US History II Flashcards
Midterm
NATO
North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Nations promise that an attack on one meant an attack on all. This defensive military alliance was the first one that the United States ever entered during peacetime.
Harry S. Truman
Provided about 400 million dollars for postwar Turkey and Greece. Believed the best way to avoid a third world war was to create a new world order in which all nations had the right to self defend nation.
Satellite Nations
This group consisted of Eastern European nations that were dominated by the Soviet Union. Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, and Poland
United Nations
Both the United States and Soviet Union joined this world peacekeeping body after World War II
The Berlin Airlift
This was put in place to break the blockade Germany put on Berlin. United States would use planes to bring them tons of supplies.
HUAC
Group created to investigate communism in the film industry. Subpoenaed 43 witnesses from Hollywood film industry. This group was created to investigate activities tied to the communist party.
Ethel & Julius Rosenberg
Accused of passing secret information about the Atomic Bomb to the Soviet Union.
Alger Hiss
Former State Department official could only be charged with perjury, not espionage, because too many years had passed since the spying had taken place. Accused of spying for USSR, proved guilty by USSR in 1990.
Hollywood Ten
Didn’t cooperate with HUAC investigation whether the American film industry had been influenced by Communists, thought the hearings were unconstitutional. They got blacklisted
Senator Joseph McCarthy
Claimed to have knowledge of different numbers of communists working in the State Department. The number kept changing.
CIA
Wartime agency established to help win WWII, finds information. This group’s covert actions helped to topple governments in Iran and Guatemala.
Eisenhower Doctrine
The United States responded to fear of Soviet military action in the Middle East by issuing this. A warning to the Soviet Union against military intervention in Middle East. USA would defend Middle East against attack from any Communist nation. Gave president ability to use armed forces at his discretion against armed aggression in Middle East by any Communist nations.
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Republican threatens to widen the Cold War. Him and Dulles made it clear that communist leaders knew of these threats. Nuclear threats had worked. Wanted to achieve permanent War Economy. Believed that fight against communism was similar to fight against Totalitarian gov in WWII.
Warsaw Pact
USSR forms this Military alliance that consisted of the satellite nations
U-2 Incident
When Eisenhower’s Open Skies proposal was rejected the CIA began flying U-2 planes over the USSR anyways. They took detailed photos, and were worried so agreed to take it down. The CIA wanted one more flight and during that a U-2 plane got shot down. After U-2 Incident, Khrushchev called off a summit conference on the arms race and withdrew his invitation for Eisenhower to visit the Soviet Union.
Brinkmanship
The willingness to go to the edge of war
Cold War
Ongoing political rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies that developed after World War II
John Foster Dulles
As Secretary of State under Eisenhower, came up with brinkmanship, he proposed that the USA declare its intention to use massive retaliation against any aggressor nation. Didn’t believe in communism or compromise with USSR (thought compromise was unmoral)
Marshall Plan
This aid program was directed “not against any country or doctrine but against hunger, poverty, desperation, and chaos. US provided aid to all European nations that need it. Nations receiving aid had to remove trade barriers and cooperate economically with each other
Conglomerate
Major corporation that owns smaller companies in unrelated industries
Baby Boom
Soaring birthrate from 1946 to 1964
Franchise
Company that offers similar products or services in many locations
Planned obsolescence
Purposely making products to become outdated or wear out quickly
Consumerism
Excessive concern with buying material goods
What did the Hotline do?
Linked the White House and the Kremlin, make communication in a crisis easier, and ease Cold War tensions
John F. Kennedy
Democratic nominee for President in 1960, senator from Massachusetts. Televised debate and Civil Rights helped him win the debate, campaign well organized. Assassinated in 1963.
Flexible Response
This military strategy enabled the US to fight limited wars around the world, strategy adopted during Kennedy presidency
Nikita Khrushchev
Prime Minister of Soviet Union during Eisenhower’s presidency, squared off against Kennedy during Berlin crisis
Limited Test Ban Treaty
Barred Nuclear Testing in atmosphere
Fidel Castro
This Cuban Nationalist accepted Soviet aid for Cuba
Berlin Wall
Warsaw Pact nations constructed the Berlin Wall separating East and West Germany to stop East Germans from fleeing to West Berlin.
