Dr.Cox Unit 10: 1960-1980 Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter

de jure segregation

Racial segregation that occurs because of laws or administrative decisions by public agencies.

de facto segregation

segregation by unwritten custom or tradition

Thrugood Marshall

African American lawyer who led the legal team that challenged segregation in the courts; later named a Supreme Court justice

Earl Warren

Chief Justice during the 1950's and 1960's who used a loose interpretation to expand rights for both African-Americans and those accused of crimes.

Rosa Parks

United States civil rights leader who refused to give up her seat on a bus to a white man in Montgomery (Alabama) and so triggered the national civil rights movement (born in 1913)

Montgomery Bus Boycott

In 1955, after Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat on a city bus, Dr. Martin L. King led a boycott of city busses. After 11 months the Supreme Court ruled that segregation of public transportation was illegal.

Martin Luther King Jr.

U.S. Baptist minister and civil rights leader. A noted orator, he opposed discrimination against blacks by organizing nonviolent resistance and peaceful mass demonstrations. He was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee. Nobel Peace Prize (1964)

Brown v. Board of Education

1954 - The Supreme Court overruled Plessy v. Ferguson, declared that racially segregated facilities are inherently unequal and ordered all public schools desegregated.

Sit-ins

protests by black college students, 1960-1961, who took seats at "whites only" lunch counters and refused to leave until served; in 1960 over 50,000 participated in sit-ins across the South. Their success prompted the formation of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee.

SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee)

grass-roots movement founded in 1960 by young civil rights activists

Freedom Ride

1961 protest by activists who rode buses through southern states to test their compliance with the ban on segregation on interstate buses

James Meridith

First African American student to go to All White University of Mississippi; Air Force Veteran

Medgar Evers

Director of the NAACP in Mississippi, instrumental in effort to desegregate University of Mississippi, and a lawyer who defended accused Blacks, he was murdered in his driveway by a member of the Ku Klux Klan.

March on Washington (1963)

August - 200,000 demonstrators converged on the Lincoln Memorial to hear Dr. King's speech and to celebrate Kennedy's support for the civil rights movement. (putting pressure on the federal government to pass civil rights legislation)

Civil Rights Act of 1964

outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin

Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC)

1957 group founded by Martin Luther King Jr. to fight against segregation using nonviolent means

Freedom Summer (1964)

Effort by civil rights groups in Mississippi to register black voters during the summer of 1964

Fannie Lou Hamer

spokesperson for the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party at the 1964 Democratic Convention

Voting Rights Act of 1965

a law designed to help end formal and informal barriers (literacy test or any other devices used to deny the vote) to African-American suffrage

Twenty-fourth Amendment

The constitutional amendment passed in 1964 that declared poll taxes void in federal elections.

Kerner Commission

created in July, 1967 by President Lyndon B. Johnson to investigate the causes of the 1967 race riots in the United States

Malcom X

Radical African-American civil rights leader who encouraged violent responses to racial discrimination

Nation of Islam

African American religious organization founded in the 1930s that advocated separation of the race

Black Power

a 1960s movement that urged African Americans to use their collective political and economic power to gain equality

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. (founded 1966)

John F. Kennedy

president during part of the cold war and especially during the superpower rivalry and the Cuban missile crisis. he was the president who went on tv and told the public about the crisis and allowed the leader of the Soviet Union to withdraw their missiles. other events, which were during his terms was the building of the Berlin Wall, the space race, and early events of the Vietnam War. Assassinated 1963 by Lee Harvey Oswald in Dallas, Texas.

Richard Nixon

Vice President under Eisenhower and 37th President of the United States. Advocated Vietnamization of war (replace US troops with Vietnamese Troops) Resigned from office in Watergate scandal

Lyndon Johnson

Kennedy's VP, sworn in as President when Kennedy Shot. Elected on his on in 1964, Democrat , signed the civil rights act of 1964 into law and the voting rights act of 1965. he had a war on poverty in his agenda. in an attempt to win, he set a few goals, including the great society, the economic opportunity act, and other programs that provided food stamps and welfare to needy families. he also created a department of housing and urban development. his most important legislation was probably Medicare and Medicaid.

