APUSH Period 8

Cold War

a period of political tension and military rivalry between the United States and Soviet Union from 1947 to 1991; it was characterized by proxy wars, arms race, and propaganda.

communism

The Cold War was an inevitable result. of the ideological competition between capitalism and _________.

iron curtain

a political boundary dividing Europe into capitalist and communist spheres after WWII; came as a result of Soviet violations of the Yalta Conference; Churchill and Truman wanted to “lift” it, but this goal was incredibly difficult due to heavy Soviet influence in those regions

containment

George Frost Kennan created the idea of a _____________ policy in order to fight communism. He theorized that if the United States strategically “contained” Soviet expansionism instead of using military confrontation, Soviet power would decrease because communism was such an unstable system.

T

T/F: Truman saw containment policy as a military doctrine not a political doctrine.

Truman Doctrine

policy announced by US President Truman in 1947 to provide military and economic assistance to countries threatened by communism; generated widespread public support; used to get funding to fight Soviets in Greece and send troops to Turkey

domino theory

the belief that if one country falls to communism, neighboring countries will also fall, creating a domino effect of communism spreading throughout the region

Marshall Plan

the economic recovery program initiated by the US in 1948 to aid Western Europe after WWII; provided financial assistance, technical expertise, and food aid to rebuild and stabilize economies; came as a result of socialist and communist parties in Western Europe; also meant as a part of containment policy

F

T/F: When Stalin cut off supplies to West Berlin, the US and its allies left the city and allowed Soviet Russia to take over Berlin.

Berlin airlift

operation that provided food and supplies to West Berlin during the Soviet blockade in 1948-1949

NATO

largest defensive alliance in the world; declared that an attack against any of its members would be considered an attack against all; marked the end of US isolationism; created with the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty

National Security Act

centralized control of the military establishment; created Department of Defense; created National Security Council; established CIA

National Security Council

a group of the government’s top specialists in international relations who advised the president; created by National Security Act

T

T/F: The Jewish vs Arab situation in Palestine was the beginning of US involvement in the Middle East.

T

T/F: The Korean War convinced many Americans that there was indeed an international Communist conspiracy guided by the Soviet Union.

House Committee on Un-American Acitivities

aka HUAC; a committee created in 1938 to investigate alleged subversive activities and communist ties within the US; became notorious for its aggressive tactics and infringements on civil liberties during the Cold War era; claimed that communist agents infiltrated the federal government

Federal Employee Loyalty Program

an executive order which required federal government workers to undergo a thorough background check to ensure they were not communists or associated with communists; employees must swear oath of loyalty to the US; also later employed in colleges; later revoked by Eisenhower

Hollywood Ten

a group of actors, producers, and directors who had suspected ties ot communism and were called on to testify; this group refused to testify, citing a violation of first amendment rights; all ten were imprisoned and blacklisted

Alger Hiss

______________ was a government official who was a convicted Communist informer. His case was damaging to the Truman administration since the documents released were very secret and Hiss was a trusted official.

Smith Act of 1940

act which outlaws any conspiracy to advocate the overthrow of the government; upheld by the Supreme Court under the doctrine of a “clear and present danger” which overode the right to free speech

Rosenbergs

Klaus Fuchs and the ____________ were convicted members of a British-American spy ring that passed information about the atomic bomb to the Soviet Union.

McCarthyism

a vehement campaign against alleged communists in the US government and other institutions carried out under Senator Joseph McCarthy in the period 1950–1954; many of the accused were blacklisted or lost their jobs, although most did not in fact belong to the Communist Party; McCarthy claimed to have the names of Communists, but never revealed them; caused a widespread fear of Communism and the rise of McCarthy

McCarran International Security Act

act which made it unlawful to combine, conspire, or agree with any other person to perform any act which would substantially contribute to the establishment of a totalitarian dictatorship; required communist organizations to register with the Justice Department; barred immigrants who belonged to totalitarian parties in their home countries; during future national emergencies, communists would be herded into concentration camps

McCarran-Walter Act

gave immigration officials power to search, seize, and deport undocumented immigrants; renewed quota system; which favored immigrants form northern and western Europe; removed ban on Asian immigrants; barred gays and lesbians

T

T/F: The Cold War was largely responsible for the growth of the American military-industrial complex.

