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NATO

Military alliance formed in 1949 between the U.S., Canada, and Western European nations to stop Soviet expansion.

Marshall Plan

U.S. program that gave economic aid to rebuild Europe after WWII and prevent communism.

HUAC

Congressional committee that investigated suspected communists.

De facto segregation

Segregation by custom or social practice, not by law.

Warsaw Pact

Soviet-led military alliance of Eastern European communist nations.

De jure segregation

Segregation required by law.

Federal Civil Defense Administration

Agency created to prepare Americans for nuclear attack during the Cold War.

Collective Security

System in which nations agree to protect each other against attack.

Federal Employee Loyalty Program

Program investigating federal workers for communist ties.

Berlin Airlift

U.S. and allies flew supplies into West Berlin after Soviet blockade in 1948–49.

Civil Rights Act of 1964

Law banning segregation and discrimination based on race, sex, religion, or national origin.

Voting Rights Act of 1965

Law protecting African Americans’ voting rights and banning literacy tests.

Filibuster

Long speech used in the Senate to delay or block a vote.

Cloture

Procedure used to end a filibuster.

Twenty-fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution

Amendment banning poll taxes in federal elections.

March on Washington

Massive civil rights rally where Martin Luther King Jr. gave the “I Have a Dream” speech.

Selma to Montgomery marches

Civil rights marches in Alabama demanding voting rights.

Executive Order

Rule or command issued by the president.

Housing Act of 1961

Law providing federal aid for urban renewal and low-income housing.

Equal Pay Act of 1963

Law requiring equal pay for men and women doing the same job.

Lyndon B. Johnson

President who passed Great Society programs and major civil rights laws.

Jack Ruby

Man who killed Lee Harvey Oswald on live television.

Lee Harvey Oswald

Accused assassin of John F. Kennedy.

Byron De La Beckwith

White supremacist who murdered Medgar Evers.

Everett Dirksen

Republican senator who helped pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Medgar Evers

NAACP leader assassinated in Mississippi.

Yuri Gagarin

First human in space.

Alan Shepard

First American in space.

John Glenn

First American to orbit Earth.

Neil Armstrong

First person to walk on the Moon.

James Earl Ray

Man convicted of assassinating MLK Jr.

Julius Rosenberg and Ethel Rosenberg

Couple executed for spying for the Soviet Union.

Wallace Fard Muhammad

Founder of the Nation of Islam.

Malcolm X (Malcolm Little)

Black nationalist and civil rights leader.

Sirhan Sirhan

Assassin of Robert F. Kennedy.

Dean Acheson

Truman’s Secretary of State during early Cold War.

Elijah Muhammad

Nation of Islam leader who mentored Malcolm X.

Eugene McCarthy

Anti–Vietnam War presidential candidate.

George F. Kennan

Created the policy of containment.

Alger Hiss

Former government official accused of spying for the Soviets.

Walton Walker

U.S. commander in Korea before Ridgway.

William Perl

Scientist convicted of giving atomic secrets to Soviets.

Harry Dexter White

Treasury official accused of spying for Soviets.

Chiang Kai-shek (Jiang Jieshi)

Nationalist Chinese leader defeated by communists.

Lauchlin Currie

Adviser accused of communist ties.

Deterrence

Using military power to discourage attack

Gregory Silvermaster

Leader of alleged Soviet spy network in U.S. government.

Brinksmanship

Willingness to go to the edge of war to force an opponent to back down.

Maurice Halperin

Government employee accused of communist spying.

Sputnik 1

First satellite launched by the Soviet Union in 1957.

Orval Faubus

Arkansas governor who opposed school integration at Little Rock.

Freedom Rides

Bus rides challenging segregation in interstate travel.

Sit-in

Protest where demonstrators refuse to leave segregated places.

Ross Barnett

Mississippi governor who opposed integration.

Anniston

Alabama city where Freedom Riders were attacked.

Boynton v. Virginia

Supreme Court case banning segregation in bus terminals.

Jackson State University

Site of student protests and shootings in 1970.

Fred Shuttlesworth

Birmingham civil rights leader.

Bull Connor

Official known for using violence against civil rights protesters.

Interstate Commerce Commission

Federal agency regulating interstate transportation.

Cominform

Soviet organization coordinating communist parties.

United Nations

International group promoting peace and cooperation.

Muslim Mosque, Inc

Religious organization founded by Malcolm X after leaving Nation of Islam.

Cold War

Tense rivalry between the U.S. and Soviet Union after WWII.

United Nations Security Council

UN group responsible for peace and security.

Iron Curtain

Term describing division between communist Eastern Europe and democratic Western Europe.

Containment

U.S. policy aimed at stopping spread of communism.

United Nations General Assembly

Main deliberative body of the UN.

Satellite Nation

Country dominated politically and economically by the Soviet Union.

Black Panther Party

Militant African American political organization.

Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA)

Program helping fight poverty in the U.S.

Medicaid

Government health insurance for low-income Americans.

NAACP

Civil rights organization fighting racial discrimination.

Ronald Reagan

Conservative politician and future president.

Integration

Ending segregation by bringing races together equally.

Great Society

Johnson’s programs aimed at ending poverty and racial injustice.

Head Start

Preschool program for low-income children.

Martin Luther King Jr

Leader of nonviolent civil rights movement

Kim Il Sung

Communist leader of North Korea.

Syngman Rhee

First president of South Korea

Joseph McCarthy

Senator who led anti-communist investigations

Battle of Inchon

Successful UN landing led by MacArthur in Korea.

Henry David Thoreau

Writer whose ideas inspired civil disobedience

John Foster Dulles

Eisenhower’s Secretary of State; supported brinksmanship.

Phyllis Schlafly

Conservative activist opposed to feminism and ERA

Douglas MacArthur

UN commander in Korean War

Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC)

Student-led civil rights group.

Matthew Ridgway

General who replaced Walton Walker in Korea

Richard Nixon

Vice president and later president involved in anti-communism.

Ku Klux Klan

Racist organization using violence and intimidation

Busan (Pusan)

Area where UN forces held defensive line in Korean War.

John F. Kennedy

President during Cuban Missile Crisis and early Civil Rights era.

Medicare

Government health insurance for elderly Americans.

Dwight D. Eisenhower

Dwight D. Eisenhower

Thurgood Marshall

NAACP lawyer who won Brown v. Board and later became Supreme Court justice.

National Urban League (NUL)

Organization promoting economic equality for African Americans.

Battle of Chosin Reservoir

Brutal Korean War battle against Chinese forces

Rosa Parks

Woman whose bus protest sparked Montgomery Bus Boycott

Congress of Racial Equality (CORE)

Civil rights group supporting nonviolent protest.

Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC)

MLK Jr.’s civil rights organization focused on nonviolent protest.