All Flashcards
Who was John Foster Dulles?
Eisenhower's Secretary of State and a key figure in promoting the policy of massive retaliation.
Who was Joseph McCarthy?
A senator who led a witch hunt for communists in the U.S. government.
Who was Jackie Robinson?
The first African American to play Major League Baseball in the modern era, breaking the color barrier.
Who was Betty Friedan?
Author of The Feminine Mystique, a key figure in the women's rights movement.
Who was Cesar Chavez?
A labor leader and civil rights activist who led the Hispanic American rights movement.
Who was Alger Hiss?
A U.S. State Department official accused of being a Soviet spy.
Who were the Rosenbergs?
American citizens who were convicted of spying for the Soviet Union and executed.
Who was Jimi Hendrix?
An iconic musician of the counterculture era.
Who was Janis Joplin?
An iconic musician of the counterculture era.
Who was Martin Luther King Jr.?
A leader in the Civil Rights Movement.
Who was Robert Kennedy?
A politician who ran for president in 1968.
What was the significance of Sputnik (1957)?
The Soviet launch of Sputnik sparked the space race and increased fears about Soviet technological superiority.
What was the Bay of Pigs (1961)?
A failed U.S.-backed invasion of Cuba to overthrow Fidel Castro.
What was the Cuban Missile Crisis (1962)?
A tense standoff between the U.S. and the Soviet Union over Soviet missiles in Cuba, which brought the world close to nuclear war.
What was the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution?
A resolution passed by Congress that gave President Johnson broad authority to escalate the war in Vietnam.
What was the Tet Offensive (1968)?
A series of surprise attacks by the Viet Cong that shook American confidence in the Vietnam War.
What were the Camp David Accords?
A peace agreement brokered by President Carter between Egypt and Israel.
What was Brown v. Board of Education (1954)?
A Supreme Court case that declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students unconstitutional.
What was the Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955)?
A civil rights protest in which African Americans refused to ride city buses in Montgomery, Alabama to protest segregated seating.
What was the Civil Rights Act of 1964?
Landmark legislation that outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.
What was the Voting Rights Act of 1965?
Legislation that prohibited racial discrimination in voting.
What was the Iranian Hostage Crisis (1979)?
A diplomatic crisis between Iran and the United States where 52 Americans were held hostage for 444 days.
What was the U-2 Incident?
An American spy plane shot down over the Soviet Union, which damaged US-Soviet relations.
What is Levittown?
A planned suburban community with mass-produced, affordable homes.
What is the GI Bill?
Legislation providing benefits to returning WWII veterans, including education and home loans.
What is the Iron Curtain?
The ideological and physical boundary dividing Europe into communist East and democratic West.
What is the Truman Doctrine?
A policy of providing economic and military aid to countries threatened by communism.
What is NATO?
A military alliance of Western countries formed to counter Soviet aggression.
What is McCarthyism?
The practice of making accusations of subversion or treason without proper evidence, named after Senator Joseph McCarthy.
What is Massive Retaliation?
A military doctrine relying on the threat of nuclear weapons to deter an enemy.
What is Flexible Response?
A defense strategy allowing for a variety of military options beyond nuclear war.
What is Vietnamization?
Nixon's policy of gradually withdrawing U.S. troops and transferring responsibility for the Vietnam War to South Vietnam.
What is Détente?
The easing of Cold War tensions between the U.S. and the Soviet Union during the Nixon administration.
What is the Credibility Gap?
The growing distrust between the government and the American people during the Vietnam War.
What is the Southern Manifesto?
A document signed by Southern congressmen resisting school desegregation.