Key Civil Rights, Vietnam War, and 1960s-70s U.S. History Terms

Civil Rights Act of 1964

Landmark law that banned segregation in public facilities and outlawed employment discrimination based on race, religion, sex, or national origin.

affirmative action

Government programs designed to improve educational and job opportunities for minorities and women to counter past discrimination.

Great Society

Lyndon Johnson's ambitious domestic reform program aimed at ending poverty and racial injustice through social welfare, education, and health care initiatives.

Tonkin Gulf Resolution

Congressional resolution that gave President Johnson broad authority to use military force in Vietnam without a formal declaration of war.

Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965

Abolished the old quota system favoring Europeans and opened immigration to people from Asia, Africa, and Latin America.

Freedom Summer

A 1964 campaign to register Black voters in Mississippi and draw national attention to racial violence and voter suppression.

Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP)

An integrated political party formed to challenge Mississippi's all-white Democratic delegation and demand equal representation.

Voting Rights Act of 1965

Federal law that outlawed literacy tests and allowed federal oversight of elections to protect Black voting rights.

Watts

A Los Angeles neighborhood where violent riots erupted in 1965 after police brutality, reflecting frustration over racial inequality.

Black Panther Party

A militant Black activist group that promoted self-defense, community programs, and resistance to police brutality.

Black Power

A movement emphasizing racial pride, economic independence, and political self-determination for African Americans.

Six-Day War

A 1967 conflict in which Israel defeated neighboring Arab states and gained territory, increasing Middle East tensions and U.S. involvement.

Tet Offensive

A major 1968 surprise attack by North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces that weakened U.S. public confidence in the Vietnam War.

Stonewall Rebellion

A 1969 uprising after police raided a gay bar in New York City, sparking the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement.

Students for a Democratic Society (SDS)

A student organization that advocated participatory democracy and strongly opposed the Vietnam War.

Young Americans for Freedom (YAF)

A conservative youth group that supported free markets, anti-communism, and traditional values.

Vietnamization

Nixon's policy of gradually withdrawing U.S. troops while increasing South Vietnamese responsibility for the war.

Nixon Doctrine

Policy stating the U.S. would support allies with aid and weapons but expect them to provide their own troops for defense.

silent majority

Nixon's term for Americans who did not protest publicly but supported his policies and law-and-order approach.

My Lai

A 1968 massacre of Vietnamese civilians by U.S. soldiers that shocked the nation and fueled antiwar sentiment.

Kent State University

Site of a 1970 protest where National Guard troops killed four students, intensifying opposition to the war.

Pentagon Papers

Leaked government documents that revealed the U.S. had misled the public about Vietnam War policies.

détente

A period of relaxed tensions between the U.S. and the Soviet Union marked by arms control talks and improved relations.

Miranda warning

Supreme Court ruling requiring police to inform suspects of their rights to remain silent and to an attorney.

Philadelphia Plan

A federal affirmative action program requiring construction unions to hire minority workers.

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

Federal agency created in 1970 to regulate pollution and protect the environment.

Earth Day

An annual event begun in 1970 to promote environmental awareness and conservation.

southern strategy

Republican plan to win white southern voters by appealing to opposition to civil rights and support for states' rights.

primary elections

Elections in which party members vote to choose candidates for the general election.

War Powers Act

Law limiting the president's ability to deploy troops without congressional approval.

All-Volunteer Force (AVF)

The end of the military draft in 1973, creating a professional volunteer army.

Malcolm X

A militant Black nationalist leader who rejected nonviolence and called for Black pride, self-defense, and separation from white society before later moderating his views; he was assassinated in 1965.

Eugene McCarthy

A Democratic senator who ran for president in 1968 on an anti-Vietnam War platform, helping expose opposition to Johnson's war policy and pushing LBJ out of the race.

George C. Wallace

Alabama's segregationist governor who ran for president in 1968 as a third-party candidate, appealing to white backlash against civil rights and federal authority.

Henry A. Kissinger

Nixon's national security adviser and secretary of state who shaped U.S. foreign policy through détente, Vietnamization, and opening relations with China.

Warren E. Burger

Chief Justice of the Supreme Court who continued many of the Warren Court's liberal rulings, including expanding individual rights and overseeing cases such as Roe v. Wade.

Rachel Carson

Environmentalist and author of Silent Spring, whose work exposed the dangers of pesticides and helped spark the modern environmental movement.

George McGovern

Democratic presidential nominee in 1972 who ran on an antiwar, reform-oriented platform but suffered a landslide defeat to Nixon.