College History 104 Final Exam Prep
Segregation, Race Relations, and the Struggle for Civil Rights
Plessy v. Ferguson: An 1896 landmark Supreme Court decision that upheld the constitutionality of racial segregation under the "separate but equal" doctrine. The case originated from Homer Plessy's refusal to sit in a Jim Crow car, leading to a ruling that as long as facilities for both races were equal, segregation did not violate the 14th Amendment. This provided the legal basis for Jim Crow laws for decades.
Booker T. Washington: A prominent African American educator and reformer who founded the Tuskegee Institute. He advocated for a policy of accommodation, suggesting that Black Americans should focus on vocational education and economic self-improvement rather than immediate social equality or political rights.
W.E.B. DuBois: A leading African American intellectual, sociologist, and co-founder of the NAACP. He sharply disagreed with Booker T. Washington, arguing for immediate full civil rights, political representation, and higher education for the "Talented Tenth" to lead the Black community toward equality.
Poll Tax: A tax of a fixed amount per person levied as a prerequisite for voting. Used extensively in Southern states during the post-Reconstruction era, it served as a mechanism to disenfranchise African Americans and poor white voters who could not afford the fee.
Marcus Garvey: A Jamaican political leader and founder of the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA). He was a proponent of Black Nationalism and the "Back to Africa" movement, encouraging economic independence and pride within the African diaspora.
De Facto Segregation: Racial segregation that happens "by fact" or practice rather than by legal requirement. This was often seen in Northern cities through residential patterns and socioeconomic factors, contrasted with "de jure" (legal) segregation in the South.
Malcolm X: A minister and human rights activist who rose to prominence through the Nation of Islam. He initially advocated for Black separatism and self-defense "by any means necessary," offering a more militant alternative to the nonviolent approach of the mainstream civil rights movement.
"Black Power": A political slogan and name for various associated ideologies that aimed at achieving self-determination for people of African descent. It became prominent in the late 1960s, emphasizing racial pride and the creation of Black political and cultural institutions.
The American West and the Frontier
Battle of Wounded Knee: The 1890 massacre of Sioux Indians by the U.S. Seventh Cavalry in South Dakota. This event is widely considered the final major armed conflict between the U.S. government and Plains Indians, marking the end of the Ghost Dance movement and the era of Indian resistance on the frontier.
Dawes Act: Formally the General Allotment Act of 1887, this policy aimed to assimilate Native Americans into mainstream American life by breaking up tribal lands into individual plots. The goal was to turn Native Americans into farmers, but it resulted in the loss of millions of acres of tribal territory and the erosion of communal culture.
Immigration, Urbanization, and the Changing Face of America
Nativism: The policy or practice of protecting the interests of native-born or established inhabitants against those of immigrants. This sentiment fueled anti-immigrant legislation and social movements throughout the 19th and 20th centuries.
Melting Pot Theory: A metaphor for a heterogeneous society becoming more homogeneous, where the different elements "melt together" into a harmonious whole with a common culture. This was a dominant view of American assimilation in the early 20th century.
Assimilation: The process by which a person or a group's language and/or culture come to resemble those of another group. In U.S. history, this often referred to the pressure on immigrants and Native Americans to adopt white, Anglo-Saxon Protestant customs.
Immigrant: A person who comes to live permanently in a foreign country. U.S. history is defined by successive waves of immigration from Europe, Asia, and the Americas, each impacting the nation's demographics and economy.
The Gilded Age: Industrialization, Wealth, and Economic Philosophy
Andrew Carnegie: A Scottish-American industrialist who led the enormous expansion of the American steel industry. He is also known for his "Gospel of Wealth," advocating for the rich to use their money for the benefit of society through philanthropy.
John D. Rockefeller: The founder of the Standard Oil Company, which dominated the oil industry and became the first great U.S. business trust. He was a pioneer in horizontal integration and became one of the wealthiest individuals in history.
Trust: A large business arrangement where a group of companies is managed by a single board of trustees. Trusts were used to create monopolies and stifle competition, leading to the enactment of antitrust laws.
Social Darwinism: The application of Charles Darwin's "survival of the fittest" to human society and business. Proponents argued that the concentration of wealth in the hands of a few was a natural and beneficial result of superior ability and competition.
