US 2 – Final Exam Review

What event in the second half of the 20th Century (post World War II) has most impacted the world in which we live today? Be sure to support your answer with details.

What was the Cold War?

• Political tension between US and USSR

• Rivalry between opposing ideologies (capitalism and communism)

• “cold war” because no direct fighting between either nation

Containment

• Policy of keeping communism from spreading

Satellite Nation

• Nation controlled by another (Soviet Union controlled satellite nations in Eastern Europe)

Truman Doctrine

• Policy created under Harry Truman to provide economic and military aid to free nations from communism

• Directly aided Turkey and Greece

Marshall Plan

• Program devised by Secretary of State George Marshall that offered financial assistance to European nations after World War II

Berlin Airlift

• Shipment of supplies by the United States and the British in response to the Berlin Blockade (from the Soviet Union)

NATO

• North Atlantic Treaty Organization

• International organization of Western countries

• Aimed to prevent spread of communism

Korean War

• Conflict between North and South Korea in the early 1950’s

• After the war, Korea was still divided into two separate nations

Mao Zedong

• Led the Communist revolution in China

Harry Truman

• President during the Korean War

• Wanted a “limited war” – did not want China to become involved

General MacArthur

• Military leader during the Korean War

• Wanted “total warfare” – absolute victory

38th Parallel

• Dividing line between North and South Korea

Dwight D. Eisenhower

• President who believed in concept of the Domino Theory– If one country falls to communism, neighboring

countries will as well – Related to Southeast Asia

Red Scare

• Fear of communism and its negative impact on life in the United States

• Amplified by Senator McCarthy – hunted for Communist “spies” in the US government and military

Sputnik

• First satellite launched into space by the Soviet Union

Stalin

• Soviet leader during WWII and early Cold War

• Wanted to keep Germany weak to prevent further conflicts

• Hoped to control Eastern Europe via satellite nations

Warsaw Pact

• Military/political alliance between Soviet Union and its satellite nations

Iron Curtain

• Symbolized the division of Europe into the democratic west and communist east

What was the main goal for the US during the Cold War?

• Containing communism

• Preventing it from spreading

How did US leaders respond to the threat of Soviet expansion in Europe?

• Berlin Airlift – provided supplies to West Berlin

• Truman Doctrine – helped Turkey and Greece economically; prevented the need of these countries from having to fall to communism

• Marshall Plan – aided European countries rebuild after WWII

What methods did the US use in its global struggle against the Soviet Union?

• Money

• Military aid

How did the fear of communism affect American society during the Cold War?

• Red Scare

• McCarthyism

• Blacklist

• Arms Race

What factors contributed to North Korea invading South Korea in June 1955?

• US removed many of its troops from SK in 1949

• Soviets did not think US would defend SK, thought they could easily help NK win quickly

Compare Truman vs. MacArthur’s ideas on the Korea War

• MacArthur wanted “total war”; thought it was a good idea to invade China to rid them of communism

• Truman did not want to involve China due to their relationship with Soviet Union– Only wanted a “limited war”

What was the outcome of the Korean War?

• Country remains divided

• NK = communist

• SK = democratic

What were the effects of Sputnik?

• Amplified the Space Race – goal of getting into space and to the moon; more money being spent on US space program

• Increased Red Scare (some people thought the satellites could drop nuclear bombs on US)

De Jure Segregation

• Segregation by law

De Facto Segregation

• Segregation by customs and/or practice

Jim Crow Laws

• Laws in the South that limited the freedoms of African Americans

Brown vs. Board of Education

• Changed policy of “separate but equal” with regards to public schools

Malcolm X

• Civil Rights Activist/Leader

• Was a member of Nation of Islam

Rosa Parks

• Civil Rights Activist

• Refused to give up her seat on a public bus to a white man

Martin Luther King, Jr.

• Civil Rights Activist/Leader

• Delivered “I Have a Dream” speech during March on Washington protest

Southern Christian Leadership Conference

• Organization founded in 1957 by MLK and others to work towards civil rights through nonviolent means

Montgomery Bus Boycott

• African Americans refusing to use the busses in Montgomery, Alabama as a way to protest segregation in the busing system

Little Rock Nine

• Nine AA students chosen to integrate the Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas

• Race riots due to the integration/desegregation

• US military was sent in by President Eisenhower; had to escort the student to and from school everyday for entire school year

Sit-In

• Act of physically sitting in a segregated location as a form of nonviolent protest

• Most famous one occurred in Greensboro, NC at a restaurant

Freedom Summer

• Event in Mississippi to promote equality in voting

Freedom Riders

• Civil Rights activists who rode busses to try to promote integration on interstate busses

• Were met with violence and hostility by southerners as they entered Alabama

James Meredith

• First AA to attend the University of Mississippi

March on Washington

• Over 250,000 people went to Washington DC to demand stronger equality and improved civil rights

• MLK delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech

Civil Rights Act of 1964

• Prohibited discrimination due to race, religion, nation of origin, and/or gender

How did southerners respond to the Freedom Riders?

• Violently

• Attacked the busses with firebombs

What was the Little Rock Crisis?How did Eisenhower respond?

• Conflict in Little Rock, Arkansas over integrating the local High School

• Eisenhower sent in federal troops to enforce the integration and protect the Little Rock Nine (AA students)

Why were nonviolent protests effective?

