Key Events and Policies from the Great Depression to Vietnam War

Reconstruction Finance Corporation

Gave loans to banks and businesses during Hoover's presidency.

Hoovervilles

Homeless camps named after President Hoover.

Causes of the Great Depression

Stock crash, bank failures, overproduction, and unequal wealth.

Election of 1932

Made people expect help from the federal government.

FDR's First Goal

Fix banks and restore trust.

Three R's

Relief, Recovery, and Reform.

CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps)

Gave young men jobs in nature projects.

Bank Holiday

Closed banks briefly to stop failures.

WPA (Works Progress Administration)

Created jobs with public projects.

New Deal Programs

Helped the economy through jobs and reform.

Social Security Act

Made the government help with social welfare.

Black Cabinet

Group of Black advisors to FDR.

FDIC

Protected people's bank savings.

New Government Role

The government became more active in the economy.

National Labor Relations Act (1938)

Protected workers' right to unionize.

New Deal Coalition

A mix of workers, farmers, and minorities supporting FDR.

Social Effects of the Depression

Families broke up, and poverty rose.

Court Packing Response

Many opposed FDR's plan to add justices.

Axis Powers

Germany, Italy, and Japan.

America First Committee

Wanted to keep the U.S. out of war; Charles Lindbergh led it.

Braceros

Mexican workers brought to help on farms.

Women in WWII

Took jobs in factories and the military.

Lend-Lease Act

Gave U.S. supplies to Allies.

Nuremberg Laws

Forced Jews to wear stars and lose rights.

Executive Order 9066

Sent Japanese Americans to camps.

Executive Order 8802 / FEPC

Banned racial job discrimination.

D-Day Goal

Free France from Nazi control.

Ford Motor Company

Switched from cars to war machines.

Turning Point Battles

Stalingrad, Midway, and D-Day.

WWII Technology

Included radar, atomic bombs, and better weapons.

Island Hopping

U.S. plan to defeat Japan one island at a time.

Women on the Homefront

Worked in factories and helped war efforts.

Manhattan Project

Secret U.S. plan to build atomic bombs.

Office of Price Administration (OPA)

Controlled prices and rationing.

Atomic Bomb Justification

Truman wanted to end the war fast.

WWII Economic Impact

Boosted the economy with jobs and production.

Marshall Plan

U.S. money helped Europe rebuild.

NATO

U.S.-led military alliance.

Truman Doctrine

U.S. helped stop communism worldwide.

Cold War

Tension without direct war between the U.S. and USSR.

Baby Boom

Birthrate jumped from 1946-1956.

Levittowns

Suburban homes showing a shift from city to suburb.

1949 Events

China turned communist; USSR got nukes.

G.I. Bill

Helped veterans with school and housing.

White Flight

White families moved to suburbs.

Beatniks

Youths who rejected the 1950s lifestyle.

HUAC

Investigated suspected communists.

Army-McCarthy Hearings

Ruined Senator McCarthy's career.

Hollywood Ten

Refused to testify about communism.

TV & Consumption

Ads made Americans buy more.

Korea in 1950

North was communist; South was democratic.

Korean War Outcome

Stalemate; same border.

Sputnik

USSR's satellite scared Americans.

$400 Million for Greece & Turkey

Truman tried to stop communism.

Cuban Missile Crisis

Increased U.S.-USSR arms race.

Great Society

Johnson's programs to fight poverty.

Missiles in Cuba Response

U.S. blockaded Cuba.

JFK's New Frontier

Focused on space and civil rights.

Brown v. Board (1954)

Ended school segregation.

Jackie Robinson

First Black MLB player.

Civil Rights Act (1964)

Banned segregation and job bias.

Little Rock Troops

Eisenhower sent troops to protect Black students.

Freedom Riders

Protested bus segregation.

Freedom Summer

Pushed for Black voting rights.

Black Power

Promoted pride and self-defense.

Watts Riots (1965)

Violent protest over police racism.

Desegregated Armed Forces

Truman ended military segregation.

Selma March Goal

Voting rights for Black Americans.

Stokely Carmichael

Favored self-defense, not nonviolence.

Lunch Counter Sit-ins

Peaceful protests against segregation.

Voter Suppression Tactics

Poll taxes, literacy tests, ID laws.

Voting Rights Act (1965)

Protected all Americans' right to vote.

Malcolm X vs. MLK

Malcolm wanted faster, stronger action.

Black Power Goals

Equality, pride, and independence.

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

Let LBJ expand the war.

Johnson Not Running (1968)

The Vietnam War made him unpopular.

My Lai Massacre (1968)

U.S. troops killed unarmed civilians.

Ho Chi Minh

Led Vietnam's fight against France.

Draft Controversy

Many thought it was unfair.

Kent State Protests

Against bombing in Cambodia.

Vietnam Impact

People lost trust in the government.

Draft Issues

Rich avoided it; poor couldn't.

Agent Orange

Toxic chemical used in Vietnam.

Tet Offensive

Surprise attack that changed public opinion.

Vietnam War Style

Guerrilla tactics, not open battles.

Vietnamization

Let South Vietnam lead; didn't work well.

End of Vietnam War (1975)

North Vietnam took over.

Great Society Expansion

Added more federal programs to fight poverty.