US History

William Levitt

The builder who constructed a massive number of homes in the $1950s$, known for "cookie-cutter" houses that contributed to suburban homogeneity.

Levittown

A primary example of the mass-produced suburban developments of the $1950s$, characterized by uniformity and a middle-class population.

GI Bill ($1944$)

Legislation that stimulated college attendance for veterans, leading to the government paying for half of all male college students by $1947$.

Sputnik ($1957$)

A basketball-sized satellite launched by the Soviets that stunned Americans, causing a revamp of U.S. schools and the creation of NASA.

NASA

The agency created by the United States government in response to the technological challenge posed by the Soviet launch of Sputnik.

Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka ($1954$)

A Supreme Court case under the Warren Court that ruled to desegregate public schools.

Little Rock High School ($1956$)

The site where President Eisenhower sent the $101st$ Airborne and National Guard to enforce school desegregation.

Rosa Parks ($Dec.\,1955$)

The activist who refused to move from her seat in the white section of a Montgomery bus, sparking the Montgomery bus strike.

SNCC

The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, founded in $1960$ by Black and White students to use peaceful methods like sit-ins to desegregate facilities.

SCLC

The Southern Christian Leadership Conference, led by Martin Luther King, which used passive resistance and boycotts to end segregation.

The Feminine Mystique

A book by Betty Friedan that addressed "the problem that has no name," highlighting the dissatisfaction of many suburban women in the $1950s$ and $1960s$.

Modern Republicanism

The political approach of Dwight Eisenhower that aimed to steer a middle ground and maintain the New Deal without additional growth.

Highway Act, $1956$

The largest public works project in U.S. history, which spent $\$76$ Billion to build $41,000$ miles of highways, aiding the economic boom and national security.

Flexible Response

John F. Kennedy's Cold War strategy to use force and troops whenever necessary to combat communism.

Bay of Pigs

A CIA-sponsored attempt to start a revolution and overthrow Fidel Castro in Cuba.

Cuban Missile Crisis

A confrontation where the U.S. detected Soviet missiles in Cuba, leading to a blockade and an eventual Soviet stand-down.

Miranda Case

A major case of judicial activism under Chief Justice Earl Warren that required police officers to read offenders their rights.

Gideon vs. Wainright ($1963$)

A Supreme Court ruling that mandated the provision of legal counsel to poor defendants in serious cases.

$1964$ Civil Rights Bill

A landmark piece of legislation under Lyndon B. Johnson that made segregation in employment and public facilities illegal.

Great Society

Lyndon B. Johnson's reform program designed to end poverty through massive spending on liberal social programs like the War on Poverty.

Medicare

A medical assistance program established under the Great Society to provide healthcare for the elderly.

Voting Rights Act, $1965$

Legislation that eliminated literacy tests and allowed the national government to register voters, helping millions of African-Americans register.

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

A resolution that gave LBJ a "blank-check" to retaliate and send American combat troops to Vietnam following an attack on an American ship.

Tet Offensive ($Jan-Feb\,1968$)

A simultaneous attack on several targets by North Vietnamese forces that served as a turning point in the war, leading many to believe the U.S. could not win.

Ceasar Chavez

Leader of the United Farm Workers (UFW) who organized a successful nationwide boycott of grapes to gain support for Mexican American workers.

NOW

The National Organization for Women, founded in $1966$ by Betty Friedan with the goal of taking action to bring about equality for all women.

Roe vs. Wade ($1973$)

The Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion in the United States.

Dtente

Richard Nixon's foreign policy aimed at managing other great powers, leading to a thaw in the Cold War.

SALT I Treaty

A treaty between the U.S. and USSR during the Nixon administration that represented a reduction in Cold War tensions.

Watergate ($1972$)

A political scandal involving President Nixon's attitude of being above the law, which eventually led to impeachment hearings in $1974$.

Russian War Losses

The Soviet Union suffered more losses than any other country, including at least $7.5$ million soldiers and another $15$ million civilians.

Stalin's Buffer States

Stalin's goal to create states around the Soviet Union under Red Army control to ensure national security.

Manhattan Project Information

Stalin learned of the secret U.S. project through spies and started his own A-Bomb project, bolstered by secrets fed by Klaus Fuchs, a scientist at Los Alamos.

George Kennan

The author of the 'Containment' theory which argued that the U.S. must be firm, vigilant, patient, and long-term in opposing the historically insecure Soviets.

Containment Theory

The primary element of U.S. policy toward the Soviets for $40$ years, aimed at keeping them from expanding anywhere in the world.

