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G.I. Bill
This bill, also known as the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, made the economic environment better for veterans of the war. WWII veterans were given the opportunity to go to college on governmental expenses and take out low interest loans to buy houses and start businesses. -
Truman Doctrine
This doctrine advocated for the containment of communism by lending support to any country threatened by Soviet communism. President Harry Truman issued this doctrine as a result of Soviet pressure on Turkey and Greece to accommodate Soviet goals. Congress agreed to spend 400 million dollars in economic aid and military support to fend off the Soviets in both countries. -
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Cold War
This is defined as a conflict between two belligerents in which neither engages in open warfare. The cold war between the US and the Soviet Union was a battle of ideologies. Communism and Democracy were both expansionist by nature and wanted to remake nations into their image. It was the US democratic capitalism against the Soviet Union communism. -
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Globalization
This is the time period after WWII, which refers to significant political, social, and economic changes across the globe. -
Taft-Hartley Act
This act was passed in response to massive waves of labor union strikes across the nation. It made it more difficult for workers to strike and union leaders were made to pledge that they were not members of the Communist Party. -
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Baby Boom
Between 1945 and 1960 over 50 million people were added to the US population. This increase in families led to an increase in demand for housing construction, which occurred in the form of suburbs. -
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Second Red Scare
This refers to Soviet communism. The first set of efforts to contain communism came in the form of labor unions and the federal government. People had to pledge loyalty to the US and swear that they were not communist. Multiple organizations were formed to stop the spread of communism in the US including the Federal Employee Loyalty and Security Program and the un-American Activities Committee. Hollywood was investigated and McCarthyism also furthered the widespread paranoia regarding communism. -
Marshall Plan
This was developed by the Secretary of State, George Marshall, and allocated almost 13 million in financial aid for European countries to rebuild after the war. The rationale behind the plan was that if nations had a healthy economy, they would be more likely to opt for democracy over communism. -
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization's member nations entered a military alliance in order to resist any aggressive actions of the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union established a counter-alliance called the Warsaw Pact, which did the same thing as NATO but was for the communist nations of Eastern Europe. -
Sunbelt
There was a mass migration to the Sunbelt states, in the South and West, due to Northern people being tired of cold winters in the north. Many of those who migrated to the Sunbelt states were GIs and their families who sought opportunities in the defense industry. This migration created a shift in political power from the Northeast and Midwest to the South and West. -
Beatniks
The Beatniks, or the Beat Generation, were a group of poets who rebelled against the conformity of the age. The most known of the group was Jack Kerouac whose book, On the Road, was a long series of stream of consciousness type poems that railed against conformity by encouraging a life of freedom. J.D. Salinger, author of the Catcher in the Rye, was also important and criticized mass conformity. -
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Korean War
Korea was a Japanese colony before the end of WWII but afterwards was divided along the 38th parallel. The Soviets backed North Korea and the US backed South Korea. In June of 1950 the North invaded the South with Soviet munitions. The UN sent troops, consisting of mainly US soldiers under the leadership of Douglas MacArthur, to support the South. The UN troops pushed them back to the southern border of China, which sent troops to push them back to the 38th parallel. -
Leviitown
This was the suburban community conceived and built by William J. Levitt, who purchased large tracts of land outside several major cities and built numerous mass-produced low-cost homes organized with identical lots. The original was built in New York. -
Operation Ajax
This was a covert operation led by the CIA to overthrow the democratically elected Prime Minister of Iran, Mohammad Mossadegh. -
Brown v. Board of Education
This case was over the matter of segregation in schools. Oliver Brown's daughter attended a black school over a mile from their house, when their was a white school just around the corner. They argued that segregation of schools violated the 14th amendment. The Supreme Court wound up overturning Plessy v. Ferguson and ordered that schools be integrated with all deliberate speed. This was interpreted as thoughtfully considering before refusing to integrate schools. -
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Montgomery Bus Boycott
In Montgomery, Alabama public transportation was segregated by state law and company policy. What sparked the movement was Rosa Park's refusal to give her seat to a white customer. She was subsequently arrested, which led to a city-wide bus boycott lasting for over a year. Due to the financial pressure of the boycott, the bus company ended the policy of requiring black passengers to yield their seats to white passengers. Martin Luther King Jr also joined the bus boycott. -
Interstate Highway Act
This created fast-moving highways that gave people the occasion to travel quickly from suburbs to urban areas. -
Sputnik
The Soviet Union launched the Earth's first artificial satellite into space on October 4, 1957. -
Students for a Democratic Society (SDS)
The Students for a Democratic Society was an American student organization that protested against the Vietnam War and advocated for civil rights, gay rights, and abortion rights. -
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Sit-In Movement
