U.S. History Final Exam Study Guide

Appeasement

Giving in to the demands of a hostile power to avoid conflict

Joseph Stalin

Totalitarian leader of the Soviet Union during WWII; part of the Allied Powers.

Pearl Harbor

U.S. naval base in Hawaii attacked by Japan on December 7, 1941; led the U.S. to enter WWII.

Nazi party

German political party led by Adolf Hitler; promoted fascism, nationalism, and anti-Semitism.

Holocaust

The genocide of 6 million Jews and 5 million others by Nazi Germany during WWII.

Kristallnacht

"Night of Broken Glass" in 1938—violent Nazi attacks on Jewish homes, businesses, and synagogues.

Blitzkrieg

"Lightning war"; a fast, surprise military attack used by Germany during WWII.

Manhattan Project

Secret U.S. project during WWII to develop the atomic bomb.

Yalta Conference

1945 meeting between FDR, Churchill, and Stalin to plan post-war Europe.

Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Japanese cities where the U.S. dropped atomic bombs in August 1945, ending WWII.

Cold War

A period of political tension and military rivalry between the U.S. and USSR (no direct war).

Role of women 1950

Expected to be homemakers and mothers; limited job opportunities.

Sacco and Vanzetti

Italian immigrants executed in the 1920s; controversial trial symbolized anti-immigrant feelings.

Marshall Plan

U.S. aid program to help rebuild European economies after WWII.

Iron Curtain

Imaginary line dividing communist Eastern Europe and democratic Western Europe.

McCarthyism

Senator Joseph McCarthy's campaign to expose supposed communists in the U.S. government.

Television

Became the dominant form of entertainment and news; changed American culture.

Harry Truman and the atomic bomb

Truman authorized use of the atomic bomb to end WWII.

US and Soviet relations

Tense during the Cold War; arms race and space race were key parts.

Korean War

1950-1953 conflict where the U.S. helped South Korea fight against communist North Korea.

Truman Doctrine

U.S. promise to help countries resisting communism.

Red Scare

Fear of communism spreading in the U.S., especially in the 1950s.

Containment

U.S. policy to stop the spread of communism.

Berlin Airlift

U.S. and British planes dropped supplies into West Berlin after a Soviet blockade.

M.A.D.

Mutually Assured Destruction—a belief that nuclear war would destroy both sides.

G.I. Bill $

Gave WWII veterans money for college, housing, and job training.

NATO

Military alliance between the U.S., Canada, and Western Europe for collective security.

Levittown

Suburban housing development is; symbol of post-war suburban growth.

Dwight Eisenhower

U.S. president (1953-61); helped end Korean War; built interstate highways.

Sputnik

First satellite launched by the USSR; started the space race.

Cuban Missile Crisis

1962 confrontation between U.S. and USSR over Soviet missiles in Cuba.

Fidel Castro

Communist leader of Cuba after 1959 revolution.

Bay of Pigs

Failed U.S. invasion of Cuba to overthrow Castro in 1961.

Nikita Khrushchev

Soviet leader during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Brown v. Board of Ed

1954 Supreme Court case that ended segregation in public schools.

Birmingham riots of 1963

Violent response to civil rights protests; helped shift public opinion.

Little Rock Nine

African American students who integrated a white high school in Arkansas.

Jackie Robinson

First African American to play Major League Baseball.

Nonviolent protest

Peaceful tactics used in the Civil Rights Movement (sit-ins, marches).

Malcolm X

Civil rights leader who believed in Black empowerment and self-defense.

Martin Luther King Jr.

Leader of the Civil Rights Movement; promoted nonviolence and equality.

March on Washington

1963 rally for civil rights; MLK gave his "I Have a Dream" speech.

Black Power

Movement for racial pride, self-sufficiency, and equality.

Montgomery Bus Boycott

Protest against segregation on buses, sparked by Rosa Parks.

Freedom Riders

Civil rights activists who rode buses to protest segregation in the South.

Kennedy election

JFK elected in 1960; symbol of hope and change.

The Kennedy Assassination

JFK killed in Dallas in 1963; shocked the nation.

Lyndon B. Johnson "Great Society"

Programs to reduce poverty and promote equality.

