HIS 104 - Final

Manhattan Project

The Manhattan project was a secret project carried out by the American government during WWII to develop the atomic bomb. This secret organization that not even VP Truman knew about was led by Oppenheimer created the atomic bomb that was later dropped on Japan.

Baruch Plan

The Baruch Plan was a plan proposed by Baruch in 1946 to all UN members to share everything they knew about nuclear and the creation of an international authority to ensure compliance, only then would the US destroy all of its atomic weapons. This plan was rejected by the USSR which led to the Nuclear Arms Race.

Yalta

The Yalta Conference of 1945 consisted of the US, USSR, and the UK where they divided up Germany after the end of WWII. It was also where Stalin promised FDR to invade Manchuria and help the US in the Pacific Theater.

Pearl Harbor

The Pearl Harbor attack by the Japanese on the US occurred in 1941. It was caused by rising tensions between the US and Japanese because embargoes and asset freezes. This was the catalyst for the US entering WWII, and also the Japanese internment camps.

Bataan Death March

The Bataan Death March of 1942 was a march of US and Filipino POWs. Acts like these were why there weren’t many POWs between the US and Japan.

“Good War/Race War”

WWII was considered a good war because it was a fight for Democracy against Fascism and created unprecedented National Unity. However, it was also considered a race war because the attack on Pearl Harbor led to significant racial discrimination of Japanese Americans who were placed in internment camps.

“Double V”

The war abroad was also used as fuel for African American civil rights. It literally meant “Victory abroad, Victory at home”. African Americans considered it not only a war against Fascism but for African American democracy. The movement exposed the hypocrisy of the US to defend democracy abroad when a large portion of the US population didn’t have democracy.

Firebombing

Firebombing was a tactic used on Japan by the US and it led to mostly civilian deaths. It was presented by General Henry Harly Arnold to Roosevelt and carried out by Lemay. It was estimated that it killed more civilians than soldiers.

“Demon LeMay”

A nickname given to Curtis LeMay who used the strategy of firebombing against Japanese cities and civilians during WWII. He famously said “Bomb and burn them until they quit” which was the whole strategy of firebombing.

Robert Oppenheimer

Robert Oppenheimer led the group of scientists who worked on the Manhattan Project to develop the atomic bomb. He had a good relation with Leslie Groves the militarial head of the project who chose to instil him as the leader.

Leo Szliard

Leo Szliard was one of the scientists who worked with Oppenheimer to develop the atomic bomb. He and many scientists believed that the bomb shouldn’t be dropped on Japan though the petition to Truman was stopped by Groves. Szliard was extremely vocal about his beliefs and was later placed in an internment camp under suspicion of being a traitor.

Edward Teller

Edward Teller was one of the scientists who worked on the Manhattan Project. He would later go on to develop the Hydrogen Bomb after the Soviets developed and exploded their first crude atomic device leading to his nickname “the father of the hydrogen bomb”.

Korematsu v. United States

This Supreme Court case decided in 1944 upheld the exclusion of people of Japanese descent in the internment camps. This allowed the US government to continue to force Japanese Americans out from their neighborhoods and into internment camps under the suspicion that they were spies for the Japanese.

Tule Lake

The Tule Lake internment camp was one of the largest camps for the Japanese during WWII.

“Fat man and Little Boy”

Fat man and Little boy were the two atomic bombs dropped on Nagasaki and Hiroshima respectively. The dropping of these two bombs marked the start of the atomic age. It believed that the US dropped the bombs mostly to send a message to the USSR that they had power to eradicate them.

George Kennan and the “Long Telegram”

George Kennan wrote the article X in Foreign Affairs and it was where the term Containment first appeared. The Long telegram was sent to the US state department by Kennan in 1946 from Moscow who advocated for a US tactic of containment of Soviet and Communist expansion.

Truman Doctrine

The Truman Doctrine of 1947 was created because Greece was in a conflict with communist insurgents and said that the US would support nations all over the globe who were standing up against communism. This doctrine was the beginning of containment as a tactic to improve national security.

National Security Act of 1947

The National Security Act of 1947 transformed the department of war into the Department of Defense, created the President's National Security Council, established the Air Force, and created the CIA who were essential to covert operations by the US against communism.

Marshall Plan

The Marshall Plan of 1947 provided 13 billion dollars of assistance for 17 Western nations in Europe. The goal of the Marshall Plan was to help rebuild Europe after WWII but also so that communist ideas would have a lower chance of forming.

