Final notes
WWII Era
Appeasement – Giving in to avoid war (ex: to Hitler).
Joseph Stalin – Dictator of the Soviet Union during WWII.
Pearl Harbor – Surprise Japanese attack on U.S. base; U.S. enters WWII.
Nazi Party – Fascist German party led by Hitler.
Holocaust – Nazi genocide of 6+ million Jews.
Kristallnacht – “Night of Broken Glass,” attacks on Jews in Germany.
Blitzkrieg – Fast, surprise attacks by Germany using tanks and planes.
Manhattan Project – Secret U.S. project to build the atomic bomb.
Yalta Conference – WWII meeting to plan post-war Europe.
Hiroshima/Nagasaki – Japanese cities where U.S. dropped atomic bombs, ending WWII.
1950s
Cold War – Tension between U.S. (democracy) and USSR (communism).
Women in 1950s – Mostly homemakers; few in workforce.
Sacco & Vanzetti – Immigrants executed in unfair trial.
Marshall Plan – U.S. gave money to rebuild Europe and fight communism.
Iron Curtain – Churchill’s term for Soviet control over Eastern Europe.
McCarthyism – False accusations of communism in the U.S.
Television – Became popular, changed news and entertainment.
Truman & the A-bomb – Ordered bombs on Japan to end WWII.
U.S.-Soviet Relations – Got worse after WWII (start of Cold War).
Korean War – U.S. helped South Korea fight communist North; ended in a tie.
Truman Doctrine – U.S. helps countries fight communism.
Red Scare – Fear of communists in U.S. government.
Containment – U.S. plan to stop spread of communism.
Berlin Airlift – U.S./UK flew supplies to West Berlin after USSR blocked roads.
M.A.D. – Mutually Assured Destruction; nuclear war would destroy both sides.
G.I. Bill – Helped WWII vets with college and home loans (mainly for white men).
NATO – U.S. and Western Europe military alliance.
Levittown – Suburban housing developments post-WWII.
Civil Rights Era
Brown v. Board – Ended school segregation.
Birmingham Riots – Police attacked peaceful civil rights protesters.
Little Rock Nine – Black students integrated a white high school.
Jackie Robinson – Broke MLB color barrier.
Nonviolent Protest – Peaceful actions like marches and boycotts.
Malcolm X – Black leader who promoted self-defense and pride.
MLK Jr. – Civil Rights leader, gave “I Have a Dream” speech.
March on Washington – 1963 rally where MLK gave his speech.
Black Power – Movement focused on Black pride and independence.
Montgomery Bus Boycott – Rosa Parks; led to desegregation of buses.
Freedom Riders – Rode buses to challenge segregation in the South.
Kennedy/Nixon/Vietnam
1960 Election – First televised; JFK won over Nixon.
JFK Assassination – Killed in Dallas, 1963 by Lee Harvey Oswald.
Great Society – LBJ’s anti-poverty and civil rights programs.
Berlin Wall – Divided East/West Berlin; symbol of Cold War.
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution – Gave LBJ power to fight in Vietnam.
Domino Theory – If one country falls to communism, others will too.
Viet Cong – Communist fighters in South Vietnam.
Ho Chi Minh – Communist leader of North Vietnam.
Tet Offensive – Surprise attack that changed U.S. views on Vietnam.
Vietnamization – Nixon’s plan to withdraw U.S. troops.
Nixon – Ended Vietnam War; resigned after Watergate.
My Lai Massacre – U.S. soldiers killed civilians in Vietnam.
Guerilla Warfare – Surprise attacks used by Viet Cong.
Walter Cronkite – Trusted newsman who turned people against the war.
Woodstock – 1969 music festival; symbol of peace & counterculture.
Counterculture – Youth movement rejecting traditional values.
1970s
Nixon (again) – Resigned after Watergate scandal.
Watergate – Break-in and cover-up by Nixon’s team.
Gerald Ford – Became president; pardoned Nixon.
OPEC – Oil group that caused 1970s gas crisis.
1980s–Today
Apollo 11 – First moon landing; Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin.
Camp David Accords – Peace treaty between Egypt & Israel.
Jimmy Carter – 39th president; focused on human rights.
Iran Hostage Crisis – 52 Americans held hostage for 444 days.
Crisis of Confidence – Carter’s speech about low morale in America.
Soviet-Afghanistan War – U.S. supported rebels against USSR.
SALT – Agreements to reduce nuclear weapons.
Three Mile Island – Nuclear accident in Pennsylvania.
Ronald Reagan Era
Reagan – 40th president; conservative policies.
Reaganomics – Tax cuts for rich to help economy grow.
SDI (“Star Wars”) – Proposed space-based missile defense.
“Evil Empire” – Reagan called USSR this; worsened Cold War.
Iran-Contra Affair – Secret weapons sales to Iran.
Mikhail Gorbachev – Last Soviet leader; worked with Reagan.
Glasnost – Openness in Soviet government.
Perestroika – Economic reforms.
End of Cold War / Early 1990s
Tiananmen Square – China crushed student protests.
Fall of Berlin Wall – Symbolized end of Cold War.
Miracle on Ice – U.S. beat USSR in 1980 Olympic hockey.
CIA – U.S. spy agency.
George H.W. Bush – 41st president; led Gulf War.
Saddam Hussein – Iraqi dictator who invaded Kuwait.
Gulf War – U.S. pushed Iraq out of Kuwait (1991).
1992 L.A. Riots – After police beat Rodney King and were acquitted.
Clinton & 2000s
Bill Clinton – 42nd president; focused on economy; impeached.
Lewinsky Scandal – Clinton lied about affair; impeached for perjury.
2000 Election – Bush vs. Gore; very close; Bush won by Supreme Court ruling.
George W. Bush – 43rd president; son of George H.W. Bush.
9/11 – Terrorist attacks by Al-Qaeda on U.S.
Osama bin Laden – Leader of Al-Qaeda; planned 9/11.
Al-Qaeda – Terrorist group; U.S. invaded Afghanistan to stop them.
Patriot Act – Gave government more power to fight terrorism; raised privacy concerns.
Iraq Invasion (2003) – U.S. invaded Iraq, claimed they had WMDs.
Hurricane Katrina – 2005 storm; huge damage in New Orleans; criticized Bush/FEMA response