surprise attack on Egypt and retook the canal.

Eisenhower Doctrine

The United States pledged economic and military aid to any Middle Eastern country threatened by communism.

OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries)

A joint group of Middle Eastern states Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, and Iran, with the Southern American state of Venezuela. They wanted to expand their political power by coordinating their oil policies.

French Indochina

An anti-colonial nation that became part of the Cold War rivalry between Communist and anti-Communist powers. Eventually, in 1954, France agreed to give it up which was then divided into the independent nations of Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam.

Geneva Conference (1954)

An international meeting involving the Soviet Union, the United States, France, the UK, China, and Viet Minh. They attempted to negotiate a settlement to end the conflict in Indochina and Vietnam, and France agreed to give up Indochina.

division of Vietnam

Divided on the 17th parallel where two hostile governments took power on either side of the line. In North Vietnam a Communist dictatorship and in South Vietnam an anti-Communist Catholic emerged.

Ho Chi Minh

The leader of Viet Minh guerrillas who would later become the leader of the Communist Dictatorship in North Vietnam.

Viet Minh

an organization that led the struggle for Vietnamese independence from French rule.

Ngo Dinh Diem

The leader of the Anti-Communist, catholic, and urban South Vietnam.

"domino theory"

President Eisenhowers analogy to a row of dominoes. According to this, if South Vietnam fell under communist control, one nation after another in Southeast Asia would also fall.

SEATO (Southeast Asia Treaty Organization)

a regional defense pact created to prevent South Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from falling to communism. The United States, Great Britain, France, Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Thailand, and Pakistan all vowed to protect them In case of an an attack within the region

Viet Cong

the communist movement and united front organization in South Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia

Tonkin Gulf Resolution

Gave the president, as commander-in-chief, a blank check to take “all necessary measures” to protect US interests in Vietnam.

Operation Rolling Thunder

a prolonged air attack using B-52 bombers against targets in North Vietnam.

General William Westmorland

commander of the U.S. forces in Vietnam, assured the American public that he could see “light at the end of the tunnel”

credibility gap

Misinformation from military and civilian leaders combined with Johnson’s reluctance to speak frankly to the American people about the scope and the costs of the war created this.

“Hawks”

supporters of the Vietnam War who believed that the war was an act of Soviet-backed Communist aggression against South Vietnam and that it was a part of a master plan to conquer all of Southeast Asia.

“Doves”

viewed the conflict as a civil war fought by Vietnamese nationalists and some Communists who wanted to unite their country by overthrowing a corrupt Saigon government

Tet Offensive

North Vietnamese and the Viet Cong launched a coordinated attack against almost every provincial capital and American base in South Vietnam. The U.S. and South Vietnamese militaries sustained heavy losses before finally repelling the communist assault.

Election of 1968

after Kennedy's assassination it turned into a three-way race between two conservatives George Wallace and Richard Nixon and Hubert Humphrey

Robert F. Kennedy

Kennedy’s younger brother. Was on the path to winning this election before a young Arab nationalist shot and killed him in his victory speech.

Richard Nixon

the 37th president of the United States had a strong interest in international relations, not domestic policy. his reputation became severely damaged after his involved in the Watergate scandal came into public view; this eventually led to his resignation.

“Vietnamization”

Nixon's plan to gradually withdraw U.S. troops from Vietnam and give the South Vietnamese the money, the weapons, and the training they needed to take over the war.

Kent State University

After Nixon expanded the Vietnam War by using U.S. forces to invade Cambodia a nationwide protest on college campuses against this action resulted in the killing of four youths by the National Guard troops at this university.

My Lai Massacre

the massacre of women and children by the U.S. troops in the Vietnamese village f My Lai which furthered the antiwar sentiment.

Pentagon Papers/Daniel Ellsberg

a secret government study documenting the mistakes and deceptions of government policymakers in dealing with Vietnam. The papers were leaked by this former Defense Department analyst.

Paris Peace Talks

effectively removed the US from the conflict in Vietnam after severe bombing of Noth Vietnam.

War Powers Act

Required Nixon and any future president to report to Congress within 48 hours after taking military action. Congress would also have to approve any military action that exceeded 60 days

Fall of Saigon

after this, Vietnam was reunified under the Communist government. It marked a low point in American prestige overseas and confidence at home

Cambodia/Khmer Rouge

The US-supported government fell to him a radical Communist who ordered the murder of between 1 million and 2 million of their people in a brutal relocation program to rid the country of Western influence.

Betty Friedan/The Feminine Mystique

encouraged middle-class women to seek fulfillment in professional careers in addition to filling the roles of wives, mothers, and homemakers.

National Organization for Women (NOW)

An organization that helped secure equal treatment of women, especially for job opportunities.

Equal Rights Amendment (ERA)

proposed “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex”

Cesar Chavez

led protests with the United Farm Workers Association

Dolores Huerta

co-founder of the United Farmworkers Association

United Farm Workers Association

Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta led this organization to protest the exploitation of Latin farm workers

American Indian Movement (AIM)

Started by American Indians who wanted to achieve self-determination and revival of tribal traditions after they were encouraged to leave reservations

Indian Self-Determination Act, 1975

gave reservations and tribal lands greater control over internal programs, education, and law enforcement.