Berlin Blockade

Germany was split up into multiple zones of occupation between the US, FR, UK, and USSR and Berlin was also divided up. The Soviets blockaded all entry points to West Berlin in 1948 which led to the Berlin airlift by the US to bring supplies to Germans who were trapped in West Berlin. The Berlin Airlift helped to improve the image of the US, strengthen democracy, and it also led to the reunification of Berlin.

Enola Gay

The Enola Gay was the bomber that carried “Little Boy” over Hiroshima and dropped the bomb in WWII. It became the first aircraft to drop the atomic bomb in warfare.

Soviet Invasion of Manchuria

The Soviet Invasion of Manchuria during the Pacific theater of WWII was a promise Stalin kept to FDR after his passing. The USSR’s invasion of Manchuria against Japanese forces assisted in the unconditional surrender that would occur later. The swift invasion not only ended Japanese expansion but also demonstrated to the US the power of the USSR.

Executive Order 9066

Executive Order 9066 was signed by FDR in 1942 and it allowed the US military to designate military areas and forcibly remove civilians from those areas. It was mostly used against Japanese Civilians to force them into internment camps.

“Losing China”

The loss of China to communism in 1949 was a major blunder by the Truman Administration. The US spent nearly a billion dollars to support the government of Jiang who was losing ground and later forced off mainland China and onto Taiwan by the Communists led by Mao Zedong.

Inchon Harbor Landing

The Inchon Harbor Landing was carried out by UN forces in the Korean war and turned the tide against the North Koreans who were invading South Korea. The North rapidly retreated and later fought back to the 38th Parallel with help from the USSR and communist China.

38th Parallel

The end of the Korean War was at a ceasefire at the 38th Parallel which was approximately where the countries were originally divided. It also split North and South Korea into occupation by the USSR and US respectively.

Taft Hartley Act

The Taft Hartley Act of 1947 was one of the acts passed by the US to quiet dissent. It aimed to associate communism with labor unions. By doing this the US was able to get rid of wild cat strikes and painted those who spoke out as communists.

Loyalty Boards

Loyalty boards were prominent during the time of the Red Scare and they were used by companies to identify and remove workers who were suspected of communism and disloyalty. Government workers were screened the hardest.

Hollywood 10

The Hollywood 10 were 10 actors who were blacklisted from Hollywood by the HUAC during the 2nd Red Scare. Many of them were industry leaders and accused of being communists. The 10 were accused in part because of Ronald Reagan who was a spy for the FBI.

HUAC

The HUAC or House Committee on UnAmerican Activities was a committee that investigated accusations of communism publicly and held trials where those who were accused either said they were communist (and named another who was), or said they weren’t. It was behind the imprisonment of the Hollywood 10 and Alger Hiss.

Alger Hiss

Alger HIss was a prominent democrat and one of FDR’s advisors during the Yalta Conference. Reagan attempted to expose him as a communist spy who was sent to the US to take it down from the inside. Accused Hiss of being a communist and passing documents to the soviets.

McCarthyism

McCarthyism was named after Senator Joseph McCarthy who during the period of the 2nd red scare claimed that the US state department was infested with communists and that he had a list of names. His list not only didn’t have any names but he was later even censored by the Senate because of his accusations towards members of the US Army and dividing the American people.

Lavender Scare

Along with the Red Scare was the Lavender Scare where communism was linked with homosexuality. Many Red Scare proponents saw homesexuality as a disease that needed to be contained like communism. Though the Red Scare was what was most prominent, more Americans lost their jobs for being homosexuals than for being communist.

The Rosenbergs

Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were accused of providing the Soviets with US military secrets. Julius and Ethel were both executed in 1953, Ethel was executed by David Greenglass and was pressured by Roy Cohn to lie at the witness stand. Only Julius was guilty for being a soviet spy while Ethel was innocent.

Roy Cohn

Roy Cohn was the chief advisor to McCarthy and he worked on cases like the Rosenberg case as a federal prosecutor. His willingness to lie led to the death of Ethel Rosenberd despite her being innocent because the witness being pressured by Cohn testified that she had sent notes to soviets.

McCarran Act

The McCarran Act forced Communist organizations in the US to register with the US Attorney General and also established the Subversive Activities Control Board which investigated those who were suspected of being communist or fascists.

Roll Over Beethoven

Roll over Beethoven was a song by Chuck Berry. The song signaled a change in music where classical music like those created by Beethoven would make way for newer music like that of Rock and roll in the 1950s.

