Period 8 Vocab

Civil Rights Act of 1964

A landmark piece of legislation that outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.

Malcolm X

A prominent African American leader in the civil rights movement known for his advocacy for Black empowerment and human rights.

Black Power Movement

A movement advocating for racial pride, economic empowerment, and the creation of political and cultural institutions for Black Americans.

Tonkin Gulf Resolution

A resolution passed by Congress in 1964 that allowed President Johnson to use military force in Vietnam without a formal declaration of war.

Tet Offensive

A major escalation and turning point in the Vietnam War, launched by North Vietnamese forces in January 1968.

The Counterculture

A social movement in the 1960s that rejected conventional norms and embraced alternative lifestyles, including peace and love.

Woodstock

A music festival held in 1969, regarded as a pivotal moment in the counterculture movement.

Cesar Chavez

An American labor leader and civil rights activist who co-founded the National Farm Workers Association.

American Indian Movement (AIM)

A Native American advocacy group formed in 1968 to address issues related to sovereignty, treaty rights, and living conditions.

Richard M. Nixon

The 37th President of the United States who served from 1969 until his resignation in 1974 due to the Watergate scandal.

Watergate

A political scandal involving a break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters and subsequent cover-up by the Nixon administration.

Henry Kissinger

An American diplomat and political scientist who served as National Security Advisor and Secretary of State under Nixon.

Stagflation

An economic condition characterized by high inflation and unemployment, combined with stagnant demand.

Vietnamization

A policy initiated by Nixon to reduce American involvement in the Vietnam War by transferring combat responsibilities to South Vietnamese forces.

My Lai Massacre

A tragic incident during the Vietnam War in which American soldiers killed hundreds of unarmed Vietnamese civilians.

Kent State

The site of a 1970 college protest against the Vietnam War that resulted in the killing of four students by National Guardsmen.

Pentagon Papers

A classified report on the political and military involvement of the United States in Vietnam, leaked to the press in 1971.

Detente

The easing of strained relations, especially between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, during the Cold War.

Gerald Ford

The 38th President of the United States who assumed office after Nixon's resignation, serving from 1974 to 1977.

Security Council

A principal organ of the United Nations responsible for maintaining international peace and security.

Iron Curtain

A symbolic and physical boundary that divided Europe into East (communist) and West (democratic) during the Cold War.

George F. Kennan

An American diplomat and historian best known for his role in developing the policy of containment.

Containment

A foreign policy strategy aimed at preventing the spread of communism during the Cold War.

Truman Doctrine

A principle that the US should support countries resisting communism during the Cold War.

George C. Marshall

A U.S. Army General and Secretary of State who was the architect of the Marshall Plan.

Marshall Plan

An American initiative passed in 1948 to provide economic assistance to help rebuild Western European economies after WWII.

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

A military alliance formed in 1949 for mutual defense against aggression.

Jackie Robinson

The first African American to play in Major League Baseball, breaking the color barrier in 1947.

Dixiecrats

A short-lived segregationalist political party that emerged in 1948 opposing civil rights for African Americans.

General Dougal MacArthur

A five-star general in the U.S. Army and played a prominent role in the Pacific theater during WWII.

House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC)

A committee of the U.S. House of Representatives that investigated alleged disloyalty and subversive activities.

Alger Hiss

An American lawyer and diplomat accused of being a Soviet spy and convicted of perjury.

Senator Joseph R. McCarthy

A U.S. senator known for his aggressive investigations of alleged communists in the early 1950s.

Baby Boom

A significant increase in the birth rate following WWII.

Levittown

Mass produced suburban communities built in the 1950s for returning veterans and their families.

Beats

A literary and social movement in the 1950s that rejected conventional society and promoted spontaneity and free expression.

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas

The 1954 Supreme Court case that declared racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional.

Massive Resistance

A strategy developed in the South to oppose desegregation after the Brown v. Board ruling.

Rosa Parks

An activist in the civil rights movement known for refusing to give up her bus seat to a white passenger.

Emmitt Till

A 14-year-old African American boy who was lynched in Mississippi in 1955, becoming a martyr for the civil rights movement.

Martin Luther King Jr.

A civil rights leader known for his use of nonviolent protest and his famous 'I Have a Dream' speech.

John Foster Dulles

U.S. Secretary of State who served under Eisenhower, known for his role in shaping U.S. foreign policy during the Cold War.

Massive Retaliation

A Cold War policy that emphasized the use of nuclear weapons in response to any act of aggression.

Brinkmanship

The practice of pursuing a dangerous policy to the limits of safety before stopping, especially in foreign policy.

Ho Chi Minh

A Vietnamese revolutionary and the founding father of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam.

Dien Bien Phu

The climactic battle in 1954 that led to the end of French colonial rule in Indochina.

Viet Cong

The communist insurgents in South Vietnam who fought against U.S. forces and the South Vietnamese government.

Fidel Castro

The communist leader of Cuba from 1959 until 2008, known for his defiance against U.S. influence.

John F. Kennedy

The 35th President of the United States who served from 1961 until his assassination in 1963.

New Frontier

Kennedy's domestic program aimed at improving civil rights, education, and healthcare.

Lyndon B. Johnson

The 36th President of the United States who led the country during the civil rights movement and the Vietnam War.

Great Society

A series of domestic programs launched by President Johnson to eliminate poverty and racial injustice.

Miranda v. Arizona

A landmark Supreme Court case that established the requirement for police to inform suspects of their rights.

Freedom Riders

Civil rights activists who rode interstate buses into segregated southern United States to challenge the status quo.

James Meredith

The first African American student to enroll at the University of Mississippi, a major event in the civil rights movement.

March on Washington

A 1963 civil rights rally where Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his 'I Have a Dream' speech.

Cuban Missile Crisis

A 13-day confrontation in 1962 over the placement of nuclear missiles in Cuba, bringing the world to the brink of nuclear war.

Bay of Pigs Invasion

A failed military invasion of Cuba in 1961 by a CIA-sponsored paramilitary group.