Servicemen's Readjustment Act (GI Bill)
Signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on June 22, 1944, this act, also known as the GI Bill, provided veterans of the Second World War funds for college education, unemployment insurance, and housing
baby boom
A cohort of individuals born in the Unite States between 1946 and 1964, which was just after World War 2 in a time of relative peace and prosperity
suburban growth
Low interest rates on mortgages that were government-insured and tax deductible made the move from the city to the suburb affordable for almost any family. In a single generation the majority of middle-class Americans became suburbanites
Levittown
Four large suburban developments created in the U.S. featuring large numbers of similar houses that were built easily and quickly, allowing rapid recovery of costs
Sunbelt
VA to FL, extending to CA; saw a large population increase after WWII and rise of key industries
Employment Act of 1946
Enacted by Truman, it committed the federal government to ensuring economic growth and established the Council of Economic Advisers
inflation
A general and progressive increase in prices
Committee on Civil Rights
Truman bypassed the southern Democrats in key seats in Congress and established this committee to challenge racial discrimination in 1946
Executive Order 9981
Establishes equality of treatment and opportunity in the Armed Services for people of all race, religions, or national origins
22nd Amendment
Amendment that created a 2 term limit on presidents
Taft-Hartley Act
Act that provides balance of power between union and management by designating certain union activities as unfair labor practices; also known as Labor-Management Relations Act
Dixiecrats
southern Democrats who opposed Truman's position on civil rights. They caused a split in the Democratic party.
Strom Thurmond
Democratic governor of South Carolina who headed the State's Rights Party (Dixiecrat); he ran for president in 1948 against Truman and his mild civil rights proposals and eventually joined the Republican Party
Fair Deal
Truman's extension of the New Deal that increased min wage, expanded Social Security, and constructed low-income housing
Cold War
A conflict that was between the US and the Soviet Union. The nations never directly confronted each other on the battlefield but deadly threats went on for years
Soviet Union
A Communist nation, consisting of Russia and 14 other states, that existed from 1922 to 1991
Joseph Stalin
Communist dictator of the Soviet Union
Security Council
Five permanent members( US, UK, France, China, USSR) with veto power in the UN. Promised to carry out UN decisions with their own forces
World Bank
a United Nations agency created to assist developing nations by loans guaranteed by member governments
satellite states
Eastern European states under the control of the Soviet Union during the Cold War
Iron Curtain
A political barrier that isolated the peoples of Eastern Europe after WWII, restricting their ability to travel outside the region
Winston Churchill
A noted British statesman who led Britain throughout most of World War II and along with Roosevelt planned many allied campaigns
George Kennan
He was an American diplomat and ambassador best known as "the father of containment" and as a key figure in the emergence of the Cold War
containment
American policy of resisting further expansion of communism around the world
Truman Doctrine
1947, President Truman's policy of providing economic and military aid to any country threatened by communism or totalitarian ideology, mainly helped Greece and Turkey
Marshall Plan
A United States program of economic aid for the reconstruction of Europe (1948-1952)
Berlin airlift
Airlift in 1948 that supplied food and fuel to citizens of west Berlin when the Russians closed off land access to Berlin
East Germany
German Democratic Republic
West Germany
Federal Republic of Germany
North Atlantic Treaty Organization
An international organization that has joined together for military purposes
National Security Act
Created the Central intelligence Agency
Arms race
Cold war competition between the U.S. and Soviet Union to build up their respective armed forces and weapons
space race
A competition of space exploration between the United States and Soviet Union
Chinese civil war
War between communist Mao Zse Tong and nationalist Chaing-Kai Shek. The communists took over and forced the nationalists to retreat to Taiwan
Mao Zedong
(1893-1976) Leader of the Communist Party in China that overthrew Jiang Jieshi and the Nationalists. Established China as the People's Republic of China and ruled from 1949 until 1976
Korean War
Conflict that began with North Korea's invasion of South Korea and came to involve the United Nations allying with South Korea and the People's Republic of China allying with North Korea
38th parallel
Dividing line between North and South Korea
Loyalty Review Board
(1947) federal board set up by President Truman that checked up on government workers, and dismissed those found to be communist
