1950s and Civil Rights Test Study Guide Flashcards

Flashcards for 1950s and Civil Rights Test Study Guide

Potsdam Conference

A meeting held in 1945 between the Allied powers to negotiate terms for the end of World War II. Beginnings of tension between the US and the Soviet Union

Satellite countries

Countries that were politically and economically dominated by the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

Iron Curtain

The ideological and physical boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II until the end of the Cold War. Communism in the East and Capitalist democracy in the West

Marshall Plan

An American initiative passed in 1948 to aid Western Europe, in which the United States gave over $12 billion in economic assistance to help rebuild Western European economies after the end of World War II.

Berlin Airlift

A military operation in the late 1940s that brought food and other needed goods into West Berlin by air after the communist government of East Germany, which surrounded West Berlin, had cut off its supply routes.

Containment

A United States policy using numerous strategies to prevent the spread of communism abroad.

NATO

A military alliance formed in 1949 by the US, Canada, and several Western European nations to provide collective security against the Soviet Union.

Red Scare

A period of intense anti-communism in the United States during the early Cold War.

House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC)

A committee of the U.S. House of Representatives that investigated allegations of communist activity in the U.S. during the early years of the Cold War.

Hollywood Ten

Ten motion picture producers, directors, and screenwriters who appeared before the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1947, refused to answer questions regarding their possible communist affiliations, and were blacklisted as a result.

McCarthyism

A term for reckless and unsubstantiated accusations, as well as public attacks on the character or patriotism of political opponents. Came from Senator McCarthy falsely claiming that certain people were communists

Arms Race

A competition between nations for superiority in the development and accumulation of weapons, especially between the US and the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

Nuclear Fallout

Radioactive particles from a nuclear explosion that could contaminate cities and surrounding areas, posing severe health risks to the population. Fears of this led to the construction of fallout shelters across the US

Sputnik

The first artificial Earth satellite, launched by the Soviet Union in 1957, marking the start of the Space Race.

Space Race

A Cold War competition between the Soviet Union (USSR) and the United States (US), for domination in space exploration and technology, including the race to the moon

Consumerism in the 1950s

In the 1950s, consumerism was marked by the increased production of consumer goods like household appliances, automobiles, and other consumer products. Increased advertising and the growth of suburban living encouraged Americans to buy more and embrace a lifestyle centered around consumption and convenience.

Levittown

Large suburban developments consisting of mass-produced, affordable houses.

American Dream

In the 1950s, the American Dream was often associated with a family with 2-3 kids that owned a home in the suburbs, a new car, and modern appliances.

Baby Boom

A period of increased birth rates, especially the one in the United States from 1946 to 1964.

Redlining

The practice of denying mortgages or insurance to residents in certain neighborhoods because they are non-white. This prevented many Black Americans from owning homes in suburban areas and contributed to long-term economic disparities.

Restrictive Covenants

Agreements that prohibit the purchase, lease, or occupation of a piece of property by a particular group of people, usually based on race or ethnicity. Prevented many Black Americans from being able to buy affordable homes in suburban areas and further reinforced segregation in housing.

De facto segregation

Segregation that exists in practice, even if not required by law.

CORE

Congress of Racial Equality, a U.S. civil rights organization that played a pivotal role for African Americans in the Civil Rights Movement by organizing events like the Freedom Rides

NAACP

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, a civil rights group that pursued equality through the courts. Successfully argued Brown vs Board at the Supreme Court which led to the declaration that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional.

SCLC

Southern Christian Leadership Conference, a civil rights organization founded in 1957 by Martin Luther King Jr. and others. Focused on nonviolent civil disobedience

SNCC

Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, a civil rights organization formed in 1960 during the Sit-ins to give younger Black Americans more of a voice in the civil rights movement.

Brown vs Board of Education

A landmark 1954 Supreme Court case in which the Court declared segregation in public schools unconstitutional.

