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Period 8 (1945-1980) AP US History Flashcards

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13935944845postwar peace settlementsYalta conference, Paris Peace Treaties, Bretton Woods Conference, establishment of the United Nations, World Bank, IMF, etc. Established the United States as the most powerful nation on earth.0
13935944846Yalta Conference (1945)Meeting of Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin where the Big Three leaders laid the foundations for the postwar division of power in Europe, including a divided Germany and territorial concessions to the Soviet Union.1
13935944847Bretton Woods Conference (1944)meeting of Western allies to establish a postwar international economic order to avoid crises like the one that spawned World War II; led to the creation of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, designed to regulate currency levels and provide aid to underdeveloped countries2
13935944848Berlin airlift(1948-1949) year-long mission of flying food and supplies to blockaded West Berliners, whom the Soviet Union cut off from access to the West in the first major crisis of the Cold War3
13935944849Cold War (1946-1991)Diplomatic tension between the United States and the Soviet Union that divided much of the world into polarized camps, capitalist against communist; Resulted in proxy wars and conflict in Korea, Cuba, Vietnam, and elsewhere.4
13935944850Soviet UnionA communist state, consisting of Russia and 14 other states, that existed from 1922 to 1991.5
13935944851containment doctrineAmerica's strategy against the Soviet Union based on the ideas of George Kennan; declared that the Soviet Union and communism were inherently expansionist and had to be stopped from spreading through both military and political pressure; guided American foreign policy throughout most of the Cold War6
13935944852Iron CurtainA political barrier that isolated the peoples of Eastern Europe after WWII, restricting their ability to travel outside the region7
13935944853Truman Doctrine (1947)President Truman's universal pledge of support for any people fighting any communist or communist-inspired threat; Initially formulated to defend Greece and Turkey against Soviet-backed insurgencies8
13935944854domino theoryA theory that if one nation comes under Communist control, then neighboring nations will also come under Communist control. Drove US actions in Vietnam during the Cold War.9
13935944855Marshall Plan (1948)massive transfer of aid money to help rebuild postwar Western Europe intended to bolster capitalist and democratic governments and prevent domestic communist groups from riding poverty and misery into power; the plan was first announced by Secretary of State George Marshall10
13935944856collective securityA system in which a group of nations acts as one to preserve the peace of all. US foreign policy in the Cold War. E.g. Rio Pact, NATO.11
13935944857North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)military alliance of Western European powers and the United States and Canada established in 1949 to defend against the common threat from the Soviet Union, marking a giant stride forward for European unity and American internationalism12
13935944858Richard NixonStaunch anticommunist, Vice President under Eisenhower, 37th President of the United States (Republican). Resigned from the presidency because of the Watergate scandal.13
13935944859McCarthyismthe dangerous forces of unfairness and fear brought by anticommunist paranoia during the second Red Scare of the 1950s14
13935944860Executive Order 9981 (1948)issued by President Truman to desegregate the armed forces; the president's action resulted from a combination of pressure from civil rights advocates, election-year political calculations, and the new geopolitical context of the Cold War15
13935944861Alger Hiss and the RosenbergsSoviets spies work in US government. Fueled the Red Scare of the 1950s16
13935944862Army-McCarthy hearings (1954)Congressional hearings called by Senator Joseph McCarthy to accuse members of the army of communist ties; in this widely televised spectacle, McCarthy finally went too far for public approval; the hearings exposed the senator's extremism and led to his eventual disgrace17
13935944863Korean War (1950-1953)first "hot war" of the Cold War, when the Soviet-backed North Koreans invaded South Korea and the U.N. forces, dominated by the United States, launched a counteroffensive; the war ended in a stalemate in 195318
13935944864House Un-American Activities Committeeinvestigatory body established in 1938 to root out "subversion"; sought to expose communist influence in American government and society, in particular through the trial of Alger Hiss19