F

T/F: During Truman’s presidency, many Democrats criticized his administration for being “too soft on communism”.

lavender menace

phrase used to describe concerned about gay and lesbian people working in government agencies; came due to false connections between homosexuality and communism and led to the firing of anyone gay or lesbian from government positions; got the attention of McCarthy, who expanded his umbrella of hate to include homosexuals

T

T/F: Huge federal spending during WW2 and the Korean War propelled the economy out of the Great Depression.

F

T/F: After WW2, many manufacturing plants switched from making domestic goods to military goods.

T

T/F: Immediately after WW2, the United States had very little competition when it came to international trade.

consumerism

a phenomenon by which mass production and consumption of nationally advertised products come to dictate much of social life and status

advertising

The prevalence of TVs in homes after WW2 caused a significant increase in _____________, which in turn increased consumerism.

GI Bill

benefits for veterans of WW2; included unemployment pay for one year, preference to those applying for government jobs, loans for home construction or starting a business, access to government hospitals, and subsidies for education; caused the US to have the best-educated workforce; still discriminated against African American veterans; widened income gap between men and women

redlining

practice by which banks would refuse to provide mortgages to homebuyers based on their race or ethnicity

T

T/F: The creation of air conditioning motivated many people to move to places which were previously “too hot.”

suburbs

new housing communities outside of cities which were cheaper, offered more space, and created an air of conformity; symbolized American Dream of upward mobility; Levitt believed they were helping fight communism because “no man who owns his own lot and his own house can be a communist”; led to car sales and building of highways

T

T/F: Suburban homes benefitted greatly form government support to build and sell them.

T

T/F: Suburban communities, such as Levittowns, discouraged POC from living in the communities out of fear that the white owners would leave.

T

T/F: As more African Americans moved to the cities in search of civil rights, better jobs and housing, and higher wages, white people left for the suburbs.

bracero

The ________ program allowed for Mexicans to work as wage laborers in the United States, often as migrant workers.

T

T/F: As soon as WW2 ended, women were pushed back into their traditional gender roles and the “cult of domesticity”.

F

T/F: After WW2, no women remained in the workforce.

baby boom

a period of high birth rates between 1946 and 1964, following WW2; led to a child-centered society which required increased child products and schools to teach them; further emphasized that the women’s place was in the home

T

T/F: The Cold War served as a stimulant for religion and Christian evangelism in the United States, since religion was anti-communism and pro-American.

T

T/F: While the 1950s may have been considered a time of plenty, there was still a lot of poverty, especially among colored populations.

literature

In order to protest the complacency and superficiality of consumerism, many people began using __________ as a social criticism, including Ralph Ellison, John Updike, and more.

Beats

a small but highly controversial group of young writers, poets, painters, and musicians who rejected the consumer culture and the traditional responsibilities of middle-class life; often engaged in dangerous and irresponsible activities; members included Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg

rock n’ roll

Youth rebellion against the expectations of older generations was exemplified in ____________ music, created by POC and popularized by Elvis.

T

T/F: Rock n’ roll brought together musicians and audiences of varied races and backgrounds.

T

T/F: Soviet Russia used Jim Crow laws to illustrate the defects of capitalism.

F

T/F: Eisenhower was one of the nation’s most ardent supporters of civil rights.

F

T/F: Not many African Americans lived in the South after the 1950s.

Civil Rights Act of 1957

act which was intended to ensure that all Americans, regardless of race or ethnicity, were allowed to vote; supported by Lyndon B Johnson who needed POC and liberal support; got southern approval by watering down enforcement provisions; didn’t actually do anything, no southern Black voters were added two year later

T

T/F: Eisenhower sent federal troops to protect the Little Rock students in order to emphasize federal power over state power, not to explicitly support civil rights.

integration

Many southern states closed schools rather than allow their public schools to undergo ___________, or the desegregation of schools.