Laissez-faire: An economic philosophy meaning "let it be." It advocates for minimal government interference in the economy, allowing the free market to operate without regulations, subsidies, or taxes.
Monopoly: The exclusive possession or control of the supply or trade in a commodity or service. During the Gilded Age, monopolies in rail, oil, and steel led to public outcry and demands for government intervention.
Philanthropist: A person who seeks to promote the welfare of others, typically by the generous donation of money to good causes. Figures like Carnegie and Rockefeller donated vast sums to build libraries, universities, and hospitals.
The Labor Movement and Economic Reform
Labor Union: An organized association of workers, often in a trade or profession, formed to protect and further their rights and interests, such as better wages and working conditions.
Collective Bargaining: The process by which a union and an employer negotiate a contract regarding wages, hours, and other conditions of employment. It is the primary tool used by unions to exert influence.
Sherman Antitrust Act: Passed in 1890, this was the first Federal statute to limit cartels and monopolies. Although initially used against labor unions, it was later used to break up large industrial trusts.
Populist Party: Also known as the People's Party, this was a third-party movement in the 1890s that advocated for the interests of farmers and laborers. Their platform included the free coinage of silver, a graduated income tax, and government ownership of railroads.
Knights of Labor: One of the first major labor organizations in the U.S., which flourished in the 1880s. They were unique in that they accepted both skilled and unskilled workers, including women and African Americans.
American Federation of Labor (AFL): Founded by Samuel Gompers in 1886, the AFL was a national federation of labor unions that focused on "bread and butter" issues like higher wages and shorter work weeks for skilled workers.
Haymarket Riot: An 1886 demonstration in Chicago that turned violent after a bomb was thrown at police. The incident led to a public backlash against labor unions and was a major blow to the Knights of Labor.
Homestead Strike: An 1892 industrial lockout and strike at the Carnegie Steel Company in Pennsylvania. It culminated in a violent battle between strikers and Pinkerton agents, ending in a major defeat for the union.
Pendleton Act: An 1883 law that established the Civil Service Commission and mandated that federal jobs be awarded on the basis of merit rather than political patronage (the spoils system).
Interstate Commerce Act: Passed in 1887, this law established the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC), the first federal regulatory agency. Its primary goal was to regulate the railroad industry and ensure fair shipping rates.
The Roaring Twenties: Culture, Scandal, and Social Change
‘Return To Normalcy’: President Warren G. Harding's campaign slogan following World War I. It reflected a desire to move away from the progressive activism of the prior decades and the international entanglements of the war back to a simpler, pro-business environment.
Harlem Renaissance: An intellectual, social, and artistic explosion centered in Harlem, Manhattan, during the 1920s. It was a golden age in African American culture, producing legendary figures in literature (Langston Hughes), music (Duke Ellington), and art.
Volstead Act (1920): The act of Congress that provided for the enforcement of the 18th Amendment, which established Prohibition by banning the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcoholic beverages.
Scopes [‘Monkey’] Trial: A highly publicized 1925 trial in Tennessee where high school teacher John Scopes was accused of violating a state law by teaching Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution. The trial highlighted the conflict between modern science and religious fundamentalism.
Teapot Dome Scandal: A bribery scandal involving the secret leasing of federal oil reserves by Secretary of the Interior Albert Fall to private oil companies during the Harding administration. It was the most famous case of government corruption before Watergate.
The Great Depression and the Crisis of Capitalism
‘on-margin’ buying: A practice common in the 1920s where investors purchased stocks by paying only a small percentage of the price and borrowing the rest from a broker. This contributed to the stock market bubble and its eventual crash.
‘Black Tuesday’ (Oct. 29, 1929): The day the New York Stock Exchange crashed, signaling the start of the Great Depression. Billions of dollars were lost, and it triggered a global economic collapse.
Hooverville: The popular name for shantytowns built by homeless people during the Great Depression. They were named after President Herbert Hoover, who was widely blamed for the economic crisis.
Dust Bowl: A period of severe dust storms that greatly damaged the ecology and agriculture of the American prairies during the 1930s. It was caused by severe drought and a failure to apply homesteading methods to prevent wind erosion.
