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50 Terms
appeasement
Who: Britain, France, Adolf Hitler, Nazi Germany.
What: A policy of giving an aggressive country concessions to avoid war.
Where: Europe, especially Germany and Czechoslovakia.
When: 1930s, particularly 1938.
How: Britain and France allowed Hitler to annex the Sudetenland, part of Czechoslovakia, through the Munich Agreement.
Why: Leaders hoped to prevent another devastating war, but appeasement encouraged Hitler's expansion and failed to prevent World War II.
wwII
Who: The Allies (including the United States, Britain, and the Soviet Union) fought the Axis powers (including Germany, Italy, and Japan).
What: A global war involving military conflict across Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Pacific.
Where: Worldwide.
When: 1939–1945.
How: Germany's invasion of Poland in 1939 began the war in Europe. The United States entered after Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in December 1941.
Why: The war ended with the defeat of the Axis powers, the Holocaust exposed to the world, the United States and Soviet Union emerging as superpowers, and the beginning of the nuclear age.
cold war
Who: Primarily the United States and the Soviet Union, along with their allies.
What: A prolonged political, military, economic, and ideological rivalry.
Where: Worldwide, including Europe, Asia, and Latin America.
When: Approximately 1947–1991.
How: The superpowers competed through nuclear arms, espionage, propaganda, economic aid, space exploration, and proxy wars rather than fighting one another in a full-scale direct war.
Why: It shaped U.S. foreign policy, encouraged anti-communism at home, and divided the world into competing political and economic blocs.
communism
Who: Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels developed influential communist theory; Vladimir Lenin and Joseph Stalin led the Soviet communist state.
What: An ideology advocating a classless society in which the means of production are collectively owned.
Where: Most famously the Soviet Union, China, Cuba, and other communist states.
When: Developed in the 1800s; became a major geopolitical force after the Russian Revolution of 1917.
How: Communist governments often used state planning and government ownership of major industries, though systems varied.
Why: During the Cold War, U.S. leaders viewed communist expansion as a threat to capitalism and liberal democracy.
capitalism
Who: Associated with thinkers such as Adam Smith and with market-based economies, including the United States.
What: An economic system based largely on private ownership, markets, investment, and the pursuit of profit.
Where: Developed in Europe and became central to the U.S. economy.
When: Developed over several centuries; a central Cold War rival to communism after 1945.
How: Individuals and businesses generally own property and produce goods and services for sale in markets.
Why: Capitalism represented the economic system the United States promoted against Soviet-style communism during the Cold War.
USSR (soviet union)
Who: A communist-led union of republics; Joseph Stalin became its dominant leader.
What: The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, a major communist state.
Where: Eastern Europe and northern Asia, centered on Russia.
When: 1922–1991.
How: The Communist Party controlled the government, while the state centrally planned much of the economy.
Why: It became the United States' principal rival during the Cold War and helped shape international politics for decades.
joseph stalin
Who: Leader of the Soviet Union.
What: A dictator who consolidated power, expanded state-controlled industry, and oversaw widespread repression.
Where: Soviet Union.
When: Dominant leader from the late 1920s until his death in 1953; allied with the United States during WWII before tensions escalated after the war.
How: He used forced collectivization, rapid industrialization, political purges, forced labor camps, and authoritarian control.
Why: Stalin's policies transformed the Soviet Union into a major industrial and military power but caused mass suffering. His postwar actions and Soviet control in Eastern Europe contributed to Cold War tensions.
harry truman
Who: 33rd president of the United States.
What: President during the final months of WWII and the early Cold War.
Where: United States and international diplomatic and military settings.
When: President from 1945 to 1953.
How: He authorized the atomic bombings of Japan, announced the Truman Doctrine, supported the Marshall Plan, and backed the creation of NATO.
Why: His administration established key policies of containment, meaning preventing the spread of communism.
Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Who: The United States dropped atomic bombs on Japanese cities; Japan's government ultimately surrendered.
What: The first and only wartime uses of nuclear weapons.
Where: Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan.
When: August 6 and August 9, 1945.
