Late Cold War

Bay of Pigs

A failed attempt by the US to over-throw Fidel Castro’s communist government in Cuba

Fidel Castro

Cuban communist revolutionary and politician who governed Cuba from 1959 to 2008

Cuban Missile Crisis

Soviet Union installs nuclear-armed Soviet missiles on Cuba, very close to the US shores, Kennedy decides to create a blockade at sea and build up a strict quarantine on all offensive military equipment

Nikita Khrushchev

Leader of the Soviet Union during part of the Cold War

John Kennedy

35th president of the US, was assassinated on November 22, 1963, he visited Dallas to get southern political support for is upcoming 1964 re-election and Lee Harvey Oswald shot him from the Texas School Book Depository

Lee Harvey Oswald

Killed JFK in 1963 from the Texas School Book Depository, Warren Commission said that he acted alone and was not part of a conspiracy

Jack Ruby

Killed Lee Harvey Oswald after he killed JFK, acted alone when he killed Oswald

Zapruder Film

The only known film of the Kennedy assassination

Ho Chi Minh

Vietnamese nationalist fighting for independence since the end of WW1, he also embraces communism

Ngo Dinh Diem

Led the South Vietnamese, was an anti-communist, also Anti-Buddhist

Domino Theory

Idea that if Vietnam fell to communism, its closet neighbors would follow. This in turn would threaten Japan, the Philippines, and Australia. In short, stopping the communist in Vietnam was important to the protection of the entire region

Vietcong

Thee irregular militia fighting to unify Vietnam under a “nationalist/communist” government, they did not wear uniforms and used guerrilla warfare

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

The resolution authorized the President “to take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the forces of the US and to prevent further aggression”

Agent Orange

Herbicide used by the US military during Vietnam War to eliminate jungle cover, named for the orange-stripped. Barrels, exposing about 2.6 million US service member and 4.8 million Vietnamese

Napalm

Jellied gasoline which was dropped in large canisters that exploded on impact, covering large areas in flames

Split-Screen Culture

One side showed that the US winning in Vietnam but the other side showed all the young men dying.

Hawk

People who supported the war

Dove

People who opposed the war

Draft

US government requires people to join the military for a period of time

Credibility Gap

The American people and the Congress discovered that the war was not going as promised, there was a lack of trust in the government, leading to this

Tet Offensive

Surprise attacks by the Vietcong, and many American lives were lost

Vietnamization

US combat forces slowly withdrew from Vietnam, transferring the duties to the south Vietnamese(ARVN), president Nixon authorized expansion of the war into Cambodia without letting the public know

Kent State

Shooting at a University, where the National Guards killed four unarmed students during a protest against the Vietnam War

Pentagon Papers

Document that confirmed that the government had been lying to American public about Vietnam

Paris Peace Accords

Agreement ended the Vietnam War in January 1973, cease fire, withdrawal of US troops, return prisoners of war, allowing the NVA to remain in south Vietnam, the negotiators earned Nobel Peace Prizes in 1974, Nixon famously called it “Peace with Honor”

War Powers Act

Restricted the President’s war making powers by requiring him to consult with congress within 48 hours, a congressional attempt to check the growth of power in the “imperial presidency”

Fall of the Berlin Wall

After a misspoken announcement led to crowds gathering at the wall, border guards opened the gates, allowing people to cross freely, symbolizing the end of the Cold War

German Unification

East Germany and West Germany came together creating a single, unified German state, this ended the division of Germany

Columbine Shooting