APUSH Unit 8 (1945–1980): Cold War, Civil Rights, and Social Movements

Cold War

Tension between U.S. and Soviet Union after WWII (no direct fighting)

Containment

U.S. policy to stop spread of communism

Truman Doctrine

military and political aid to fight communism

Marshall Plan

Economic aid to rebuild Europe and prevent communism

Iron Curtain

Division between communist Eastern Europe and democratic West

NATO

Military alliance of U.S. and Western Europe

Warsaw Pact

Soviet alliance in Eastern Europe

Korean War

U.S. vs. communist North Korea (ended in stalemate)

Arms Race

Competition to build nuclear weapons

Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD)

Both sides could destroy each other with nukes

Cuban Missile Crisis

Closest U.S. and USSR came to nuclear war

Vietnam War

U.S. tried to stop communism in Vietnam

Domino Theory

Fear that if one country fell to communism, others would too

Red Scare

Fear of communism in the U.S.

HUAC

Investigated suspected communists

Joseph McCarthy

Led accusations of communism (McCarthyism)

McCarthyism

Accusing people of communism without evidence

Hollywood Blacklist

Banned suspected communists from jobs

GI Bill

Helped veterans with education and housing

Suburbanization

Growth of suburbs

Baby Boom

Population increase after WWII

Interstate Highway Act

Built highways across U.S.

Consumerism

Increased buying of goods

Sun Belt

Growth in South/West states

Brown v. Board of Education

Ended school segregation

Martin Luther King Jr.

Promoted nonviolent protest

Montgomery Bus Boycott

Protest against segregation

Rosa Parks

Refused to give up bus seat

Civil Rights Act (1964)

Ended segregation

Voting Rights Act (1965)

Protected voting rights

Black Power Movement

More militant approach to equality

Lyndon B. Johnson

Created Great Society programs

Great Society

Programs to fight poverty and inequality

Medicare/Medicaid

Healthcare programs

War on Poverty

Government effort to reduce poverty

Feminist Movement

Fight for women's rights

Betty Friedan

Wrote The Feminine Mystique

NOW (National Organization for Women)

Women's rights group

Chicano Movement

Mexican American rights movement

Cesar Chavez

Fought for farmworkers

AIM (American Indian Movement)

Native American rights

Environmental Movement

Focus on protecting environment

EPA

Environmental Protection Agency

Counterculture

Youth rejecting traditional values

Hippies

Promoted peace, love, and freedom

Anti-war Movement

Protest against Vietnam War

Woodstock

Symbol of counterculture

Free Speech Movement

Student activism

Richard Nixon

President during Vietnam & détente

Détente

Relaxing tensions with USSR/China

Vietnamization

Gradual withdrawal of U.S. troops

Watergate Scandal

Led to Nixon's resignation

26th Amendment

Voting age lowered to 18

Stagflation

Inflation + unemployment

Energy Crisis

Oil shortages

Jimmy Carter

Focused on human rights

Camp David Accords

Peace between Egypt and Israel

Iran Hostage Crisis

Americans held hostage in Iran