Domino Theory

The ideological belief that once a country fell to Communists, others would fall like dominoes.

Truman Doctrine

Announced in March $1947$, this policy provided $400$ million in aid to Greece and Turkey to support non-Communist countries and ended American isolation.

Iron Curtain

A phrase from Winston Churchill's $1946$ Missouri speech describing the division of Europe where 'police governments' ruled the East.

Marshall Plan

A $1947$ economic aid program that spent $12.5$ billion on rebuilding Europe to block Soviet power and boost American prestige.

NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization)

Created in $1949$ as a military block involving the U.S. and $11$ Western countries where an attack against one member was considered an attack against all.

Berlin Airlift

A massive operation following the July $1948$ blockade to save $2$ million people in Berlin, signifying that the Allies would not back down.

NSC-68

A National Security Council document that shaped policy for $20$ years, assuming Soviets could not be trusted and calling for military spending to reach $50\%$ of the budget if necessary.

Soviet Atomic Development

The creation of a Soviet Atomic Bomb caused U.S. military spending to increase from $13$ billion to $50$ billion in $1950$.

Chiang Kai-shek

The pro-American, anti-Communist leader of Southern China who was pushed out to Taiwan by Mao Zedong in $1949$.

Mao Zedong

The Communist leader in Northern China who won the Civil War and allied with the Soviets, leading the U.S. to refuse trade or meetings with China.

White Report

A report that blamed Chiang Kai-shek for losing China to the Communists.

38th Parallel

The line where Allies divided Korea; it became the site of conflict when North Korea invaded the South in June $1950$.

General MacArthur's Dismissal

Truman relieved MacArthur of command because he publicly criticized the President and wanted to use nuclear weapons against the Chinese.

Ho Chi Minh

The Soviet-supported leader in North Vietnam who fought against the French attempt to return to their Indo-China Empire.

Dien Bien Phu

The location where French forces were trapped and defeated in May $1954$, leading them to abandon their colony.

17th Parallel

The partition line in Vietnam where the U.S. took the place of the French to support South Vietnam against the Communist North.

U-2 Incident

A May $1960$ event where pilot Francis Gary Powers was shot down in a spy plane over the Soviet Union, causing humiliation for the U.S.

Military-Industrial Complex

A term from Eisenhower's farewell speech referring to the military establishment needed to keep the peace and get 'more bang for the military buck'.

Alger Hiss Case

A $1949$ case where a former New Dealer was convicted of lying to Congress about being a Communist spy, fueling the Red Scare.

Senator Joseph McCarthy

Used fear tactics known as 'The Big Lie' and alleged lists of communists to become one of the most powerful and feared senators.

Army-McCarthy Hearings

Investigations during Eisenhower's administration where the media turned on McCarthy, leading to his disgrace and death in $1957$.

Isolationism and Pacifism

The American and European sentiment in the $1920\text{s}$-$30\text{s}$ characterized by a focus inward due to the results of the Great Depression and $WWI$, with many Americans not feeling threatened because the country was $3000$ miles away.

Nye Committee

Led by Senator Gerald Nye, this committee determined that the commercial motive was the primary reason for the sustenance of war, influencing American isolationist policy.

Neutrality Act of 1935

A federal law that prohibited the export of arms and munitions to belligerently involved nations.

Neutrality Act of 1937

A law that forbid Americans from traveling on vessels belonging to belligerent nations.

Munich Agreement

A $1938$ agreement that exemplified international appeasement, where Great Britain and France pressed Czechoslovakia to return the Sudetenland to Germany.

The Einstein Letter

An August $1939$ letter from Albert Einstein, a Jewish refugee, warning President Roosevelt that Germans were working on an atomic bomb.

Nazi-Soviet Pact

An August $1939$ non-aggression pact between Germany and the Soviet Union that served as a prelude to the attack and division of Poland.

Cash & Carry

A provision of the Neutrality Act invoked by Roosevelt in $1939$ where war materials could be sold to Allies only if they paid in cash and used their own ships.

America-First Committee

An isolationist group opposed to American involvement in $WWII$, led by prominent figures such as Lindbergh, Robert Taft, and John L. Lewis.

Blitzkrieg

Meaning 'Lightning War,' this military strategy used speed and brutality to easily defeat France, Belgium, and Holland in $1940$.

Lend-Lease Act

Passed on March $11, 1941$, this program allowed the U.S. to lend or lease goods and weapons to countries fighting aggressors when the British ran out of money.

