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Betty Friedan
was an American writer, activist, and feminist. A leading figure in the women's movement in the United States, her 1963 book The Feminine Mystique is often credited with sparking the second wave of American feminism in the 20th century. -
Roy Benavidez
Master Sergeant Raul Perez "Roy" Benavidezwas a member of the United States Army Special Forces and retired United States Army master sergeant who received the Medal of Honor for his valorous actions in combat near Lộc Ninh, South Vietnam on May 2, 1968. -
Abbie Hoffman
Abbot Howard "Abbie" Hoffman was an American political and social activist and anarchist who co-founded the Youth International Party. -
House Un-American Activities Committee
Was created in 1938 to investigate alleged disloyalty and subversive activities on the part of private citizens, public employees, and those organizations suspected of having Communist ties. -
G.I. Bill
A law passed in 1944 that provided educational and other benefits for people who had served in the armed forces in World War II. Benefits are still available to persons honorably discharged from the armed forces. -
Containment Policy
Containment was a United States policy using numerous strategies to prevent the spread of communism abroad. -
Baby Boom Generation
When veterans of WW2 came back most of them wanted to start a family which resulted in 76.4 million “baby boomers” in the United States. They made up almost 40 percent of the nation’s population. -
Iron Curtain
Was the imaginary boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from 1945 until 1991. The term symbolized efforts by the Soviet Union to block itself and its satellite states from open contact with the west and non-Soviet-controlled areas. -
Berlin Airlift
A military operation in the late 1940s that brought food and other needed goods into West Berlin by air. The airlift was one of the early events of the cold war. -
Truman Doctrine
An American foreign policy created to counter Soviet geopolitical hegemony during the Cold War. It was first announced to Congress by President Harry S. Truman. -
Marshall Plan
American initiative to aid Western Europe, in which the United States gave $13 billion in economic support to help rebuild Western European economies after the end of World War II. -
North Atlantic Treaty Organization
Is an intergovernmental military alliance based on the North Atlantic Treaty which was signed on 4 April 1949. -
Rock n' Roll
Originating in the 1950s, characterized by a heavy beat and simple melodies. Rock and roll was an amalgam of black rhythm and blues and white country music, usually based on a twelve-bar structure and an instrumentation of guitar, bass, and drums. -
1950s Prosperity and Culture
The United States was the world’s strongest military power. Its economy was booming, and the fruits of this prosperity–new cars, suburban houses and other consumer goods–were available to more people than ever before. -
Rust Belt and Sun Belt
With the loss of economic opportunities in the Rust Belt, it's no surprise that people started moving, and in large numbers. From the 1950s-1970s. People then moved to The Sun Belt, as it was called, is roughly the lower third of the country, basically the American South and Southwest. There were some good reasons to move here. For one, new technologies like air conditioning made summers much more enjoyable, while winters in the South are obviously pretty temperate. -
McCarthyism
A vociferous campaign against alleged communists in the US government and other institutions carried out under Senator Joseph McCarthy. Many of the accused were blacklisted or lost their jobs, although most did not in fact belong to the Communist Party. -
Korean War
The Korean War broke out because the communist Nort Korea attacked South Korea. The US and Russia were using it as a front to combat each other without actually going into war with each other. -
Rosenberg Trial
Court case involving Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, an American couple who were executed in 1953 as spies for the Soviet Union. Some have argued that the Rosenbergs were innocent victims of McCarthy -era hysteria against communists. -
Dwight D. Eisenhower
American politician and General who served as the 34th President of the United States from 1953 until 1961. -
Jonas Salk
Jonas Salk was an American physician and medical researcher who created the first safe and effective vaccine for polio. -
Ray Kroc
Raymond Albert "Ray" Kroc was an American businessman and philanthropist. He joined McDonald's in 1954 and built it into the most successful fast food operation in the world. -
Domino Theory
Was a theory prominent from the 1950s to the 1980s, that speculated that if one country in a region came under the influence of communism, then the surrounding countries would follow in a domino effect. Created by President Dwight D. Eisenhower. -
