1960s Vocab

Question 1

new frontier

Answer 1

• JFK’s program for change in which he issued a challenge to the American people, calling upon them to make sacrifices to achieve their potential greatness
  
  • included: medical assistance for the elderly, increased education spending, space exploration, public service initiatives such as the peace corps, a commitment to civil rights and fiscal policies to revitalize the economy

Question 2

peace corps

Answer 2

• new frontier program proposed by JFK in 1961
  
  • an ‘army’ of idealistic and youthful volunteers who brought American skills to underdeveloped countries to improve their infrastructure, health care, educational systems, and other aspects of their societies
  • represented an effort by postwar liberals to promote American values and influence through productive exchanges throughout the world

Question 3

apollo

Answer 3

• program of manned space flights run by American’s National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
  
  • project’s highest achievement was the landing of Apollo 11 on the moon on July 20, 1969
  • six of the missions achieved their goal of bringing astronauts to the moon and back safely to earth: Apollos 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, and 17

Question 4

berlin wall

Answer 4

• fortified and guarded barrier between East and West Berlin erected on orders from Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev in 1961 to stop the flow of people to the west
  
  • until its destruction in 1989, the wall was a symbol of divide between communist and capitalist worlds

Question 5

european economic community

Answer 5

• free trade zone in Western Europe created by Treaty of Rome in 1957 often referred to as the “Common Market,” this collecten of countries originally included France, West Germany, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg
  
  • the body eventually expanded to become the European Union, which by 2005 included 27 member states

Question 6

bay of pigs invasion

Answer 6

• CIA plot in 1961 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 JFK’s presidency
  • the band of exiles was forced to surrender

Question 7

cuban missile crisis

Answer 7

• when intelligence revealed that the Soviets were installing nuclear weapons in Cuba, the United States ordered a naval “quarantine” of the island and demanded immediate removal of the missiles
  
  • JFK announced that any attack from Cuba would be met with nuclear retaliation against the Soviet Union
  • as Soviet ships approached the US naval patrol line, the world stood on the brink of nuclear war
  • Khrushchev agreed to pull the missiles out of Cuba - US ended the quarantine and agreed not to invade Cuba

Question 8

assassination in dallas

Answer 8

• in 1963 in Dallas, riding in a parade to drum up support for the upcoming presidential election in 1964, JFK was shot twice by Lee Harvey Oswald and pronounced dead at Parkland hospital

Question 9

warren commission

Answer 9

• commission made by Lyndon B. Johnson after JFK’s assassination
  
  • point: to investigate if someone paid for the assassination of Kennedy
  • conclusion: Oswald killed Kennedy on his own

Question 10

freedom riders

Answer 10

• civil rights activists who traveled across the South on a crusade to end segregation in facilities serving interstate bus passengers
  
  • their efforts were frequently met with protests and violence
  • when southern officials failed to come to their aid, JFK dispatched federal marshals to protect the riders

Question 11

voter education project

Answer 11

• effort by SNCC and other groups to register the South’s historically disenfranchised black population
  
  • 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

Question 12

march on washington

Answer 12

• massive + peaceful demonstration led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr and attended by 200,000 black and white supporters in August, 1963 at the Lincoln Memorial
  
  • in support of Kennedy-backed legislation to secure legal protections for black Americans
  • King gave his legendary “I have a dream” speech, calling for civil rights legislation and an end to racial discrimination

Question 13

“i have a dream” speech

Answer 13

• a speech given by Dr. MLK at the demonstration of freedom in 1963 at the Lincoln Memorial
  
  • aimed to unify citizens in accepting diversity and eliminating discrimination against African Americans and urged all people to peacefully work together for racial equality

Question 14

civil rights act of 1964

Answer 14

• a federal 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, sex, etc. in their hiring practices and empowered the equal employment opportunity commission (EEOC) to regulate fair employment