How: U.S. aircraft dropped atomic bombs, killing tens of thousands immediately and many more from injuries and radiation. The Soviet Union also declared war on Japan and invaded Japanese-held territory in Asia.
Why: Japan announced its surrender in August 1945, bringing WWII to an end. The bombings remain controversial and ushered in the nuclear age, intensifying concerns about future warfare.
the “Long Telegram”
Who: George F. Kennan, an American diplomat stationed in Moscow.
What: A lengthy analysis explaining Soviet behavior and recommending a firm response to Soviet expansion.
Where: Written from the U.S. embassy in Moscow and sent to Washington, D.C.
When: February 1946.
How: Kennan argued that Soviet leaders were suspicious of capitalism and that the United States should resist Soviet expansion through a long-term strategy.
Why: It helped shape the U.S. policy of containment, which became a foundation of Cold War foreign policy.
National Security Act of 1947
Who: President Harry Truman, Congress, and U.S. military and intelligence leaders.
What: Legislation reorganizing the U.S. national security system.
Where: United States.
When: 1947.
How: It established the National Security Council and Central Intelligence Agency and created the National Military Establishment, later renamed the Department of Defense.
Why: It built a more permanent national security structure for confronting Cold War threats.
HUAC
Who: The House Un-American Activities Committee, members of Congress, and people accused of communist connections.
What: A congressional committee that investigated alleged communist influence and subversion.
Where: United States, especially congressional hearings in Washington, D.C.
When: Established in 1938; particularly influential during the late 1940s and 1950s.
How: It held hearings, questioned witnesses about political associations, and investigated industries such as Hollywood.
Why: Its investigations contributed to the Red Scare, blacklisting, and restrictions on civil liberties.
McCarthyism
Who: Senator Joseph McCarthy and people accused of communist sympathies.
What: A period and style of anti-communist accusations often made without adequate evidence.
Where: United States.
When: Especially 1950–1954.
How: McCarthy publicly alleged communist infiltration of the federal government and used hearings and accusations to pressure officials.
Why: It fueled fear, damaged careers and reputations, and raised concerns about free speech, due process, and political persecution. McCarthy lost influence after the Senate censured him in 1954.
NATO
Who: The United States, Canada, and Western European founding members.
What: The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, a collective-defense alliance.
Where: North America and Europe.
When: Founded in 1949.
How: Members agreed that an armed attack against one or more of them would be considered an attack against them all, under Article 5.
Why: NATO aimed to deter Soviet aggression and protect Western members during the Cold War.
4 cs
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Who: 34th president of the United States and former Allied commander in Europe during WWII.
What: A Republican president who oversaw much of the 1950s.
Where: United States and Cold War international affairs.
When: President from 1953 to 1961.
How: His administration pursued containment, relied partly on nuclear deterrence, signed the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, and enforced federal court orders desegregating schools in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Why: His presidency reflected Cold War tensions, economic growth, suburban expansion, and the beginnings of major federal involvement in civil rights enforcement.
truman doctrine
Who: President Harry Truman and the U.S. government.
What: A policy of supporting countries resisting armed minorities or outside pressures seeking to dominate them, especially in the context of communism.
Where: Initially focused on Greece and Turkey.
When: Announced in 1947.
How: Truman asked Congress for economic and military assistance to help Greece and Turkey resist communist pressure.
Why: It established an important early commitment to containment and expanded U.S. involvement in global affairs.
kitchen debate
Who: U.S. Vice President Richard Nixon and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev.
What: A public argument about capitalism, communism, and the quality of life in each country.
Where: The American National Exhibition in Moscow, USSR.
When: 1959.
How: The two leaders debated while standing in a model American kitchen, discussing consumer goods, technology, and living standards.
Why: It showed how the Cold War was also a competition over which economic and political system could provide a better life.
Servicemen's Readjustment Act (GI Bill)
Who: President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Congress, and returning American WWII veterans.
What: A law providing benefits to eligible veterans, including education assistance, housing support, and unemployment benefits.
Where: United States.
