Unit 8

Question 1

Define the cold war?

Answer 1

A conflict between US and USSR in which neither engages in open military conflict with the other. However, war could erupt at any time. 1940s

Question 2

What was the source of the rivalry between US and USSR?

Answer 2

Capitalism vs Communism

Question 3

What was the overarching US strategy during the Cold War?

Answer 3

Containment, Marxist-Leninism was inherently expansionist, calling for worldwide revolution, which compelled the US to attempt to halt its spread economically, diplomatically, and militarily

Question 4

How did democratic/capitalist nations and communist nations align themselves?

Answer 4

The notion of collective security on both
sides caused like-minded countries to enter
into mutual defense pacts.

Question 5

What is NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization)

Answer 5

Founded in 1949 > alliance between 31 countries (does not include USSR)

Question 6

What is the warsaw pact?

Answer 6

Friendship pact for communist countries (NATO but communist version)

Question 7

Define “arms race”.

Answer 7

The advancement and stockpiling of new weapons specifically bombs during this period.

Question 8

Why didn’t nuclear war happen?

Answer 8

As the US and USSR flaunted their newest weapons through massive test, both sides came to realize the devastating potential for the planet should war break out

Question 9

How was the Korean war a “proxy war”?

Answer 9

Korea divided into two one side being a communist government and the other being a non communist side essentially the US and USSR took sides during the war “fighting” each other without actually fighting each other

Question 10

What was the Second Red Scare?

Answer 10

In the 1920s there was a lot paranoia regarding communism taking over. This paranoia reached the government McCarthy accused multiple government personal of being affiliated with communism/USSR

Question 11

What was the GI Bill?

Answer 11

gave
WWII veterans access to a free college
education and low-interest home and
business loans

Question 12

What caused the demographic spike and shift after WWII?

Answer 12

The postwar population spike in the United
States as a result of young men returning
from war to a generally prosperous
economy.

Question 13

Where did people move?

Answer 13

Massive planned communities
sprang up in suburban areas across the
country, especially in the South and West.

Question 14

Baby Boom

Answer 14

Many people came back from the War and started families.

Question 15

Levittown suburbanization

Answer 15

Suburbs were created with identical houses all around

Question 16

What were two primary
causes for increased
mass culture?

Answer 16

The succession of the radio by the
television and the continued growth and
pervasiveness of the advertising.

Question 17

Consumerism

Answer 17

people buying a bunch of things cause they can

Question 18

What was the Beat
Generation?

Answer 18

Literary movement that rejected the
conformity and capitalism of postwar
America through their writing, as well as
through their fashion and drug use.

Question 19

Kerouac’s “On the Road” beatniks

Answer 19

Novel by Jack Kerouac about the Best Generation pushing back

Question 20

Describe the reaction to
Brown v BoE?

Answer 20

Massive resistance by white people > led to school closures and violence against black students

Question 21

What was the decision in
Brown v Board of Ed.? (1954)

Answer 21

Segregation justified by Plessy v Ferguson
was overturned on the basis of “separate
but equal” being “inherently unequal”. This
led to the long and arduous process of
school integration.

Question 22

Civil disobedience used by civil rights activists in the 1950s and 1960s

Answer 22

Montgomery Bus Boycotts by NAACP and MLK > forced busses to desegregate
Sit in Movements > Black college students got arrested for sitting in dinners and other areas

Question 23

What was the March on
Washington?

Answer 23

1963: MLK I have a dream speach

Question 24

Political success in the civil rights movement in the 1960s

Answer 24

JFK and Lyndon B Johnson befriend civil rights movement. LBJ signs multiple legislation including Civil Rights Act (1964) and Voting Right act (1965)

Question 25

Civil Rights Act

Answer 25

1964: prohibits discrimination based on race sex color religion national origin

Question 26

Voting Rights Act

Answer 26

1965: outlawed discriminatory voting practices (literary tests and prerequisites)

Question 27

Malcom X

Answer 27

Vocal critic of Dr. King’s optimism and nonviolent methods. He saw white racism as unavoidable, thus the separation of races was the pragmatic way forward. This sentiment gave rise to more extreme and militant forms of activism as well as increased conflict with police and the federal government.