Montgomery Bus Boycott

A year-long campaign in which Black Americans in Montgomery refused to ride the city buses until they were desegregated. Sparked by the arrest of Rosa Parks. Led by Martin Luther King

Little Rock Nine

A group of nine African American students who enrolled at formerly all-white Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, in September 1957. Were initially denied entry to the school, but President sent in federal troops to escort them to and from school each day

Emmett Till

A 14-year-old African American boy who was abducted, tortured, and murdered in Mississippi in 1955 after being accused of offending a white woman in her family's grocery store. His mother insisted on an open casket funeral and images of his body revealed the brutal racism in America, prompting national outrage

Freedom Rides

Civil rights activists would ride interstate buses into the segregated southern United States in 1961 to challenge the non-enforcement of desegregation rulings. They were met with violence in the South, but their persistence forced President Kennedy to take action and enforce the desegregation of interstate buses and terminals.

Birmingham Campaign

A series of nonviolent protests and marches in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1963 to challenge segregation and racial discrimination. Birmingham officials tried to stop the protests by using police dogs and fire hoses. The brutal images and videos were broadcast nationally and internationally, calling further attention to the civil rights movement and increasing public support for the cause.

March on Washington

A massive protest in Washington, D.C., in August 1963, advocating for the civil and economic rights of African Americans. The site of Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech

Freedom Summer

A 1964 voter registration drive aimed at increasing Black American voter registration in Mississippi. Registered relatively few voters, but caught national attention when three civil rights workers were kidnapped and murdered by the KKK

Selma to Montgomery March

A series of three protest marches held in 1965 along the 54-mile highway from Selma, Alabama, to the state capital of Montgomery. After state troopers attacked marchers on Bloody Sunday and the footage was broadcast on tv across the country, President Johnson spoke out in support of the marchers and proposed the Voting Rights Act

Civil Rights Act of 1964

A landmark civil rights law that outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. Ended all Jim Crow laws and banned segregation in public places and employment.

Voting Rights Act of 1965

A landmark piece of federal legislation in the United States that prohibits racial discrimination in voting.

24th Amendment

Prohibits both Congress and the states from conditioning the right to vote in federal elections on payment of a poll tax or other types of tax.

Stokely Carmichael

Took over as leader of SNCC in 1966 and changed the group’s direction away from non-violent civil disobedience towards the more militant Black Power movement, advocating for racial pride and Black control of neighborhoods. He believed in self-defense and less reliance on white allies. .

Malcolm X

An African American leader and prominent figure in the Nation of Islam. Criticized the mainstream civil rights movement for not fighting back in the face of white violence and advocated for self-defense against oppression. He emphasized the need for African Americans to take control of their own communities.

Black Panthers

A Black revolutionary socialist organization active in the United States from 1966 until 1982. Argued for self-defense and Black control of the inner city ghettos. Established neighborhood services like health clinics and free breakfast programs to empower African American communities and combat systemic inequality.

COINTELPRO

A series of covert, and at times illegal, projects conducted by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) aimed at surveilling, infiltrating, discrediting, and disrupting domestic political organizations like the Black Panthers, SNCC, and the SCLC. Wiretapped MLK.

Watts Riot

A large-scale riot that lasted for six days in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles in August 1965.

Busing

The practice of assigning and transporting students to schools in different neighborhoods to achieve racial balance in schools and promote desegregation in education. Addressed the problem that schools were often still segregated because historic housing segregation led to segregated neighborhoods.

Kerner Commission

Established to investigate the causes of the 1967 race riots in the United States. Concluded that the riots were primarily caused by systemic racism, economic inequality, and social injustice. Argued that the US was increasingly moving towards two societies divided along racial lines.

Boston Busing Crisis

Court-ordered desegregation busing in Boston in the mid-1970s. Involved the mostly Black neighborhood of Roxbury and the mostly white neighborhood of South Boston. Led to widespread protests and violence.