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a long, costly armed conflict that pitted the communist regime of North Vietnam and its southern allies, known as the Viet Cong, against South Vietnam and its principal ally, the United States. It ended with the withdrawal of U.S. forces in 1973 and the unification of Vietnam under Communist control two years later. The surrender of Saigon was announced by the South Vietnamese president, General Duong Van Minh: "We are here to hand over to you the power in order to avoid bloo -
Interstate Highway Act
The bill created a 41,000-mile “National System of Interstate and Defense Highways” that would, according to Eisenhower, eliminate unsafe roads, inefficient routes, traffic jams and all of the other things that got in the way of “speedy, safe transcontinental travel.” -
Space Race
Soviet R-7 intercontinental ballistic missile launched Sputnik, the world's first artificial satellite and the first man-made object to be placed into the Earth's orbit. Apollo 11 was the first manned mission to land on the Moon. The first steps by humans on another planetary body were taken by Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on July 20, 1969. -
Beatnik
A person who participated in a social movement of the 1950s and early 1960s which stressed artistic self-expression and the rejection of the mores of conventional society; broadly : a usually young and artistic person who rejects the mores of conventional society. -
1960s Culture
The Sixties, denoting the complex of inter-related cultural and political trends around the globe. This "cultural decade" is more loosely defined than the actual decade, beginning around 1963 and ending around 1974. -
John F. Kennedy
American politician who served as the 35th President of the United States from January 1961 until his assassination in November 1963. -
Bay of Pigs
Was an operation to overthrow Fidel Castro by invading the Bay of Pigs. The invasion failed and was an embarrassment for Kennedy. Forced Cuba even further into the arms of the USSR. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
Was a 13-day confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union concerning Soviet ballistic missiles deployment in Cuba. -
Lyndon B. Johnson
the 36th President of the United States from 1963 to 1969, assuming the office after serving as the 37th Vice President of the United States under President John F. Kennedy, from 1961 to 1963. -
Great Society
The Great Society was a set of domestic programs in the United States launched by Democratic President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964–65. The main goal was the elimination of poverty and racial injustice. -
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
In August 1964 Congress passed the Tonkin Gulf Resolution, approving and supporting President Lyndon B. Johnson's determination to repel any armed attack against U.S. forces in Southeast Asia. -
Ant-War Movement
The movement against U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War began small–among peace activists and leftist intellectuals on college campuses–but gained national prominence in 1965, after the United States began bombing North Vietnam in earnest. -
Miranda v. Arizona
The Supreme Court ruled that detained criminal suspects, prior to police questioning, must be informed of their constitutional right to an attorney and against self-incrimination. -
Tet Offensive
It was a campaign of surprise attacks against military and civilian commands and control centers throughout South Vietnam. The name of the offensive comes from the Tết holiday, the Vietnamese New Year, when the first major attacks took place. -
Richard NIxon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974 when he became the only U.S. president to resign the office. -
Vietnamization
Was the US policy of withdrawing its troops and transferring the responsibility and direction of the war effort to the government of South Vietnam. Introduced by President Nixon -
1970s Culture
In the 1970s, social progressive values that began in the 1960s, such as increasing political awareness and political and economic liberty of women, continued to grow. The environmentalist movement began to increase dramatically in this period. -
26th Amendment
The right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of age. -
War Powers Act
Requires that the President, upon sending troops into military action, must notify Congress within 48 hours that he has done so. It forbids military personnel from remaining in a state of conflict for more than 60 days. -
1980s Culture
Often remembered for its materialism and consumerism, the decade also saw the rise of the “yuppie,” an explosion of blockbuster movies and the emergence of cable networks like MTV, which introduced the music video and launched the careers of many iconic artists. -
Cold War Ends
The cold war ended on this date in began in 1944. It was the state of political hostility and military tension between the US and Russia, involving propaganda, threats, economic sanctions, and other measures short of open warfare.
