United Nations
international peace keeping organization conceived during World War II. Consisted of General Assembly (representation of all members) and 15-member Security Council (5 major allies granted permanent seats-U.S., U.S.S.R., Great Britain, France, China)
Cold War
The political and economic confrontation between the Soviet Union and the United States that dominated world affairs from 1946-1989.
Truman Doctrine
1947- Containment-The United States should assist other nations that were facing external pressure or internal revolution to combat communism. Examples-Greece, Turkey, Korea, Vietnam
Marshall Plan
Sec. of State George Marshall's European Recovery Plan of June 5, 1947, committing the Unites States to help in the rebuilding of post-World War II Europe
Berlin Blockade
300-day Soviet Blockade of land access to United States, British, and French occupation zones in Berlin 1948-1949 in the hopes that the West would give the entire city to the Soviets to administer. To bring in food and supplies, the U.S. and Great Britain
NATO
North Atlantic Treaty Organization- Organization of 10 European countries, Canada, and the United States who formed a mutual defensive pact in April 1949. Warsaw Pact later formed by Soviets in response to West Germany joining NATO.
Dixiecrats
Southern Democrats disgruntled over the strong civil rights proposals of the Democrats' 1948 National Convention. Formed the States' Rights Democratic Party and nominated J. Strom Thurmond (governor of South Carolina) for president.
Second Red Scare
Following WWII, tendency to see a Communist conspiracy behind civil wars in Europe and Asia and the belief that Communist conspirators and spies had infiltrated American society.
Joseph McCarthy
Wisconsin Senator who began sensational campaign in February, 1950 by asserting that the U.S. State Department had been infiltrated by Communists. Investigations halted and McCarthy looks foolish in 1953 after accusing the Army of covering up foreign espi
Korean War
Pacific war started on June 25, 1950 when North Korea, helped by Soviet equipment and Chinese training, attacked South Korea. The U.N. raised an international army led by the U.S. to stop the North. Ended in a stalemate after Chinese soldiers were sent to
Beat Movement
were a group of young poets, writers, and artists that wrote harsh critiques of what they considered the sterility and conformity of American life, the meaninglessness of American popular culture in the 1950's.
Federal Highway Act
was enacted by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1956. Approved $25 billion for the construction of 40,000 miles of interstate highways over a 10-year period, it was the largest public works project in American history to that point.
Sputnik
the Soviet Union launched the first earth orbiting satellite into outer space. Americans panicked, more science programs were emphasized and U.S. creates the National Aeronautic and Space Agency (NASA) to oversee the space race.
Massive Retaliation
The defense policy of the Eisenhower administration of the 1950's was to threaten "massive retaliation" with nuclear weapons in response to any act of aggression by a potential enemy.
Suez Crisis
international crisis launched when Egyptian President Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal, which had been owned mostly by French and British stockholders. This crisis failed without aid from the United States and marked an important turning point in the po
Domino Theory
The political theory that if one nation comes under Communist control then neighboring nations will also come under Communist control.
Military-Industrial Complex
Eisenhower first coined this phrase when he warned Americans against it in his last State of the Union Address. He feared that the combined lobbying efforts of the armed services and industries that contracted with the military would lead to excessive Con
Bay of Pigs
President Kennedy's attempt to overthrow Fidel Castro's newly established communist government in Cuba by training and sending Cuban rebels. The coup ended up in a disaster. The incident was an embarrassment for the U.S. and ultimately led to Castro plead
Cuban Missile Crisis
an international crisis in October 1962, the closest approach to nuclear war at any time between the U.S. and the USSR. When the U.S. discovered Soviet nuclear missiles on Cuba, President John F. Kennedy demanded their removal and announced a naval blocka
Feminine Mystique (1963)
best-selling book by feminist thinker Betty Friedan, this work challenged women to move beyond the drudgery of suburban housewifery and helped launch what would soon become second-wave feminism.
Mendez v. Westminster
A 1946 federal court case that challenged racial segregation in California schools. In its ruling, the U.S. Court of Appeals held that the segregation of Mexican and Mexican American students into separate "Mexican schools" was unconstitutional
Brown v. The Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas
1954 - The Supreme Court overruled Plessey v. Ferguson, declared that racially segregated facilities are inherently unequal and ordered all public schools desegregated. Thurgood Marshall, first African-American Supreme Court Justice, led the NAACP's legal
Rosa Parks, Montgomery Bus Boycott
December, 1955 - In Montgomery, Alabama, she refused to give up her bus seat for a White man as required by city ordinance. It started the Civil Rights Movement and an almost nation-wide bus boycott lasting 11 months.
Little Rock, Arkansas Crisis
1957 - Governor Faubus sent the Arkansas National Guard to prevent nine Black students from entering Little Rock Central High School. Eisenhower sent in U.S. paratroopers to ensure the students could attend class.
Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.
