APUSH Unit 8: 1945-1980

GI Bill of Rights

legislation in June 1944 that eased the return of veterans into american society by providing educational and employment benefits

baby boomers

the name given to the generation of children born to the families of returning WW2 veterans between 1945 and 1960

United Nations

an international organization launched at the end of WW2 with leadership from the US, Soviety union, great britain, and china

cold war

the political and economic confrontation between the soviet union and the united states that dominated world affairs from 1946 to 1989

iron curtain

a phrase coined by former british prime minister winston churchill in 1946 when describing the post-WW2 division of europe into two hostile segments

truman doctrine

preesident harry truman's statement in 1947 that the united states should assist other nations that were facing external pressure or internal revolution

marshall plan

that european recovery program (1949), which provided us economic assistance to european nations in large part to keep them out of the soviet union's sphere of influence

berlin airlift

in 1948 and 1949, food and supplies delivered by air into berlin to keep the city attached to western europe

house committee on un-american activities

congressional committee (1939-1975) that investigated suspected nazi and communist sympathizers

fair deal

the name president harry truman gave to his policies to continue and extend many of the new deal's domestic policies

massive retaliation

a policy adopted by the eisenhower administration to limit the costs of the cold war. rather than keep a large military presence, the administration used the threat to use the hydrogen bomb if the soviet union expanded its grasp to new territory

central intelligence agency (CIA)

established by president truman and expanded by president eisenhower, the CIA was the nation's spy agency charged with keeping tabs on developments in other countries and with engaging in secret missions to advance american interests

sputnik

the world's first space satellite, launched by the soviet union in 1957

national aeronautics and space administration (NASA)

a new government agency created in 1958 in response to sputnik and specifically charged with fostering american space efforts; eventually led to the first manned moon landing and the space shuttle

national defense education act (NDEA)

federal aid to improve education, especially science and math education, approved by congress in 1958

spirit of geneva

a perspective fostered by eisenhower and khrushchev that the cold war might, at the least, be limited by their personal engagement with each other

interstate highway system

a national system of super highways that congress approved at the urging of president eisenhower in 1956 to improve car and truck travel across the us

nation of islam

a religious and political organization founded by elijah muhammad that mixed muslim religious teachings with a campaign for african american separatism; pride, and self determinism

browm v. board of education

a supreme court decision in 1954 declaring that 'seprate but equal' schools for children of different races violated the constitution

southern christian leadership conference (SCLC)

the leading clergy-led voice of the southern, nonviolent civil rights movement, founded in 1957 by martin luther king jr. and some 60 other black ministers, many veterans of the montgomery bus boycott

student nonviolent coordinating committee (SNCC)

black civil rights organization founded in 1960 that drew heavily on younger activities and college students

mississippi freedom democratic party (MFDP)

a separate democratic delegation, launched as a result of the SNCC-led voter registration campaign, that challenged the right of the regular, all white delegation to represent mississippi at the 1964 democratic convention

students for a democratic society (SDS)

a student organization, founded in 1960, to give voice to a new wave of student protest

new frontier

the name given to the domestic programs of the kennedy administration (1961-1963)

engel v. vitale

us supreme court decision that banned mandated prayers or devotional bible reading in american public school

bay of pigs

a 1961 invasion of cuba by anti-castro rebels backed by the kennedy administration that was quickly defeated, much to kennedy's embarrassment

berlin wall

a substantive partition built by east germany on instructions from the soviet union that cut off all travel between east and west berlin from 1961 to 1989

cuban missile crisis

a tense standoff between the us and the soviet union in october 1962 at which each country stood on the brink of nuclear war over the placement of soviet missiles in cuba

peace corps

a program launched by the kennedy administration to recruit young realistic americans to spend 2 years abroad as volunteers working on education and development projects

the great society

the name lyndon johnson gave to his far-reaching domestic program, which included federal aid to education, medicare and medicaid health insurance, immigration reform, and a voting rights act

gulf of tonkin resolution

legislation passed by congress in 1964 that allowed the united states to use force to protect us interests in vietnam

tet offensive

a significant north vietnamese assault on american bases across vietnam

paris peace talks

talks with north vietnam that led to an agreement by the nixon administration to withdraw all us troops from vietnam in 1972