Atlantic Charter

An August $1941$ post-war plan drawn up by Churchill and Roosevelt that included an $8$-point program and a proposal for a system of world security called the United Nations.

Tripartite Pact

A September $1940$ alliance formed between Germany, Italy, and Japan.

Pearl Harbor

The Japanese attack on Dec. $7, 1941$, which destroyed ships and over $150$ airplanes, resulting in the deaths of over $2400$ Americans and leading to the U.S. entry into the war.

War Production Board (WPB)

Headed by Donald Nelson, this board retooled American industry to produce enormous quantities of munitions, including $300,000$ airplanes and $88,000$ tanks.

Japanese Relocation (1942)

The internment of over $100,000$ Japanese individuals in camps in the interior U.S., resulting in many losing their jobs, homes, and possessions.

D-Day

The Allied invasion of Normandy on June $6, 1944$, commanded by Eisenhower and involving $175,000$ men and $600$ warships.

Battle of the Bulge

The last German offensive in December $1944$ which pushed $50$ miles into Allied lines before being repelled.

Yalta Conference

A February $1945$ meeting of the 'Big Three' (Roosevelt, Stalin, and Churchill) to discuss the partition of Germany and Soviet dominance in the East.

V-E Day

May $8, 1945$, the day marking the end of the war in Europe after Germany's unconditional surrender.

Manhattan Project (Alamogordo, NM)

The secret development of the atomic bomb, which was successfully detonated in a test on July $16, 1945$.

Hiroshima and Nagasaki

The two Japanese cities targeted by American atomic bombs on August $6$ and August $9, 1945$, leading to Japan's surrender.

G.I. Bill

A law providing government-financed homes and education for ex-soldiers, which helped fuel the post-war industrial economic boom.

Baby Boom

A period of massive population growth between $1946$ and $1964$ during which approximately $76$ million babies were born.

Black Thursday

Occurred during the end of the great Bull Market in 1929 where 13 million shares were sold.

Black Tuesday

Occurred on October 29, 1929, where 16 million shares were sold and the market began losing $1/2$ its value in 2 weeks.

Smoot-Hawley Tariff

A 1930 protective tariff raised to $52\%$ which prevented Europeans from selling to or buying from the U.S., hindering their ability to pay war loans.

Reconstruction Finance Corp. (RFC)

Established in 1932 to use trickle down economics by giving $\$2 \text{ Billion}$ for banks to loan to railroads and industry; it ultimately failed to create enough jobs.

Bonus Army

A group of 15,000 to 20,000 WWI veterans who marched on Washington in 1932 to collect a $\$1,000$ war bonus.

"Brain Trust"

A group of able advisors surrounding FDR, including Hopkins, Perkins, Ickes, and Frankfurter.

Fireside Chats

Soothing radio broadcasts used by FDR to give people hope and explain his actions, such as closing and examining banks.

Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA)

A 1933 program that provided $\$500 \text{ million}$ to states for direct aid, food, commodities, and work programs.

Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC)

A 1933 initiative that provided jobs for $2.5 \text{ million}$ young men in army-type camps working in forests, wildlife areas, and on beaches.

National Youth Administration (NYA)

An agency providing part-time student employment to prevent high school and college students from dropping out.

Works Progress Admin. (WPA)

The largest New Deal agency established in 1935 with $\$5 \text{ billion}$ to put people to work on public works projects.

Public Works Admin. (PWA)

An agency led by Harold Ickes with a $\$3.3 \text{ Billion}$ budget to "prime the pump" by building roads, bridges, schools, and courthouses.

Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)

A 1933 project that controlled rivers to provide water energy and cheap electricity to one of the country's poorest regions.

Home Owners’ Loan Corp. (HOLC)

A 1933 agency designed to help people keep their homes by refinancing mortgages.

Federal Housing Admin. (FHA)

Established in 1934 to provide long-term mortgages insured by the federal government with low down payments of $10\%$.

Emergency Banking Act

A 1933 reform passed in 8 hours that closed and examined banks, reopening only those that were stable.

National Recovery Admin. (NRA)

A 1933 reform program that controlled and set minimum wages.

Agri. Adjustment Admin. (AAA)

A 1933 program that paid farmers a subsidy to decrease production and restricted acreage under cultivation.

Social Security Admin. (SSA)

A 1935 program based on $1\%$ of income providing pensions, disability (workman’s comp.), and aid to mothers with dependent children.

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

An agency created to regulate the sale of stocks and the Stock Market.