13935944865Taft-Hartley Act (1947)Republican-promoted, anti-union legislation passed over President Truman's veto that weakened many of labor's New Deal gains by banning the closed shop and other strategies that helped unions organize; it also required union leaders to take a noncommunist oath, which purged the union movement of many of its most committed and active organizers20
13935944866GI Billknown officially as the Servicemen's Readjustment Act, this law helped returning WW2 soldiers reintegrate into civilian live by securing loans to buy homes and farms and set up small businesses; it also made tuition and stipends available for them to attend college, as well as job training programs; the act was intended to cushion the blow of 15 million returning servicemen on the employment market and to nurture the postwar economy21
13935944867Sun Beltthe fifteen-state crescent through the American South and Southwest that experienced terrific population and productivity expansion during World War II and particularly in the decades after the war, eclipsing the old industrial Northeast ("the Frostbelt")22
13935944868suburbanizationThe process of population movement from within towns and cities to the rural-urban fringe. Federal housing programs provided access to these communities, while the building of highways allowed people to move outside urban areas.23
13935944869Levittownsuburban communities with mass-produced tract houses built in the New York and Philadelphia metropolitan areas in the 1950s by William Levitt and Sons' typically inhabited by white middle-class people who fled the cities in search of homes for their growing families24
13935944870Baby BoomDemographic explosion from births to returning soldiers and others who had put off starting families during the war. This large generation of new Americans forced the expansion of many institutions such as schools and universities.25
13935944871The Feminine MystiqueBest-selling book by feminist thinker Betty Friedan. This work challenged women to move beyond the drudgery of suburban housewife life and helped launch what would become second-wave feminism.26
13935944872rock 'n' roll"Crossover" musical style that rose to dominance in the 1950s, merging black rhythm and blues with white bluegrass and country. Featuring a heavy beat and driving rhythm, rock 'n' roll music became a defining feature of the 1950s youth culture.27
13935944873integrationActions and policies to reverse segregation and allow race mixing in public life. Especially important turning points included baseball (1947), armed forces (1948), schools (1954).28
13935944874Brown v. Board of Education (1954)Landmark Supreme Court decision that overturned Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) and abolished racial segregation in public schools. The Court reasoned that "separate" was inherently "unequal," rejecting the foundation of the Jim Crow system of racial segregation in the South. This decision was the first major step toward the legal end of racial discrimination and a major accomplishment for the Civil Rights Movement.29
13935944875Rosa ParksSecretary of NAACP; Her act of civil disobedience spurred the Montgomery Bus Boycott30
13935944876Martin Luther KingU.S. Baptist minister and civil rights leader. A noted orator, he opposed discrimination against blacks by organizing nonviolent resistance and peaceful mass demonstrations. First came to prominence during the Montgomery Bus Boycott. He was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee. Nobel Peace Prize (1964)31
13935944877Montgomery bus boycott (1955)Protest, sparked by Rosa Parks's defiant refusal to move to the back of the bus, by black Alabamians against segregated seating on city buses. lasted from December 1, 1955, until December 26, 1956, and became one of the foundational moments of the Civil Rights Movements. It led to the rise of Martin Luther King, Jr., and ultimately to a Supreme Court decision opposing segregated busing.32
13935944878Little Rock Crisis (1957)Whites in Arkansas refuse to allow integration of schools; Eisenhower sends national guard to enforce33
13935944879Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC)1957 group founded by Martin Luther King Jr. to fight against segregation using nonviolent means34
13935944880Greensboro sit-in (1960)Nonviolent protest of students in North Carolina; Commonly cited as the beginning of the Civil Rights movement35
13935944881Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC)Youth organization founded by southern black students in 1960 to promote civil rights. Drawing on its members' youthful energies, SNCC in its early years coordinated demonstrations, sit-ins, and voter registration drives.36
13935944882Federal Highway Act of 1956Federal legislation signed by Dwight D. Eisenhower to construct thousands of miles of modern roads for national defense. Officially called the National Interstate and Defense Highways Act, this bill dramatically increased the move to the suburbs, as white middle-class people could more easily commute to urban jobs.37
