terms 36-40

The Feminine Mystique – 1963 book by Betty Friedan that sparked second-wave feminism.

Checkers Speech – Nixon’s 1952 televised speech defending himself against corruption allegations.

Montgomery Bus Boycott – 1955–56 protest against segregated buses led by MLK.

Brown v. Board of Education – 1954 Supreme Court decision declaring segregated schools unconstitutional.

Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) – Youth-led civil rights group promoting nonviolent protest.

Federal Highway Act of 1956 – Eisenhower’s law creating the interstate highway system.

OPEC – Oil cartel formed in 1960 to control oil production and prices.

Kitchen Debate – 1959 debate between Nixon and Khrushchev about capitalism vs. communism.

Military-Industrial Complex – Eisenhower’s warning about the growing power of defense industries.

Abstract Expressionism – Post-WWII art movement emphasizing spontaneous, abstract painting.

Beat Generation – 1950s writers rejecting mainstream culture and materialism.

New Frontier – JFK’s domestic and foreign policy agenda.

Peace Corps – Program started by JFK to send American volunteers abroad for development aid.

Cuban Missile Crisis – 1962 standoff over Soviet missiles in Cuba; nearly led to nuclear war.

Freedom Riders – Civil rights activists who rode interstate buses to challenge segregation.

Rosa Parks – Civil rights figure who sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott by refusing to give up her seat.

Ho Chi Minh – Communist leader of North Vietnam.

Robert S. McNamara – Secretary of Defense under Kennedy and Johnson; key figure in Vietnam War policy.

Civil Rights Act of 1964 – Law banning segregation and discrimination based on race, sex, religion.

Great Society – LBJ’s program to end poverty and racial injustice.

Freedom Summer – 1964 voter registration drive for African Americans in Mississippi.

Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party – Integrated party challenging Mississippi’s all-white delegation.

Voting Rights Act of 1965 – Law banning literacy tests and ensuring federal protection of voting rights.

Black Power – Movement emphasizing racial pride and self-determination.

Stonewall Rebellion – 1969 uprising by LGBTQ+ community against police raids.

Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) – Leftist student group protesting the Vietnam War and racism.

Vietnamization – Nixon’s policy of gradually withdrawing U.S. troops and shifting fighting to South Vietnam.

Nixon Doctrine – U.S. would support allies with aid, not troops.

Silent Majority – Nixon’s term for Americans who supported him but weren’t vocal.

Pentagon Papers – Government documents revealing deception in Vietnam policy, leaked in 1971.

Détente – Easing of Cold War tensions between the U.S. and Soviet Union.

Miranda v. Arizona – 1966 ruling requiring police to inform suspects of rights.

Southern Strategy – Nixon’s plan to gain Southern white voters by appealing to racism.

Eugene McCarthy – Antiwar Democratic candidate challenging LBJ in 1968.

George C. Wallace – Segregationist third-party candidate in 1968.

George McGovern – Antiwar Democratic candidate defeated by Nixon in 1972.

Henry A. Kissinger – Nixon’s National Security Advisor and key architect of détente and Vietnam policy.

Stagflation – 1970s economic condition of high inflation and unemployment.

Watergate – Nixon scandal involving a break-in and cover-up; led to his resignation.

Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) – Proposed amendment for gender equality that failed ratification.

Roe v. Wade – 1973 Supreme Court case legalizing abortion nationwide.

New Right – Conservative political movement rising in the 1970s.

SALT II – 1979 treaty limiting U.S. and Soviet nuclear weapons; never ratified.

Leonid Brezhnev – Soviet leader during détente with the U.S.

Proposition 13 – 1978 California tax-cutting measure reducing property taxes.

Supply-side Economics – Economic theory favoring tax cuts to boost production.

Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) – Reagan’s plan for a missile defense system (“Star Wars”).

Sandinistas – Leftist group that took power in Nicaragua in 1979.

Contras – U.S.-backed rebels fighting Sandinista government in Nicaragua.

Glasnost – Gorbachev’s policy of openness in the Soviet Union.

Perestroika – Gorbachev’s policy of restructuring the Soviet economy.

Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty – 1987 U.S.-Soviet agreement eliminating certain missiles.

Iran-Contra Affair – Reagan administration scandal over secretly selling arms to Iran and funding Contras.

Moral Majority – Conservative Christian political group supporting Reagan.

Black Monday – 1987 stock market crash.

Operation Desert Storm – 1991 U.S.-led attack on Iraq after its invasion of Kuwait.

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) – 1990 law banning discrimination against disabled people.

Mikhail Gorbachev – Soviet leader who reformed USSR and helped end the Cold War.

Boris Yeltsin – First President of post-Soviet Russia.

Democratic Leadership Council (DLC) – Centrist Democratic group promoting moderate policies.

“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” – Clinton policy allowing closeted LGBTQ+ people to serve in the military.

Oklahoma City Bombing – 1995 domestic terrorist attack on a federal building.

Contract with America – Republican plan for conservative reforms in the 1994 election.

Welfare Reform Bill – 1996 law cutting welfare benefits and imposing work requirements.

North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) – 1994 deal eliminating trade barriers between U.S., Canada, Mexico.

World Trade Organization (WTO) – International body promoting global free trade.