Berlin Wall

Wall built by East Germany in 1961 to stop East Germans from fleeing to the West.

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

Gave LBJ broad powers to escalate the Vietnam War.

Domino Theory

Belief that if one country fell to communism, others would follow.

Viet Cong

Communist fighters in South Vietnam using guerrilla tactics.

Ho Chi Minh

Leader of communist North Vietnam.

Tet Offensive

Surprise attack by Viet Cong in 1968; turned U.S. opinion against the war.

Vietnamization

Nixon's plan to withdraw U.S. troops and train South Vietnamese.

Richard Nixon

President who ended U.S. involvement in Vietnam; later resigned.

My Lai Massacre

U.S. soldiers killed hundreds of civilians in Vietnam; shocked Americans.

Guerilla Warfare

Hit-and-run tactics used by Viet Cong.

Walter Cronkite

Trusted news anchor; his criticism of Vietnam war influenced public opinion.

Woodstock

1969 music festival symbolizing 1960s counterculture.

Counter culture

Rejection of traditional values; focused on peace, love, and rebellion.

Watergate

Political scandal involving illegal activities and cover-up by Nixon's administration.

Gerald Ford

Nixon's VP who became president and pardoned Nixon.

OPEC

Oil-producing countries that caused the 1970s oil crisis.

Apollo 11

1969 mission where Neil Armstrong became the first man on the Moon.

Camp David Accords

Peace agreement between Egypt and Israel brokered by President Carter.

Jimmy Carter

President known for human rights focus and energy crisis management.

Iran Hostage Crisis

52 Americans held hostage in Iran for 444 days (1979-1981).

Crisis of Confidence

Carter's speech about American morale during economic struggles.

SALT

Strategic Arms Limitation Talks to reduce nuclear weapons.

3 Mile Island

1979 nuclear accident in Pennsylvania; raised fears about nuclear energy.

Ronald Reagan

Conservative president (1981-89); helped end Cold War.

Reaganomics

Economic policy focused on tax cuts, reduced regulation, and trickle-down theory.

Strategic Defense Initiative

Proposed missile defense system.

Evil Empire Speech

Reagan's speech calling the USSR evil; tough Cold War stance.

Iran-Contra Affair

Secret U.S. arms sales to Iran used to fund Nicaraguan rebels; scandal.

glasnost and perestroika

Gorbachev's reforms for openness and restructuring in the USSR.

Mikhail Gorbachev

Soviet leader who introduced reforms and helped end the Cold War.

Tiananmen Square

1989 Chinese student protests violently crushed by government.

Fall of the Berlin Wall

1989; symbolized the end of the Cold War.

Miracle on Ice

1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team beat the Soviet Union.

CIA

U.S. intelligence agency; involved in Cold War spying.

George Bush

President during the Gulf War; father of George W. Bush.

Saddam Hussein

Iraqi dictator; invaded Kuwait in 1990, prompting U.S. response.

Gulf War: Operation Desert Storm

U.S.-led war to drive Iraq out of Kuwait (1991).

1992 L.A. Riots

Riots after Rodney King beating verdict; highlighted racial tensions.

Bill Clinton

President during 1990s economic boom; impeached over Lewinsky scandal.

Lewinsky scandal

Clinton lied under oath about an affair; led to impeachment.

2000 election

Controversial election between Bush and Gore; decided by Supreme Court.

George W. Bush

43rd president; son of the former president George H.W. Bush.

9/11

Terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, and Shanksville, PA; nearly 3,000 people were killed; carried out by Al-Qaeda terrorists; largest attack on American soil since Pearl Harbor.

Osama bin Laden

Leader of the Al-Qaeda terrorist group; claimed responsibility for the 9/11 attacks.

Al Qaeda

Al-Qaeda: an extremist Islamic terrorist organization; operated training camps in Afghanistan.

Patriot Act

Passed in October 2001; expanded law enforcement powers to combat terrorism; increased surveillance and information sharing; controversial due to privacy concerns.

Iraq invasion 2003

U.S. and allies invade Iraq in March 2003; claimed Iraq had weapons of mass destruction.

Hurricane Katrina

2005 disaster that devastated New Orleans; government criticized for slow response.