McCarran Internal Security Act
1950 - Required Communists to register and prohibited them from working for the government. Truman described it as a long step toward totalitarianism. Was a response to the onset of the Korean war
House Un-American Activities Committee
A congressional committee created to search out disloyal Americans & Communists
Alger Hiss
A former State Department official who was accused of being a Communist spy and was convicted of perjury. The case was prosecuted by Richard Nixon
the Rosenbergs
Liberal Jews who were prosecuted in the 1950's over accused spying for the Soviets. Were convicted and senteced to death, and killed in 1953
Joseph McCarthy
US senator; claimed that their were Soviet spies and Communists within the government but had no evidence; discredited by the US senate
McCarthyism
The term associated with Senator Joseph McCarthy who led the search for communists in America during the early 1950s through his leadership in the House Un-American Activities Committee
election of 1952
A race between Dwight D. Eisenhower for the republicans and Adlai Stevenson for the democrats. Eisenhower won in a landslide
election of 1956
Saw a popular Dwight D. Eisenhower successfully run for re-election. This election was a rematch of 1952, as Eisenhower's opponent was Democrat Adlai Stevenson II, whom Eisenhower had defeated four years earlier
Adlai Stevenson
The Democratic candidate who ran against Eisenhower in 1952. His intellectual speeches earned him and his supporters the term "eggheads". Lost to Eisenhower
Richard Nixon
1969-1964; Republican; Ended Vietnam War; Recognized China/ Watergate scandal; First president to resign
modern Republicanism
Eisenhower's government plan: "conservative when it comes to economics, more Liberal when it comes to social programs
Department of Health
Department that administers federal programs dealing with public health, welfare, and income security
Education and Welfare
State government as provider
Interstate Highway Act/System
1956 Eisenhower 20 yr plan to build 41,000 mi of highway, largest public works project in history
brinkmanship
A policy of threatening to go to war in response to any enemy aggression
massive retaliation
Eisenhower's policy; it advocated the full use of American nuclear weapons to counteract even a Soviet ground attack in Europe
CIA covert action
during time when Iranian oil industry was under governments contorol
Ho Chi Minh
Communist leader of North Vietnam
Geneva Conference
A conference between many countries that agreed to end hostilities and restore peace in French Indochina and Vietnam
domino theory
A theory that if one nation comes under Communist control, then neighboring nations will also come under Communist control
Southeast Asia Treaty Organization
an international organization for collective defense to block further communist gains is Southeast Asia - 1954
State of Israel
Jews wanted to be given Palestine as their holy land and to be protected from persecution
Suez Canal crisis
International waterway through the Isthmus of Suez
Arab nationalism
After being decolonization many Arab nations came together to establish Pan-Arabism and a sense of nationalism and culture apart from European and American influence
Eisenhower Doctrine
Policy of the US that it would defend the Middle East against attack by any Communist country
Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries
an international economic organization whose member countries all produce and export oil
Nikita Khruschev
Succeeded Stalin as the head of the Soviet Communist Party and became the Soviet premier
peaceful coexistence
The thaw in cold war tensions between the superpowers
Warsaw Pact
An alliance between the Soviet Union and other Eastern European nations. This was in response to the NATO
Sputnik
The world's first space satellite. This meant the Soviet Union had a missile powerful enough to reach the US
NASA
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
National Defense Education Act
Provided funds for education and training in science, math ,and foreign languages
U-2 incident
A 1960 incident in which the Soviet military used a guided missile to shoot down an American U-2 spy plane over Soviet territory
Cuba and Fidel Castro
castro worked with che to overthrow baptista and the military junta, US din't want to help but russia was
military-industrial complex
Eisenhower warned of a drastic military buildup in his farewell address
Jackie Robinson
The first African American player in the major league of baseball. His actions helped to bring about other opportunities for African Americans
Thurgood Marshall
1st black supreme court justice
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
Southern Manifesto
1956, Opposition of Southern congressmen to Brown v. Board of Education decision
Rosa Parks
Refused to give up her seat to a white passenger. After she was jailed, the Montgomery bus boycott was organized
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.