Fidel Castro

Cuban socialist/communist leader who overthrew a dictator in 1959 and established a Marxist socialist/communist state in Cuba (born in 1927)

Peace Corps

(JFK) , volunteers who help third world nations and prevent the spread of communism by getting rid of poverty, Africa, Asia, and Latin America

Alliance for Progress

(JFK) 1961,, a program in which the United States tried to help Latin American countries overcome poverty and other problems, money used to aid big business and the military

Bay of Pigs Invasion

failed invasion of Cuba in 1961 when a force of 1,200 Cuban exiles (led by CIA), backed by the United States, landed at the Bay of Pigs.

Nikita Khrushchev

A Soviet leader during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Also famous for denouncing Stalin and allowed criticism of Stalin within Russia.

Cuban Missile Crisis

1962 crisis that arose between the United States and the Soviet Union over a Soviet attempt to deploy nuclear missiles in Cuba

hot line

direct telephone line between the White House and the Kremlin set up after the Cuban missile crisis

Nuclear Test Ban Treaty

(JFK) 1963, Wake of Cuban Missile Crisis (climax of Cold War, closest we've ever come to nuclear war) Soviets & US agree to prohibit all above-ground nuclear tests, both nations choose to avoid annihilating the human race w/ nuclear war, France and China did not sign

Berlin Wall

A wall separating East and West Berlin built by East Germany in 1961 to keep citizens from escaping to the West

New Frontier

The campaign program advocated by JFK in the 1960 election. He promised to revitalize the stagnant economy and enact reform legislation in education, health care, civil rights, and to explore space.

Equal Pay Act

1963 law that required both men and women to receive equal pay for equal work

deficit spending

Government practice of spending more than it takes in from taxes

Space Race

A competition of space exploration between the United States and Soviet Union.

Warren Commission

committee that investigated the assassination of President Kennedy

War on Poverty

President Lyndon B. Johnson's program in the 1960's to provide greater social services for the poor and elderly through education, job training, health care, and nutrition

Economic Opportunity Act

law passed in 1964 creating antipoverty programs

Great Society

President Johnson called his version of the Democratic reform program the Great Society. In 1965, Congress passed many Great Society measures, including Medicare, civil rights legislation, and federal aid to education.

Medicare

A federal program of health insurance for persons 65 years of age and older

Medicaid

A federal and state assistance program that pays for health care services for people who cannot afford them.

Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965

law that changed the national quota system to limits of 170,000 immigrants per year from the Eastern Hemisphere and 120,000 per year from the Western Hemisphere

Warren Court

the Supreme Court during the period when Earl Warren was chief justice, noted for its activism in the areas of civil rights and free speech

Ho Chi Minh

1950s and 60s; communist leader of North Vietnam; used guerilla warfare to fight anti-communist forces; demanded Vietnam's independence from France in post ww2 era

Domino Theory

A theory that if one nation comes under Communist control, then neighboring nations will also come under Communist control.

Dien Bien Phu

A town of northwest Vietnam near the Laos border. The French military base here fell to Vietminh troops on May 7, 1954, after a 56-day siege, leading to the end of France's involvement in Indochina.

Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO)

defensive alliance aimed at preventing the spread of communism in Southeast Asia

Vietcong

A group of Communist guerrillas who, with the help of North Vietnam, fought against the South Vietnamese government in the Vietnam War.

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

1964 congressional resolution that authorized President Johnson to commit American troops to South Vietnam and fight a war against North Vietnam

William Westmoreland

American General who commanded American military operations in the Vietnam War at its peak from 1964 to 1968

Napalm

Highly flammable chemical dropped from US planes in firebombing attacks during the Vietnam War.

Agent Orange

a toxic leaf-killing chemical sprayed by U.S. planes in Vietnam to expose Vietcong hideouts

Students for a Democratic Society

organization founded to fight racism but which later campaigned against the Vietnam War

Credibility Gap

American public's growing distrust of statements made by the government during the Vietnam War

Tet Offensive

a coordinated assault, in January 1968, by the Vietcong and North Vietnamese on South Vietnamese cities and bases

Eugene McCarthy

1968 Democratic candidate for President who ran to succeed incumbent Lyndon Baines Johnson on an antiwar platform.

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.

Silent Majority

A phrase used to describe people, whatever their economic status, who uphold traditional values, especially against the counterculture of the 1960s

Vietnamization

Nixon's plan for American forces to withdraw and South Vietnamese forces to assume more combat duties

Kent State Massacre

site of a confrontation between students and National Guardsmen during which four students were killed

My Lai Massacre

The killing of 200 Vietnamese old men, women and children by American soldiers

Pentagon Papers

A 7,000-page top-secret United States government report on the history of the internal planning and policy-making process within the government itself concerning the Vietnam War.