When: Passed in 1944. If your class lists 1956, double-check the date: the original GI Bill was not enacted in 1956.
How: Veterans could receive assistance for college or job training and access federally backed home loans.
Why: It helped many veterans enter the middle class and contributed to postwar economic growth, college attendance, and suburban homeownership. However, discriminatory administration and lending practices meant Black veterans often received fewer benefits in practice.
Levittown
Who: William Levitt and Levitt & Sons, along with families seeking affordable homes.
What: A mass-produced suburban housing development and a symbol of postwar suburbanization.
Where: The original Levittown was on Long Island, New York; other developments followed elsewhere.
When: The original development was built beginning in 1947.
How: Homes were constructed using standardized designs and assembly-line-like building methods, making them relatively affordable.
Why: Levittown represented the growth of suburban life, homeownership, and the postwar middle class. Racially discriminatory housing policies and practices excluded many Black families from these opportunities.
NAACP
Who: The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, founded by a multiracial group of activists, including W. E. B. Du Bois.
What: A civil rights organization fighting racial discrimination.
Where: Founded in the United States; active nationally.
When: Founded in 1909.
How: It used lawsuits, lobbying, public education, and organizing to challenge segregation and discrimination.
Why: Its legal campaigns helped lead to Brown v. Board of Education and made it a major force in the civil rights movement
Double V campaign
Who: African Americans, especially Black newspapers, activists, and WWII service members.
What: A campaign for victory against fascism abroad and victory against racism at home.
Where: United States and the international WWII war effort.
When: Began in 1942 during WWII.
How: Black Americans supported the war effort while demanding equal rights, fair treatment, and an end to racial discrimination.
Why: It highlighted the contradiction of fighting for democracy overseas while Black Americans faced segregation and racism at home
Executive Order 9981
Who: President Harry Truman and the U.S. armed forces.
What: An executive order requiring equality of treatment and opportunity in the military regardless of race, color, religion, or national origin.
Where: United States military.
When: July 26, 1948.
How: Truman used presidential authority to order the desegregation of the armed services.
Why: It was a major federal civil rights milestone and helped begin the end of official racial segregation in the military
Brown v Board of Education
Who: Oliver Brown and other Black families, the NAACP legal team led by Thurgood Marshall, and the U.S. Supreme Court.
What: A landmark Supreme Court decision declaring racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional.
Where: The case originated in Topeka, Kansas, and combined cases from several states.
When: May 17, 1954.
How: The Court ruled unanimously that segregated public schools violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
Why: It overturned the separate but equal principle in public education and became a major catalyst for the modern civil rights movement. School desegregation nevertheless faced extensive resistance.
Emmett Till
Who: Emmett Till, a 14-year-old Black boy from Chicago; his mother, Mamie Till-Mobley; and the white men who murdered him.
What: Till was kidnapped and murdered while visiting Mississippi. His mother insisted on an open-casket funeral so the public could see the brutality of the crime.
Where: Money and the surrounding Mississippi Delta region; his funeral took place in Chicago, Illinois.
When: August 1955.
How: Till was accused of offending a white woman. He was abducted, tortured, and murdered. An all-white jury acquitted the two men tried for the murder.
Why: His murder exposed the brutality of racist violence and the failures of the justice system. The public response helped energize the civil rights movement
Montgomery Bus Boycott
Who: Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr., Jo Ann Robinson, and Black residents of Montgomery, Alabama.
What: A mass protest against racial segregation on city buses.
Where: Montgomery, Alabama.
When: December 1955–December 1956.
How: After Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to surrender her seat, Black residents organized a boycott and relied on carpools, walking, and other transportation.
Why: The boycott demonstrated the power of organized, nonviolent mass protest. It ended after the Supreme Court upheld the unconstitutionality of bus segregation
Sit-in movement
Who: Primarily Black college students and other civil rights activists.
What: A nonviolent protest movement challenging segregation at lunch counters and other public facilities.
Where: Began prominently in Greensboro, North Carolina, and spread across the South.
When: Began in February 1960.
How: Students sat at whites-only lunch counters, requested service, and remained even when refused or harassed.