The leader of the Civil Rights Movement and President of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, a coalition of churches and Christians organizations who met to discuss civil rights. Wrote Letter from Birmingham Jail and gave the I Have a Dream spee
Malcolm X
One-time pimp and street hustler, converted to a Black Muslim while in prison. At first urged Blacks to seize their freedom by any means necessary, but later changed position and advocated racial harmony. He was assassinated in February, 1965.
Stokely Carmichael
In 1966, as chair of Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), he called to assert Black Power. Supporting the Black Panthers, he was against integration.
Black Panthers
Led by Bobby Seale and Huey Newton, they believed that racism was an inherent part of the U.S. capitalist society and were militant, self-styled revolutionaries for Black Power.
Civil Rights Act of 1964, Public Accommodations Section of the Act
This portion of the Act stated that public accommodations could not be segregated and that nobody could be denied access to public accommodation on the basis of race.
Voting Rights Act, 1965
Passed by Congress in 1965 following the Selma to Montgomery marches (Bloody Sunday), it allowed for supervisors to register Blacks to vote in places where they had not been allowed to vote before.
Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965
This act was signed by Johnson in 1965. It abolished the national origins system (1924). This new act stated that no more than 20,000 people from any one country could immigrate over to America in a year.
Students for a Democratic Society
Part of the counterculture movement. Originally created as a protest group against capitalism, also protested against the U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War.
Great Society
Platform for LBJ's campaign that included the War on Poverty-Johnson would use "extra money" to fight poverty. It started many small programs, Medicare, Head Start, and reorganized immigration. It was put on hold during the Vietnam War.
National Organization of Women
Inspired by Betty Freidan (Feminine Mystique), a reform organization that battled for equal rights with men by lobbying and testing laws in court. NOW wanted equal employment opportunities, equal pay, Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), divorce law changes, and
D�tente
A lessening of tensions between U.S. and Soviet Union. President Nixon visited and recognized the communist nation of China and agreed to the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT) with the Soviet Union.
Pentagon Papers
Papers were part of a top-secret government study on the Vietnam War and said that the U.S. government had lied to the citizens of the U.S. and the world about its intentions in Vietnam.
Watergate
June 17, 1972 - five men arrested for breaking into the Democratic National Committee's executive quarters in the Watergate Hotel. Committee for the Reelection of the President [Nixon] (CREEP) was involved. Two White House aides were indicted; they quit,
Rachel Carson, Silent Spring
A marine biologist Rachel Carson wrote in 1962 about her suspicion that the pesticide DDT, by entering the food chain caused reproductive dysfunctions. In 1973, DDT was banned in the U.S. Launches environmentalist movement.
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 and achieved better treatment.
OPEC Oil Embargo
Economic crisis of 1973 that occurred when OPEC nations refused to export oil to U.S. for its support of Israel. Ensuing economic crisis plagued Gerald Ford's time in office.
Pardon of Nixon
President Gerald Ford issues a pardon to disgraced President Richard Nixon citing that the nation was better off putting the "long, national nightmare" behind them.
Sunbelt
region of the United States that stretches across the Southeast and Southwest (the geographic southern United States). The belt has seen substantial population growth since the 1960s due to an influx of people seeking a warm and sunny climate, a surge in
Stagflation
a situation in which the inflation rate is high, the economic growth rate slows, and unemployment remains steadily high. It raises a dilemma for economic policy, since actions designed to lower inflation may exacerbate unemployment, and vice versa. Descri
Malaise Speech
In Jimmy Carter's famous "malaise" speech of 1979, he lamented that the country had not come together to solve its problems. Carter never actually used the word "malaise" - but he did use the phrase "crisis of confidence.
Three Mile Island
Nuclear meltdown that occurred on March 28, 1979, in reactor number 2 of Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station in Pennsylvania. It was the worst accident in U.S. commercial nuclear power plant history
Equal Rights Amendment
was a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution designed to guarantee equal rights for women. The ERA was originally written by Alice Paul and Crystal Eastman in 1923. In 1972, it passed both houses of Congress and was submitted to the state le
Roe v Wade
1973 Supreme Court decision that protects the right of women to have an abortion. Before this it was determined by each state.
Camp David Accords
The Camp David Accords were the peace accords signed by Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat to finally end the Israeli-Egyptian disputes. The achievement by Carter is considered his greatest achievement in office.
Iran Hostage Crisis
The 444 days in which American embassy workers were held captive by Iranian revolutionaries after young Muslim fundamentalists overthrew the oppressive regime of the American-backed shah, forcing him into exile. These revolutionaries triggered an energy c
American Indian Movement
(AIM) A Native American organization founded in 1968 to protest government policies and injustices suffered by Native Americans; in 1973, organized the armed occupation of Wounded Knee, South Dakota.
Gay Liberation Movement
police raid on the stonewall inn a gay bar in NY the movement aimed at liberating homosexuals from legal or social or economic oppression.
Immigration since 1970's
Largest immigration to the U.S. since the 1970's has come from Asia and Latin America.