II pt 3 Flashcards
Jackie Robinson
first African American to play in Major League Baseball
Desegregation of Armed Forces (1947)
banned racial discrimination in federal practices; To Secure
These Rights called for desegregation, anti-lynching, end of poll taxes
Dixiecrats, 1948
fought for old Southern way of life (states’ rights), attempted to gain higher standing within Democratic party; aimed to deny Truman enough electoral votes to avoid his reelection by nominating Strom Thurmond (SC governor)
Fair Deal
preservation of New Deal, attempt at additions; raised minimum wage, public housing, old-age insurance extension, agricultural price supports (lowering of farm price)
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. Notified Truman of Soviet plans
Containment
American policy of resisting further expansion of communism around the world
Truman Doctrine
President Truman’s policy of providing economic and military aid to any country threatened by communism or totalitarian ideology. greece, turkey, israel
Marshall Plan
Introduced by Secretary of State George G. Marshall in 1947, he proposed massive and systematic American economic aid to Europe to revitalize the European economies after WWII and help prevent the spread of Communism. western europe. eastern europe prohibited from receiving help
Berlin Airlift
Joint effort by the US and Britian to fly food and supplies into West Berlin after the Soviet blocked off all ground routes into the city
North Atlantic Treaty Organization
Created in 1949, an organization whose members include the United States, Canada, most Western European nations, and Turkey, all of whom agreed to combine military forces and to treat a war against one as a war against all., In 1949, the United States, Canada, and ten European nations formed this military mutual-defense pact. In 1955, the Soviet Union countered NATO with the formation of the Warsaw Pact, a military alliance among those nations within its own sphere of influence.
soviet atomic bomb
In 1949, the Soviet Union tested its first atomic bomb, ending the American monopoly of the weapon.
china turns communist
Mao Zedong (communist) defeated nationalist forces of Kai-Shek (supported by US); seen as defeat for US, not officially fully recognized until 1973
Korean War
Soviet-aided North Korea attack on South Korea;MacArthur named general on behalf of UN (excluded Russia), USsupplied majority of troops; recapture of South Korea andsuppression of North forces to northern border; introduction of Chinese, MacArthur fired for suggestion to use nuclear weapons onChina; nuclear incentives for peace negotiations
President Dwight D. Eisenhower
Republican, popular hero of WWII; “dynamic conservatism” as a middle ground btw. Rep. and Dem.; Interstate Highway System (ulterior motive of weapons transportation); St. Lawrence Seaway opened Great Lakes to Atlantic Ocean via locks; Depts. Of Health, Education, and Welfare to oversee New Deal programs
Conformity in the 1950s
strong patriotism and need to conform to try to avoid blame during red scare, non-churchgoers, unmarried, and critics suspected as communists
Suburbia
middle class; white flight from urban areas due to black migration; government supported insurance for homeowners and builders
Baby Boom
An unprecedented population explosion occurring as soldiers returned from WWII.
Cult of Domesticity returns
women believed to belong in the home, scientific “evidence”; widespread in magazines, TV, etc. (1950s)
GI Bill of Rights
government ensured readjustment rights to GIs after WWI unrest, loans to veterans for higher education and mortgages (contributed to economic prosperity)
Consumerism
Americans could now spend what they had been told to save during the war (disposable income); increased purchasing of luxury items
Affluent Society
economic prosperity of American society following WWII; doubling of national income, jobs to women, defense industry’s support of economy
Non-conformity
Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe, James Dean, Beatniks - rebelled against conservative conformity of the rest of the country (esp. targeted youth)
Rock ‘n’ Roll
Influence of African-American blues, music of the younger generation (gap between them and their parents)
David Riesman
(The Lonely Crowd) “outer directed” Americans conforming to peer pressure on moral and social issues, rather than independently thinking on morals
Richard Nixon, Alger Hiss
Nixon led movement to Hiss’s indictment; convicted of perjury, Nixon gained national prominence
McCarthyism
attacked people for being communist by association and unsubstantiated claims, against Truman, Marshall, and Ike; downfall came with attack on the military (condemned by Senate); led hysteria of the red scare
Domino Theory
the idea that if a nation falls under Communist control, nearby nations will also fall under Communist control
Community on Un-American Activities (HUAC)
attacked public figures (Hollywood, New-Dealers, liberals) to root out communist spies
Truman’s Loyalty Program
Truman tested for communist alliances within government; government employees prohibited from taking part in remotely-communist activities
Rosenbergs
executed for leaking atomic secrets to Soviets, avowed communists
John Foster Dulles
Became Secretary of State under Eisenhower in 1953. Cold Warrior who supported “massive retaliation,” brinksmanship, and preemptive strike. In 1951 he was author of Japanese peace treaty. during WWII, from 1949-1959
CIA overthrow of Iran
1953; installed Shah as dictator ,overthrew Moussadegh (communist), in order to resist nationalization British oil holdings
CIA overthrow of Guatemala
1954 overthrew Pres. Guzmanafter he nationalized American fruit fields and accepted arms from USSR (communist sympathies)
Sputnik
First artificial Earth satellite, it was launched by Moscow in 1957 and sparked U.S. fears of Soviet dominance in technology and outer space. It led to the creation of NASA and the space race.
National Aeronautics Space Agency (NASA)
launched in 1958 by Ike; successful launch of American satellite (Explorer I); massive arms builup
U-2 Incident
American U-2 spy plane shot down over USSR (Ike: “for national security); US suspended further flights, Krushchev demanded apology (refused)
Ike’s Farewell Speech
warned of dangerous military-industrial complex (newly-found power of the military to affect the path of democracy)
AFL-CIO
AFL (American Federation of Labor) was created by Samuel Gompers, which was the first permanent federation of national labor unions. CIO (Congress of International Organizations) was created by Eugene V. Debs and it unionized unskilled and semiskilled workers; the two formed together to form a strong bridge between craft and industrial unions in 1955
US economy since WWII (service economy)
highest peacetime deficit in US history (due to lower tax rates for high-income taxpayers, spent too much money attempting to reduce price supports to farmers)
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.