Question 28

Describe the women’s rights movement during this period.

Answer 28

This movement called for legislation protecting the economic and social rights for women. The Equal Rights Amendment would have been the crowning achievement but conservative backlash prevented it from being ratified.

Question 29

Examples of fighters during women's rights movement

Answer 29

Women’s Liberation Feminine Mystique National Organization for Women Phyllis Schlafly

Question 30

How did other groups approach the issue of civil rights?

Answer 30

Chicano Movement, American Indian Movement, the Gay Liberation Movement, among others to use similar tactics of civil disobedience, nonviolence, and militant activism for gaining protections and equality.

Question 31

Examples of people/organizations that fought for civil rights

Answer 31

César Chávez Wounded Knee Occupation Occupation of Alcatraz Self-Determination Act Stonewall Riots

Question 32

What was the counterculture movement?

Answer 32

Predominantly young people who cast off societal restraint with rebellious styles of clothing, and music, along with experimental drug use and free love. (Woodstock festival and Sexual Liberation)

Question 33

Baker v Carr

Answer 33

established the precedent for legislative reapportionment, or redistricting, subject to court review. This attempted to balance the representation of rural and suburban white communities with increasingly minority-majority urban communities.

Question 34

Engel v Vitale

Answer 34

further reaffirmed separation of church and state, making mandatory Bible readings and teacher-led prayers in public schools illegal.

Question 35

Who was Fidel Castro? How did the US respond to his actions?

Answer 35

The leftist revolutionary who established a communist regime in his native Cuba in 1959. The US attempted to overthrow his regime through invasion and assassinate him, though both failed.

Question 36

What actions did the US take in the Middle East?

Answer 36

The Central Intelligence Agency assisted in the overthrow of a socialist government in Iran amid its efforts to nationalize Iranian oil reserves.

Question 37

What caused the Vietnam War?

Answer 37

Similar to the Korean War, conflict between communist and democratic forces broke out, bringing Russia and China to North Vietnam’s aid and the US to the South’s.

Question 38

What escalated American involvement in Vietnam?

Answer 38

The Gulf of Tonkin incident, though disputed like the sinking of the USS Maine in Cuba, was used as justification for increasing American troop presence in Vietnam.

Question 39

Describe the outcome of the Vietnam War.

Answer 39

After over a decade of military involvement in Vietnam, over 50,000 Americans died which paled in comparison to the upwards of 2 million Vietnamese deaths. The US withdrew in 1973 amid massive protests throughout the late 1960s and early 70s, having never declared war.

Question 40

What was the Great Society?

Answer 40

President Lyndon Johnson’s continuation of New Deal era government-led social and economic reforms. These programs and legislation focused on safety nets for the poor. aka NEW DEAL different dude

Question 41

Medicare

Answer 41

provided health insurance to people over the age of 65

Question 42

Medicade

Answer 42

provided health insurance to people in low-income situations or with disabilities

Question 43

Immigration Act

Answer 43

abolished immigration quotas

Question 44

What was stagflation?

Answer 44

A recession, or a decline in economic activity, struck in the early 1970s. This slow economic growth, or stagnation, occurred at the same time as rising prices for goods, or inflation.

Question 45

What was the Watergate Scandal?

Answer 45

The 1972-1974 political scandal involving the Nixon administration in which the Democratic presidential campaign was brazenly spied. Investigative journalists uncovered the plot. Nixon was impeached, choosing to resign in order to escape removal from office.

Question 46

What was the Roe v Wade decision?

Answer 46

The Supreme Court ruled that abortion was a constitutional right on the basis of the “right to privacy”.

Question 47

What effect did this decision have on society?

Answer 47

This decision galvanized evangelical Christians around the conservative Republican Party as a vehicle for opposing the right to abortion.

Question 48

What was the EPA?

Answer 48

The Environmental Protection Agency was a regulatory agency that sought to put limits on the environmental impact of industry on the land, and air, and water.