13935944883nationalist movement in VietnamUnder the leadership of the Viet Minh and Ho Chi Minh; First fought for independence from French rule; A communist faction within the movement attracted US attention.38
13935944884Battle of Dien Bien PhuMilitary engagement in French colonial Vietnam in which French forces were defeated by Viet Minh nationalists loyal to Ho Chi Minh. With this loss, the French ended their colonial involvement in Indochina, paving the way for America's entry.39
13935944885SputnikSoviet satellite first launched into Earth orbit on October 4, 1957. This scientific achievement marked the first time human beings had put a man-made object into orbit and pushed the USSR noticeably ahead of the United States in the Space Race. A month later, the Soviet Union sent a larger satellite, Sputnik II, into space, prompting the United States to redouble its space exploration efforts and raising American fears of Soviet superiority.40
13935944886military-industrial complexEisenhower first coined this phrase when he warned American 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 Congressional spending.41
13935944887abstract expressionismAn experimental style of mid-twentieth century modern art exemplified by Jackson Pollock's spontaneous "action paintings," created by flinging paint on canvases stretched across the studio floor.42
13935944888Jackson PollockA twentieth-century American painter, famous for creating abstract paintings by dripping or pouring paint on a canvas in complex swirls and spatters.43
13935944889Beat GenerationA small coterie of mid-twentieth-century bohemian writers and personalities, including Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, and William S. Burroughs, who bemoaned bourgois conformity and advocated free-form experimentation in life and literature.44
13935944890homogeneous mass cultureRepresented by conformity and standardized acceptable behavior on a mass scale. Became increasingly homogeneous in the postwar years (See suburbs, Levittown, commercial culture) inspiring challenges to conformity by artists, intellectuals, and rebellious youth.45
13935944891John F. KennedyPresident of the US during the Bay of Pigs Invasion and the Cuban Missile Crisis (Democrat). Called for a "New Frontier", established Peace Corps and space program.46
13935944892New FrontierThe campaign program advocated by JFK in the 1960 election. He promised to revitalize the country by depicting America's potential for greatness.47
13935944893Peace CorpsYoung volunteers who help third world nations and prevent the spread of communism48
13935944894Berlin Wallseparating East and West Berlin built by East Germany in 1961 to keep citizens from escaping to the West. Its opening and destruction in 1989 presaged the fall of the USSR and the end of the Cold War49
13935944895Apollo (1961)Program of manned space flights run by America's National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The project's highest achievement was the landing of Apollo 11 on the moon on July 20, 1969.50
13935944896Bay of Pigs invasion (1961)CIA plot to overthrow Fidel Castro by training Cuban exiles to invade and supporting them with American air power. The mission failed and became a public relations disaster early in John F. Kennedy's presidency.51
13935944897Cuban Missile Crisis (1962)standoff between JFK and Khrushchev in October 1962 over Soviet plans to install nuclear weapons in Cuba. Although the crisis was ultimately settled in American's favor and represented a foreign policy triumph for Kennedy, it brought the world's superowers perilously close to brink of nuclear confrontation52
13935944898Freedom Riders (1961)organized mixed-race groups who rode interstate buses deep into the South to draw attention to and protest racial segregation, beginning in 1961. This effort by northern young people to challenge racism proved a political and public relations success for the Civil Rights Movement53
13935944899Voter Education Project (1962)Effort by SNCC and other civil rights groups to register the South's historically disenfranchised black population. The project typified a common strategy of the civil rights movement, which sought to counter racial discrimination by empowering people at grassroots levels to exercise their civic rights through voting.54
13935944900March on Washington (1963)massive civil rights demonstration in support of Kennedy-backed legislation to secure legal protections for American blacks. One of the most visually impressive manifestations of the Civil Rights Movement, it was the occasion of Martin Luther King's famous "I Have a Dream" speech55