Highway Act

The Highway Act of 1956 built a nationwide system of expressways that were funded mostly by national taxes on gasoline. This Act changed the dominant form of land transport from trains to cars which in turn to more people purchasing cars.

Levittown

A Levittown was a mass produced neighborhood by Levitt & Songs where every home looked the same. The houses helped to make the American dream a reality for many Americans as it gave middle class families a house they could afford at a reasonable price. This led to the growth of suburbs which further divided men and women into their separate spheres.

FHA

The Federal Housing Administration helped buyers purchase homes in Levittowns. It did so by extending credit to mass production builders who then could allow buyers to finance their homes at extremely generous rates.

GI Bill

The GI bill passed in 1944 pumped millions of dollars into the economy by giving veterans loans. Veterans used these loans to start new businesses and pay for college which would help the economy further. The GI bill not only improved the economy but was also a major factor in the later baby boom.

“Separate Spheres”

Men and Women existed in different spheres of society. The men were in the public sphere of work and politics while the women were in the private sphere of housework and child care. This idea was heavily built upon as more and more people moved to the suburbs.

Mass Culture

Mass of Conformity Culture of the 1950s were greatly influenced by television and was often built on consumerism. This conformity culture made people believe that there was a loss of individuality and increased isolation.

“You Deserve a Break Today!”

This was an advertising campaign launched by McDonald’s and promoted convenience and an escape from daily life. This advertisement was in the homes of every American who owned a television.

“The Lonely Crowd”

The Lonely Crowd was written by David Riseman who saw a shift from a society who looked to their inner circles for approval and worth and turned into a society where they sought approval from outside peer groups and compared their worth to one another but especially mass mediated models on tv.

Quiz Show Scandal

The Quiz Show Scandal was an event on American television where the outcome of the show was fixed yet portrayed it to the American public that it wasn’t. The scandal led to a Congressional investigation and a law that outlawed the fixing of game shows.

“On the Road”

On the Road was a best selling novel that challenged and rejected the 1950s themes of conformity, materialism, and traditional social values. It was one of the major influences for counterculture.

“Howl”

It was a poem by Allen Ginsberg that talked about how the brightest minds of the beat generation were being destroyed by conformity and materialism.

Payola Scandal

Rock and Roll was on the rise in the 1950s and the Payola Scandal involved the censorship of Rock and Roll which was considered race music as it was mainly performed by the blacks. The scandal involved DJs that would play certain records only if they were paid to control what music was heard which cut out many African Americans and in turn Rock and Roll.

Little Richard

Little Richard’s Tutti Frutti was a prime example of African American musical censorship. The lyrics were overtly sexual which made many record companies pay DJs to play Pat Boone’s cover as he was white and the song became less overtly sexual to Whites.

“Blackboard Jungle”

This was a film created in 1955 because of the concern about the rise of juvenile delinquency. People feared teenage rebellion, expressions of sexuality, and criminality. These themes and ideas were being openly exposed to children because advertisers knew that they would become their next customers so it's best to get them hooked early.

“Seduction of the Innocent”

The Seduction of the Innocent by Fredric Wertham was about comics and how they were exposing the youth to themes of sadism and homosexuality. He blamed poor grades, juvenile delinquency, drug use, and crime on comic books.

1960 Presidential Debate

The 1960 presidential debate was the first time a general election presidential debate was going to be nationally televised. JFK was able to present him very well in front of the camera while Nixon was not. The election of 1960 was extremely close and JFK’s composure on camera was definitely no small factor when it comes to his eventual victory in the presidential election.

“Ask Not What Your Country Can Do for You”

This was part of JFK’s inaugural address. It served to ask American people what they could do for their country rather than what the country could do for them. JFK was in a sense calling the younger generation to action with the line and also sending a message regarding the cold war.

“Camelot”

Kennedy’s presidency was compared to the legend of Camelot for its mystique around JFK. JFK introduced a youth enthusiasm to the government and Americans especially the youth. He encouraged the youth to take responsibility for what happens in the world.

Bay of Pigs

The 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba was a failure by US forces, they were captured by loyalists to the uprising led by Castro. JFK later moved to methods like Operation Mongoose that focused on destabilizing the Cuban economy and carried out many assassinations attempts on Castro.

Cuban Missile Crisis

The Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 was an event where tensions between the USSR and US reached new heights. The USSR had sent missiles to Cuba which led the US to essentially blockade Cuba. The event was significant as it would lead to the USSR and US removing nuclear missiles that were close to one another and the signing of agreements like no more nuclear testing.