Southern Christian Leadership Conference

an organization created by Martin Luther King and sixty Black ministers/leaders to promote nonviolent civil disobedience as a method of desegregating bus systems across the South; coordinated activities on behalf of a cluster of organizations; started small out of fear of white backlash, but grew large

Suez crisis

event in 1956 where Israel, France, and Britain invaded Egypt after it nationalized the Suez Canal; Eisenhower told the Soviet Union to back off; told France, Britain, and Isreal to evacuate the area or face economic sanctions; Eisenhower motivated by the possible loss of the Arab world to communism

T

T/F: The Suez crisis caused nationalists in Africa and Asia to realize that the British and French could not withstand international pressure to dismantle their global empires, which sped up the process of independence for Great Britain’s remaining colonies.

Sputnik

the first Soviet satellite; successfully launched, which worried Americans because A) Soviets beat them to space and B) Soviets now had the tech to drop atomic bombs on the other side of the hemisphere; led to Congress increasing defense spending and enhance science education (NASA and NDEA)

Eisenhower Doctrine

policy which promised to extend economic and military aid to Arab nations and to use armed force if necessary to assist any such nation against Communist aggression

U-2

The ______ summit was scheduled due to disagreements between Soviets and Americans over West Berlin. However, when a Soviet rocket brought down a US spy plane over the Soviet Union, the summit soon became a confrontation of Eisenhower and his illegal obtaining of intelligence evidence.

T

T/F: President Eisenhower’s greatest embarrassment was Castro’s new Communist regime in Cuba, which led the US to suspend diplomatic relations with Cuba.

F

T/F: JFK mainly focused on domestic affairs during his presidency.

New Frontier

campaign program advocated by JFK in the 1960 election; promised to revitalize the stagnant economy and enact reform legislation in education, health care, and civil rights; struggled due to JFK’s lack fo skill in pushing legislation through Congress

Peace Corps

federal agency created by President Kennedy in 1961 to promote voluntary service by Americans in foreign countries; provides labor power to help developing countries improve their infrastructure, health care, educational systems, and other aspects of their societies

Equal Pay Act

act which required that women and men performing the same jobs be paid the same

T

T/F: JFK told the special presidential assistant for civil rights to fight for civil rights with minimum civil rights legislation and maximum Executive action.

Bay of Pigs

an American attempt to overthrow the newly established communist government in Cuba by training and sending Cuban rebels; begun under Eisenhower and carried out under JFK; Castro was tipped off by spies and had soldiers waiting; JFK refused to help the rebels when the operation failed; humiliated Kennedy and elevated Castro

Berlin Wall

The Soviets erected the ______________ between East and West Berlin in response to American mobilization in West Berlin. It later became a powerful propaganda weapon in the US and inspired the arms race.

space race

Kennedy viewed the ______________ as a major battle in the Cold War due to the early Soviet success in the area.

sit-ins

The Greensboro Four were the first example of nation-wide _________, where black patrons would sit at white-only lunch counters to protest segregationist service practices.

Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee

aka SNCC; group of student activists which wanted to promote and use non-violent means to protest racial discrimination; responsible for sit-ins, kneel-ins, wade-ins, etc.; intended to intensify the effort to dismantle segregation; not leader-oriented

Freedom Riders

organized mixed-race groups who rode interstate buses deep into the South to draw attention to and protest racial segregation; organized by the Congress of Racial Equality; attacked by White racists in rural Alabama who burned the bus and beat protesters with baseball bats and chains; SNCC later got involved as well; not well-received by President Kennedy; inspired ICC to integrate all interstate transportation

T

T/F: JFK sent federal marshals to enforce the law when James Marshall, an African American air force veteran, tried to enroll at the University of Mississippi in Oxford and was denied.

F

T/F: Chief Justice Earl Warren was a major obstacle for liberal activists fighting for civil rights.

Freedom Summer

a 1964 voter registration drive aimed at increasing the number of registered Black voters in Mississippi; many volunteers were idealistic Jewish White college students, a third were women; volunteers were assaulted and even murdered by KK, police, and other White racists

Black Power

The ______________ movement was a movement led by Malcolm X which emphasized pride in being black and fighting against racism through “any means necessary.” The movement was against nonviolent protests.

