genocide
Deliberate extermination of a racial or cultural group
HUAC (House Un-American Activities Committee)
Committee responsible for rooting out communists in American Government and Society
Civil Rights Act of 1968
a law that banned discrimination in housing
Richard Nixon
37th president of the united states (1969-1974) (republican)
New Federalism
system in which the national government restores greater authority back to the states & local governments
Montgomery Bus Boycott
1955 protest action to end segregation on buses in Montgomery, Alabama
Gen. Douglas MacArthur
During the Korean War, he was commander of Allied Forces in the South Pacific during World War II and of UN forces in Korea. Truman told him to only use Korean forces in case China got involved. However MacArthur did not follow orders and sent US, British and Korean forces to fight. The Chinese responded heavily and the troops were pushed back to the 38th parallel. Truman was extremely upset and dismissed MacArthur.
GI Bill of Rights
Law Passed in 1944 to help returning veterans buy homes and pay for higher education
Black Panthers
A black political organization that was against peaceful protest and for violence if needed. The organization marked a shift in policy of the black movement, favoring militant ideals rather than peaceful protest.
Martin Luther King Jr.
U.S. Baptist minister and civil rights leader. He opposed discrimination against blacks by organizing nonviolent resistance and peaceful mass demonstrations.
revenue sharing
federal sharing of a fixed percentage of its revenue with the states
Suburbia
The residential districts or suburbs outside the boundaries of a city or town. Dramatically increased in size after WW2.
Consumerism
A preoccupation with the purchasing of material goods.
freedom riders
Group of civil rights workers who took bus trips through southern states in 1961 to protest illegal bus segregation
Stagflation
a period of slow economic growth and high unemployment and high inflation
Watergate Scandal
A break-in at the Democratic National Committee offices in the Watergate complex in Washington was carried out under the direction of White House employees. Disclosure of the White House involvement in the break-in and subsequent cover-up forced President Nixon to resign in 1974 to avoid impeachment.
Gerald Ford
38th president pardoned Nixon and followed after Nixon, was a weak leader (1974-1977) (republican)
Jimmy Carter
39th U.S. President. 1977-1981. Democratic (was a peanut farmer, but sold his farm when he got elected.)
entitlement program
Programs such as unemployment insurance, disaster relief, or disability payments that provide benefits to all eligible citizens.
McCarthyism
The act of accusing people of disloyalty and communism (quite often without proof)
Voting Rights Act of 1965
1965; got rid of tests or rules to deny the vote
Conservatism
A political or theological orientation advocating the preservation of the best in society and opposing radical changes.
Star Wars Program
The Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), was a program first initiated on March 23, 1983 under President Ronald Reagan. The intent of this program was to develop a sophisticated anti-ballistic missile system in order to prevent missile attacks from other countries, specifically the Soviet Union.
Affirmative Action
A policy designed to fix discrimination against women and minority groups through laws and plans to improve their economic and educational opportunities
Mikhail Gorbachev
Head of the Soviet Union from 1985 to 1991. His liberalization effort improved the relationship with the West, but he lost power after his reforms led to the collapse of Communist governments in eastern Europe. (U.S loved him)
Perestroika
A policy begun by Mikhail Gorbachev that moved communist Russia towards a market based economy and society
Counterculture
cultural patterns that strongly oppose those widely accepted within a society
La Raza Unida
A political party organized in the late 1960s to get Mexican Americans to unite politically and to identify ethnically as one people.
Cesar Chavez
Non-violent leader of the United Farm Workers from 1963-1970. Organized laborers in California and in the Southwest to strike against fruit and vegetable growers. Unionized Mexican-American farm workers.
AIM (American Indian Movement)
A Native American organization founded in 1968 to protest government policies and injustices suffered by Native Americans.
ARVN (Army of the Republic of Vietnam)
the southern Vietnamese soldiers who fought WITH U.S. troops against communist north Vietnam
Domino Theory
A theory that if one nation becomes Communist , then neighboring nations will also come under Communist control.
Pentagon Papers
A 7,000-page top-secret United States government report on the history of the internal planning and policy-making about the Vietnam War
election of 1968
The election in which Nixon won; conservative republican victory
Body Count
In Amerca's ground war in Vietnam, success was measured by body count. If more enemies died than Amercan soldiers, the Amercans' search and destroy mission was considered a success.
War Powers Act
Passed by Congress in 1973; the president is limited in the deployment of troops overseas to a sixty-day period in peacetime unless Congress explicitly gives its approval for a longer period.
draft
A law requiring people of a certain age to serve in the military
William Westmoreland
American commander in South Vietnam who continued to request more troops
Separate but equal
Principle upheld in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) in which the Supreme Court ruled that segregation of public facilities was legal.