13935944901Vietnam War (1955-1975)A prolonged Cold War conflict that began with a nationalist movement; US aided the South (non-communist); led to sizable, passionate, and sometimes violent domestic protests, especially as the war went on.56
13935944902Tonkin Gulf Resolution (1964)Congress gave the president broad powers to wage undeclared war in Vietnam; Led to debates about appropriate power of the executive branch in conducting foreign and military policy.57
13935944903Tet Offensive (1968)One of the largest military campaigns of the Vietnam War; launched by forces of the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army against the forces of South Vietnam, the United States, and their allies. It failed militarily, but had an enormous psychological impact on the US, showing that the war was far from over, and proving that the government was lying about the war.58
13935944904Vietnamization (1969)Military strategy launched by Richard Nixon. The plan reduced the number of American combat troops and left more of the fighting to the South Vietnamese, who were supplied with American armor, tanks, and weaponry.59
13935944905Nixon DoctrinePresident's plan for "peace with honor" in Vietnam. It stated that the United States would honor its existing defense commitments but, in the future, countries would have to fight their own wars.60
13935944906détenteFrom the French for "reduced tension," the period of Cold War thawing when the United States and the Soviet Union negotiated reduced armament treaties under Presidents Nixon, Ford, and Carter. It marked a departure from the policies of proportional response, mutually assured destruction, and containment that had defined the earlier years of the Cold War.61
13935944907mutual coexistenceA.K.A. détente62
13935944908My Lai (1968)Vietnamese village that was the scene of a military assault in which American soldiers under the command of 2nd Lieutenant William Calley murdered hundreds of unarmed Vietnamese civilians, mostly women and children. The atrocity produced outrage and reduced support for the war in America and around the world when details of the massacre and an attempted cover-up were revealed in November 1969.63
13935944909Kent State UniversityScene of massacre of four college students by National Guardsmen on May 4, 1970, in Ohio. In response to Nixon's announcement that he had expanded the Vietnam War into Cambodia, college campuses across the country exploded in violence. On May 14 and 15, students at historically black Jackson State College in Mississippi were protesting the war as well as the Kent State shooting when highway patrolmen fired into a student dormitory, killing two students.64
13935944910Pentagon Papers (1971)Secret U.S. government report detailing early planning and policy decisions regarding the Vietnam War under Presidents Kennedy and Johnson. Leaked to the New York Times, it revealed instances of governmental secrecy, lies, and incompetence in the prosecution of the war.65
13935944911Arab Oil Embargo (1973)Imposed by OPEC and Arab nations after the U.S. backed Israel in its war against Syria and Egypt.66
13935944912oil crisis (1973)Caused by OPEC embargo due to US support for Israel in Yom Kippur War67
13935944913War Powers Act (1973)Law passed by Congress limiting the president's ability to wage war without congressional approval. The act required the president to notify Congress within forty-eight hours of committing troops to a foreign conflict. An important consequence of the Vietnam War, this piece of legislation sought to reduce the president's unilateral authority in military matters.68
13935944914Southern Manifesto (1956)Formally "Declaration of Constitutional Principles;" Explained "massive resistance" to desegregation imposed by court in Brown v. Board of Education69
13935944915Freedom Summer (1964)A voter registration drive in Mississippi spearheaded by a coalition of civil rights groups. The campaign drew the activism of thousands of black and white civil rights workers, many of whom were students from the North, and was marred by the abduction and murder of three such workers at the hands of white racists.70
13935944916Civil Rights Act of 1964Federal law that banned racial discrimination in public facilities and strengthened the federal government's power to fight segregation in schools. Title VII of the act prohibited employers from discriminating based on race in their hiring practices, and empowered the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to regulate fair employment.71
13935944917Selma march (1965)Nonviolent protest organized by King and SCLC to promote federal action on voting rights; Led to the voting rights act 196572
13935944918Voting Rights Act of 1965Legislation pushed through Congress by President Johnson that prohibited ballot-denying tactics, such as literacy tests and intimidation.73