Vietnamization

the policy of turning the fighting of the vietnam war over to south vietnam in exchange for greater us financial support

strategic arms limitation treaty (known as salt 1) and an anti-ballistic missile treaty (ABM)

major treaties negotiated with the soviet union to reduce the world's supply of nuclear weapons

new economic policy

a policy that ended the decades long plan in which all other currencies would be based on the us dollar

roe v wade

the us supreme court landmark 1973 decision declaring antiabortion laws unconstitutional and protecting a women's right to choose

united farm workers

a union of migrant workers of california, which bargained for better salaries and working conditions

american indian movement (AIM)

the most widely recognized of several native american civil rights organizations in the 1970s

bakke decision

the us supreme court's 1978 decision that limited, but did not end, affirmative action programs to achieve racial diversity in a university's student body

woodstock music and art fair

a countercultural music festival that attracted an audience of over 400k in 1969

equal rights amendment

a proposed amendment to the us constitution giving women equal rights with men, ratified by 35 states, three short of the needed number

moral majority

one of the first large-scale organizations of the emerging 'religious right; which organized support for conservative candidates and was a major force in america politics in the early 1980s

watergate

the crisis that began with an illegal break-in at the democratic headquarters in the watergate complex and ended with richard nixon's resignation

detente

the policy of building better understand and a more peaceful relationship between the united states and the soviet union

camp david accords

an agreement between israel and egypt that brought mutual recognition between the countries and a step toward peace in the middle east

indian hostage crisis

the invasion of the american embassy in iran by revolutionary guards who then took 66 hostages, holding them from november 1979 until jan 1981

containment

US strategy to not allow communism to expand, but allow it to be in places where already established.
(Examples of things that went along with this: Massive retaliation-brinkmanship, CIA, Hungarian Uprising, launching of sputnik, NASA, National Defense Education Act)

collective security

A way to contain communism. Strength in numbers. (Examples: SEATO, NATO)

multilateral economic framework

The United States developed a foreign policy based on collective
security and a multilateral economic framework that bolstered
non-Communist nations.

soviet dominated communism

arose in opposition to capitalism. stalin established supremacy-a repressive dictatorship over all Soviet citizens, including party members.

korean war

began when some 75,000 soldiers from the North Korean People's Army poured across the 38th parallel, the boundary between the Soviet-backed Democratic People's Republic of Korea to the north and the pro-Western Republic of Korea to the south.

During the Korean war the United States had two presidents. Harry Truman was President when it began in 1950, and Dwight Eisenhower was elected in 1952 and was President when the armistice was signed in 1953.

vietnam war

struggle between nationalist forces attempting to unify the country of Vietnam under a communist government and the United States (with the aid of the South Vietnamese) attempting to prevent the spread of communism. Engaged in a war that many viewed as having no way to win, U.S. leaders lost the American public's support for the war.

coexistence (detente)

Relaxation of tensions between the United States and its two major Communist rivals, the Soviet Union and China.

decolonization

the Cold War competition with the Soviet Union came to dominate U.S. foreign policy concerns in the late 1940s and 1950s, the Truman and Eisenhower Administrations grew increasingly concerned that as the European powers lost their colonies or granted them independence, Soviet-supported communist parties might achieve power in the new states.

oil crisis

world oil prices quadrupled-followed years of often negotiations between members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and Western oil companies over petroleum production and pricing levels.