Mobilizing vs. Organizing

Civil rights leaders were split into mobilizers and organizers. Mobilizers were leaders like MLK who used rhetoric to get a community to rally together and take action. Organizers were people like Rosa Parks who helped to develop leadership in everyone, they wanted people to make their own decisions without having to rely on external leadership.

Recy Taylor

Recy Taylor was a sharecropped who was raped by 7 white men and was represented by Rosa Parks who worked as a Criminal Justice Reported for the NAACP. However, no charges were even brought against the 7 men. This incident shed light on how truly vulnerable black women were in the US and especially in the Jim Crow south.

Dixiecrats

Dixiecrats were Southern white Democrats who would always threaten to leave the Democratic Party whenever support for civil rights legislation rose. The Dixiecrats were the main reason why Civil Rights laws were often delayed or ended up not being passed at all.

Legal Gradualism

Legal Gradualism was a method adopted by the NAACP where they fought segregation and inequality through the courts by setting legal precedences. This gradual build up eventually led to brown vs the board of education where the Supreme Court decided to end segregation in schools.

Brown V. Board

This Supreme Court case ended segregation in schools and also effectively everywhere else legally. However, the decision had a loophole that those in the Jim Crow South would exploit; they would take an extremely long time to implement anything in the decision. This decision also led to the Southern Manifesto and the 3rd return of the KKK.

Massive Resistance

Usually was white resistance to any laws and Supreme Court decisions that would force them to integrate with the blacks. The Southern Manifesto had support from both the rich and the poor for massive resistance.

Southern Councils

The Southern Councils or Citizens Councils were how the South fought against laws and Supreme Court decisions that forced them to integrate. The people of the south will stand together to preserve their pureness.

Committee of 100

The 100 congressmen from the Old Confederate states who signed the Southern Manifesto.

Mamie Till

The mother of Emmett Till who was murdered by whites at the age of 14. She held an open casket funeral for her son Emmett to show the world what the southern whites did and the violence they perpetrate. This moment and many others helped to expose the violent nature of Jim Crow South.

Women’s Political Council

The Women’s Political Council was led and created by Jo Ann Robinson. It was a group of 200 black professionals, many of them being in education. They turned their focus to Jim Crow segregation–specifically the segregation on Montgomery city buses, this later led to the Montgomery city bus boycott.

SCLC

The SCLC was created by MLK after his rise to prominence as a speaker for civil rights at the Montgomery bus boycotts. The SCLC was formed by mostly middle class Black Preachers who were dedicated to Christian values, American nationalism, constitutionalism, and nonviolence.

NAACP

The NAACP was founded in 1909 has been working for the advancement of colored people through multiple strategies like legal gradualism and boycotts since they were founded. It was one of the most foundational of the civil rights organizations.

SNCC

The SNCC or The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee was a committee of mostly black students who were trained in the ways of nonviolence. The SNCC helped to bring the youth into the conversation of Civil rights. It organized many nonviolent protests like sit ins that exposed the violence that blacks faced in the South.

Doll Test

The doll test was used in the Supreme Court cases Brown v Board and it showed that black inferiority was ingrained in the black community. They showed children a white doll and a black doll, good attributes were attributed to the white doll while negative attributes were attributed to the black doll. This test was one of the major reasons why the Supreme Court ruled to desegregate schools.

James Lawson

James Lawson was a student who led workshops on Gandhian nonviolence which attracted many black students and those who wanted to participate in the nonviolence movement. He helped to teach the future creators of SNCC.

Diane Nash

She was one of the founding members of SNCC and led the first sit in

Ella Baker

She was originally a SCLC staff member who thought of the idea for a local student run organization. She encouraged students to remain autonomous, rather than to affiliate with SCLC or existing civil rights groups. She wanted to develop leadership in each individual youth.

John Lewis

John Lewis was the head of the SNCC. He was also a freedom rider who helped to expose the violence blacks faced when they were just trying to traverse in the South. In his autobiography he described how his fellow rider Jim Peck was beaten so severely and needed 53 stitches.

Sit Ins

Sit ins were a nonviolent form of protest often carried out by those of the SNCC. The goal of the sit in was to protest racial segregation and equal access to public accommodations. These protests often had a long line of students who would come in after one group was arrested; the protest sought to expose the violence in the South and also to fill up the jails.