Malcolm X
Black Muslim who argued for separation, not integration. He changed his views, but was assassinated in 1965. Civil rights activist.
de jure segregation
Racial segregation that is required by law
beat movement
a social and artistic movement of the 1950's stressing unrestrained literary self expression and nonconformity with the mainstream culture
End of WWII
September 2, 1945
Robert Kennedy
He was a Democrat who ran for president in 1968 promoting civil rights and other equality based ideals. He was ultimately assassinated in 1968, leaving Nixon to take the presidency but instilling hope in many Americans.
President John F Kennedy
president during, the Bay of Pigs Invasion, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the building of the Berlin Wall, the Space Race, the American Civil Rights Movement and early events of the Vietnam War.
hot line
direct telephone line between the White House and the Kremlin set up after the Cuban missile crisis
peace corps
an agency established in 1961 to provide volunteer assistance to developing nations in Asia, Africa, and Latin America
Warren Commission
committee that investigated the assassination of President Kennedy
Medicare
A federal program of health insurance for persons 65 years of age and older; LBJ signed into law 1965
Cuban Missile Crisis
The 1962 confrontation between US and the Soviet Union over Soviet missiles in Cuba.
new frontier
Kennedy's plan: supports civil rights, pushes for a space program, wants to cut taxes, and increase spending for defense and military
space race
A competition of space exploration between the United States and Soviet Union.
Lyndon B. Johnson
36th U.S. President. 1963-1969. Democratic (After JFK was assassinated.)
Great Society
President Johnson's reform program, In 1965, Congress passed many of its measures including Medicare, civil rights legislation, and federal aid to education.
Brown v. Board of Education
1954 case that overturned Separate but Equal standard of discrimination in education. Declared that racially segregated facilities are inherently unequal and ordered all public schools desegregated.
Civil Rights Act of 1964
outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin
appeasement
Accepting demands in order to avoid conflict
Causes of WWII 1939-1945
Great Depression; emergence of the Nazi party; Treaty of Versailles; War Guilt Clause; Reparations; German Disarmament/demilitarized; Territorial losses from Germany; Hitler's Actions: built up military, made alliances, expansionist; Failure of Appeasement; Invasion of Poland; Failure of the League of Nations; Emergence of Fascism
Lend-Lease Act
The laws passed by the U.S. allowing us to give aid to our Allies in early WWII
Battle of Britain
An aerial battle fought in World War II in 1940 between the German Luftwaffe (air force), which carried out extensive bombing in Britain, and the British Royal Air Force, which offered successful resistance.
WAAC (Women's Army Auxiliary Corps)
The acronym for the women's organization that volunteered during the war. Many of them served as nurses, Radio operators, drivers, etc.
Battle of the Atlantic
Germany's naval attempt to cut off British supply ships by using u-boats. Caused Britain and the US to officially join the war after their ships were sunk. After this battle, the Allies won control of the seas, allowing them to control supply transfer, which ultimately determined the war. 1939-1945 (Allies won)
George Marshall
US General, created plan for rebuilding Europe (Marshall plan)
President Truman
created the Truman doctrine, refused atomic bombing on Korea, integrated the military
Internment Camps
Used to hold Japanese-American citizens due to fear of spies and saboteurs during WWII
Battle of the Bulge
December, 1944-January, 1945 - After recapturing France, the Allied advance became stalled along the German border. In the winter of 1944, Germany staged a massive counterattack in Belgium and Luxembourg which pushed a 30 mile "bulge" into the Allied lines. The Allies stopped the German advance and threw them back across the Rhine with heavy losses.
D-Day
June 6, 1944 - Led by Eisenhower, over a million troops stormed the beaches at Normandy and began the process of re-taking France. The turning point of World War II. (we took it back, huge victory for the allies)
VE Day
May 8, 1945; victory in Europe Day when the Germans surrendered
Manhattan Project
A secret U.S. project for the construction of the atomic bomb.
