Period 8

Containment: Coined by George Kennan; urged the US to keep communism from spreading (Contain communism)

Korean War: Example of Containment; US sided with South Korea against communist North Korea; some minor domestic opposition to the war

Military-Industrial Complex: Eisenhower warned of a drastic military buildup in his farewell address

Baby Boom: Post WWII drastic increase in births in the US (1946 - 1964); led to future issues with Social Security

Suburbanization: More and more Americans moved to suburbs after WWII (cars, Interstate Highway System, Levittown)

Civil Rights Activists: Used various techniques (sit-ins, legal challenges, etc.); post-1965, debates emerged over the proper role of activists

Brown v. Board of Education: 1954 Supreme Court Case that ruled separate facilities based on race inherently unequal. Reversed Plessy v. Ferguson

Sunbelt: VA to FL, extending to CA; saw a large population increase after WWII and rise of key industries

Great Society: LBJ's platform; increased the size and involvement of the government in society. Extension of New Deal programs and Civil Rights (24th amendment, Civil Rights Act of 1964.)

Immigration Laws of 1965: Reversed discriminatory quotas acts from the 1920s; favored immigrants from Latin America and Asia

Vietnam War: US aided the South (non-communist); led to sizeable, passionate, and sometimes violent protests, especially as the war went on

Counterculture: "Hippies" - protested Vietnam War; rejected many ideas of their parents' generation; used marijuana; helped start a sexual revolution

Détente: Easing of Cold War tensions between the US and Soviet Union (Examples include: SALT I and Salt II)

Environmental Problems: Brought to the attention of the public by Rachel Carson and Silent Spring; helped lead to the creation of the EPA and Clean Air Act