Period 8

Four Freedoms

Freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom from fear, and freedom from want

Alger Hiss

A state department employee who was accused of being a communist sympathizer. Attempted to give secret government documents to the Soviet Union

McCarthyism/2nd Red Scare

The irrational fear of communist infiltrators working to undermine America. Occurred after WWII

House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC)

Investigated members of the government who were believed to hold either communist or fascist sympathies

Executive Order 9981

Ended segregation in America's military in 1948

Dixiecrats

Pro-segregation democrats that split from the Democrat party and created the States’ Rights Democratic Party (led by Strom Thurmond)

Taft-Hartley Act

Undermined national unionization efforts by making it illegal for any workplace to be a closed-shop, or union-workers only, operation

Servicemen’s Readjustment Act

Passed in 1944 and allowed veterans to obtain high school diplomas, attend college, receive vocational training, and purchase homes and businesses with government-backed loans (aka G.I. Bill)

J. Edgar Hoover

Supervised the FBI and compiled data on any individuals or groups the government deemed a threat as part of an operation known as COINTELPR

Douglas MacArthur and Japan

MacArthur led US occupation of Japan

Tehran Conference

FDR, Churchill, and Stalin (Big Three) met to discuss the Allied strategy in Europe and the Pacific in WWII

Yalta Conference

In Feb. 1945, Stalin, FDR, and Churchill met to divide and occupy Germany

Potsdam Conference

In 1945, the Allies agreed that Germany needed to be demilitarized but the removal of Soviet troops from Eastern Europe remained unresolved

Division of Germany

There were 4 zones: Britain, France, US, and Soviet Union.
West Germany (capitalism, democratic) v. East Germany (communism, Soviet control) and West Berlin v. East Berlin

United Nations

Created in 1945 by the UN Charter (basically a new and improved League of Nations)

• UN General Assembly (all the countries)

• UN Security Council (purpose is to avoid war) with P5 and 10 other members

Formation of Israel

Zionists advocated for a Jewish homeland and Israel was created in 1948 by the UN taking a British mandate (Palestine) and making it a country (but most of the people of Palestine were Muslim and they were encouraged to more out)

Collective security

An aggressor to one country is an aggressor to all so we must work together to shut it down

Iron Curtain speech

Speech by Winston Churchill in the US stating that “an iron curtain has descended across the Continent” (division of the secretive Soviet satellite states and the rest of Europe). Caused Americans to be worried and have more distrust of trust in the Soviet Union

Containment

Preventing the spread of communism

Long Telegram

A document in 1946 by George Kennan detailing Soviet history, the rise of communism, society, how the people viewed their leaders, etc. Said the USSR was ruthlessly expansionary. Encouraged a policy of firm and vigilant containment

George Kennan

US diplomat to the Soviet Union who wrote the “Long Telegram”

Truman Doctrine

In 1947, Truman wanted to prevent the spread of communism in Greece and Turkey and he asked for $4 million to give to them to boost their economies to protect and it worked

Marshall Plan

In 1948, George Marshall said US needed to help struggling European countries so they don’t fall into communism ($12 billion were donated) and it worked

Berlin Airlift

From 1948-49, Truman flew in planes with supplies to West Berlin to counter the blockade Stalin enacted

NATO

(aka North Atlantic Treaty Organization) formed in 1949 and was a military alliance based on collective security

Warsaw Pact

Created in 1955 by the Soviet Union as their own version of NATO for communist countries

Chiang Kai-Shek

Led Nationalists in China and already had power prior to the civil war

Mao Tse-tung

Led Communists in China and won the civil war. Created People’s Republic of China in 1949 and pushed for the Great Leap Forward

Sino-Soviet pact

Signed in 1950 between Stalin and Mao to lock in their allegiance to each other (worked together to grow communist ideology)

Superpower

A nation with exceptional military might

Defense Spending in 1950’s

Remained strong in the US. The US and Soviet Union had an arms race (who could have the most weapons)

Eisenhower/Nixon

President and VP in the election of 1952. Truman believed in containment while Eisenhower has more aggressive ideas for suppressing Communism

Nikita Khrushchev

Took over the Soviet Union after Stalin died in 1953

Destalinization

Social process of neutralizing the influence of Stalin when Khrushchev took over. Revising his policies and removing monuments dedicated to him and renaming places