Bonus Army: A group of WWI veterans who marched on Washington D.C. in 1932 to demand early payment of a promised cash bonus. The forceful removal of the veterans by the U.S. Army on Hoover's orders further damaged his reputation.
FDR and the New Deal: Recovery and Reform
‘New Deal’: A series of programs, public work projects, financial reforms, and regulations enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt between 1933 and 1939 to provide relief, recovery, and reform during the Great Depression.
First ‘Hundred Days’: The initial period of FDR’s presidency where he pushed through an unprecedented amount of legislation to address the economic crisis.
‘Bank Holiday’: One of FDR's first actions, where he closed all banks for several days to allow the government to inspect them and restore public confidence in the banking system before they reopened.
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation [FDIC]: Created by the Glass-Steagall Act, this agency provides deposit insurance to depositors in U.S. commercial banks and savings institutions, preventing "bank runs."
Agricultural Adjustment Administration [AAA]: A New Deal program designed to boost agricultural prices by reducing surpluses. The government paid farmers to leave some of their land unplanted and kill off excess livestock.
National Industrial Recovery Act (1933): An act that authorized the President to regulate industry in an attempt to raise prices after severe deflation and stimulate economic recovery. It also created the National Recovery Administration (NRA).
Tennessee Valley Authority [TVA]: A federally owned corporation created to provide navigation, flood control, electricity generation, and economic development to the Tennessee Valley, a region particularly affected by the Depression.
Securities & Exchange Commission [SEC]: Established to regulate the stock market and prevent the fraudulent activities and market manipulation that contributed to the 1929 crash.
Civilian Conservation Corp [CCC]: A public work relief program that operated from 1933 to 1942 for unemployed, unmarried men. They worked on conservation and development of natural resources in rural lands.
National Labor Relations [Wagner] Act (1935): A foundational statute of US labor law which guarantees the right of private sector employees to organize into trade unions, engage in collective bargaining, and take collective action such as strikes.
Social Security Act (1935): Established a system of old-age benefits for workers, benefits for victims of industrial accidents, unemployment insurance, and aid for dependent mothers and children, and the physically handicapped.
Works Progress Administration [WPA]: The largest and most ambitious New Deal agency, employing millions of people to carry out public works projects, including the construction of public buildings and roads.
FDR’s Court Packing Plan: A legislative initiative proposed by FDR to add more justices to the U.S. Supreme Court. The goal was to obtain favorable rulings regarding New Deal legislation that the Court had been striking down.
World War II: The Path to War and Global Conflict
Kellogg-Briand Pact (1928): An international agreement in which signatory states promised not to use war to resolve "disputes or conflicts of whatever nature." It proved ineffective as it lacked enforcement mechanisms.
‘Good Neighbor’ Policy: FDR’s foreign policy toward Latin America, which emphasized non-intervention and non-interference in the domestic affairs of Latin American countries.
Neutrality Acts of 1935, 1936, 1937: A series of laws passed to limit U.S. involvement in future wars. They grew out of the belief that the U.S. had been drawn into WWI through loans and trade with the Allies.
Appeasement: The policy of making concessions to dictatorial powers in order to avoid conflict. This is most notably associated with British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain’s policy toward Hitler in the late 1930s.
Cash-and-Carry: A policy requested by FDR at a special session of Congress in 1939. It allowed the sale of material to belligerents, as long as the recipients arranged for the transport and paid immediately in cash, replacing the Neutrality Acts.
Selective Service Act (1940): The first peacetime conscription in United States history, requiring men between the ages of 21 and 35 to register for the draft.
Lend Lease Act (1941): A program under which the U.S. supplied Free France, Great Britain, the Republic of China, and later the Soviet Union and other Allied nations with food, oil, and materiel between 1941 and 1945.
‘Arsenal of Democracy’: A slogan used by FDR in a radio broadcast, promising to help the Allies fight Nazi Germany by giving them military supplies while staying out of the actual fighting.
War Production Board: An agency of the U.S. government that supervised war production during WWII. It directed the conversion of industries from peacetime to wartime production.
Tuskegee Airmen: The first African American military aviators in the United States Armed Forces. Their success in combat helped pave the way for the eventual integration of the U.S. military.
‘Rosie the Riveter’: A cultural icon representing the American women who worked in factories and shipyards during WWII, many of whom produced munitions and war supplies.
