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House of Un-American Activities Committee
The HUAC was formed to investigate communist activity in the U.S. It was a response to internal threats of Communist spies in the U.S. This created the second red scare. -
G.I bill
A government issued aid to award Military veterans. The bill provided vets with education, training for other jobs, low cost loans, and homes. Today the G.I Bill is what gives people in the military great benefits. -
Baby Boom Generation
The generation born within the years 1946 - 1964. The generation was the time during the cold war. There was a sharp increase in baby births, about 78 million. -
The Iron Curtain
The Iron curtain was just a metaphor for separating west Europe and soviet bloc. The block was proposed by Winston Churchill during his "Iron Curtain" speech. The main purpose of the curtain was to contain communism from spreading. (Although there was no actual iron wall, the Berlin wall was built later.) -
Levittown
Levittown was a suburban community. The town was an assembly line house neighborhood built in New York. It was the nation's 1st ever planned community. -
Containment Policy
Containment Policy was a strategy used to prevent the spread of Communism. It was the idea that if Communism stayed in countries like U.S.S.R and China that it would not spread to it's neighbors. This is one of the reasons for U.S involvement in communism conflicts like the Korean and Vietnam war. -
Rust Belt vs. Sun Belt
The rust and sun belt refers to the different sections of the U.S. The rust belt is the upper region of the U.S.The rust refers to the rust of metal from the rain the upper region mostly gets. The sun belt refers to the lower region that gets the most heat and sunlight. -
The Cold War
The cold war was not an actual war. It was a time of political tension between Communists and Non-Communists. Most of the time the two teams looked at were U.S vs. U.S.S.R. It was a time period were one tried to exceed the other, one was scared of the other's nuclear bombs. It was total political competition. -
The Truman Doctrine
During the beginning of the cold war, President Harry Truman issued a statement against Communist government. The statement issued a promise for the U.S to support any country fighting against communism. This ended up putting the U.S in issues with communist countries like Soviet Union and Cuba. -
Marshall Plan
The U.S government agreed to aid any war torn countries after the second world war. The U.S wanted to help recover from World War II. The government ended up giving over $12 billion to help rebuild western Europe. -
The Berlin Airlift
French, Britain, and America merged their save zones from WWII into one state. Germany did not like this and they issued a blockade on Berlin closing all railroads and highways. So America had to fly food and supplies by planes due to the shut down of roads. -
NATO
In 1949, ten western European countries formed the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It was founded after the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty. The members of NATO were Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, The U.K, and U.S. -
Rock n Roll
Rock N Roll was the introduction of music legends in the 1950's that was different than what music was used to at the time. The Music was more swing and non-traditonal for the time. It was a revolution that changed the music industry. -
Beatniks
The youth trend in the 1950's. The subculture was in was labeled as "The Beat Generation". A lot of young people started to ,wearing berets, recite poetry, hang out in coffee shops, playing bongos, and smoking marijuana. -
Domino Theory
The theory that if one country fell to Communism then it's neighbors will fall to. This was a cause and effect process. The domino theory kept the U.S government on the look out to prevent communist spread. -
1950's Prosperity
The 1950's prosperity was a time of economic growth. Right after World War II the U.S's economy grew due to the creation of new jobs in defense plants. The U.S life style changed also. -
McCarthyism
McCarthyism - To make harsh accusations without providing any real evidence.
In 1950, Senator Joseph McCarthy claimed to know the identities of communists who infiltrated the U.S. He even claimed some of them to be in the U.S government. There were reports of 81 reports. Bounty was even rewarded for the capture of Communists accusers. -
The Korean War
Korea was divided into two sections: North Korea and South Korea. The North was in favor of a Communist government and South Korea was against Communism. North Korea invaded South Korea. The UN aided South Korea. Still today, Korea is broken up into the North and the South. -
Dwight D. Eisenhower
The 34th president of the U.S.