Sputnik

Soviet space rocket launched in 1957 that was the first of its kind

NASA

American space agency that was part of the executive branch and was created in response to the Soviets’ Sputnik. Wanted to create rockets and satellites to orbit the Earth for communication, defense, and espionage

U-2 incident

An American plane was shot down by the Soviet Union because they thought it was a spy plane and the pilot (Francis Gary Powers) was imprisoned in the USSR

Interstate Highway System

Created by the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956

22nd Amendment

Ratified in 1947 and stated presidents can only serve two terms max

Third world in Cold War

Nations that were neither aligned with the United States nor under the control of the Soviet Union

Operation PBSUCCESS

In 1953, the CIA kicked Árbenz out of office in Guatemala because he had accepted Soviet weapons

Operation AJAX

Led by both the CIA and MI6 to push Mosaddegh (Iranian leader) from power in 1953, replacing him with a member of Iran's royal family because of control over oil fields

Suez Crisis

Britain and France attempted to seize control of the Suez canal from Egypt. US backed Egypt to avoid them siding with the USSR

Assassination of Patrice Lumumba

CIA backed the assassination of the Congolese leader

Proxy conflicts

Instead of directly fighting, the US and the Soviet Union backed opposing sides of other wars

Division of Korea

Divided at 38th parallel after WWII

• Northern part was controlled by Soviet Union (communist)

• Southern part was controlled by US (democratic and capitalist)

MacArthur and Korea

Led UN forces in Korean War and wanted to blockade China, bomb Manchuria, and maybe use nuclear arsenal

Result of Korean war

Ended with an armistice signed June 27, 1953 and the border was back to the 38th parallel

NSC-68

In 1950, advisors to the president who are military experts said the US needed to invest more in the military to be prepared because the Soviets were

Massive Retaliation

Massive buildup of weapons (especially nuclear weapons) so we can retaliate if attacked

John Foster Dulles

Eisenhower’s secretary of state who worked with him to created polices

Military Industrial Complex

In 1961, Eisenhower warned that military and industry are too powerful and intertwined so the US should hit the brakes a little

Arms race

USSR and US were competing to see who was most powerful by their number of weapons

JFK becomes president

Won by a close election in 1960 against Richard Nixon

New Frontier

One of JFK’s domestic policies

• Expansion of social welfare programs

• Increased investment in education

• Creation of Peace Corps

Peace Corps

Volunteers who work for the US government to help in poor, impoverished countries in the world

Race to the Moon

Competition between the Soviets and the US in the advance of science and space exploration. President Kennedy committed the U.S. to land on the moon by the end of the 1960s decade

Bay of Pigs

In 1961, Eisenhower authorized the CIA to roundup Cuban exiles in the US and give them military training to send them back to Cuba to overthrow Castro (failed miserably)

Berlin Wall

Construction began in Aug. 1961 by Soviets around West Berlin to prevent people from East Germany and East Berlin from entering

Cuban Missile Crisis

In Oct. 1962, U2 reconnaissance planes photographed Soviet nuclear missile installations under construction in Cuba and JFK responded with a naval quarantine around Cuba

• Soviet must remove missiles from Cuba

• US must remove missiles from Turkey

• US promises to leave Cuba alone

• Nuclear hotline/red phone and reduced Cold War tension

Flexible Response

Different ways to respond to conflict (not just nuking but sanctions, etc. instead)

Assassination of JFK

Was shot in his car on Nov. 22, 1963, in Dallas, TX by Oswald

Middle Class

Term used to describe those with a comfortable income and the ownership of a single-family home, cars, and modern appliances

American National Exhibit in Moscow

In 1959, VP Nixon met with Nikita Khrushchev and bragged that the American model kitchen displayed demonstrated America's superior technologies and leisurely domestic lives at this exhibit sponsored by the U.S. government to use cultural diplomacy to show American superiority

Air conditioning effect

Allowed more people to live in warm parts of the planet including the US Southwest

Population shift in 1950’s

People moved to suburban areas

“The Affluent Society”/”The Other America”

A book by John Kenneth Galbraith to point out that 1/13 Americans still lived below the poverty line

A book by Michael Harrington that revealed the disparities in wealth and opportunity of those left out of America's middle class revolution

National Defense Education Act

Invested in science and technology research following a belief that a well-educated population held the key to beating the Soviets in a battle of the minds