• Showed the country that those using violence were more evil and had were more dangerous

What successes and challenges faced the CR movement after 1964?

• Successes:– Eliminated discrimination due to race/gender/religion/etc.– Gave equal access to public

facilities/restaurants/parks/etc.

• Challenges:– De facto segregation (customs/practice– Difficulties in urban environments (lack of funding/high

poverty and unemployment rates/etc.)

John F. Kennedy

• Elected President of the United States in 1960

• Helped prevent

• Assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald

Richard M. Nixon

• Republican candidate for President in 1960

• VP under Eisenhower in the 1950s

Fidel Castro

• Leader of communist revolution in Cuba

Flexible Response

• Military strategy implemented under JFK

• Called for both increase of producing nuclear weapons, but also for additional spending on traditional military forces and special forces

Peace Corps

• International volunteer program to aid developing countries

Alliance for Progress

• Program aimed at helping Latin American countries

Bay of Pigs Invasion

• Failed attempt to overthrow Fidel Castro in Cuba

• Hurt JFK’s credibility early on in his Presidency

Cuban Missile Crisis

• US spy planes found Soviet missile sites being built in Cuba

• JFK enacted a naval blockade to prevent further creation of missile sites

• Very close to nuclear war between the US and Soviet Union

Nikita Khruschev

• Soviet Union Premiere (leader) during the 1960s

Hot Line

• Phone line between Washington DC and Moscow, Russia

• Designed to allow leaders of both nations to easily contact each other if necessary

• Helped reduce Cold War tensions

Nuclear Test Ban Treaty

• Signed by US, Soviet Union, and Great Britain

• Agreement to end aboveground nuclear tests

• Helped reduce Cold War tensions

Berlin Wall

• Symbol of Divided Germany

• Constructed by Soviet Union to prevent East Germans from escaping through West Berlin

New Frontier

• JFK’s plan to improve American society– Economy– Health care– Education– Civil rights– Space race

Deficit Spending

• Federal government spending more money than it makes from collecting taxes

Space Race

• Competition between US and USSR to be first nation into space (USSR won) and first to put a man on the moon (US won)

Lyndon B. Johnson

• VP under JFK; became president after JFK was assassinated

• President during majority of Vietnam War

• Plan for improving lives of Americans = Great Society

Warren Commission

• Investigated the JFK assassination

• Declared Lee Harvey Oswald to be the only assassin

War on Poverty

• Aimed at improving lives of Americans living in poor conditions

Great Society

• Plan from Lyndon B. Johnson to improve the lives of the average American

• Led to creation of Medicare and Medicaid

Medicare

• Program to provide health insurance for the elderly

Medicaid

• Program to provide health insurance for the poor and disabled

Warren Court

• Nickname for Supreme Court under Chief Justice Earl Warren

• Most liberal time in court history

• Supported civil rights, civil liberties, personal privacy

• Miranda Rights

How did JFK respond to the continuing challenges of the Cold War?

• Flexible response– Increased spending on nuclear weapons and traditional

military forces/special forces

• Set up Hot Line between Wash DC and Moscow to minimize conflicts

• Nuclear Test Ban Treaty– Eliminated aboveground nuclear testing

What were the goals of JFK’s New Frontier?

• Provide better healthcare for elderly

• Improve urban living conditions

• Improve education

• Increase national defense

• Increase international aid (Alliance for Progress and Peace Corps)

Why did Bay of Pigs Fail?

• Failed air strike early on

• Lack of US air support; did not give the Cuban troops invading the necessary cover/protection

How did Johnson’s Great Society Programs change the lives for most Americans?

• Medicare/Medicaid = healthcare for elderly, poor and disabled

• Improved education throughout the country

• Improved urban housing

• Improved restrictions on consumer products and the environment

Ho Chi Minh

• Communist leader in North Vietnam

– Compared Vietcong soldiers to tigers

– Compared US soldiers to elephants

Domino Theory

• If one nation falls to communism, its neighbors will as well– Eisenhower– Relates to southeast Asia

Vietcong

• Communist rebels

• Guerilla fighters

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

• Gave Johnson war powers, allowed him to commit U.S. troops to Vietnam without asking Congress to declare war

• Napalm – jellied gasoline that explodes on impact and covers large areas in flames

• Agent Orange – herbicide meant to kill plant life

• Hawks – pro-war/military action in Vietnam

• Doves – anti-war/wanted US to withdrawal from Vietnam

Credibility Gap

• The lack of trust in the Johnson administration due to mixed messages about to the war led to this

• American public’s growing distrust of the statements made by the government

Tet Offensive

• 1968

• Turning point of the war

• North Vietnamese & Vietcong surprise attack on cities that lasted about one month, but US & South Vietnamese won

My Lai Massacre

• Lieutenant Calley’s unit began shooting and killing Vietnamese civilians

Vietnamization

• Nixon’s plan to gradually remove US troops from Vietnam

Kent State

• College that had protests against the Vietnam War – 4 students were killed

Pentagon Papers

• Revealed secret government history of America’s involvement in the Vietnam War

• President Nixon tried to block the publication

Paris Peace Accords

• Treaty signed by US, North Vietnam, South Vietnam, and the Vietcong– End of US involvement

War Powers Act

• Passed in 1973 to restrict the president’s war-making powers; must consult with Congress