Paris Peace Accords

1973 peace agreement between the United States, South Vietnam, North Vietnam, and the Vietcong that effectively ended the Vietnam War.

War Powers Act

1973. A resolution of Congress that stated the President can only send troops into action abroad by authorization of Congress or if America is already under attack or serious threat.

Henry Kissinger

The main negotiator of the peace treaty with the North Vietnamese; secretary of state during Nixon's presidency (1970s).

Realpolitik

the belief that political goals should be defined by concrete national interests instead of abstract ideologies

Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty

Treaty signed in 1972 by the United States and the Soviet Union that froze the deployment of intercontinental ballistic missiles and placed limits on antiballistic missiles

Detente

flexible diplomacy adopted by Richard Nixon to ease tensions between the United States, the Soviet Union, and the People's Republic of China

Counterculture

a movement in which people adopted values that ran counter to the mainstream culture

The Beatles

a hugely popular British rock band that helped spearhead the cultural revolution of the 1960s

Timothy Leary

Former Harvard psychologist who experimented with psychoactive drugs (including LSD) and became a well-known advocate of their use as a way to open and expand the mind.

Feminism

the theory of the political, social, and economic equality of men and women

Betty Friedan

1921-2006. American feminist, activist and writer. Best known for starting the "Second Wave" of feminism through the writing of her book "The Feminine Mystique".

National Organization for Women

Founded in 1966, the National Organization for Women (NOW) called for equal employment opportunity and equal pay for women. NOW also championed the legalization of abortion and passage of an equal rights amendment to the Constitution.

Equal Rights Amendment (ERA)

constitutional amendment passed by Congress but never ratified that would have banned discrimination on the basis of gender

Gloria Steinem

a feminist leader and writer who sought to raise the public's awareness of gender issues

Phyllis Schlafly

1970s; a new right activist that protested the women's rights acts and movements as defying tradition and natural gender division of labor; demonstrated conservative backlash against the 60s

Roe v. Wade

The controversial 1973 Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion.

Cesar Chavez

an influential Latino activist who fought for farm laborers' rights

Chicano Movement

a Mexican-American effort for social and political equality

American Indian Movement (AIM)

a civil rights group organized to promote the interests of Native Americans

Ralph Nader

wrote "Unsafe at Any Speed" (1960s) that helped to create the modern consumer movement.

Rachel Carson

wrote a landmark book, Silent Spring, which argued that human actions were harming the environment

Earth Day

annual event of environmental activism and protest, begun in 1970

Environmental Protection Agency

federal agency established in 1970 to clean and protect the environment

Clean Air Act

act passed in 1970 that lessened air pollution by limiting emissions from factories and automobiles

Clean Water Act

1973 law that limited water pollution caused by industry and agriculture

Endangered Species Act

1973 act to protect at-risk plants and animals

Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)

group of countries which sell oil to other nations and cooperate to regulate the price and supply of oil

Southern Strategy

Nixon's plan to make the Republican Party a powerful force in the South by attracting the votes of blue-collar workers and southern whites

Affirmative Action

a policy that gives special consideration to women and minorities in order to make up for past discrimination

Watergate

the scandal that began with a burglary of Democratic Party headquarters and led to Nixon's resignation

executive privilege

the principle that the President has the right to keep certain information confidential

Gerald Ford

became President in 1974 after Nixon's resignation

Jimmy Carter

a former governor of Georgia who was elected President in 1976

Helsinki Accords

document that put the nations of Europe on record in favor of human rights, endorsed by the United States and the Soviet Union in a 1975 meeting

SALT II

Additional arms limitations signings in 1979 which places limits on long-range missiles, bombers and nuclear warheads.

Boat People

people who fled communist-controlled Vietnam on boats, looking for refuge in Southeast Asia, the United States, and Canada

Camp David Accords

agreements that provided the framework for a peace treaty between Egypt and Israel

Ayatollah Khomeini

a fundamentalist Islamic cleric who took power in Iran when the Shah fled in 1979

Iran Hostage Crisis

In November 1979, revolutionaries stormed the American embassy in Tehran and held 52 Americans hostage. The Carter administration tried unsuccessfully to negotiate for the hostages release. On January 20, 1981, the day Carter left office, Iran released the Americans, ending their 444 days in captivity.