13935944919Black Power movementAfrican American movement that focused on gaining control of economic and political power to achieve equal rights by force in necessary. E.g. Stokely Carmichael, Black Panther Party, Malcolm X74
13935944920Black Panther party (1966)Organization of armed black militants formed in Oakland, California, to protect black rights. They represented a growing dissatisfaction with the nonviolent wing of the civil rights movement and signaled a new direction to that movement after the legislative victories of 1964 and 1965.75
13935944921Malcolm XBlack militant, radical minister, and spokesman for the Nation of Islam until 1964. He preached a doctrine of no compromise with white society. He was assassinated in New York City in 1965.76
13935944922counterculture of the 1960sRejected many of the social, economic, and political values of their parents' generation, introduced greater informality into U.S. culture, and advocated changes in sexual norms. Included hippies. Played a major role in antiwar movement.77
13935944923Stonewall Rebellion (1969)Uprising in support of equal rights for gay people sparked by an assault by offduty police officers at a gay bar in New York. The rebellion led to a rise in activism and militancy within the gay community and furthered the sexual revolution of the late 1960s78
13935944924Environmental Protection Agency (1970)A governmental organization signed into law by Richard Nixon in 1970 designed to regulate pollution, emissions, and other factors that negatively influence the natural environment; Marked a newfound commitment by the federal government to actively combat environmental risks and was a significant triumph for the environmentalist movement.79
13935944925Rachel CarsonAmerican conservationist whose 1962 book Silent Spring galvanized the modern environmental movement that gained significant traction in the 1970s.80
13935944926Lyndon B. Johnson36th US President. 1963-1969. Democrat. Oversaw an expansion of federal government to attempt to end racial discrimination and eliminate poverty; Given broad power to intervene in Vietnam after the Tonkin Gulf incident.81
13935944927Great SocietyPresident Lyndon Johnson's term for his domestic policy agenda. It aimed to extend the postwar prosperity to all people in American society by promoting civil rights and fighting poverty. Its programs included massive actions against poverty and the creation of Medicare and Medicaid.82
13935944928affirmative actionProgram designed to redress historic racial and gender imbalances in jobs and education. The term grew from an executive order issued by Lyndon B. Johnson in 1965 mandating that projects paid for with federal funds take concerted action against discrimination based on race in their hiring practices.83
13935944929Medicare and MedicaidGreat Society programs wherein the federal and state governments provide healthcare to the elderly and poor.84
13935944930Warren Courtthe Supreme Court during the period when Earl Warren was chief justice, noted for its activism in the areas of civil rights and free speech85
13935944931Miranda warningA statement of an arrested person's constitutional rights, which police officers must read during an arrest. The warning came out of the Supreme Court's decision in Miranda v. Arizona in 1966 that accused people have the right to remain silent, consult an attorney, and enjoy other protections. The Court declared that law enforcement officers must make sure suspects understand their constitutional rights, thus creating a safeguard against forced confessions and self-implication.86
13935944932Barry GoldwaterConservative who challenged liberal laws and court decisions and perceived moral and cultural decline, seeking to limit the role of the federal government and enact more assertive foreign policies.87
13935944933Students for a Democratic Society (1961)A campus-based political organization that became an iconic representation of the New Left. Originally geared toward the intellectual promise of "participatory democracy," it emerged at the forefront of the civil rights, antipoverty, and antiwar movements during the 1960s; Argued that political leaders did too little to transform the racial and economic status quo at home and pursued immoral policies abroad.88
13935944934Port Huron Statement (1962)A manifesto by Students for a Democratic Society that criticized institutions ranging from political parties to corporations, unions, and the military-industrial complex, while offering a new vision of social change.89
13935944935Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965Abolished the national-origins quotas and providing for the admission each year of 170,000 immigrants from the Eastern Hemisphere and 120,000 from the Western Hemisphere90
