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Cold War
The Cold War was a decades-long struggle for global supremacy that pitted the capitalist United States against the communist Soviet Union. -
Truman Doctrine
An American foreign policy that pledges American "support for democracies against authoritarian threats. -
McCarthyism
Defamation of character or reputation by means of widely publicized indiscriminate allegations, especially on the basis of unsubstantiated charges. Name was given to the period of time in American history that saw U.S. Sen. Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin produce a series of investigations and hearings during the 1950s in an effort to expose supposed communist infiltration of various areas of the U.S. government. -
Korean War
The Northern Korean People's Army invaded South Korea in a coordinated general attack at several strategic points along the 38th parallel, the line dividing communist North Korea from the non-communist Republic of Korea in the south. It ended on 27 July 1953. -
Brown v. Board of Ed.
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Earl Warren delivered the unanimous ruling in the landmark civil rights case Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas. State-sanctioned segregation of public schools was a violation of the 14th amendment and was therefore unconstitutional. -
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Vietnam War
War between the communist government of North Vietnam and South Vietnam with its principal ally, the United States. -
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Montgomery Bus Boycott
A civil rights protest during which African Americans refused to ride city buses in Montgomery, Alabama, to protest segregated seating. Ended on December 20, 1956. -
Sputnik
A satellite launched into space by the Soviet Union. It was closest to the size of a beach ball. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Soviet provision of ballistic missiles to Cuba led to the most dangerous Cold War confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union and brought the world to the brink of nuclear war. -
March on Washington
More than a quarter million people participated in the March on Washington for jobs, freedom, and the end of segregation, gathering near the Lincoln Memorial. -
JFk Assassinated
President John F. Kennedy was assassinated as he rode in a motorcade through Dealey Plaza in downtown Dallas, Texas. -
Civil Rights Act
Prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin. -
Tet Offensive
North Vietnamese and communist Viet Cong forces launched a coordinated attack against a number of targets in South Vietnam. -
MLK Jr. Killed
Martin Luther King Jr was shot dead while standing on a balcony outside his second-floor room at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. -
RFK Killed
Robert F. Kennedy was shot by Sirhan Sirhan at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, California and pronounced dead the following day. -
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Moon Landing
Two U.S. astronauts performed a lunar landing and returned to earth. -
Watergate break-in
The burglary and illegal wiretapping of the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee, in the Watergate complex by members of President Richard Nixon's re-election campaign, and the subsequent cover-up of the break-in resulting in Nixon's resignation on August 9, 1974 -
Roe v. Wade
Recognized that the decision whether to continue or end a pregnancy belongs to the individual, not the government. -
Iranian Hostage Crisis
Iranian students seized the embassy and detained more than 50 Americans, ranging from the Chargé d'Affaires to the most junior members of the staff, as hostages. The Iranians held the American diplomats hostage for 444 days.