Black Panther Party

a group of revolutionaries founded by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale after SF police killed an unarmed black teen; called for an end to police brutality, full employment for AAs, decent housing, and the release of all Black men from prison; anti-nonviolence; created self-governing communities in order to “police the police"; destroyed by the FBI, along with infighting and drug abuse; never had more than 2000 members; encouraged the integration of women and homosexuals into the civil rights movement

F

T/F: MLK and Malcolm X were strictly opposed to the other’s philosophy their entire life.

T

T/F: King later shifted his view from only fighting racism in the South to fighting poverty in the inner-city.

Economic Opportunity Act of 1964

act by Johnson which created an Office of Economic Opportunity to administer eleven new community-based programs; Job Corps, Upward Bound, Head Start, Legal Services Corporation, Volunteers in Service to America, etc; in order to fight poverty by creating jobs and helping people with opportunities

1964

The _______ election resulted in a Democratic majority due to LBJ appearing to be a moderate in comparison to his opponent. This allowed him to pass many programs quickly and easily.

Great Society

set of domestic programs initiated by President Lyndon B. Johnson in the 1960s aimed at eliminating poverty and racial injustice, promoting education and healthcare, and protecting the environment; included the creation of Medicare and Medicaid, the Civil Rights Act, and the Voting Rights Act

T

T/F: The Great Society had programs to enhance the environment.

F

T/F: The Great Society had no programs concerning higher education or housing issues.

Immigration and Nationality Services Act

Hart-Celler Act; ended discriminatory ethnic restrictions; ended national-origin quotas and created hemispheric ceilings on visas instead; encouraged Asian and Latino immigrants

T

T/F: Middle-class resentment over the cost and excesses of the Great Society programs generated a conservative backlash that fueled a Republican resurgence.

Tonkin Gulf Resolution

joint resolution passed by the US Congress in 1964, which authorized military intervention in Vietnam; based on a disputed incident in the Gulf of Tonkin, where US ships were allegedly attacked by North Vietnamese forces; resolution gave President Johnson broad powers to use military force in Southeast Asia, leading to a significant escalation of US involvement in the Vietnam War

F

T/F: Americans always were against the Vietnam War.

Rolling Thunder

Operation ________________ was a military operation which involved the sustained US bombing of North Vietnam.

T

T/F: The unconventional nature of warfare in Vietnam exasperated US soldiers and caused casualties to rise.

F

T/F: Johnson always intended to win the Vietnam War.

F

T/F: Opposition to the Vietnam War was only among the public.

casualties

The number of ___________ (both American and others) and the unclear motive of the war motivated anti-Vietnam War protests.

Democratic

The nation’s unrest came to a head at the Chicago _____________ National Convention, where delegates gather to nominate Hubert Humphrey as the party’s candidate for president. LBJ was not invited. Anti-war protesters outside of the convention hall were beat up and attacked by the Chicago police.

silent majority

term popularized by Richard Nixon to describe the great majority of American voters who did not express their political opinions publicly

Humphrey

Nixon ordered aide H.R. Haldeman to “throw a wrench” in Johnson’s last-minute efforts to end the Vietnam War in order to stop __________ from winning the presidential election.

Fair Deal

domestic policy program created by Truman that called for improved housing , full employment, higher minimum wage, better farm price supports, new TVA's, and the extension of social security; many people were scared of another New Deal, but it actually went farther than the New Deal because it required more money and more people;

Taft-Hartley Act

act which aimed to counteract New Deal policies; outlawed the "closed" shop, made unions liable for damages that resulted from jurisdictional disputes among themselves, and required union leaders to take a non-communist oath; Truman vetoes, but is overrode

Presidential Committee on Civil Rights

Truman committee which pushed for southern anti-lynching laws and tried to register more black voters, but was mostly symbolic and had little real effect; introduced anti-lynching bill, anti-poll tax, and ending discrimination and Congress defeated all three