Civil Rights Leader. Born in Atlanta. Developed a non-violent approach to social change after studying others like Gandhi. Founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Gave the "I have a Dream Speech" at the March of Washington
Civil Rights Act of 1957
A federal law that authorized federal action against segregation in public accommodations, public facilities, and employment
Civil Rights Act of 1960
A federal law that authorized federal action against segregation in public accommodations, public facilities, and employment
Civil Rights Commission
Set up by the Civil Rights Act and was made to investigate violations of civil rights and authorized federal injunctions to protect voting rights
Southern Christian Leadership Conference
1957 group founded by Martin Luther King Jr. to fight against segregation using nonviolent means
nonviolent protest
a peaceful way of protesting against restrictive racial policies
sit-ins
to protest at lunch counters that served only whites, African Americans students began staging this
Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee
students whose purpose was coordinate a nonviolent attack on segregation and other forms of racism
popular culture
Culture found in a large, heterogeneous society that shares certain habits despite differences in other personal characteristics
rock and roll
music that grew out of rhythm and blues and that became popular in the 1950s
The Catcher in the Rye
J.D. Salinger
beatniks
A United States youth subculture of the 1950s that rebelled against the mundane horrors of middle class life
television
Made mass media availably for people all over the United States, Europe, and other parts of the world
election of 1960
Richard Nixon, Eisenhower's former vice president, was nominated by the Republican
John F. Kennedy
US President during Vietnam who was later assassinated
New Frontier
Kennedy's plan, supports civil rights, pushes for a space program, wans to cut taxes, and increase spending for defense and military
Warren Commission
committee that investigated the assassination of President Kennedy
Peace Corps
Federal program established to send volunteers to help developing nations
Alliance for Progress
a program in which the United States tried to help Latin American countries overcome poverty and other problems
Bay of Pigs
An unsuccessful invasion of Cuba in 1961, which was sponsored by the United States. Its purpose was to overthrow Cuban dictator Fidel Castro
Berlin Wall
A wall separating East and West Berlin built by East Germany in 1961 to keep citizens from escaping to the West
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
Nuclear Test Ban Treaty
A treaty signed by the Soviet Union and the United States, and roughly 100 other countries, that ended the testing of nuclear weapons in the atmosphere
Lyndon Johnson
President who escalated Vietnam War, signed the civil rights act of 1964 into law and the voting rights act of 1965. War on Poverty, medicare and Medicaid
Great Society
1964, LBJ's policies of fighting poverty and racial injustice
War on Poverty
President Lyndon B. Johnson's program in the 1960's to provide greater social services for the poor and elderly
Election of 1964
LBJ beats Senator Goldwater who voted against the civil rights act and was a conservative republican
Barry Goldwater
An American senator for Arizona who ran against Johnson for president. His extreme conservatism scared many into voting for Johnson
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
Elementary and Secondary Education Act
1965 - Provided federal funding for primary and secondary education and was meant to improve the education of poor people. This was the first federal program to fund education
Immigration Act of 1965
This act abolished the National Origins system; increased annual admission to 170,000 and put a population cap of 20,000 on immigrants from any single nation.
Housing and Urban Development
Johnson's War on Poverty
Rachel Carson's Silent Spring
an environmental science book
Civil Rights Act of 1964
A federal law that authorized federal action against segregation in public accommodations, public facilities, and employment
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
The equal right of all citizens to the opportunity to obtain employment regardless of their gender, age, race, country of origin, religion, or disabilities
24th Amendment
Amendment to the U.S. Constitution (1964) eliminated the poll tax as a prerequisite to vote in national elections
Voting Rights Act of 1965
A law designed to help end formal and informal barriers to African American suffrage. Under the law, hundreds of thousands of African Americans were registered and the number of African American elected officials increased dramatically
James Meredith
United States civil rights leader whose college registration caused riots in traditionally segregated Mississippi
March on Washington (1963)
250,000 people for a peaceful demonstration to promote Civil Rights and economic equality for African Americans. I have a dream speech was given here by Martin Luther King jr.