Atomic Bomb
a nuclear weapon in which enormous energy is released by nuclear fission (used on Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the U.S)
Office of Price Administration (OPA)
an agency established by Congress to control inflation during World War II
nisei
A Japanese American whose parents were born in Japan
Truman Doctrine
President Truman's policy of providing economic and military aid to any country threatened by communism or totalitarian ideology
Result of Korean War
Korea remained divided at the 38th parallel. North Korea- Communist. South Korea- Democratic
U-2 Incident
The incident when an American U-2 spy plane was shot down over the Soviet Union. The U.S. denied the true purpose of the plane at first, but was forced to when the U.S.S.R. produced the living pilot and the largely intact plane to validate their claim of being spied on aerially. The incident worsened East-West relations during the Cold War and was a great embarrassment for the United States.genocide
Deliberate extermination of a racial or cultural group
HUAC (House Un-American Activities Committee)
Committee responsible for rooting out communists in American Government and Society
Civil Rights Act of 1968
a law that banned discrimination in housing
Richard Nixon
37th president of the united states (1969-1974) (republican)
New Federalism
system in which the national government restores greater authority back to the states & local governments
Montgomery Bus Boycott
1955 protest action to end segregation on buses in Montgomery, Alabama
Gen. Douglas MacArthur
During the Korean War, he was commander of Allied Forces in the South Pacific during World War II and of UN forces in Korea. Truman told him to only use Korean forces in case China got involved. However MacArthur did not follow orders and sent US, British and Korean forces to fight. The Chinese responded heavily and the troops were pushed back to the 38th parallel. Truman was extremely upset and dismissed MacArthur.
GI Bill of Rights
Law Passed in 1944 to help returning veterans buy homes and pay for higher education
Black Panthers
A black political organization that was against peaceful protest and for violence if needed. The organization marked a shift in policy of the black movement, favoring militant ideals rather than peaceful protest.
Martin Luther King Jr.
U.S. Baptist minister and civil rights leader. He opposed discrimination against blacks by organizing nonviolent resistance and peaceful mass demonstrations.
revenue sharing
federal sharing of a fixed percentage of its revenue with the states
Suburbia
The residential districts or suburbs outside the boundaries of a city or town. Dramatically increased in size after WW2.
Consumerism
A preoccupation with the purchasing of material goods.
freedom riders
Group of civil rights workers who took bus trips through southern states in 1961 to protest illegal bus segregation
Stagflation
a period of slow economic growth and high unemployment and high inflation
Watergate Scandal
A break-in at the Democratic National Committee offices in the Watergate complex in Washington was carried out under the direction of White House employees. Disclosure of the White House involvement in the break-in and subsequent cover-up forced President Nixon to resign in 1974 to avoid impeachment.
Gerald Ford
38th president pardoned Nixon and followed after Nixon, was a weak leader (1974-1977) (republican)
Jimmy Carter
39th U.S. President. 1977-1981. Democratic (was a peanut farmer, but sold his farm when he got elected.)
entitlement program
Programs such as unemployment insurance, disaster relief, or disability payments that provide benefits to all eligible citizens.
McCarthyism
The act of accusing people of disloyalty and communism (quite often without proof)
Voting Rights Act of 1965
1965; got rid of tests or rules to deny the vote
Conservatism
A political or theological orientation advocating the preservation of the best in society and opposing radical changes.
Star Wars Program
The Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), was a program first initiated on March 23, 1983 under President Ronald Reagan. The intent of this program was to develop a sophisticated anti-ballistic missile system in order to prevent missile attacks from other countries, specifically the Soviet Union.
Affirmative Action
A policy designed to fix discrimination against women and minority groups through laws and plans to improve their economic and educational opportunities
Mikhail Gorbachev
Head of the Soviet Union from 1985 to 1991. His liberalization effort improved the relationship with the West, but he lost power after his reforms led to the collapse of Communist governments in eastern Europe. (U.S loved him)
Perestroika
A policy begun by Mikhail Gorbachev that moved communist Russia towards a market based economy and society
Counterculture
cultural patterns that strongly oppose those widely accepted within a society
La Raza Unida
A political party organized in the late 1960s to get Mexican Americans to unite politically and to identify ethnically as one people.
Cesar Chavez
Non-violent leader of the United Farm Workers from 1963-1970. Organized laborers in California and in the Southwest to strike against fruit and vegetable growers. Unionized Mexican-American farm workers.
AIM (American Indian Movement)
A Native American organization founded in 1968 to protest government policies and injustices suffered by Native Americans.
ARVN (Army of the Republic of Vietnam)
the southern Vietnamese soldiers who fought WITH U.S. troops against communist north Vietnam
Domino Theory
A theory that if one nation becomes Communist , then neighboring nations will also come under Communist control.
Pentagon Papers
A 7,000-page top-secret United States government report on the history of the internal planning and policy-making about the Vietnam War
election of 1968
The election in which Nixon won; conservative republican victory
Body Count
In Amerca's ground war in Vietnam, success was measured by body count. If more enemies died than Amercan soldiers, the Amercans' search and destroy mission was considered a success.
War Powers Act
Passed by Congress in 1973; the president is limited in the deployment of troops overseas to a sixty-day period in peacetime unless Congress explicitly gives its approval for a longer period.
draft
A law requiring people of a certain age to serve in the military
William Westmoreland
American commander in South Vietnam who continued to request more troopsSeparate but equal
Principle upheld in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) in which the Supreme Court ruled that segregation of public facilities was legal.