Dwight Eisenhower was an American politician and military general. He was a member of the Republican party. His vice president was Richard Nixon -
Jonas Salk
Dr Jonas Salk created the Polio vaccine. Polio was a common illness during the 1950's but there was no real treatment of the illness. Dr Salk created the vaccination and basically gave it way as a donation. The invention was a success and he did not receive any money off it. -
Rosenberg Trail
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were accused of selling government information on nuclear weapons to Soviet Union.The two were put trial without evidence. The jury was stacked against them. On June 19, they were both then executed. -
Ray Kroc
Ray Kroc was an entrepreneur. In 1955, he invested the first fast food chain and grew the food franchise known as Mcdonalds. He opened up the first McDonald's restaurant in Des Plaines, Illinois. . -
Vietnam War
The Vietnam war was a war between north and south Vietnam dealing with Communism conversion. The U.S got involved in the war to stop communism. This was one of the bloodiest wars in history. The U.S eventually just bowed out of involvement. -
Interstate Highway Act
Acted by president Eisenhower. This authorized the construction of interstate highways in the U.S. More roads and highways were built in the U.S for expansion -
Space Race
The space race was competition between the U.S and U.S.S.R. For most of the race, the Soviet union was in the lead. The U.S.S.R were the first to launch a man, dog, and satellite into space. The U.S ended up coming out the victor by being the first to send a Man to the Moon. -
Sputnik
The first artificial Earth Satellite. The satellite was created by the Soviet Union. It's purpose was to orbit the earth and collect data -
John F Kennedy
The 35th President of the U.S
John F Kennedy provided federal support during the civil rights movement. He confronted Cold War tensions in Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis. He was in office during the Vietnam war. -
Bay Of Pigs
Bay of Pigs was a failed military invasion on Cuba. The mission was ran by the CIA. The troops were largely outnumbered. The Cuban government ended up winning this attack -
Cuban Missle Crisis
Soviet Missiles were discovered in in Cuba by U.S reconnaissance flights. The missiles were thought as a threat to U.S safety. JFK tried to hold the news of the missiles from the public to prevent panic. The attempt of a U.S trying to take pictures of these missiles resulted in the shooting down of the U-2 plane. -
Betty Friedan
Betty Friedan was a civil activist for woman. She was a leading figure in woman's history. In 1963, she published a book called "The Feminine Mystique" which sparked a second feminist movement. -
Lyndon B. Johnson
36th President of the U.S
Lyndon B Johnson was appointed president after the assassination of John F Kennedy. He was sworn in with a vision of "A Great Society" to build in the U.S. He went on to win a second term on is own campaign. -
The Great Society
The Great Society was a series of plans and actions set fourth by President Lyndon B Johnson. The Great society was his ideal image of an American Society. The main goal was to eliminate poverty and racial injustice and to continue where JFK left off. -
The Anti-War Movement
During the Vietnam War, many citizens began to protest war because of the killings. Citizens did not want violence. Most of the protestors were young adults and "Hippies". Many soldiers were labeled as killers. -
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
President Lyndon Baines Johnson was concerned with the spread of Communism. He thought previous actions were too "soft". After the attack of two battleship destroyers, President Johnson authorized the attack on North Vietnam by air strikes. Although he claims there were two attacks, there is evidence the second attack never happened and he just used it as an excuse to go to war. -
Tet Offensive of 1968
The tet offensive was one of the largest military campaigns in the Vietnam war. North Vietnam launched an attack against 100 cities in south Vietnam. This resulted in a turning point in the Vietnam war. -
Richard Nixon
37th President of the U.S
Richard Nixon was the President of the U.S during the 1970's. He was in the Republican Party. He was the only president to resign in office. -
The Moon Landing
In 1962, President John F Kennedy made a speech that promised that one day a Man will walk on the moon. about seven years later Apollo 11 reached the moon. The first men to walk on the moon were Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Micheal Collins.
"One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind"
It was the first ever time anybody has ever made it to the moon, this won the Space Race. -
26th Amendment
The federal government cannot use age to prevent people from voting. Citizens must be of 18 years or older to vote. The Younger generation can now vote on leaders. -
Vietnamization
Vietnamization was delaying out involvement in the Vietnam war. U.S government decided to us less force and started decreasing the number of troops that were sent over to Vietnam. This lead to the Paris Accords that ended U.S military involvement. -
War Powers Act
The president cannot go to war without the congress's consent. The bill was passed as Federal law. It was at first vetoed by President Nixon. The congress overturned his veto.
