period 8b vocab

Domino Theory – The idea that if one country in a region fell to communism, neighboring countries would follow suit, like a falling row of dominoes.

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution – 1964 legislation that gave President Johnson the authority to use military force in Vietnam without a formal declaration of war.

Credibility Gap – The difference between what the U.S. government said about the Vietnam War and what people saw happening in Vietnam, leading to a loss of trust in the government.

Hawks – People who supported the Vietnam War and believed in using military force to stop communism.

Doves – People who opposed the Vietnam War, advocating for peaceful negotiations rather than military action.

Offensive – A military campaign or attack, often referring to the Tet Offensive during the Vietnam War, where North Vietnamese forces launched a series of surprise attacks.

Vietnamization – Nixon’s policy of gradually withdrawing U.S. troops from Vietnam and transferring responsibility for the war to the South Vietnamese.

Nixon Doctrine – The policy that the U.S. would provide military assistance to allies but would not commit large numbers of troops in conflicts abroad.

Kent State Incident – The 1970 shooting of four students by the National Guard during a protest against the Vietnam War at Kent State University.

My Lai – A massacre during the Vietnam War in which U.S. soldiers killed hundreds of unarmed South Vietnamese civilians.

War Powers Act – A 1973 law limiting the president’s ability to send U.S. forces into combat without congressional approval.

New Left – A political movement in the 1960s focused on civil rights, anti-war activism, and social justice issues.

Weather Underground – A radical left-wing group that carried out bombings and protests in the 1960s and 1970s in opposition to U.S. government policies.

Counterculture – A cultural movement in the 1960s that rejected traditional values, especially in relation to politics, lifestyle, and the Vietnam War.

Woodstock – A famous music festival in 1969 that became a symbol of the counterculture movement.

Sexual Revolution – A period of changing attitudes toward sex, focusing on greater sexual freedom, birth control, and the LGBTQ+ rights movement.

Jackie Robinson – The first African American to play Major League Baseball, breaking the color barrier in 1947.

Brown v. Board of Education – The 1954 Supreme Court decision that declared racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional.

Little Rock Nine – A group of African American students who integrated Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1957.

Montgomery Bus Boycott – A 1955-1956 protest led by African Americans in Montgomery, Alabama, to challenge segregation on public buses.

Martin Luther King Jr. – A civil rights leader who advocated for nonviolent protests to end segregation and racism in America.

Greensboro Sit-ins – A series of peaceful protests in 1960, where African American students sat at segregated lunch counters in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) – A civil rights organization founded by Martin Luther King Jr. focused on nonviolent protests.

Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) – A youth-led organization that played a key role in the civil rights movement, organizing sit-ins and freedom rides.

Sweatt v. Painter – A Supreme Court case that ruled against “separate but equal” facilities for law schools, marking an important step toward desegregation.

Letter from a Birmingham Jail – A letter written by Martin Luther King Jr. in 1963 in response to criticism of his nonviolent protests.

March on Washington (1963) – A massive protest in Washington, D.C., where Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech.

Civil Rights Act of 1964 – Landmark legislation that outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, gender, or national origin.

24th Amendment – A 1964 amendment that abolished the poll tax, which had been used to disenfranchise African American voters.

Voting Rights Act of 1965 – Legislation that aimed to eliminate racial discrimination in voting, especially in the South.

Malcolm X – An African American civil rights leader who advocated for Black empowerment, self-defense, and sometimes more radical approaches than Martin Luther King Jr.

Black Panthers – A revolutionary socialist group founded in 1966 that focused on self-defense and the rights of African Americans.

Betty Friedan – A feminist author who wrote The Feminine Mystique, sparking the second-wave feminist movement in the 1960s.

National Organization for Women (NOW) – An organization founded in 1966 to advocate for gender equality, particularly in the workplace and education.

Title IX – A 1972 federal law prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sex in educational programs and activities.

Equal Rights Amendment – A proposed amendment to the U.S. Constitution that sought to ensure equal rights under the law, regardless of sex.

Cesar Chavez – A labor leader and civil rights activist who co-founded the United Farm Workers union to fight for better working conditions for farm laborers.

Dolores Huerta – A labor leader and civil rights activist who co-founded the United Farm Workers with Cesar Chavez.

Hernandez v. Texas (1954) – A Supreme Court case that ruled Mexican Americans were entitled to equal protection under the 14th Amendment, extending civil rights protections to them and addressing exclusion from jury duty based on race and ethnicity.

American Indian Movement – A group formed in the late 1960s to advocate for Native American rights, including the right to self-determination.

Gay Rights Movement – A movement advocating for equal rights and social acceptance of LGBTQ+ people.

Mapp v. Ohio – A 1961 Supreme Court decision that ruled evidence obtained illegally cannot be used in state courts.

Gideon v. Wainwright – A 1963 Supreme Court decision that guaranteed the right to legal counsel for defendants who cannot afford an attorney.

Miranda v. Arizona – A 1966 Supreme Court decision that established the requirement for police to inform suspects of their rights before interrogation.

Engel v. Vitale – A 1962 Supreme Court decision that ruled that state-sponsored prayer in public schools is unconstitutional.

Yoder v. Wisconsin – A 1972 Supreme Court decision that ruled that Amish children could not be forced to attend school beyond 8th grade due to religious beliefs.

Tinker v. Des Moines – A 1969 Supreme Court decision that upheld the right of students to protest peacefully in school, such as wearing black armbands to protest the Vietnam War.

Silent Spring – A 1962 book by Rachel Carson that exposed the dangers of pesticides and is credited with sparking the environmental movement.

Earth Day – The first Earth Day, held on April 22, 1970, focused on promoting environmental awareness.

Watergate Scandal – A political scandal in the 1970s involving a break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters, leading to President Nixon’s resignation.

Roe v. Wade – A 1973 Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion nationwide, declaring that a woman has a constitutional right to choose.