Members of the movement would enter restaurants and sit at lunch counters, which were for white customers only, and would demand service. They were met with mass arrests and were on the front pages of many national newspapers. The increasing pressures led to restaurants changing their policies. -
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Counterculture
This changed many of America's attitudes towards sexuality and sexual expression. This movement involved the widespread use of birth control and antibiotics to treat STDs. -
Farewell Address (Eisenhower)
In his Farewell Address, President Dwight Eisenhower warned Americans to be on guard against the military-industrial complex. -
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Flexible Response
This was a strategy implemented by Kennedy. It relied upon several options for responding to the Soviet Union, discouraging massive retaliation, and encouraged mutual deterrence. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
US intelligence agencies discovered Soviet-style nuclear launch weapons stockpiled in Cuba. Russia did not have the technology to launch nuclear weaponry from the mainland to the US, but this could be done from Cuba. After intense negotiation, the Soviet Union stood down and the crisis was averted. -
Silent Spring
This was a book written by Rachel Carson. It expressed that there was a new public awareness that nature was vulnerable to human intervention. It also raised awareness about the dangers of pesticides. -
March on Washington
On the day of the march, over 200,000 civil rights activists gathered on the lawn of the Washington Monument in front of the Lincoln Memorial. This is where Martin Luther King Jr delivered his I have a Dream speech. He expressed his desire for a society defined by equality in his speech. -
The Feminine Mystique
This book was written by Betty Friedan. It was the result of Friedan's extensive research and interviews with suburban housewives. It explored the boredom and imprisonment of the typical housewife who was beholden to the needs of her family at the expense of her own needs. It also advocated for the engagement of women in the political process and the education of women. By 1964, over one million copies were sold. -
Civil Rights Act
This made discrimination on the basis of race, religion, or sex illegal. -
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
When the North Vietnamese fired on a US battleship, Johnson used this as a justification for US military involvement in the region and asked Congress to pass the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution. This essentially gave the president a black check to exercise whatever powers necessary to protect American interests in the region. -
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Great Society
This was a series of programs suggested by President Lyndon B. Johnson, which sought to abolish poverty by mirroring the limited welfare state created by the New Deal. Johnson created the Office of Economic Opportunity, the Medicare Program, the Medicaid Program, and abolished immigration quotas. -
Voting Rights Act
This prohibited racial discrimination in the voting booth by outlawing literacy tests and poll taxes. It also authorized the federal government to oversee voting in counties, which had historically low black voter turnouts. -
Malcolm X
Malcolm X was a fiery orator who tried to persuade African Americans that integration was not the way to freedom. He preached that the way to freedom was separatism and militarism. He threw non-violent resistance movements to the side and said the only way to equality was to counter white violence with black violence. -
Immigration and Naturalization Acts
This allowed immigrants to come to America in much larger proportion than was previously possible. This combined with the Immigration Control and Reform Act and the rise of illegal immigration had a staggering impact on American Demographics. -
Black Panthers
This was an African American militant group that formed to secure African American rights through violence if necessary. -
Tet Offensive
This was a surprise attack carried out by the North Vietnamese which inflicted heavy casualties on US troops. The US launched a counter-attack, resulting in more losses. In response to this Johnson and his staff requested 200,000 troops be sent to Vietnam. This resulted in Johnson's advisors turning against him. -
Election of 1968
After Johnson's term was over Richard Nixon was elected president and his goal was to reduce US involvement in Vietnam without looking like the US was conceding defeat. -
Stonewall Riot
This was a series of confrontations and riots over police action against the Stonewall Inn, which was a gay bar in Greenwich Village. The conflicts were mainly between police and gay rights activists and as the riot progressed, an international gay rights movement was born. -
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Vietnamization
This program was proposed by President Nixon. It provided for the removal of American troops from Vietnam while still lending financial aid and munitions to carry out the war for themselves. -
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Détente
The cooling down of the tensions between the US and the Soviet Union. -
Kent State
This was an incident in which unarmed students demonstrating against United States involvement in the Vietnam War were fired upon by the National Guard. Four students were killed and nine were injured. -
Pentagon Papers
This was a case in the Supreme Court in 1971. The Court determined that that the government failed to justify restraint of publication. This case revealed that the Harry S. Truman administration gave military aid to France in its colonial war. -
Equal Rights Amendment
Women wanted this amendment passed because they knew laws could be overturned. Phyllis Schlafly and her organization, Stop Taking Our Privileges, led a campaign to stop the passage of this amendment due to the fact that it would take away privileges that women enjoyed like social security benefits, separate bathrooms, and exemption from the military. Her efforts were the reason that the ERA fell short of the number of votes needed to ratify it. -
Watergate
This was the US political scandal that forced President Nixon to leave office in 1974. It involved members of the Republican Party stealing information from the Democratic offices in the Watergate building in Washington, D.C. Nixon claimed he knew nothing about it, but leaked tapes and footage proved otherwise. -