Manhattan Project: A research and development undertaking during WWII that produced the first nuclear weapons. It was led by the United States with the support of the United Kingdom and Canada.
Enola Gay: The Boeing B-29 Superfortress bomber that became the first aircraft to drop an atomic bomb in warfare, targeting the city of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945.
World War II: The Home Front, Science, and Human Rights
Internment [‘relocation’] camps: The forced relocation and incarceration in concentration camps in the western interior of the country of about 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry, most of whom lived on the Pacific coast.
Korematsu v. US (1944): A landmark Supreme Court case that upheld the constitutionality of Executive Order 9066, which ordered Japanese Americans into internment camps regardless of citizenship.
Yalta Conference (1945): A meeting of the heads of government of the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union (Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin) to discuss the postwar reorganization of Germany and Europe.
Potsdam Conference (1945): The final wartime meeting of the leaders of the United States, Britain, and the Soviet Union. They discussed the administration of defeated Germany and issued an ultimatum to Japan for unconditional surrender.
The Cold War: Global Tensions and Containment
Cold War: A state of political hostility that existed between the Soviet bloc countries and the US-led Western powers from 1945 to 1991, characterized by threats, propaganda, and other measures short of open warfare.
‘Iron Curtain’: A term popularized by Winston Churchill to describe the political, military, and ideological barrier erected by the Soviet Union after WWII to seal off itself and its dependent eastern and central European allies from open contact with the West.
Marshall Plan: An American initiative passed in 1948 to provide over billion in economic assistance to help rebuild Western European economies after the end of WWII.
Truman Doctrine: An American foreign policy with the primary goal of containing Soviet geopolitical expansion during the Cold War. It pledged support for "free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures."
Berlin Airlift: A 1948–1949 operation where U.S. and Allied airplanes delivered food and fuel to the citizens of West Berlin after the Soviet Union blocked all land routes into the city.
NATO: The North Atlantic Treaty Organization; an intergovernmental military alliance between several North American and European countries, based on the North Atlantic Treaty that was signed on April 4, 1949.
Post-War Domestic Policy and the Red Scare
G.I. Bill (1944): Formally known as the Servicemen's Readjustment Act, it provided range of benefits for returning WWII veterans, including low-cost mortgages, low-interest loans to start a business, and payments of tuition and living expenses to attend college.
Fair Deal: An ambitious set of proposals put forward by President Harry S. Truman to Congress in his January 1949 State of the Union address, aiming to continue the legacy of the New Deal with expanded social security and a higher minimum wage.
House Un-American Activities Committee [HUAC]: An investigative committee of the U.S. House of Representatives created in 1938 to investigate alleged disloyalty and subversive activities on the part of private citizens and organizations suspected of having Communist ties.
‘Hollywood Ten’: A group of screenwriters and directors who refused to answer questions from HUAC about their alleged involvement with the Communist Party. They were blacklisted by the film industry.
Julius & Ethel Rosenberg: American citizens who were convicted of conspiring to pass U.S. atomic secrets to the Soviet Union. They were executed in 1953, becoming the only civilians executed for espionage during the Cold War.
‘McCarthyism’: A campaign against alleged communists in the U.S. government and other institutions carried out under Senator Joseph McCarthy in the period 1950–1954. It is often characterized by the use of unfair allegations and investigations.
American Life in the 1950s: Modernity and Conformity
‘Baby Boom’: A significant increase in the birth rate in the United States following World War II, lasting from roughly 1946 to 1964.
Dr. Jonas Salk: An American medical researcher and virologist who developed the first successful polio vaccine in 1955, vastly improving public health.
‘Duck-and-Cover’: A method of personal protection against the effects of a nuclear explosion, taught to generations of American school children during the Cold War.
Sputnik: The first artificial Earth satellite, launched by the Soviet Union in 1957. It sparked the Space Race and led to the creation of NASA and increased funding for science education in the U.S.
Levittown, LI: A large suburban housing development on Long Island built by William Levitt. It symbolized the post-war trend of mass-produced, affordable housing and the migration of families to the suburbs.
Dr. Benjamin Spock: A pediatrician whose 1946 book, The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care, became a bible for parents of the Baby Boom generation, advocating for more affection and flexibility in child-rearing.