Levittown

First suburban community geared towards middle class buyers and was unveiled in 1947. Was on NY’s Long Island

Baby Boom

The birth rate peaked from 1947-1964 and kept the demand for housing steady as well as stimulating consumption of household items and goods tailored toward children

Car Culture

The increased dependence on cars and increasing in paved roads, real estate, roadside restaurants, service stations, and motels due to the automobile

American Bandstand

A TV program that debuted in 1950 where featured a guest audience of teenagers and young adults who would dance to popular music hits and a live performance by a top artist would be featured

Television of 1950’s

Replaced radio, newspapers, and magazines as the most important source of information and mostly showed programs portraying an ideal white, middle-class society (Ex. I Love Lucy, Golden Age, and Father Knows Best)

Suburbanization

Movement of upper and middle-class people from urban core areas to the surrounding outskirts to escape pollution as well as deteriorating social conditions

Brown v. Board of Education

A collection of 5 cases from different states sponsored by NAACP. Argued by Thurgood Marshall who was a NAACP attorney who challenged separate by equal

Massive Resistance

Southern states ignore Brown v. Board of Education and justify based on federalism (no jurisdiction over education in individual states)

Southern Manifesto

Signed in 1956 and stated that the Supreme Court overreached and abused its power. Its principal author was Harry F. Byrd

Citizen Councils

Made up of wealthy, powerful white people that used economic coercion to shush any efforts to desegregate schools (similar to the KKK but not as violent)

Prince Edward Co., Virginia

Closed all public schools and funneled tax money to private schools (Whites only academies) that opened up to resist the Brown v. Board decision

Little Rock Nine

In 1957, nine black teens had federal protection from soldiers to go to an integrated school (Eisenhower kept the troops there for a year but Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus closed schools after a year)

self-purification

MLK expected his supporters to be strong without retaliating to withstand violence by looking at themselves

Emmitt Till

A black 14 year old who was tortured and murdered by a husband and his brother because his wife (white) claimed that Till said something flirtatious (but came out later saying she made it up)

Lyndon Johnson’s talents

More experienced in government, used Kennedy's memory to get things done that Kennedy would have supported, extremely persuasive, known as "Master of the Senate"

Barry Goldwater

Conservative who ran against LBJ in the 1964 elections. Believed people should be self-sufficient and wanted limited power and scope of federal government

Modern conservative movement in politics

Goldwater started this by opposing the overreach of government power with the Great Society

Great Society

Launched by Johnson to aid people in poverty, seniors, children, and minorities

1964 Economic Opportunity Act

Created a free nursery school program called Head Start designed to help low income American families with young children get a head start on their education

Civil Rights Act of 1964

Outlawed racial discrimination and segregation in public spaces

War on Poverty

What the “Great Society” was known as because it focused on aiding people in poverty

VISTA

Provided stipends for volunteers to work in deprived domestic communities

Conservatives v. Liberals in 1960’s

Liberals believed the problems of poverty and racism needed federal government intervention to correct them while conservatives believed that individuals and states needed to take responsibility for the welfare of people

Voting Rights Act of 1965

Prohibited racial discrimination in voting (also made sure there was no voter intimidation)

Immigration Act of 1965

Ended quotas for immigration and made immigration easier for refugees from Cambodia and Vietnam

Medicare/Medicaid

Created to give government funded health insurance

• Medicare = elderly

• Medicaid = families and kids in poverty

LBJ’s vision of freedom and equality

Wanted to live out JFK’s legacy by passing legislation about civil rights that he would have wanted

Martin Luther King, JR.

Leader of the Civil Rights Movement. Assassinated by James Merrill Ray in April 1968 in Memphis

Montgomery Bus Boycott

Sparked by the arrest of Rosa Parks because she refused to give up her seat to a white passenger in 1955. Lasted 13 months where Black residents in Montgomery refused to ride the buses (they organized car pools). Led by MLK. It worked because the Supreme Court later said bus segregation was unconstitutional

SCLC

Southern Christian Leadership Conference was a network of Southern preachers who used black churches to organize protests (religious folks were on board because it was nonviolent). Led by MLK

Sit-ins

Black students from HBCUs sat in whites-only counters to protest

SNCC

Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee was a group of young people working together for the Civil Rights Movement. Organized sit-ins, kneel-ins, and wade-ins