Why: Sit-ins challenged segregation in public accommodations and helped inspire student-led civil rights organizations
SNCC
Who: The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, including early leaders such as John Lewis and Diane Nash.
What: A student-led civil rights organization.
Where: United States, especially the South.
When: Founded in 1960.
How: Members organized sit-ins, voter-registration campaigns, Freedom Rides support, and other direct-action protests.
Why: SNCC helped make young people central to the civil rights movement and pushed for more grassroots organizing and political participation.
“Letter from Birmingham Jail”
Who: Martin Luther King Jr., responding to white Alabama clergymen who criticized his civil rights demonstrations.
What: A letter defending nonviolent direct action and explaining why people should resist unjust laws.
Where: Written in Birmingham City Jail, Alabama.
When: April 16, 1963.
How: King argued that waiting for justice allowed injustice to continue and that nonviolent protest could create pressure for negotiation and change.
Why: It became a foundational text of the civil rights movement, explaining civil disobedience and the moral responsibility to oppose injustice.
March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom
Who: Civil rights leaders, including Martin Luther King Jr., A. Philip Randolph, Bayard Rustin, and John Lewis, alongside hundreds of thousands of participants.
What: A mass demonstration demanding civil rights, jobs, and economic equality.
Where: Washington, D.C., especially the Lincoln Memorial.
When: August 28, 1963.
How: Participants gathered peacefully to call for desegregation, voting rights, fair employment, and stronger civil rights protections. King delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech.
Why: It drew national attention to racial inequality and increased pressure on Congress to pass civil rights legislation
Civil Rights Act of 1964
Who: President Lyndon B. Johnson, Congress, and civil rights activists; the legislation built on work begun under John F. Kennedy.
What: Landmark federal legislation prohibiting discrimination in major areas of public life.
Where: United States.
When: Signed into law on July 2, 1964.
How: It prohibited discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin in specified settings, including many public accommodations and employment practices.
Why: It substantially strengthened federal power to combat segregation and discrimination. It became one of the most important legal achievements of the civil rights movement.
Voting Rights Act of 1965
Who: President Lyndon B. Johnson, Congress, civil rights activists, and voting-rights demonstrators.
What: Federal legislation protecting the right to vote, especially for Black Americans facing discriminatory barriers.
Where: Nationwide, with major attention to the South.
When: Signed August 6, 1965.
How: It prohibited discriminatory voting practices and authorized federal enforcement, including oversight in jurisdictions with histories of voting discrimination.
Why: It helped dismantle barriers such as literacy tests and increased Black voter registration and political participation
De jure vs. de facto segregation
Who: Government officials, institutions, and communities affected by racial segregation.
What: De jure segregation is imposed by law; de facto segregation exists in practice, often because of housing patterns, economic inequality, or social behavior.
Where: Across the United States, with legal segregation especially associated with the Jim Crow South.
When: Particularly important in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and in civil rights debates after 1954.
How: De jure segregation was enforced by laws requiring separation. De facto segregation could persist through residential patterns, school boundaries, and discriminatory practices even after laws changed.
Why: Ending discriminatory laws did not automatically eliminate racial separation or inequality in everyday life.
Negative rights vs. positive rights
Who: Political philosophers, lawmakers, courts, and people debating the role of government.
What: Negative rights protect people from certain forms of interference; positive rights involve claims to assistance or provision of certain goods or services.
Where: A concept used in political theory and constitutional debates, including in the United States.
When: Developed over centuries; especially relevant to modern debates over civil rights and social welfare.
How: A negative right might protect freedom of speech from government censorship. A positive right might be understood as a claim to government-provided education or healthcare, depending on the legal and political system.
Why: The distinction helps explain debates over whether government should mainly protect individual liberty or also actively provide resources and opportunities. These terms can have different meanings depending on the course or legal context
Second-Wave Feminism
Who: Women's rights activists, including Betty Friedan, Gloria Steinem, Pauli Murray, and many others.
What: A movement seeking greater gender equality in employment, education, politics, family life, and reproductive rights.