I Have a Dream" speech
A speech given by Martin Luther King, Jr. at the demonstration of freedom in 1963 at the Lincoln Memorial. It was an event related to the civil rights movement of the 1960's to unify citizens in accepting diversity and eliminating discrimination against A
Malcolm X
Black Muslim who argued for separation, not integration. He changed his views, but was assassinated in 1965
Congress of Racial Equality
CORE was a civil rights organization. They were famous for freedom rides which drew attention to Southern barbarity, leading to the passing of civil rights legislation
Stokely Carmichael
head of the SNCC making a separatist philosophy of black power as the official objective of the organization
Black Panthers
a militant Black political party founded in 1965 to end political dominance by Whites
Watts riots
1964 riots which started in an African-American ghetto of Los Angeles and left 30 dead and 1,000 wounded. Riots lasted a week, and spurred hundreds more around the country
de facto segregation
Segregation resulting from economic or social conditions or personal choice
de jure segregation
segregation by law
Kerner Commission
created in July, 1967 by President Lyndon B. Johnson to investigate the causes of the 1967 race riots in the United States
Warren Court
the chief justice that overturned Plessy v. Ferguson in Brown v. Board of Education (1954); he was the first justice to help the civil rights movement, judicial activism
Mapp v. Ohio
1961 case incorporating 4th Amendment (and exclusionary rule) into 14th Amendment DPC, binding on states
Gideon v. Wainwright
A landmark case in United States Supreme Court history. In the case, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that state courts are required under the Sixth Amendment of the Constitution to provide counsel in criminal cases for defendants unable to afford thei
Miranda v. Arizona
Supreme Court held that criminal suspects must be informed of their right to consult with an attorney and of their right against self-incrimination prior to questioning by police
Baker v. Carr
case that est. one man one vote. this decision created guidelines for drawing up congresional districts and guaranteed a more equitable system of representation to the citizens of each state
reapportionment
Process by which representative districts are switched according to population shifts, so that each district encompasses approximately the same number of people
Engel v. Vitale
banned formal prayer in schools, no "official" religion
Griswold v. Connecticut
Established that there is an implied right to privacy in the U.S. Constitution
Students for a Democratic Society
A group organized to protest U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War
New Left
new political movement of the late 1960s that called for radical changes to fight poverty and racism
counterculture
A culture with lifestyles and values opposed to those of the established culture
Woodstock
A free music festival that attracted more than 400,000 young people to a farm in upstate New York in August 1969
sexual revolution
one aspect of counterculture that continued beyond the 1960s was a change in many Americans' attitudes toward sexual expressions
women's movement
1960s to present. argued that the traditional family form is oppressive for women and children
Betty Friedan's Feminine Mystique
encouraged the middle class women to seek fulfillment in professional careers
National Organization for Women
a group that organized to promote the interests of women
Equal Pay Act
1963 law that required both men and women to receive equal pay for equal work
Equal Rights Amendment
constitutional amendment passed by Congress but never ratified that would have banned discrimination on the basis of gender
Tonkin Gulf Resolution
president can take all necessary measures to rebel armed attacks against US and prevent further aggression
credibility gap
A public distrust of statements made by the government
Tet Offensive
A series of major attacks by communist forces in the Vietnam War. Early in 1968, Vietnamese communist troops seized and briefly held some major cities at the time of the lunar new year, or Tet
hawks and doves
Hawks are people who supported the war's goal. and Doves were people who opposed the war.
Election of 1968
1968; McCarthy challenged LBJ, who was politically wounded by the Tet Offensive and the Vietnam War; LBJ stepped down from the running, Humphrey v Nixon; but Americans turned to Republican Nixon to restore social harmony and end the war
assassination of Robert Kennedy
Was killed the night he won the Cali and South Dakota presidential elections
Chicago convention
1968 Democratic National Convention, turned violent when leaders overreacted and set police on protesters
Henry Kissinger
The main negotiator of the peace treaty with the North Vietnamese; secretary of state during Nixon's presidency (1970s)
Vietnamization
President Richard Nixons strategy for ending U.S involvement in the vietnam war, involving a gradual withdrawl of American troops and replacement of them with South Vietnamese forces
Nixon Doctrine
During the Vietnam War, the Nixon Doctrine was created. It stated that the United States would honor its existing defense commitments, but in the future other countries would have to fight their own wars without support of American troops
Kent State shootings
Incident in which National Guard troops fired at a group of students during an antiwar protest at Kent State University in Ohio, killing four people
My Lai Massacre
1968, in which American troops had brutally massacred innocent women and children in the village of My Lai, also led to more opposition to the war
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)
1973 peace agreement between the United States, South Vietnam, North Vietnam, and the Vietcong that effectively ended the Vietnam War
d�tente
A policy of reducing Cold War tensions that was adopted by the United States during the presidency of Richard Nixon
Strategic Arms Limitation Talks
series of meetings in the 70s, in which leaders of the US and the Soviet Union agreed to limit their nations' stocks of nuclear weapons
Middle East War (1973)
The US helped Israel vs Egyptians and Syrians
OPEC oil embargo
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries that placed an embargo on oil sold to Israel's supporters. Caused worldwide oil shortage and long lines at gas stations in the US
New Federalism
system in which the national government restores greater authority back to the states
stagflation
A period of falling output and rising prices
Title IX
No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance
Roe v. Wade
(1973) legalized abortion on the basis of a woman's right to privacy
Watergate scandal
Scandal that resulted from a failed attempt by supporters of President Nixon to bug phones at Democratic headquarters and the president's involvement in the subsequent cover-up
US v. Nixon
President Nixon claimed executive privilege when he withheld certain incriminating tapes from the Court involving the Watergate scandal. Result: The executive branch is not immune from the Court. The executive privilege is limited. Article II was in quest
War Powers Act
Act that grants emergency executive powers to president to run war effort
Nixon's resignation
August 8, 1974 resigned in a dramatic television appearence. This is because he, "made some judgements that were wrong.
