American History Since 1877 - Unit 4

Jim Crow

State and local laws in Southern states that enforced racial segregation

Plessy vs. Ferguson

Supreme Court case that upheld the “separate but equal” doctrine, which legitimized the Jim Crow laws

Harlem Renaissance

A cultural and intellectual movement of African American arts (ex. music, literature, dance, and visual arts)

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)

American civil rights organization with goals including eliminating racial discrimination and promoting equality

Urban League

Nonpartisan historic civil rights organization based in New York City that advocates on behalf of economic and social justice for African Americans and against racial discrimination in the United States

Little Rock, Arkansas

Pivotal battleground for civil rights in the United States

Little Rock Nine

Little Rock Nine were a group of nine African American students enrolled in Little Rock Central High School in 1957. Students were initially prevented from entering the racially segregated school by Orval Faubus, the Governor of Arkansas. They then attended after the intervention of President Dwight D. Eisenhower

Orval Faubus

Governor of Arkansas that prevented black students from attending Little Rock Central High School

Dwight Eisenhower

Intervened to help the Little Rock Nine attend Little Rock Central High School

Emmett Till

An African-American boy who, at 14 years old, was abducted and lynched in Mississippi in 1955 after being accused of offending a white woman

Rosa Parks

Civil rights activist best known for her 1955 refusal to move from her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama

Martin Luther King Jr.

Prominent American civil rights activist

Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC)

Prominent civil rights organization, led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., aimed at coordinating nonviolent protests against racial segregation and discrimination in the United States

Sit-ins

Pivotal form of nonviolent protest during the Civil Rights Movement, significantly contributing to the desegregation of public spaces and raising awareness about racial injustice

Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee

The principal channel of student commitment in the United States to the civil rights movement during the 1960s; they led sit-ins

Freedom Rides

A series of political protests against segregation by Blacks and whites who rode buses together through the American South in 1961

Congress of Racial Equality (CORE)

Pivotal African-American civil rights organization founded in 1942 to promote equality and combat racial discrimination through nonviolent direct action

John F. Kennedy

Played a pivotal, though cautious, role in advancing civil rights in the early 1960s, combining legal enforcement, public advocacy, and legislative proposals to challenge racial discrimination

Lyndon B. Johnson

Signed into law the Civil Rights Act (1964), the most comprehensive civil rights legislation since the Reconstruction era, initiated major social service programs, and bore the brunt of national opposition to his vast expansion of American involvement in the Vietnam War

Civil Rights Act of 1964

Prohibited discrimination in public accomodations, by unions, and by employers, and creates the Equal Employment Opportunity Comission

March on Selma

Led by Martin Luther King, Jr., the march was the culminating event of several tumultuous weeks during which demonstrators twice attempted to march but were stopped, once violently, by local police—wanted voting rights

Voting Rights Act of 1965

Aimed to overcome legal barriers at the state and local levels that prevented African Americans from exercising their right to vote under the Fifteenth Amendment

Malcolm X

African American revolutionary and Black nationalist leader and prominent figure during the civil rights movement

Black Muslims

Nation of Islam—known for its teachings combining elements of traditional Islam with Black nationalist ideas

Stokely Carmichael

Trinidadian and American activist who played a major role in the civil rights movement—key leader in the development of the Black Power movement, while leading the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and the Black Panther Party

Black Panthers

American Marxist–Leninist and black power political and militant organization founded by college students—aimed at addressing systemic issues affecting African Americans

Richard Nixon’s “law and order” platform

Theme of his presidential campaign—stressed idea of order after widespread Vietnam protests, assassinations, and urban unrest

Bao Dai

Chief of state of the anti-communist State of Vietnam.

Ho Chi Mihn

Leader of North Vietnam

Viet Mihn

Ho Chi Mihn’s forces that controlled much of North Vietnam

Geneva Conference in 1954

Aimed to resolve conflicts in Indochina and Korea, leading to the temporary division of Vietnam and significant geopolitical changes in Southeast Asia

Geneva Accords

Set of agreements that temporarily divided Vietnam at the 17th parallel

Ngo Dihn Diem

President of South Vietnam

National Liberation Front/Viet Cong

Communist-led political and military organization in South Vietnam formed to overthrow the South Vietnamese government and unify Vietnam under communist rule

Special forces/Green Berets

Elite U.S. Army Special Forces specializing in unconventional warfare, foreign internal defense, and training allied forces

Strategic Hamlet Program

Fortified villages and moved civilians to them in south vietnam to keep them from the viet cong

Domino Theory

If one nation falls to communism, others will too

Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN)

South Vietnam’s weak and unstable army/government

Gulf of Tonkin

U.S. destroyer was attacked in Gulf of Tonkin by north vietnam

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

Lyndon B. Johnson asked Congress for the authority to repel armed attacks against U.S. forces and the power to act to prevent further aggression

Pleiku

Famous Viet Cong raid occurred here

Operation Rolling Thunder

Massive campaign of bombing targets in North Vietnam and supply lines leading to the south

Tet Holiday/Tet Offensive

During the Buddhist holiday of Tet, over 80,000 Vietcong troops emerged from their tunnels and attacked nearly every major metropolitan center in South Vietnam

Eugene McCarthy

Anti-war presidential canidate

Vietnamization

Withdraw U.S. ground forces and build up the ARVN, increase pressure on north vietnam

“Peace with Honor”

Get the U.S. out of Vietnam without damaging American credibility

Kent State

4 people killed in protests against the invasion of Cambodia, similar situation at Jackson State College

Henry Kissinger

served as the 7th national security advisor from 1969 to 1975, followed by being the 56th United States secretary of state from 1973 to 1977. He served under presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford—announced that peace talks following the Vietnam war were in place

Impacts of the Vietnam War

Costly, difficulty for veterans, social and political unrest, declining credibility of government, inflation, threat to civil liberties, impact on foreign policy

Full Employment Act of 1946

Created the principle that the government should try to obtain full employment, and government begins to accept its responsibility for the direction the economy takes. Created civil rights laws, society programs, and committed to ending poverty and racial discrimination

National Security Act

Created the National Security Council, Department of Defense (War), and Central Intelligence Agency

Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr.

Wrote “The Imperial Presidency”

Administrative presidency

Nixon tried to rely as little as possible on any branch other than executive

Impoundment of funds

Nixon refused to spend funds appropriated by Congress if he didn’t like them

Watergate Scandal

5 men were arrested for a break-in at Democratic National Committee Offices, attempting to aid Nixon’s campaign against McGovern—not proven that he authorized this, but he did provide a cover-up

John Dean

Revealed Nixon’s cover-up

Judge John Circa

Judge for the Watergate scandal

John Ehrlichman and H.R. Haldeman

Top Nixon aids

Saturday Night Massacre

Attorney General and assistant resigned rahter than fire special prosecutor who had wanted tapes

Leon Jaworski

Special prosecutor during Watergate that made Nicox release tapes

Gerald Ford

Appointed president after Nixon resigned

War Powers Act of 1973

Prohibits commitment of troops without consulting Congress, president must withdraw troops within 60 days unless Congress approves

Budget Act of 1974

Prohibited impoundment of funds, established Congresional Office to aid Congress in budget planning

Federal Election Campaign Act of 1972

Restricted campaign spending, required accounting of funds

Freedom of Information Act of 1974

Allowed individuals greater access to government records

Jimmy Carter

president proceeding Reagan—didn’t do much

Iran Hostage Crisis

A number of Americans had been kidnapped in Lebanon by people w/ ties to Iran. Reagan traded arms w/ Iran in return for aid w/ the hostages, but the money was funneled into a group that Congress had not approv