Richard Nixon's decision to take the U.S. off the gold standard in 1971 was of particular importance in contributing to the oil crisis.

anti war protests

movement against U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War began small-among peace activists and leftist intellectuals on college campuses-but gained national prominence in 1965, after the United States began bombing North Vietnam
Anti-war marches and other protests, such as the ones organized by Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), attracted a widening base of support over the next three years, peaking in early 1968 after the successful Tet Offensive by North Vietnamese troops proved that war's end was nowhere in sight.

nucelar arsenal

-arms race with soviet union
-In the early 1980s, the revival of the nuclear arms race triggered large protests about nuclear weapons.

military industrial complex

-informal alliance of the military and related government departments with defense industries that is held to influence government policy
-1961, President Dwight Eisenhower gave the nation a dire warning about what he described as a threat to democratic government.
-Eisenhower was worried about the costs of an arms race with the Soviet Union, and the resources it would take from other areas — such as building hospitals and schools.

liberalism

Liberalism in the United States is a broad political philosophy centered on the unalienable rights of the individual. Lyndon Johnson's Great Society.

civil rights

segregation being protested, minorities (latin americans, women, blacks, etc) getting more consideration. SNCC, CORE, freedom summer...Civil Rights ACt of 1964 (Johnson), MLK Jr...

segregation

Protested actively- buss boycotts, brown v. board of education...

nonviolent protests

Influenced by Gandhi and Thoreau. Believed that nonviolent, civil disobedience could be used to challenge racial segregation in U.S.

racial discrimination

Civil rights activists used many strategies to combat racial discrimination. All 3 branches of federal gov. Used measures to promote greater racial justice. Continued white resistance slowed efforts. Civil rights activists clashed over tactics and philosophical issues after 1965

brown v. board of education

racial segregation of children in public schools violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Although the decision did not succeed in fully desegregating public education in the United States, it put the Constitution on the side of racial equality

civil rights act of 1964

1. Barred unequal application of voter registration
2. No discrimination in any public place with interstate commerce
3. Can't deny access to public facilities based on color
4. Deseg of public schools
5. Civil rights commission got more power to enforce leg.
6. Prevent discrimination by gov agencies
7 make it easier to move civil rights cases from segregated courts to federal courts

white resistance

They tried to slow efforts to desegregate

desegregation

Reversing segregation. Civil disobedience was used. All 3 branches of federal government tried to promote this

lyndon johnson's great society

-The Wilderness Protection Act saved 9.1 million acres of forestland from industrial development.
-The Elementary and Secondary Education Act provided major funding for American public schools.
-The Voting Rights Act banned literacy tests and other discriminatory methods of denying suffrage to African Americans.
-Medicare was created to offset the costs of health care for the nation's elderly.
-The National Endowment for the Arts and Humanities used public money to fund artists and galleries.
-The Immigration Act ended discriminatory quotas based on ethnic origin.
-An Omnibus Housing Act provided funds to construct low-income housing.
-Congress tightened pollution controls with stronger Air and Water Quality Acts.
Standards were raised for safety in consumer products.

conservative movement

Movement grew in popularity in the 1960s. Grew so they didn't have to conform to liberal ideologies

suburbanization

After ww2, there was a massive movement to the suburbs. Houses were mass produced- which some didn't like

social mobility

Social mobility is the movement of individuals, families, households, or other categories of people within or between social strata in a society. It is a change in social status relative to others' social location within a given society.

sun belt

The Sun Belt is a region of the United States generally considered to stretch across the Southeast and Southwest.

juvenile delinquency

Juvenile delinquents are minors, usually defined as being between the ages of 10 and 18, who have committed some act that violates the law. These acts aren't called "crimes" as they would be for adults. Rather, crimes committed by minors are called "delinquent acts.

new immigration laws of 1965

abolished the national origins quota system that was American immigration policy since the 1920s, replacing it with a preference system that focused on immigrants' skills and family relationships with citizens or U.S. residents.
170000 per year

traditional nuclear family

family unit that includes two married parents of opposite genders and their biological or adopted children living in the same residence.

counter culture

Drugs, sex, rock and roll music. Main neighborhood in San Francisco. Woodstock. Eventually turned for the worse