C.R & Modern

Committee on Civil Rights

A group created by President Harry S. Truman to investigate racial inequality and recommend reforms.

Thurgood Marshall

NAACP lawyer who argued Brown v. Board and became the first Black Supreme Court justice.

Brown decision

The 1954 Supreme Court ruling that ended school segregation.

Earl Warren

Chief Justice who led major civil rights rulings like Brown.

“Southern Manifesto”

A statement by Southern politicians opposing desegregation.

Little Rock

1957 crisis where federal troops enforced school integration in Arkansas.

Rosa Parks

Activist whose bus protest sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

SCLC

Civil rights group led by MLK Jr. that promoted nonviolence.

SNCC

Student-led civil rights group focused on direct action.

Letter from a Birmingham Jail

MLK Jr.’s defense of civil disobedience.

March on Washington

1963 protest where MLK gave the “I Have a Dream” speech.

24th Amendment

Banned poll taxes in federal elections.

Civil Rights Act

1964 law banning discrimination in public places and jobs.

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

Agency enforcing workplace anti-discrimination laws.

Voting Rights Act of 1965

Law protecting Black voting rights and banning literacy tests.

Malcolm X

Civil rights leader who promoted Black empowerment and self-defense.

CORE

Civil rights group that organized nonviolent protests like Freedom Rides.

Stokely Carmichael

Leader who popularized “Black Power.”

Watts, LA Riots

1965 uprising over racial tensions and police brutality.

Kerner Commission

Report that blamed racism for urban unrest.

De facto segregation

Segregation by custom rather than by law.

MLK Jr assassination

1968 killing of Martin Luther King Jr. that sparked riots.

Betty Friedan

Wrote The Feminine Mystique, inspiring modern feminism.

National organization for women

fought for gender equality.

Title IX

Law banning gender discrimination in education.

United Farm Workers Association

Labor union for farmworkers led by Cesar Chavez.

American Indian Movement

Group advocating Native American rights.

Gay Rights Movement

Movement fighting for LGBTQ+ equality.

Indian Self-Determination 1975

Law giving tribes more control over their own affairs.

Warren Court

Supreme Court under Earl Warren that expanded civil rights.

Mapp v. Ohio

Banned illegally obtained evidence in state courts.

Gideon v. Wainwright

Guaranteed the right to a lawyer.

Escobedo v. Illinois

Right to a lawyer during police questioning.

Miranda v. Arizona

Required police to inform suspects of their rights.

Baker v. Carr

Established “one person, one vote.”

Yates v. US

Limited prosecution of radical speech.

Engel v. Vitale

Banned school-sponsored prayer.

Griswold v. Conn

Recognized a right to privacy.

Great Society

Lyndon B. Johnson’s program to reduce poverty and inequality.

Lyndon B. Johnson

36th president who pushed Great Society reforms and civil rights laws.

Unsafe at Any Speed

Book by Ralph Nader criticizing car safety.

Silent Spring

Book by Rachel Carson exposing pesticide dangers.

Immigration Act of 1965

Ended quotas and increased immigration diversity.

Food Stamp Act

Provided food assistance to low-income Americans.

Medicaid

Government healthcare program for low-income people.

Free Speech Movement

Student protests for free speech on campuses.

New Left

Youth movement pushing for social change.

Woodstock

1969 music festival symbolizing counterculture.

Sexual revolution

Shift toward more open attitudes about sex.

Earth Day

Environmental awareness day started in 1970.

EPA

Agency that regulates pollution and protects the environment.

Oil Embargo 1973

OPEC cut oil exports, causing shortages.

Silent majority

Term used by Richard Nixon for mainstream Americans.

Watergate

Political scandal that led to Nixon’s resignation.

Moral Majority

Conservative religious political group.

Affirmative action

Policies to increase opportunities for minorities.

Reaganomics

Ronald Reagan’s policy of tax cuts and deregulation.

Sandra Day O’Connor

First female Supreme Court justice.

George H. W. Bush

41st president who led the Gulf War.

Star Wars- SDI

Missile defense program proposed by Reagan.

Iran-Contra Affair

Secret arms deal scandal under Reagan.

Sandinistas vs. Contras

Conflict in Nicaragua during the Cold War.

Mikhail Gorbachev

Leader who reformed the USSR and helped end the Cold War.

Perestroika and glasnost

Gorbachev’s reforms (economic restructuring and openness).

Detente

Relaxation of Cold War tensions.

Collapse of the S.U.

End of the Soviet Union in 1991.

Persian Gulf War

1991 war to remove Iraq from Kuwait.

NAFTA

Trade agreement between the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.

Globalization

Increasing global economic and cultural connections.

DACA

Policy protecting undocumented immigrants brought as children.

Bush v. Gore

2000 Supreme Court case that decided the election.

9/11 attacks- Al-Qaeda

2001 terrorist attacks by Al-Qaeda.

War in Afghanistan

U.S. war against the Taliban after 9/11.

US Patriot Act 2001

Law expanding government surveillance powers.

Iraq War

2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq.

MeToo movement

Movement against sexual harassment and assault.

Obamacare

Law expanding healthcare access in the U.S.

America First Policy-Trump

Donald Trump’s focus on prioritizing U.S. interests.

Covid Pandemic

Global health crisis that began in 2019