The Organization Man: A 1956 book by William H. Whyte that analyzed the culture of large corporations and the pressure for conformity among middle-class white-collar workers.
Beatniks: A media stereotype prevalent throughout the 1950s to mid-1960s that displayed the more superficial aspects of the Beat Generation literary movement (e.g., Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg).
The Civil Rights Revolution: Laws, Leaders, and Tactics
Brown v. Board of Education (1954): A landmark Supreme Court case in which the justices ruled unanimously that racial segregation of children in public schools was unconstitutional. It overturned the "separate but equal" principle established in Plessy v. Ferguson.
Thurgood Marshall: The lead attorney for the NAACP in the Brown v. Board case and the first African American Supreme Court justice.
‘Little Rock Nine’: A group of nine African American students who enrolled in Little Rock Central High School in 1957. Their enrollment was followed by the Little Rock Crisis, in which the students were initially prevented from entering the racially segregated school.
Rosa Parks: An American activist in the civil rights movement best known for her pivotal role in the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Her refusal to give up her seat to a white passenger was the spark for the movement.
Montgomery Bus Boycott: A political and social protest campaign against the policy of racial segregation on the public transit system of Montgomery, Alabama. It lasted from December 1955 to December 1956.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.: The most visible spokesperson and leader in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968. He was a proponent of nonviolent civil disobedience.
Freedom Riders: Civil rights activists who rode interstate buses into the segregated Southern United States in 1961 and subsequent years to challenge the non-enforcement of the Supreme Court rulings which had ruled that segregated public buses were unconstitutional.
March on Washington (1963): A massive protest march where a quarter of a million people gathered in front of the Lincoln Memorial. It was the occasion of Dr. King's "I Have a Dream" speech.
Civil Rights Act of 1964: A landmark civil rights and labor law that outlaws discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. It ended unequal application of voter registration requirements and racial segregation in schools, at the workplace and by facilities that served the general public.
Voting Rights Act (1965): A landmark piece of federal legislation that prohibits racial discrimination in voting. It outlawed literacy tests and provided for federal oversight of voter registration in areas with a history of discriminatory practices.
The 1960s: Foreign Policy, The New Frontier, and The Great Society
Federal Highway Act (1956): Passed under President Eisenhower, this act authorized the construction of a -mile network of interstate highways across the nation.
M. A. D.: Mutual Assured Destruction; a doctrine of military strategy and national security policy in which a full-scale use of nuclear weapons by two or more opposing sides would cause the complete annihilation of both the attacker and the defender.
Ho Chi Minh: The North Vietnamese revolutionary and politician who served as Prime Minister and President of North Vietnam. He was the leader of the independence movement against French and later American forces.
Viet Cong: The guerrilla force that, with the support of the North Vietnamese Army, fought against South Vietnam and the United States.
Eisenhower Doctrine: A policy stated by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1957, promising that a Middle Eastern country could request American economic assistance or aid from U.S. military forces if it was being threatened by armed aggression from another state.
U-2 Incident: An incident in 1960 where a United States U-2 spy plane was shot down while in Soviet airspace, leading to the capture of pilot Francis Gary Powers and a collapse of the peace summit between Eisenhower and Khrushchev.
‘New Frontier’: The term used by President John F. Kennedy in his acceptance speech in the 1960 United States presidential election to describe his goals and policies to move the country forward.
Peace Corps: A volunteer program run by the United States government that provides social and economic development assistance outside of the United States. It was established by President Kennedy in 1961.
‘Great Society’: A set of domestic programs in the United States launched by Democratic President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964–65. The main goal was the elimination of poverty and racial injustice.
Medicare / Medicaid (1965): National health insurance programs created by the Social Security Amendments of 1965. Medicare provides health insurance for Americans aged 65 and older, while Medicaid assists low-income families and individuals.
Head Start: A program of the United States Department of Health and Human Services that provides comprehensive early childhood education, health, nutrition, and parent involvement services to low-income children and families.
War on Poverty: The unofficial name for legislation first introduced by President Lyndon B. Johnson during his State of the Union address in 1964, proposing social welfare programs to reduce the poverty rate.