Stonewall Riot/gay rights movement

a police raid on the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York City, sparked this revolution. Gay activists urged homosexuals to be open about their identity and to work to end discrimination and violent abuse.

Chief Justice Earl Warren/Warren Court

chief justice of the Supreme Court. This Court case made a series of decisions that profoundly affected the criminal justice system, state political systems, and the definition of individual rights.

Miranda v. Arizona

required the police to inform an arrested person of his or her right to remain silence.

Students for a Democratic Society (SDS)

a liberal student group that began to identify the black struggle against oppressive controls and laws.

"Port Huron Statement"

At the SDS’s first meeting, the group issued this declaration of purposes which called for university decisions to be made through participatory democracy so that students would have a voice in their decisions.

Free Speech Movement

Berkeley students demanded an end to university restrictions on student political activities. They also demanded a greater voice in the government of the university. This grew into a protest against everything from university rules against drinking and coed dorm visits to the right to organize and protest; However, their primary focus became opposition to the war in Vietnam and the draft.

Counterculture

expressed in rebellious styles of dress, music, drug use, and communal living.

"Hippies"

rejected established institutions, criticized middle-class values, opposed nuclear weapons and the Vietnam War, embraced aspects of Eastern philosophy, championed sexual liberation, were often vegetarian and eco-friendly, and promoted the use of psychedelic drugs which they believed expanded one's consciousness

Woodstock

a gathering of hundreds of thousands of young people at the Woodstock Music Festival in upper New York State which reflected the zenith of the counter-culture.

sexual revolution/Kinsey Report

A pioneering survey of sexual practices indicated that premarital sex, marital infidelity, and homosexuality were more common than suspected. This sparked a revolution on most people's thoughts about premarital sex, contraception, abortion, and homosexuality.

Rachel Carlson/Silent Spring

explained the negative environmental effects of DDT, a potent insecticide that had been used in American agriculture. It argued that unchecked industrial growth would destroy animal life and ultimately human life on earth.

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

the foundation of the nation’s modern environmental protection system. Was responsible for regulating and enforcing federal programs and policies on air and water pollution, radiation issues, pesticides, and solid waste.

Endangered Species Act, 1973

created to protect critically imperiled species such as the American bald eagle from extinction as a consequence of economic growth and development untempered by adequate concern and conservation.

Henry Kissinger

The secretary of state under Nixon and he was then appointed national security adivisor

Détente

The period of easing of Cold War tensions between the U.S. and the Societ Union

Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT I)

a series of conferences and international treaties signed between the US and the soviet Union

“silent majority”

the millions of voters who had become disaffected by civil rights, liberal court rulings, anti-war protests, black militants, school busing to achive racial balance and the excesses of the youth counterculture. Many of them were Democrats, including southern Whites nothern Catholic blue collor workers, and recuent suburbanites who disagreed with the liberal drift of their party.

Nixon’s Southern strategy

Nixon used this to win over the south by asking federal courts in the region to delay integration plans and busing orders. He also nominated two southern conservatives to the Supreme court.

Watergate scandal

a group of men hired by Nixon’s reelection committee were caught breaking into the offices of the Democratic national headquarters in the Watergate complex of Washington. This breakin and attempted bugging were only a part of a series of illegal activites cunducted by the Nixon administation and the Committe to Re-Elect the President

United States v. Richard Nixon

a landmark case in which the Supreme Court unanimously ordered Richard Nixon to deliver tape recordings and other subpoenaed materials to the federal court

Roe v. Wade, 1973

in this ruling, the high court struck down many state laws prohibiting abortions as a violation of a woman’s privacy. The decision to allow women access to abortions became a primary target for the conservative movement in the coming time.

Gerald Ford

had served in Congress for years as a representative from Michigan and as the Republican minority leader of the House. Nixon Chose him to replace Vice President Agnew and then he replaced Nizon when he resigned.

Jimmy Carter

a little know former governor of Georgia who won the Democratic party election of Ford. When he was elected he signaled an effort to end the imperial presidency.

Stagflation

an economy characterized by high inflation, low economic growth and high unemployment.

Camp David Accords

signed by president jimmy Carter, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin to establish a framework for historic peace between Isreal and Eygpt

Iran Hostage Crisis

a diplomatic standoff between Iran and the United States where 3 Americans were held hostage after a group of militarized Iranian ollege students took over the U.S. Emnassay in Tehran

Panama Canal Treaty

relinquished american control over the panama canal to locals

Moral Majority

an organization made up of conservative Christian political action committees which campaigned on issues its personnel believed were important to maintaining its Christian conception of moral law

Regents v. Bakke, 1978

The Supreme Court ruled that while race could be considered, the school had created racial quotas, which were unconstitutional. Using this decision, conservatives intensified their campaign to end all preferences based on race and ethnicity

Title IX

“No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from the participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.