Gerald Ford
1974-1977, Republican, first non elected president and VP, he pardoned Nixon
fall of Saigon
Marked the end of the Vietnam War in April, 1975 when North Vietnamese invaded South Vietnam, forcing all Americans left to flee in disarray as the capitol was taken
Cambodian genocide
Pol Pot eliminated educated, artists, religious, and minorities
Bicentennial
200th anniversary
Election of 1976
Ford vs Carter, Carter wins. Importaint because he was the first president from the south for a while and people thought he would bring fresh ideas
Jimmy Carter
President who stressed human rights. Because of the Soviet war in Afghanistan, he enacted an embargo on grain shipments to USSR and boycotted the 1980 Olympics in Moscow
Panama Canal Treaty
1978 - Passed by President Carter, these called for the gradual return of the Panama Canal to the people and government of Panama
Camp David Accords (1978)
Peace treaty between Egypt and Israel; hosted by US President Jimmy Carter; caused Egypt to be expelled from the Arab league; created a power vacuum that Saddam hoped to fill; first treaty of its kind between Israel and an Arab state
Iranian hostage crisis
1979 kidnapping of American Embassy hostages in Iran. It lasted for more than a year.
Soviet invasion of Afghanistan
A nine-year conflict involving Soviet forces supporting the Marxist People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan government against the Mujahideen resistance
malaise speech
Jimmy Carter's speech in which he complained that the people were letting themselves be overtaken by a "crisis of confidence
cultural pluralism
A condition in which many cultures coexist within a society and maintain their cultural differences
Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986
Act that prohibits discrimination against job applicants on the basis of national origin or citizenship; establishes penalties for hiring illegal aliens and requires employers to establish each employee's identity and eligibility to work
Cesar Chavez
Farm worker, labor leader, and civil-rights activist who helped form the National Farm Workers Association, later the United Farm Workers. He helped to improve conditions for migrant farm workers and unionize them
American Indian Movement
a civil rights group organized to promote the interests of Native Americans
Indian Self-Determination Act
One of the laws that gave tribes greater control over their own affairs and over their children's education
gay liberation movement
the movement aimed at liberating homosexuals from legal or social or economic oppression
Earth Day (1970)
Most attended Earth Day in history with 20 million people attending
Exxon Valdez incident
Captain crashed boat in Alaska. This created the Oil Act of 1990
Three Mile Island
A mechanical failure and a human error at this power plant in Pennsylvania combined to permit an escape of radiation over a 16 mile radius
Chernobyl
nuclear power plant in Russia that had an explosion in 1986 & released radioactive materials into the air
Clean Air Act
Set emission standards for cars, and limits for release of air pollutants
Environmental Protection Agency
an independent federal agency established to coordinate programs aimed at reducing pollution and protecting the environment
Clean Water Act
set maximum permissible amounts of water pollutants that can be discharged into waterways
Endangered Species Act
(1973) identifies threatened and endangered species in the U.S., and puts their protection ahead of economic considerations
Environmental Superfund
Created to clean up toxic dumps such as Love Canal in Niagara Falls, NY