The Vietnam War and the Cold War Crisis
Bay of Pigs Invasion: A failed military invasion of Cuba undertaken by the CIA-sponsored paramilitary group Brigade 2506 in April 1961, intended to overthrow Fidel Castro's communist government.
Berlin Wall: A guarded concrete barrier that physically and ideologically divided Berlin from 1961 to 1989. It was built by the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) to prevent its citizens from fleeing to the West.
Cuban Missile Crisis: A 13-day confrontation in 1962 between the United States and the Soviet Union initiated by Soviet ballistic missile deployment in Cuba. It is often cited as the closest the world came to full-scale nuclear war.
Limited Test Ban Treaty (1963): A treaty between the U.S., UK, and Soviet Union that prohibited the testing of nuclear weapons in outer space, underwater, or in the atmosphere, though underground tests were still permitted.
Tonkin Gulf Resolution (1964): A joint resolution that the United States Congress passed in response to the Gulf of Tonkin incident. It gave President Johnson authorization, without a formal declaration of war by Congress, for the use of conventional military force in Southeast Asia.
‘Domino Theory’: A theory prominent from the 1950s to the 1980s that posited that if one country in a region came under the influence of communism, then the surrounding countries would follow in a domino effect.
Agent Orange: A tactical herbicide and defoliant chemical used by the U.S. military as part of its herbicidal warfare program, Operation Ranch Hand, during the Vietnam War, which caused major health issues and environmental damage.
Social Movements, Judicial Reform, and the Environment
Counterculture: A subculture whose values and norms of behavior differ substantially from those of mainstream society. In the 1960s, this was characterized by the "hippie" movement and protests against the Vietnam War and social traditionalism.
Betty Friedan - The Feminine Mystique: A 1963 book credited with sparking the beginning of second-wave feminism in the United States by describing the dissatisfaction of mid-twentieth-century women in their roles as housewives.
National Organization of Women (NOW): An American feminist organization founded in 1966. Its goal is to bring about equality for all women and to advocate for women's rights.
Sandra Day O'Connor: The first woman to serve as a justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1981.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): An independent executive agency of the United States federal government tasked with environmental protection matters, established in 1970 under President Nixon.
Chief Justice Earl Warren: The 14th Chief Justice of the United States, whose court is known for its liberal decisions that expanded civil rights and federal power, including rulings on desegregation and the rights of the accused.
Gideon v. Wainwright (1963): A landmark case in which the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that states are required under the Sixth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution to provide an attorney to defendants in criminal cases who are unable to afford their own.
Miranda v. AZ (1966): A landmark decision ruling that the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution restricts prosecutors from using a person's statements made in response to interrogation in police custody as evidence at their trial unless they can show that the person was informed of the right to consult with an attorney and of the right against self-incrimination (the "Miranda rights").
The Nixon Presidency, Watergate, and Dtente
‘Silent Majority’: A term popularized by Richard Nixon in 1969 to refer to the vast majority of Americans who did not join in the large demonstrations against the Vietnam War and the counterculture.
Vietnamization: A policy of the Richard Nixon administration to end U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War through a program to expand, equip, and train South Vietnamese forces and assign to them an ever-increasing combat role, at the same time steadily reducing the number of U.S. combat troops.
Kent State Massacre: The May 4, 1970, shooting of unarmed college students by the Ohio National Guard during a mass protest against the bombing of Cambodia by United States military forces.
Henry Kissinger: An American politician, diplomat, and geopolitical consultant who served as United States Secretary of State and National Security Advisor under the presidential administrations of Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. He was a key architect of dtente.
Dtente: The easing of strained relations, especially in a political situation, through verbal communication. It specifically refers to the period of improved relations between the United States and the Soviet Union that began in 1969.
SALT I: The Strategic Arms Limitation Talks; the first of two rounds of bilateral conferences and corresponding international treaties involving the United States and the Soviet Union on the issue of armament control.
1973 Arab oil embargo: A decision by members of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC) to stop oil exports to the United States and other supporters of Israel during the Yom Kippur War, leading to severe fuel shortages and inflation in the U.S.
Bakke v. Board of Regents, Univ. of CA (1978): A landmark decision by the Supreme Court that upheld affirmative action, allowing race to be one of several factors in college admission policy, but it prohibited specific racial quotas.