Freedom Rides

Black and white people would ride from the North into the South from bus lines where black would sit in the front while the whites would be in the back. This protest sought to challenge the racial idea of blacks in the back and whites in the front, it often led to violent reactions from white southerners.

Bull Connor

Bull Connor was a sheriff in Birmingham who used violence against MLK’s nonviolent protest. He allowed the police and the KKK to use fire hoses and even brought out dogs to use on the demonstrators. This helped the civil rights movement as it demonstrated the brutality and violence whites relied on to continue segregation.

Parchman Prison Farm

This was a prison plantation where nonviolent demonstrators would be arrested and incarcerated, though this was supposed to destroy the spirits of the blacks, they were able to turn this brutal prison into something that supported Black Liberation.

Project C

Project C was the civil rights campaign in Birmingham led by MLK and the SCLC. It relied heavily on the youth and children to march and protest. The result of this campaign was to expose the racial brutality of the whites, in this case bull connor allowed to be used against the young children.

Pritchett

Sheriff Laurie Pritchett of Georgia defeated the nonviolence campaign of MLK as he found out that all they had to do was not be violent toward the demonstrators.

March for Jobs and Freedom

This was the march on Washington where MLK delivered his I have a dream speech. Though this was a march for freedom it was also a march for jobs and economic equality.

Poor People’s Campaign

This campaign was a national event that incorporated the poor from across the country. It was a campaign that travelled the country, they demanded that the government wipe out poverty and pass an economic bill of rights that would allow the blacks the same economic opportunities as the whites.

Nation of Islam

The Nation of Islam was spreading its religious beliefs in prisons. It was a religious organization that brought together and converted many black men who went to prison and those who were addicted to drugs. It preached separation from the white man who forced the black men away from their homeland.

Bobby Seale

Bobby Seale one of the leaders of the black panther party and in 1969 he was accused of conspiring to cross state lines with the intent of causing riots during the 1968 democratic nomination convention along with 7 white men. They were all charged with conspiracy. The trial ended in 7 acquittals and a mistrial and it demonstrated the power of the state to silence dissent.

Huey Newton

Huey was one of the leaders of the black panther party and in 1967 he was arrested for the murder of Officer John Frey. His denial of his crimes led to the Free Huey campaign.

Breakfast Program

The Black Panther Party fought for free breakfast programs for the urban poor.

Mulford Act

The Mulford Act banned public displays of loaded firearms, this was only enacted after the state of California learned of black citizens who owned guns. The BPP then went to protest this act by publicly displaying their weapons and proclaiming their right to bear arms.

Fred Hampton

He was the charismatic chair of the Chicago Black Panthers and he tried to create an interracial alliance. He was assassinated by the FBI who worked with the local police.

Great Society

Johnson's great society was an array of federal programs that were designed to enrich and elevate the lives of everyone around the nation. It created programs like medicare and medicaid

“Mind Change”

The Nation of Islam was able to transform many of those who were addicted to drugs into better people. They were able to rebuild, improve, and redeem themselves after prison and addiction.

COINTELPRO

Cointelpro was a series of covert and illegal actions conducted by the FBI. It surveilled, infiltrated, discredited, and disrupted parties whom they found subversive.

Frantz Fanon

A Martinique psychiatrist who supported the Algeria war and was anticolonialist.

“Free Huey!”

A campaign to free Huey Newton of the BPP after his arrest for the muder of Officer John Frey.

Domino Theory

The domino theory believed that if one country fell to communism another would follow. This belief made the US extremely adamant about crushing communist uprisings anywhere in the world before they could fully take hold.

Lowndes Country Freedom Organization (LCFO)

The LCFO was a black political party with a black panther as its mascot. Black residents outnumber whites in Lowndes but their candidate lost the countywide election of 1965.

ERA

It was a proposed amendment to the constitution that was not ratified. It stated that the equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.

Civil Rights Act of 1964

LBJ passed the civil rights act of 1964 which legally ended segregation in all public places and banned employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin, because of this he lost the white South.

Equal Opportunity Act

Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 was the cornerstone of his "War on Poverty" and "Great Society" initiatives. The act was designed to fight poverty by providing education, training, and job opportunities to low income Americans.

Voting Rights Act of 1965’

The voting rights act passed by LBJ in 1965 got rid of legal barriers like literacy tests and poll taxes that blocked black citizens from voting. This helped to enforce the 15th amendment and ensured that black citizens could take part in democracy.