Modern United States History CP Final Study Guide

Yalta Conference

Meeting between Russia, Britain, and USA about plans for a post WWII world. discussed the structure of postwar Europe. Poland is under USSR, Germany is divided, and the UN is created.

Neutrality Act of 1935

Made it illegal for America to sell weapons to countries at war.

OPA

Agency installed to control prices of essential items in order to prevent inflation and stabilize wages. issued ration books and stamps to citizens.

WAC

Unit in the US army that was created to allow women to serve in noncombat roles. first official women’s branch.

Double “V” Campaign

Effort from Black Americans during WWII to gain a victory over racism as well as victory abroad.

Bracero Program

Agreement between Mexico and USA to import farm and railroad workers to fill in for the men who were drafted.

D-Day

Troops led by Eisenhower stormed the beaches of Normandy to re-capture France. Turning point of WWII.

Internment Camps

Detention centers where Japanese Americans were held during WWII. Caused by public fear after Pearl Harbor.

JACL

Group who tried to get compensation for the injustice of Japanese Americans during WWII.

GI Bill of Rights

Act that provided financial and educational benefits to WWII veterans. Aimed to help veterans transition back to civilian life.

Cold War

Conflict between US and USSR that never resulted in direct combat but threats went on for years.

NATO

Alliance between US, England, France, Canada, and other Western European countries. made to defend one another if they were attacked.

Truman Doctrine

Stated the US would support any nation threatened by communism. Goal was to contain communism.

Domino Theory

Eisenhower’s belief that if one nation falls to communism then neighboring nations would also.

Iron Curtain

Churchill’s term for the division of Europe during the cold war. The East was dominated by USSR and the US controlled the West.

Brinkmanship

Eisenhower’s strategy to focus on nuclear weapons instead of traditional military. Goal was to intimidate the USSR.

Federal Highway Act

Built over 40,000 miles of roads in the United states and created the highway system. Allowed for faster movement of military supplies.

Red Scare

Intense fear of communism. Public was scared of Soviet spies.

HUAC

Public hearings that accused people of being communists and “blacklisted” them.

Hollywood Ten

Group of people in the film industry that were jailed for refusing to answer the HUAC’s questions. Blacklisted from the film industry.

Brown v Board of Education of Topeka

Overruled the Plessy v. Ferguson “seperate but equal” doctrine as it violated the 14th amendment.

Little Rock Nine

Nine black students were blocked from entering their previously all-white school. Eisenhower send troops to ensure they could go to school.

Korean War

Civil war between north and south Korea that became an international conflict when the UN supported south Korea and China backed up north Korea. Divided Korea at the 38th parallel.

Joseph McCarthy

US politician who accused many citizens of being communists without evidence. Became the face of the red scare.

Thurgood Marshall

Was the head of the NAACP during little rock nine, led the Brown v. Board of education case, and was the first African-American Supreme Court Justice.

Martin Luther King Jr.

Drew his philosophy from Gandhi. Minister and civil rights leader who organized nonviolent resistance against black discrimination.

SCLC

Churches linked together to inform the blacks about changes in the civil rights movement. led by MLK Jr.

Freedom Riders

protests against the segregation on buses in the south. Riders sat in “whites-only” seats.

Selma March

Attempted three times to protest voting rights. Marched in Alabama to get a voting rights act. Led by MLK Jr.

Bay of Pigs

American-trained Cuban exiles attempted to start and uprising and overthrow Fidel Castro. It failed and JFK apologized.

Flexible Response

Kennedy’s policy of preparing multiple military responses rather than just nuclear weapons. Aimed to reduce tensions and fears of nuclear war.

Cuban Missile Crisis

conflict between the US and USSR over Soviet missiles in Cuba. American Success. USSR would remove missiles if America never invaded Cuba.

NIkita Khrushchev

Soviet leader during the Cuban Missile Crisis

Dixiecrats

Southern democrats who opposed JFK’s position on civil rights.wanted to maintain the Jim Crow Laws in the south.

Peace Corps

Program by JFk to send volunteers to help third world countries to prevent the spread of communism.

Great Society

Johnson’s domestic policy that included Medicare, Medicaid, civil rights legislation, and aid to education. Goals were to end poverty, expand civil rights, and improve education and health.

Medicare

federal program that provides health insurance for people 65 and over.

Medicaid

Assistance program that pays for health care services of low-income families and disabled people.

Geneva Accords

Peace agreement after the war between France and Vietnam that gave Cambodia independence, made South Vietnam a US protectorate, allowed North Vietnamese Catholics to move to south Vietnam, and divided Vietnam officially.

Ho Chi Minh

communist leader of North Vietnam

Gulf of Tonkin Incident

US Claimed North Vietnam torpedoed US Destroyers. The alleged attacks escalated the war in Vietnam. Later, it was discovered that the second attack was fabricated to gather support for south Vietnam.

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

Congress authorized Johnson to make military action in Vietnam and handed the president Congress’s war power. This was repealed soon after.

Credility Gap

Public’s growing distrust in the government because they were being told the war was almost over when it was not. Increased with the leaking of the Pentagon papers.