Malcolm X
Black Muslim who argued for separation, not integration. He changed his views, but was assassinated in 1965. Civil rights activist.de jure segregation
Racial segregation that is required by law
beat movement
a social and artistic movement of the 1950's stressing unrestrained literary self expression and nonconformity with the mainstream culture
End of WWII
September 2, 1945
Robert Kennedy
He was a Democrat who ran for president in 1968 promoting civil rights and other equality based ideals. He was ultimately assassinated in 1968, leaving Nixon to take the presidency but instilling hope in many Americans.
President John F Kennedy
president during, the Bay of Pigs Invasion, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the building of the Berlin Wall, the Space Race, the American Civil Rights Movement and early events of the Vietnam War.
hot line
direct telephone line between the White House and the Kremlin set up after the Cuban missile crisis
peace corps
an agency established in 1961 to provide volunteer assistance to developing nations in Asia, Africa, and Latin America
Warren Commission
committee that investigated the assassination of President Kennedy
Medicare
A federal program of health insurance for persons 65 years of age and older; LBJ signed into law 1965
Cuban Missile Crisis
The 1962 confrontation between US and the Soviet Union over Soviet missiles in Cuba.
new frontier
Kennedy's plan: supports civil rights, pushes for a space program, wants to cut taxes, and increase spending for defense and military
space race
A competition of space exploration between the United States and Soviet Union.
Lyndon B. Johnson
36th U.S. President. 1963-1969. Democratic (After JFK was assassinated.)
Great Society
President Johnson's reform program, In 1965, Congress passed many of its measures including Medicare, civil rights legislation, and federal aid to education.
Brown v. Board of Education
1954 case that overturned Separate but Equal standard of discrimination in education. Declared that racially segregated facilities are inherently unequal and ordered all public schools desegregated.
Civil Rights Act of 1964
outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin
appeasement
Accepting demands in order to avoid conflict
Causes of WWII 1939-1945
Great Depression; emergence of the Nazi party; Treaty of Versailles; War Guilt Clause; Reparations; German Disarmament/demilitarized; Territorial losses from Germany; Hitler's Actions: built up military, made alliances, expansionist; Failure of Appeasement; Invasion of Poland; Failure of the League of Nations; Emergence of Fascism
Lend-Lease Act
The laws passed by the U.S. allowing us to give aid to our Allies in early WWII
Battle of Britain
An aerial battle fought in World War II in 1940 between the German Luftwaffe (air force), which carried out extensive bombing in Britain, and the British Royal Air Force, which offered successful resistance.
WAAC (Women's Army Auxiliary Corps)
The acronym for the women's organization that volunteered during the war. Many of them served as nurses, Radio operators, drivers, etc.
Battle of the Atlantic
Germany's naval attempt to cut off British supply ships by using u-boats. Caused Britain and the US to officially join the war after their ships were sunk. After this battle, the Allies won control of the seas, allowing them to control supply transfer, which ultimately determined the war. 1939-1945 (Allies won)
George Marshall
US General, created plan for rebuilding Europe (Marshall plan)
President Truman
created the Truman doctrine, refused atomic bombing on Korea, integrated the military
Internment Camps
Used to hold Japanese-American citizens due to fear of spies and saboteurs during WWII
Battle of the Bulge
December, 1944-January, 1945 - After recapturing France, the Allied advance became stalled along the German border. In the winter of 1944, Germany staged a massive counterattack in Belgium and Luxembourg which pushed a 30 mile "bulge" into the Allied lines. The Allies stopped the German advance and threw them back across the Rhine with heavy losses.
D-Day
June 6, 1944 - Led by Eisenhower, over a million troops stormed the beaches at Normandy and began the process of re-taking France. The turning point of World War II. (we took it back, huge victory for the allies)
VE Day
May 8, 1945; victory in Europe Day when the Germans surrendered
Manhattan Project
A secret U.S. project for the construction of the atomic bomb.
Atomic Bomb
a nuclear weapon in which enormous energy is released by nuclear fission (used on Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the U.S)
Office of Price Administration (OPA)
an agency established by Congress to control inflation during World War II
nisei
A Japanese American whose parents were born in Japan
Truman Doctrine
President Truman's policy of providing economic and military aid to any country threatened by communism or totalitarian ideology
Result of Korean War
Korea remained divided at the 38th parallel. North Korea- Communist. South Korea- Democratic
U-2 Incident
The incident when an American U-2 spy plane was shot down over the Soviet Union. The U.S. denied the true purpose of the plane at first, but was forced to when the U.S.S.R. produced the living pilot and the largely intact plane to validate their claim of being spied on aerially. The incident worsened East-West relations during the Cold War and was a great embarrassment for the United States.