Bay of Pigs
Eisenhower gave CIA permission to secretly train hundreds of Cuban Exiles for an invasion of Cuba, hoped invasion would trigger a mass uprising against Castro to overthrow him
Richard Nixon
He lost the 1960 presidential election, responsible for Vietnamization of the war
Baker v. Carr
Supreme Court established the principle of “one person, one vote.”
Medicare and Medicaid
A federal program established for Americans age 65 and over, provided free or low-cost medical insurance to welfare recipients and most Americans age 65 and older
The Warren Court
expanded civil rights, civil liberties, judicial power, and the federal power in dramatic ways
Miranda v. Arizona
Supreme Court ruled that all suspects must “read their rights” before questioning
Immigration act of 1965
Began quotas (limits) based on nationality
Economic Opportunity Act
encouraged poor people to join in public-works programs, created a training program for youth, and gave underprivileged preschoolers a head start. Created Job Corps, VISTA, and Project Head Start
The Great Society
This program intended to benefit minorities and the poor, causing conservative backlash, summarized Johnson’s vision for America
Elementary and Secondary Education Act
Provided federal aid to help public and parochial schools purchase textbooks and new library materials
Re-appointment
Term refers way in which states redraw election districts based on changing number of people in them
Gideon v. Wainwright
The Supreme Court required criminal courts to provide free legal counsel to those who could not afford it
James Meredith
African American Air force veteran, won federal court case that would allow him to enroll in an all white university, Govorner of Missisippi refused to let Meredith enroll, Kennedy orders Federal Marshalls to escort Meredith to the register’s offfice, for the next few months the Federal Marshalls accompanied Meredith to and from class and protected his parents house from night riders who shot up their house
Lyndon B. Johnson
Became president when Kennedy was assassinated, an experienced politician, tried to use the Tonkin Gulf Incident as an excuse to deepen US involvement in the Vietnam War
Thurgood Marshall
Him and his NAACP lawyers won 29 out of 32 cases argued before the Supreme Court, won Brown v. Board of education
Stokely Carmichael
He urged SNCC to stop recruiting whites and to focus on developing African-American pride
Martin Luther King Jr.
Nonviolent leader of civil rights movement, his assassination was a major turning point in the civil rights movement. Didn’t use slogan “Black Power” believed it provoked violence
Malcolm X
A trip to Mecca helped to soften his attitude towards white people. He began preaching a message of “ballots or bullets” this former minister of the Nation of Islam was shot and killed while giving a speech in Harlem
Rosa Parks
NAACP officer, took a seat in front row of colored section of Montgomery Bus, bus filled up and driver ordered Parks and 3 other AA to empty row so one white man could sit without sitting next to an AA. Parks refused to give up her seat, driver threatens to call police, Parks says he may do that, she gets arrested. Bus Boycott organized, leaders in AA community form Montgomery Improvement Association.
Fannie Lou Hamer
She gave a heated appeal to include the Mississippi Democratic Freedom Party at the 1968 Democratic National Convention
Vietcong
South Vietnamese citizens who fought against the South Vietnamese government and American forces
Domino Theory
If one country falls to communism others in the area will fall
Vietminh
political organization whose goal was to win Vietnam’s independence from foreign rule
Dien Bien Phu
When this fell to Vietnamese forces in 1959, the French began to leave Vietnam
Ho Chi Minh
Communist leader of the Vietnamese struggle against the French, the Japanese, and the Americans
Operation Rolling Thunder
First extensive U.S. bombing of North Vietnam
Strategic Hamlet Program
South Vietnam policy intended to combat the growing popularity and presence of an anti-gov group in the South.
Geneva Accords
This temporarily divided Vietnam along the 17th parallel
Ho Chi Minh Trail
enabled North Vietnam to send troops to South Vietnam
Tonkin Gulf Resolution
Allowed Johnson to send more US troops to Vietnam
Napalm
To expose Vietcong tunnels and hideouts US drop this gas-based bomb set fire to the jungle in Vietnam
Credibility Gap
TV, the worsening state of the U.S. economy, and the Fulbright hearings helped to increase this
Agent Orange
US military planes spray this leaf-killing toxic chemical devastating the landscape of Vietnam
Dean Rusk
Secretary of State argued for escalation in Vietnam says abandoning the South Vietnam would cause disaster to peace
Robert McNamara
Secretary of defense admits he would of thought differently at the start of war in Vietnam if he was aware of Vietcong resilience
Khmer Rouge
Communist group that took control of Cambodia in 1975
Pentagon Papers
Lyndon B. Johnson’s efforts to mislead the American public were revealed by these. He claimed he wasn’t going to send boys to Vietnam, when he was planning to all along.