Tet Offensive

Huge attack from North Vietnam on Vietnamese new year. America reacted sharply and aided south Vietnam. The televised violence of this event added to the credibility gap.

Pentagon Papers

Government papers that showed the public the truth about the war in Vietnam and how the government was lying to the public. Leaked to the New York Times by Daniel Ellsberg.

No Dinh Diem

Anti-communist leader of South Vietnam who used brutality on the Buddhists in the area. Initially backed by the US but his autocratic rule turned the US against him.

Ho Chi Minh Trail

Paths used by North Vietnam to transport supplies to the Vietcong. Ran through all of Vietnam.

Henry Kissinger

Secretary of State to Nixon. Played a major role in the Paris Peace Accords and in ending US involvement in the Vietnam War. He also ended cold war tensions.

Vietnamization

Nixon’s policy of replacing the American military in Vietnam with South Vietnam solider in order to remove America from the war. Aimed to train south Vietnamese soldiers so America can withdraw.

Watergate Scandal

A break-in at the offices in Watergate that was directed by the White House. Attempted to steal documents and plant listening-devices. Disclosure of this event and his attempt to cover it up forced Nixon to resign.

The Nixon Tapes and Executive Privilege

Nixon refused to release the conversations he had taped on the grounds of executive privilege. This meant the president had the right to withhold information from Congress as a part of the separation of powers.

US V. Nixon

Court case about Nixon’s Watergate scandal and Oval Office tapes. Ruled the president had executive privilege but not in criminal cases because “even the president is not above the law”.

War Powers Act

States that the president can only send troops into action by authorization of Congress or is America was already under attack.

NOW

Pushed for equal rights for women. Betty Friedan was the first president.

Feminism

Belief that women should possess the same rights as men.

The Feminine Mystique

Book written by Betty Friedan that described the problems of middle-class women and how women couldn’t reach their full human capacities.

ERA

Amendment that wasn’t ratified that banned discrimination on the basis of gender.

Roe V. Wade

Court case that legalized abortion on the basis of the 4th and 9th amendment. Overruled by Dobbs v. Jackson women’s health organization in 2022.

AIM

Demanded greater civil rights for Native Americans

Alcatraz Occupation

Occupation of Alcatraz Island by Native Americans until the US forcibly ended it. lasted nineteen months.

UFW

A labor union for farm workers that protested for better pay. Most famous boycott was the boycott of the table grapes.

Detente

Policy of reducing cold war tensions with Russia and China that was adopted by Nixon

Equal Pay Act

law that required both men and women to receive equal pay for equal work

Ralph Nader

Wrote “Unsafe at Any Speed” that helped create the modern consumer movement.

OPEC

Organization of countries to agree on a common policy or the production and sale of petroleum. Their embargo on the US in 1973 created a recession.

Gerald Ford

First non-elected president and Vice president who pardoned Nixon

Rachel Carson

Biologist remembered for her opposition to pesticides and her book “Silent Spring”.

Iran Hostage Crisis

Anti-american militants took occupants of the American embassy hostage and defended the return of the Shah of Iran. Hostages were not released until the end of Carter’s presidency.

EPA

Agency established to Nixon to reduce pollution and protect the environment.

Clean Water Act

Law setting a goal to make all natural surface water fit for fishing and swimming and banned polluted discharge into water.

Moral Majority

Group that supported Reagan that wanted to return to conservative values

New Federalism

Relationship proposed by Reagan that returned administrative powers to state governments.

Reagan/Tricke Down Economics

Theory that is people pay fewer taxes, they would save money, banks would give more loans, and businesses would have more money.

Clean Air Act

Set emission standards for cars and limited the release of air pollution

Mikhail Gorbachev

The last leader of the USSR whose foreign policy ended the cold war.

UFW

Organization of Mexican field hands who gained rights for migrant farm workers and was led by Cesar Chavez.

Three Mile Island

A plum of radioactive steam spewed from a nuclear reactor at three Mile island. Caused increased support for decrease of nuclear energy.

Sandra Dat O’Connor

First female Supreme Court Justice appointed by Reagan

Clinton Impeachment

Impeached for perjury and obstruction of justice because of his affair. Aquitted by the senate.

Clinton and Universal Health Care

system of health care that would health care coverage for all citizens. the plan was very confusing and was not passed.

Fair Deal

Truman’s domestic policy that extended the new deal and raised minimum wage. It didn't lead to many laws.

New Frontier

Kennedy’s plan to increase civil rights, cut taxes, and increase spending on the military. Dixiecrats made it hard to fulfill his plan.

Carter’s domestic policy

Pardoned Vietnam war draft dodgers, tried to make a health care system, and made the departments of education and energy.

Reagan’s domestic policy

Control should be more local rather than from a distant capital. Also wanted to cut taxes. “Reaganomics”.

Tiananmen Square

scene of a student demonstration and massacre. Resulted in the public condemnation of the Chinese government’s use of force.

Americans with Disabilities Act

Banned discrimination against the disabled in employment and commercial buildings.

Clinton Domestic Policy

Cut taxes, created the FLMA, made the Brady bill, banned assault weapons, created Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, and tried to pass universal health care.

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