13935944936silent majorityNixon administration's term to describe generally content, law-abiding, middle-class Americans who supported both the Vietnam War and America's institutions. As a political tool, the concept attempted to make a subtle distinction between believers in "traditional" values and the vocal minority of civil rights agitators, student protesters, counterculturalists, and other disruptions of the social fabric.91
13935944937WatergateSeries of scandals that resulted in President Richard Nixon's resignation in August 1974 amid calls for his impeachment. The episode sprang from a failed burglary attempt at Democratic party headquarters in Washington's Watergate Hotel during the 1972 election.92
13935944938"Smoking Gun" TapeRecording made in the Oval Office in June 1972 that proved conclusively that Nixon knew about the Watergate break-in and endeavored to cover it up. Led to a complete breakdown in congressional support for Nixon after the Supreme Court ordered he hand the tape to investigators.93
13935944939stagflationLow employment growth and high inflation in the national economy; Characterized the economic troubles of the 1970s and posed both an intellectual challenge to economists and a policymaking challenge to government officials.94
13935944940Gerald Ford38th president of the United States, 1974-1977, Republican. He succeeded to the presidency upon Nixon's resignation in August 1974 and focused his brief administration on containing inflation and reviving public faith in the presidency. He was defeated narrowly by Jimmy Carter in 1976.95
13935944941Jimmy Carter39th president of the United States, 1977-1981, Democrat. A peanut farmer and former governor of Georgia, he defeated Gerald Ford in 1976. As president, he arranged the Camp David Accords between Egypt and Israel in 1978 but saw his foreign-policy legacy tarnished by the Iranian Revolution and hostage crisis in 1979. Domestically, he tried to rally the American spirit in the face of economic decline but was unable to stop the rapid increase in inflation. After leaving the presidency, he achieved widespread respect as an elder statesman and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002.96
13935944942Iranian Hostage Crisis (1979)American embassy workers were held captive by Iranian revolutionaries. The episode was marked by botched diplomacy and a failed rescue attempt by the Carter administration. After permanently damaging relations between the two countries, the crisis ended with the hostages' release the day Ronald Reagan became president, January 20, 1981.97
13935944943National Organization for Women (NOW)Inspired by Betty Frieden; A reform organization that battled for equal rights for women, equal employment opportunities, equal pay, passage of an Equal Rights Amendment, divorce law changes, and legalized abortion.98
13935944944Equal Rights AmendmentDeclared full constitutional equality for women. Although it passed both houses of Congress in 1972, a concerted grassroots campaign by antifeminists led by Phyllis Schlafly persuaded enough state legislatures to vote against ratification. The amendment failed to become part of the Constitution.99
13935944945Phyllis SchlaflyA grassroots conservative and antifeminist leader in postwar American politics. She wrote a best-selling campaign book for the 1964 Barry Goldwater campaign and, a decade later, led the successful mobilization against the Equal Rights Amendment through her organization STOP ERA.100
13935944946Roe v. Wade (1973)Landmark Supreme Court decision that forbade states from barring abortion by citing a woman's constitutional right to privacy. Seen as a victory for feminism and civil liberties by some, the decision provoked a strong counterreaction by opponents to abortion, galvanizing the conservative pro-life movement.101
13935944947New RightA loose network of conservative political activists and organizations that emerged in the 1970s and 1980s. More populist in tone than previous generations of conservatives, it emphasized hot-button cultural issues like abortion, busing, and prayer in school. They also espoused a nationalist foreign policy outlook that rejected détente and international treaties.102
13935944948malaise speech (1979)The speech Carter delivered in response to the energy crisis, it was most notable for Carter's bleak assessment of the national condition and his claim that there was a "crisis of confidence" that had struck "at the very heart and soul of our national will". The speech helped fuel charges that the president was trying to blame his own problems on the American people.103
13935944949SALT IIStrategic Arms Limitation Treaty agreement between Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev and American president Jimmy Carter. Despite an accord to limit weapons between the two leaders, the agreement was ultimately scuttled in the U.S. Senate following the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979.104

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