My Lai Massacre
Platoon entered My Lai in search of Vietcong, couldn’t find any so they rounded up 100 civilians and massacred them
Vietnamization
Nixon believed this would bring “peace with honor”
Silent Majority
Moderate, mainstream Americans who quietly supported the President’s strategy
What is the main goal of the Truman Doctrine?
to stop the spread of communism
What can the failure of Chiang Kai-shek’s forces during the Chinese Civil War be blamed on?
his inability to retain the support of his people
Why didn’t Mao Zedong win U.S. Support during the Chinese Civil War?
Because he supported communism
What did the USSR set up in response to efforts from the West to reunify Germany?
Berlin Blockade
During the Chinese Civil War who retreated to Taiwan?
Chiang and demoralized government
What committee was most responsible for investigating communism in the Film Industry?
HUAC
What is the significance of the 38th parallel?
Japanese took over Korea, Japanese above 38th parallel surrendered to USSR, Japanese below the 38th parallel surrendered to USA
Who won and lost the Chinese Civil War?
The Chinese Communist Party Won
Chinese Nationalists supported by US lost
Who led the communists in China?
Mao Zedong
During the Korean War who fought on the side of the communists?
China
What did MacArthur want to do with the Korean War?
liberate the North from communist control
Who was the commander of US forces during the Korean War?
General Douglas MacArthur
Which forces were winning the Korean War until the intervention of the Chinese?
South Koreans
This was the US response to their fear of Soviet military action in the Middle East?
Eisenhower Doctrine
McCarthyism
To label someone’s activities as ___ would be to suggest that the person is making unsupported accusations.
How did the US respond to the USSR’s detonation of an Atomic Bomb?
Intensifying efforts to develop a hydrogen bomb
What state was JFK a Senator of?
Massachusetts
What position did JFK appoint his Brother Robert to?
Attorney General
What is the Hotline?
a direct communications link set up during Kennedy’s presidency
What was the Warren Commission’s conclusion in regards to the JFK assassination?
Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone
What was Medicare intended to provide?
health insurance
Who favored the decisions of the Warren Court?
liberals
What did the Plessy v. Ferguson decision affirm?
the legality of racial segregation and prompted the passage of Jim Crow laws
What doctrine relating to public education was overturned in Brown v. Board of Education?
“separate but equal”
According to the Kerner Commission what was the cause of urban violence?
white racism
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 made segregation illegal in what social accommodations?
public accomodations
What did the Voting Rights Act of 1965 enable federal officials to do?
register voters
What did the Civil Rights Act of 1968 banned discrimination in which activity?
discrimination in housing (de facto segregation)
What was the main type of pressure exerted by the Montgomery Improvement Association in response to segregation on buses?
economic pressure
What did the Black Panthers advocate for?
community development, black power, black nationalism, party made to fight against police brutality in the ghetto
Be able to provide examples of de facto segregation.
a concentration of urban African Americans in slum areas
What was the United States Main Goal in Vietnam?
containing the spread of communism
What event was most effective in convincing the American public the war was unwinnable?
The Tet Offensive
What group was founded by Tom Hayden & Al Haber & believed corporations & large government institutions were taking over America?
Students for a Democratic Society
What event set off the first general student strike in America?
The invasion of Cambodia
What was the main purpose of the War Powers Act?
to restrict the power of the president
What enabled the North Vietnamese to supply the Vietcong in the South?
The Ho Chi Minh Trail
What 2 countries held control of Vietnam prior to US involvement?
France and Japan
What are some ways in which a young American Male could avoid being drafted?
enrolling in college
What are the main events that happened in the year 1968?
The Tet Offensive, assassination of Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr.
Who served as the main commander of US forces in Vietnam?
William Westmoreland
