American History Final Test

Malcolm X

Civil rights leader who advocated Black nationalism

John Glenn

First American to orbit Earth and later a U.S. senator from Ohio

Medgar Evers

NAACP activist murdered in 1963 for his civil rights work in Mississippi

Lee Harvey Oswald

Man accused of assassinating President John F. Kennedy in 1963

James Meredith

First African American student to enroll at the University of Mississippi under federal protection

Berlin Wall

Barrier built in 1961 separating communist East Berlin from democratic West Berlin

Flexible Response

Cold War strategy using conventional forces and nuclear weapons at varying levels instead of massive retaliation

Limited Test Ban Treaty

1963 agreement banning nuclear tests in the atmosphere

Bay of Pigs

Failed 1961 U.S.-backed invasion of Cuba by anti-Castro forces

Hot Line

Direct communication link between U.S. and Soviet leaders to prevent nuclear war

Separate but Equal

Doctrine allowing racial segregation as long as facilities were supposedly equal

Rosa Parks

Civil rights activist whose arrest sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott

Freedom Riders

Civil rights activists who rode buses to challenge segregation in interstate travel

Martin Luther King Jr.

Civil rights leader who promoted nonviolent protest and racial equality

Freedom Summer

1964 campaign to register African American voters in the South

Tet Offensive

Major 1968 North Vietnamese attack that weakened U.S. public support for the Vietnam War

Kent State University

Site where National Guard troops killed four student protesters in 1970

My Lai Massacre

1968 killing of Vietnamese civilians by U.S. soldiers

Woodstock

1969 music festival symbolizing the counterculture movement

Vietnamization

Nixon policy to gradually withdraw U.S. troops and shift fighting to South Vietnam

Napalm

Flammable chemical weapon used by the U.S. in Vietnam

Agent Orange

Chemical defoliant used in Vietnam that caused severe health and environmental damage

Credibility Gap

Growing public distrust of government statements about the Vietnam War

Robert McNamara

U.S. Secretary of Defense who helped escalate the Vietnam War

Search-and-Destroy Missions

Military operations aimed at finding and eliminating enemy forces in Vietnam

Pentagon Papers

Leaked documents revealing government deception about the Vietnam War

Hawks and Doves

Terms for supporters of war and opponents of war

Henry Kissinger

Nixon’s national security advisor who shaped Cold War foreign policy

War Powers Act

1973 law limiting the president’s ability to deploy troops without congressional approval

Invasion of Cambodia

1970 U.S. military action expanding the Vietnam War into Cambodia

Feminism

Movement advocating political social and economic equality for women

Roe v. Wade

1973 Supreme Court case legalizing abortion nationwide

Betty Friedan

Author of The Feminine Mystique and leader of second-wave feminism

National Organization for Women

Group founded to promote women’s rights and gender equality

Gloria Steinem

Prominent feminist leader and writer in the women’s rights movement

Détente

Period of reduced Cold War tensions between the United States and Soviet Union

SALT I

1972 treaty limiting the number of nuclear weapons held by the United States and USSR

Realpolitik

Foreign policy based on practical interests rather than ideology

Stagflation

Economic condition of inflation combined with stagnant growth and high unemployment

New Federalism

Policy returning power and funding from the federal government to the states

Silent Majority

Term for Americans who supported Nixon but did not openly protest

Affirmative Action

Policies designed to increase opportunities for historically disadvantaged groups

Watergate

Political scandal that led to President Nixon’s resignation in 1974

OPEC

Organization of oil-producing nations that controls oil prices and supply

Twenty-fifth Amendment

Amendment outlining presidential succession and disability procedures

Leonid Brezhnev

Soviet leader during the era of détente with the United States

Sandra Day O’Connor

First woman appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court

William Rehnquist

Conservative Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court

Geraldine Ferraro

First woman nominated for vice president by a major political party

Michael Dukakis

Democratic presidential candidate defeated by George H. W. Bush in 1988