Watergate Scandal: A major political scandal that occurred in the United States during the early 1970s, following a break-in by five men at the Democratic National Committee (DNC) headquarters and the subsequent cover-up by the Nixon administration. It led to Nixon's resignation.
NY Times Co. v. US (1971): A landmark decision on the First Amendment often referred to as the "Pentagon Papers case." The ruling made it possible for the New York Times and the Washington Post to publish the then-classified Pentagon Papers without risk of government censorship or punishment.
US v. Richard Nixon (1974): A landmark case that resulted in a unanimous decision against President Richard Nixon, ordering him to deliver tape recordings and other subpoenaed materials to a federal district court. This case established that executive privilege is not absolute.
The Late 1970s: Foreign Crisis and Diplomacy
Helsinki Accords (1975): An agreement signed by 35 nations that concluded the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, aimed at reducing tension between the Soviet and Western blocs.
Camp David Accords (1978): A pair of political agreements signed by Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, following twelve days of secret negotiations at Camp David, brokered by President Jimmy Carter.
Panama Canal Treaties (1978): Two treaties signed by President Carter and Omar Torrijos that guaranteed that Panama would gain control of the Panama Canal after 1999, ending the control of the canal that the U.S. had exercised since 1903.
Ayatollah Khomeini: An Iranian revolutionary and politician who led the Iranian Revolution of 1979 and became the first Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Iran Hostage Crisis: A diplomatic standoff between the United States and Iran in which 52 American diplomats and citizens were held hostage for 444 days from November 4, 1979, to January 20, 1981.
The Reagan Era and the Conservative Revolution
Reaganomics: The neoliberal economic policies promoted by U.S. President Ronald Reagan during the 1980s. These policies were based on the theory of supply-side economics.
Supply-Side Economics: An economic theory that advocates for reducing taxes and decreasing regulation to stimulate investment and increase the supply of goods and services, which theorists argue will benefit the entire economy (also known as "trickle-down economics").
Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI): A proposed missile defense system intended to protect the United States from attack by ballistic strategic nuclear weapons. It was nicknamed "Star Wars" by its critics.
William Rehnquist: An American lawyer and jurist who served on the Supreme Court of the United States for 33 years, serving as Associate Justice from 1972 to 1986 and as the 16th Chief Justice from 1986 to 2005.
Perestroika / Glasnost: Policies initiated by Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in the late 1980s. Perestroika referred to economic restructuring, while Glasnost meant increased transparency and freedom of speech.
Iran-Contra Scandal: A political scandal in the United States that occurred during the second term of the Reagan Administration, in which senior administration officials secretly facilitated the sale of arms to Iran, which was the subject of an arms embargo, to fund the Contras in Nicaragua.
The Modern Era: Globalization, Conflict, and Political Shifts
Americans with Disabilities Act (1990): A civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in all areas of public life, including jobs, schools, transportation, and all public and private places that are open to the general public.
Persian Gulf War (1991): An international conflict triggered by Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in August 1990. A U.S.-led coalition launched Operation Desert Storm to liberate Kuwait.
NAFTA: The North American Free Trade Agreement; an agreement signed by Canada, Mexico, and the United States that created a trilateral trade bloc in North America.
Impeachment of Pres. Clinton: Proposed by the House of Representatives on two charges, one of perjury and one of obstruction of justice, in 1998. He was acquitted by the Senate in 1999.
Bush v. Gore Supreme Court Decision: The 2000 Supreme Court case that halted the recount of presidential ballots in Florida, effectively awarding the presidency to George W. Bush over Al Gore.
No Child Left Behind: A 2001 act of Congress that reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act; it included Title I provisions applying to disadvantaged students and mandated standardized testing to measure school performance.
Patriot Act: An Act of Congress that was signed into law by President George W. Bush in October 2001, following the 9/11 attacks, expanding the surveillance and investigative powers of law enforcement agencies.
9/11: A series of four coordinated terrorist attacks by the Islamic terrorist group al-Qaeda against the United States on the morning of Tuesday, September 11, 2001.
Affordable Care Act (Obamacare): A landmark U.S. federal statute enacted by the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama in 2010. It aimed to increase the quality and affordability of health insurance and lower the uninsured rate.