Where: Primarily the United States, with related movements internationally.
When: Roughly the 1960s through the 1980s.
How: Activists organized protests, created organizations, challenged discriminatory laws, and advocated for equal opportunities.
Why: It expanded the women's rights movement beyond voting rights to address inequality in everyday life, work, and society.
NOW (National Organization for Women)
ho: Betty Friedan and other women's rights activists.
What: A feminist organization advocating for equal rights and opportunities for women.
Where: United States.
When: Founded in 1966.
How: NOW used lobbying, lawsuits, demonstrations, and public campaigns to challenge sex discrimination.
Why: It became a major organization of second-wave feminism, advocating for equal employment, reproductive rights, and the Equal Rights Amendment.
The Feminine Mystique
Who: Betty Friedan, an American writer and feminist.
What: A book criticizing the expectation that women should find fulfillment exclusively through marriage, motherhood, and homemaking.
Where: United States, particularly suburban middle-class society.
When: Published in 1963.
How: Friedan described dissatisfaction experienced by some women who felt confined by traditional domestic expectations.
Why: The book helped inspire second-wave feminism by bringing attention to women's dissatisfaction with limited social roles. It primarily reflected the experiences of white, middle-class women.
Equal Pay Act of 1963
Who: Congress, President John F. Kennedy, and women workers.
What: A federal law addressing sex-based wage discrimination.
Where: United States.
When: Signed June 10, 1963.
How: It amended the Fair Labor Standards Act to require equal pay for men and women performing substantially equal work in the same establishment, subject to specified exceptions.
Why: It was an important early federal effort to reduce the gender wage gap and advance workplace equality.
Pauli Murray
Who: Pauli Murray, a Black lawyer, civil rights activist, writer, and later an Episcopal priest.
What: A pioneering thinker who connected racial justice with gender equality.
Where: United States.
When: Lived from 1910 to 1985; influential in civil rights and feminist activism during the mid-twentieth century.
How: Murray challenged racial and gender discrimination through legal scholarship, activism, and writing. Their legal arguments influenced later civil rights and sex-discrimination litigation.
Why: Murray helped shape the legal foundations of modern civil rights and feminist movements. Murray's work also highlighted how racism and sexism could overlap.
Gloria Steinem
Who: Gloria Steinem, an American journalist and feminist activist.
What: A prominent leader and public voice of second-wave feminism.
Where: United States.
When: Became widely influential during the 1960s and 1970s.
How: She wrote about women's inequality, co-founded Ms. magazine, and helped organize feminist campaigns.
Why: Steinem helped bring women's rights into mainstream public discussion and promoted equality in employment, politics, and reproductive rights.
26th Amendment
Who: Congress, President Richard Nixon, young Americans, and voting-rights activists.
What: A constitutional amendment lowering the voting age to 18.
Where: United States.
When: Ratified July 1, 1971.
How: It prohibited the federal and state governments from denying the vote to U.S. citizens aged 18 or older on account of age.
Why: It expanded voting rights, especially for young people during the Vietnam War era. The argument that people old enough to be drafted should be able to vote helped build support for the change.
Counterculture Movement
Who: Young people, students, hippies, antiwar activists, musicians, and other cultural dissenters.
What: A movement rejecting or challenging mainstream American values and social expectations.
Where: United States, especially university communities and major cultural centers.
When: Primarily the 1960s and early 1970s.
How: Participants challenged traditional gender roles, consumerism, conventional lifestyles, and the Vietnam War through music, protests, alternative communities, and new cultural practices.
Why: The movement reflected generational conflict and growing criticism of war and social conformity. It influenced music, fashion, attitudes toward authority, and debates about individual freedom.
Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta
Who: César Chávez and Dolores Huerta, Mexican American labor and civil rights activists.
What: Leaders of the farmworker movement seeking better wages and working conditions for agricultural laborers.
Where: Especially California and the American Southwest.
When: Particularly influential from the 1960s onward.
How: They helped organize farmworkers, strikes, consumer boycotts, and the United Farm Workers union.
