APUSH Unit 9: American Dilemma 25-26

17th Parallel

approximate line of latitude that served as the military demarcation line between North and South Vietnam following the Geneva Accords (1954)

26th Amendment

Ratified in July 1971, it lowered the voting age from 21 to 18, granting citizens aged 18 and older the right to vote in federal and state elections; aligned with draft age

Bay of Pigs

U.S.-supported invasion of Cuba in April 1961 meant to overthrow Fidel Castro; failed and embarrassed the Kennedy administration

Cuban Missile Crisis

1962 confrontation between U.S. and USSR over Soviet missiles in Cuba; ended with Soviet withdrawal after U.S. blockade

Dien Bien Phu

French fortress in Vietnam that fell to Viet Minh in 1954; ended French control and led to U.S. involvement

Domino Theory

idea that if one country falls to communism, neighboring countries will follow

Fidel Castro

Communist leader of Cuba who took power in 1959 and allied with the Soviet Union

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution (1964)

gave President Johnson authority to take military action in Vietnam without a formal war declaration

Henry Kissinger

advisor to Nixon/Ford; helped negotiate Vietnam peace, opened relations with China, and promoted détente

Ho Chi Minh

Communist leader of North Vietnam who fought against French and U.S. forces

Kent State Massacre

1970 घटना where National Guard killed 4 student protesters during anti-war demonstrations

My Lai Massacre

killing of unarmed Vietnamese civilians by U.S. soldiers; later exposed and caused outrage

Ngo Dinh Diem

U.S.-backed leader of South Vietnam whose unpopular rule led to his overthrow and death

Nikita Khrushchev

Soviet leader during Cold War and Cuban Missile Crisis

Pentagon Papers

leaked report revealing U.S. government misled public about Vietnam War

Tet Offensive (1968)

major communist attack in Vietnam that weakened U.S. public support for the war

Vietnamization

Nixon’s policy of shifting war responsibility to South Vietnam while withdrawing U.S. troops

Bayard Rustin

civil rights activist who organized the March on Washington

Betty Friedan

author of The Feminine Mystique; sparked the modern women’s movement

Black Power

movement encouraging Black pride, self-reliance, and political power

Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

Supreme Court case that ended school segregation

Equal Rights Amendment (ERA)

proposed amendment to guarantee equal rights regardless of gender; not ratified

Fair Deal

Truman’s program expanding New Deal reforms

Fannie Lou Hamer

civil rights activist who fought for voting rights and spoke at 1964 DNC

Federal Highway Act (1956)

created interstate highway system; largest public works project

Freedom Rides

civil rights protests challenging segregation on buses in the South

Hubert Humphrey

VP under Johnson and 1968 Democratic presidential candidate

John Kennedy

U.S. president (1961–1963); assassinated

John Lewis

civil rights leader involved in Freedom Rides and Selma marches

Lyndon Johnson

president who created Great Society and escalated Vietnam War

Malcolm X

Black nationalist leader advocating self-defense and Black empowerment

Martin Luther King Jr.

leader of nonviolent civil rights movement

Richard Nixon

president (1969–1974); resigned after Watergate scandal

Robert Kennedy

senator and presidential candidate; assassinated in 1968

Rosa Parks

civil rights activist whose arrest sparked Montgomery Bus Boycott

Sit-ins

nonviolent protests at segregated lunch counters

Shirley Chisholm

first Black woman elected to Congress; ran for president in 1972

Strom Thurmond

segregationist politician and Dixiecrat presidential candidate

Taft-Hartley Act (1946)

law limiting labor unions and strikes

Thomas Dewey

Republican candidate who lost to Truman in 1948 upset