Roe v. Wade
This Supreme Court case declared that states could not prohibit women from having abortions in the first two trimesters of their pregnancy and they did so based on a woman's right to privacy found implicitly in the 14th amendment's due process clause. -
War Powers Act
This was intended to limit the President's authority to wage war and reasserted its authority over foreign wars. President Nixon vetoed this bill, but Congress overrode his veto. -
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
This protects people and the environment from significant health risks, sponsors and conducts research, and develops and enforces environmental regulations. -
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Stagflation
This economic turmoil occurred during Carter's administration. Stagflation is high inflation, high unemployment, and minimal if any economic growth. -
Indian Self-Determination Act
This allowed for Indian tribes to have greater autonomy and to have the opportunity to assume the responsibility for programs and services administered to them on behalf of the Secretary of the Interior through contractual agreements. -
Regents of California v. Bakke
This was a case in which the Supreme Court ruled that it was unconstitutional for universities to use racial quotas in the admission process. It also stated that Bakke should be admitted into the University of California. -
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Reaganomics
This was also known as supply-side economics. Reagan believed that American prosperity would be achieved though tax cuts and decreased federal spending. The intention of this was to have more investment in the private sector which would lead to an increase in productivity and jobs. It was also a fundamental rejection of Keynesian economics. -
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Iran-Contra Affair
Iran and Iraq had been at war since 1980 and the US secretly sold weapons to the Iranian Contras. The Reagan Administration used those funds to aid the Contras in Nicaragua, which was illegal since Congress had budgetary authority. After several convictions were made, it was determined that Reagan participated in illegal activities. -
Breakup of the Soviet Union
The Soviet Union collapsed in 1991 due to economic weakness, political stubbornness, and the growth of nationalism. -
Persian Gulf War
This was a war fought between Iraq and a coalition of nations including Kuwait, US, UK, France, Saudi Arabia, and many other nations. It began when Iraq invaded Kuwait on August 2, 1990 and ended when a ceasefire was declared on February 28, 1991. -
North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
This established a free-trade zone in North America. It was signed by the US, Canada, and Mexico. NAFTA immediately lifted tariffs on the majority of goods produced by the nations that signed the agreement. -
Contract with America
This was proposed by Republican Newt Gingrich. It was a pledge calling for the removal of some regulations, tax cuts, and a balanced budget amendment. This put Republicans in the majority in the House of Representatives and the Senate. -
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Dot-com Boom
Also known as the Digital Revolution, the Dot-com boom led to an increase in productivity and attributed to the speed in which communication across the globe could be performed. -
Bush v. Gore
This was in the Election of 2000. The candidates were Republican George W. Bush and Democrat Al Gore. The outcome of the election had to be decided by the Supreme Court and was in favor of George Bush. -
9/11
On September 11, 2001 two planes crashed into the World Trade Center, also known as the Twin Towers, in New York. The buildings were destroyed and many lives were lost. Another plane also crashed into the Pentagon and a final plane was targeting the White House, but was thwarted by passengers and landed in a field. -
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War on Terror
President Bush led American into what he called a War on Terror. He demanded that the Afghanistan government hand over Osama Bin Laden, who was responsible for the 9/11 attacks, but the Taliban refused. -
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War in Afghanistan
Bush sent troops into Afghanistan less than a month after the 9/11 attacks. US troops quickly overthrew the Taliban, but were unable to locate Osama Bin Laden. -
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Iraq War
Bush started this was in 2003 due to the evidence, later disproven, that Iraq's leader Saddam Hussein played a part in the 9/11 attacks. It was also due to the evidence, later disproven, that Hussein was developing weapons of mass destruction. -
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Great Recession
This was the economic downturn after the bursting of the US housing bubble and the global financial crisis. Factors that contributed to the recession include lax lending standards, government housing policies, and limited regulation of non-depository financial institutions. -
Obamacare
Obamacare, also known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, was signed into law by President Barack Obama in 2010. It aimed to reform the US healthcare system by extending health insurance coverage to over 33 million individuals nationwide. -
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Arab Spring
This was a series of Anti-government uprisings that took place in the Middle East and North Africa, which challenged the region's entrenched authoritarian regimes. -
Death of Osama Bin Laden
During the Presidency of Barack Obama, Osama Bin Laden was found in Pakistan and killed. -
Tea Party
This movement was a conservative populist social and political movement that opposed excessive taxation and government intervention in the private sector, while supporting stronger immigration controls. -
Obergefell v. Hodges
In this case the Supreme Court ruled that the fundamental right to marry is guaranteed to same sex couples by both the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. -
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Covid-19 Pandemic
This was a global outbreak of the Coronavirus, which was a severe respiratory virus. Throughout the pandemic many vaccinations were developed to treat the virus and prevent its spread. The pandemic officially ended in 2021, but the virus is still around to this day.