Why: Their work brought national attention to low wages, unsafe conditions, and the rights of farmworkers, especially Mexican American and Filipino American laborers.
Stonewall Uprising
Who: LGBTQ+ patrons, including transgender people, drag performers, gay men and lesbians, alongside police officers.
What: A series of protests against a police raid on the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar.
Where: Greenwich Village, New York City.
When: Began June 28, 1969, and continued over several nights.
How: After police raided the bar, resistance and street protests broke out among patrons and community members.
Why: The uprising became a major symbol of the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement and helped energize gay liberation organizing. It was an important turning point, though LGBTQ+ activism existed long before Stonewall.
AIM (American Indian Movement)
Who: Native American activists, including Dennis Banks, Clyde Bellecourt, and Russell Means.
What: An Indigenous rights organization advocating for Native sovereignty, treaty rights, and social justice.
Where: Founded in Minneapolis, Minnesota; active across the United States.
When: Founded in 1968.
How: AIM organized demonstrations and occupations, including the occupation of Alcatraz by Native activists and the 1973 occupation of Wounded Knee, South Dakota, in which AIM members played a major role.
Why: AIM drew national attention to treaty violations, poverty, discrimination, and federal policies affecting Native communities. It helped strengthen Indigenous activism and demands for self-determination.
John F. Kennedy (JFK)
Who: 35th president of the United States.
What: A Democratic president whose administration faced major Cold War confrontations and the beginning of the 1960s civil rights legislative push.
Where: United States and international Cold War hotspots, including Cuba and Berlin.
When: President from 1961 until his assassination in 1963.
How: His administration managed the Cuban Missile Crisis, supported the space race, and proposed civil rights legislation.
Why: Kennedy's presidency reflected Cold War tensions and growing domestic demands for racial equality. His assassination in November 1963 profoundly affected the country.
Cuban Missile Crisis
Who: John F. Kennedy, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev, and Cuban leader Fidel Castro.
What: A confrontation over Soviet nuclear missiles deployed in Cuba.
Where: Cuba, the United States, and the surrounding Caribbean region.
When: October 1962.
How: The United States discovered Soviet missile installations in Cuba and imposed a naval quarantine. After tense negotiations, the Soviet Union agreed to remove the missiles; the United States made commitments concerning Cuba and secretly agreed to remove U.S. Jupiter missiles from Turkey later.
Why: It brought the world dangerously close to nuclear war and demonstrated the risks of Cold War rivalry. It also encouraged improved crisis communication between Washington and Moscow.
Lyndon B. Johnson (LBJ)
Who: 36th president of the United States.
What: A president known for major domestic reform legislation and the escalation of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War.
Where: United States and Vietnam.
When: President from 1963 to 1969.
How: After Kennedy's assassination, Johnson pushed through the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965, expanded social programs, and increased U.S. military involvement in Vietnam.
Why: His presidency produced significant changes in civil rights and social welfare, while the Vietnam War created major political divisions and widespread protest.
Great Society
Who: President Lyndon B. Johnson, Congress, and supporters of expanded federal social programs.
What: Johnson's domestic reform agenda intended to reduce poverty and inequality and improve Americans' quality of life.
Where: United States.
When: Announced in 1964 and expanded during the mid-to-late 1960s.
How: The government established or expanded programs in education, healthcare, civil rights, housing, and other areas. Major examples include Medicare, Medicaid, and federal education assistance.
Why: The Great Society significantly expanded the federal government's role in social welfare and aimed to create greater opportunity for Americans.
War on Poverty
Who: President Lyndon B. Johnson, Congress, and Americans experiencing poverty.
What: A set of federal initiatives intended to reduce poverty and expand economic opportunity.
Where: United States, including urban and rural communities.
When: Launched in 1964.
How: Programs included the Economic Opportunity Act, Job Corps, Head Start, and community action initiatives. Other anti-poverty efforts were developed as part of the broader Great Society.
Why: It aimed to address the causes and consequences of poverty through education, job training, and social support. It expanded federal anti-poverty policy, though poverty was not eliminated.