1960s U.S. History: Civil Rights, Cold War, and Social Movements

Military-Industrial Complex

A term describing the close relationship between the U.S. military, defense industries, and the federal government.

New Frontier

President John F. Kennedy's domestic agenda focused on economic growth, civil rights, and scientific advancement. This made the Peace Corps

Peace Corps

A volunteer program that sent Americans to developing nations to assist with education and economic development.

Alliance for Progress

A U.S. initiative aimed at promoting economic reform and preventing communist influence in Latin America.

Apollo Program

A NASA space program designed to land Americans on the Moon.

Robert McNamara

Secretary of Defense under Kennedy and Johnson who supported increased involvement in Vietnam, author of Flexible Response

Dean Rusk

Secretary of State during the Kennedy and Johnson administrations who strongly supported containment.

Robert Kennedy

Attorney General and later senator who supported civil rights and anti-poverty initiatives.

Berlin Wall

A wall built in 1961 separating East and West Berlin to prevent defections.

European Economic Community (EEC)

An economic alliance among Western European nations to reduce trade barriers.

Flexible Response

Kennedy’s defense strategy emphasizing conventional forces and limited warfare instead of relying solely on nuclear weapons.

Bay of Pigs

A failed U.S.-backed invasion of Cuba by anti-Castro exiles in 1961.

Cuban Missile Crisis

A 1962 standoff over Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba.

Freedom Riders

Civil rights activists who challenged segregation on interstate buses.

George Wallace

Alabama governor who openly supported segregation. 3rd party candidate for the 1968 election

J. Edgar Hoover

Longtime director of the FBI who monitored civil rights and antiwar activists.

March on Washington

A 1963 civil rights demonstration advocating for racial equality and jobs. In support of passing the Civil Rights Act of 1964

Voter Education Project

A program designed to register African American voters in the South.

Civil Rights Act of 1964

A law that outlawed segregation and employment discrimination.

Affirmative Action

Policies intended to address racial and gender inequality.

Great Society

Lyndon B. Johnson's domestic reform agenda targeting poverty and racial injustice.

Barry Goldwater

Conservative Republican presidential candidate in 1964.

Freedom Summer

A 1964 effort to register Black voters in Mississippi.

Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP)

An interracial political party formed to challenge segregation in Mississippi politics.

Voting Rights Act of 1965

A law banning literacy tests and allowing federal oversight of elections.

Malcolm X

A civil rights leader who promoted Black nationalism and self-defense.

Black Panther Party

A militant organization advocating Black power and community programs.

Watts Riot

A violent uprising in Los Angeles in 1965 sparked by racial tensions.

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

A congressional resolution granting Johnson authority to use military force in Vietnam.

Operation Rolling Thunder

A sustained bombing campaign against North Vietnam.

Six-Day War

A 1967 conflict between Israel and neighboring Arab states.

Hawks

Americans who supported aggressive military action in Vietnam.

Doves

Americans who opposed the Vietnam War.

Eugene McCarthy

Democratic senator who ran for president on an antiwar platform in 1968.

Hubert Humphrey

Vice president and Democratic presidential nominee in 1968.

Hippies

Members of a counterculture movement rejecting traditional values.

New Left

A political movement focused on civil rights, antiwar activism, and social reform.

Stonewall Riots

1969 protests following a police raid on a gay bar in New York City.

Cesar Chávez

Labor leader who organized farmworkers to demand better conditions.

Students for a Democratic Society (SDS)

A student organization advocating participatory democracy.

Silent Majority

Term used by Nixon to describe Americans who supported traditional values and law and order.

My Lai

A massacre of Vietnamese civilians by U.S. soldiers in 1968.

Kent State University

Site where National Guard troops killed four student protesters in 1970.

Griswold v. Connecticut

Supreme Court case establishing the right to privacy in marital contraception.

Miranda v. Arizona

Supreme Court case requiring police to inform suspects of their rights.