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The Atomic Bomb
A powerful weapons that use nuclear reactions as their source of explosive energy. Scientists first developed nuclear weapons technology during World War II. A period of nuclear proliferation followed that war, and during the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union vied for supremacy in a global nuclear arms race. -
Hiroshima
an American B-29 bomber dropped the world’s first deployed atomic bomb over the Japanese city of Hiroshima. The explosion wiped out 90 percent of the city and immediately killed 80,000 people; tens of thousands more would later die of radiation exposure. -
Nagasaki
A B-29 bomber, called “Bock’s Car,” after its usual commander, Frederick Bock, took off from Tinian Island under the command of Maj. Charles W. Sweeney. Nagasaki was a shipbuilding center, the very industry intended for destruction. The bomb was dropped at 11:02 a.m., 1,650 feet above the city. The explosion unleashed the equivalent force of 22,000 tons of TNT. -
The Iron Curtain
Winston Churchill was a British prime minister and he did a speech on March 3, 1946 in Missouri and said, " From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste to Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the continent". This was a verbal and political barrier constructed by the Soviet Union after World War II. -
Period: to
Cold War
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The Berlin Airlift
Another word for it was, the Berlin blockade. When the Russians wanted everything for themselves in Berlin and blocked roads, railroads and canals for people not to send supplies an goods to the people. But the United States had an idea and decided to send supplies from air. This lasted one year and was very successful delivering. The U.S. also dropped toys for kids. -
Alger Hiss
He worked in the administration of Franklin D. Roosevelt. In 1948, Whitaker Chambers accused Hiss of having been a member of an underground communist organization. Hiss denied this but was found guilty of two counts of perjury in 1950 (the statute of limitations on a treason charge had run out) and served more than three years of a five-year prison sentence. He released in 1954, still asserting his innocence until his death in 1996. -
Joseph McCarthy
Joseph was a republican serving as a U.S. Senator in 1946 and created something called McCarthyism. In 1950, he said that 250 communists were in the U.S. State Department. He spent five years trying to expose communists. -
Bill Haley and the Comets
It was the first time rock ’n roll music would be used in film, presaging a lucrative business relationship between rock ‘n roll and film that would grow to great levels in the decades that followed. But in the mid-1950s this was new territory -
G.I. Deal
One of the most far reaching pieces of social legislations in American history. Aimed at rewarding members of the armed forces for their service and preventing the widespread unemployment and economic disruption. it was to help the returning veterans of WWII. and it gave veterans a chance to attend college, receive home mortgages, and compensated -
Period: to
1950s
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Ike turner
was an American musician, bandleader, songwriter, arranger, talent scout, and record producer. In a career that lasted more than half a century, his repertoire included blues, soul, rock, and funk. His first recording, "Rocket 88", with the Kings of Rhythm, credited to "Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats", in 1951 is considered a contender for "first rock and roll song". Turner recorded for many of the key R&B record labels of the 1950s and 1960s, including Chess, Modern, Trumpet, Flair and Sue. -
Elvis
Elvis sang He sand R and B, Gospel, Pop, and Country as if it was one genre. His music was for low class white southerner who sang black music and danced suggestively. many teens listened to him because their parents didn't want them to listen to the black singers/rappers -
Fair Deal
was an ambitious set of proposals put forward by U.S. President Harry S. Truman to Congress in his January 1949 State of the Union address. More generally the term characterizes the entire domestic agenda of the Truman administration, from 1945 to 1953. -
Brown v. Board of Education
This case was the consolidation of four cases arising in separate states relating to the segregation of public schools on the basis of race. In each of the cases, African American minors had been denied admittance to certain public schools based on laws allowing public education to be segregated by race.They argued that such segregation violates the Equal Protection. The plaintiffs were denied relief based on the precedent set by Plessy v Ferguson which established the "separate but equal" -
Malcom X
1952; renamed himself X to signify the loss of his African heritage; converted to Nation of Islam in jail in the 50s, became Black Muslims' most dynamic street orator and recruiter; his beliefs were the basis of a lot of the Black Power movement built on seperationist and nationalist impulses to achieve true independence and equalityblack power spokesman who was Muslim as well. He was assassinated in 1965 after writing an autobiography. -
The Domino Theory
A foreign policy during the 1950s to 1980s that states if one one land in a region came under the influence of communism, then surrounding countreis would follow. -
Period: to
Civil Rights
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Montgomery Bus Boycott
In 1955, after Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat on a city bus, Dr. Martin L. King led a boycott of city busses. After 11 months the Supreme Court ruled that segregation of public transportation was illegal. -
Dr.Jonas Salk
.Dr. Jonas Salk was the person who developed the polio vaccine. He became a world hero of sorts. This helped to save millions of lives and made a huge impact.
This term is cultural because the life expectancy was then greatly extended. -
Beat Generation
a group of American writers who came to prominence in the 1950s, as well as the cultural phenomena that they wrote about. Central elements of "Beat" culture include a rejection of mainstream American values, experimentation with drugs and alternate forms of sexuality, and an interest in Eastern spirituality. (the 1950's) -
Albert Sabin
He developed an even bette version of the polio vaccine so that the vaccine could be taken orally and when it was used it was what allowed for the complete eradication of polio. -
Little Rock Nine
In September 1957 the school board in Little rock won a court order to admit nine African American students to Central High.The governor ordered troops from Arkansas National Guard to prevent them from entering the school. The next day as the National Guard surrounded the school, an angry mob joined to protest the integration plan and intimidate the students trying to register. The mob violence pushed Eisenhower's patience to ordered the US Army to send troops to protect them for the school year -
Little Richard
visually flamboyant singer & pianist, frentic performance style, shouted vocals & used vocables and falsettos, wild side of rock, had internal conflicts, 1957 quit show business, his style was
boogie woogie style rhythm and blues or also rock and roll -
New Frontier
The "new" liberal and civil rights ideas advocated by Kennedy, in contrast to Eisenhower's conservative view.The campaign program advocated by JFK in the 1960 election. He promised to revitalize the stagnant economy and enact reform legislation in education, health care, and civil rights. -
Period: to
1960s
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Earl Warren Supreme Court
He was a United States jurist who served as chief justice of the United States Supreme Court. He led the Supreme Court with an activist direction (Brown case) which pushed further the boundaries of civil rights in the U.S.A. he was a Chief Justice during the 1950's and 1960's who used a loose interpretation to expand rights for both African-Americans and those accused of crimes. -
Freedom Rides
Freedom Riders were a group of people, organized by the Interracial Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), who rode on interstate bus lines throughout the south. Their aim was to call attention to recent violations of Supreme Court rulings against segregation in interstate commerce. -
Peace Corps
This program was created in 1961, to help impoverished countries in Africa and Asia, to promote world peace & friendship. it made it so that young volunteers could help countries help themselves through teaching and technical aid. many of the rich people would go into peace corps for time to travel. -
Chicano Mural Movement
The Chicano mural movement began in the 1960s in Mexican-American barrios throughout the Southwest.artists began using the walls of city buildings, housing projects, schools, and churches to depict Mexican-American culture. Chicano muralism has been linked to pre-Columbian peoples of the Americas recorded their rituals and history on the walls of their pyramids and Mexican revolutionary-era painters José Clemente Orozco, Diego Rivera, David Alfaros Siquieros painted murals in the United States -
Lee Harvey Oswald
Ex-Marine and communist and communist sympathizer who assassinated JFK in Dallas, Texas, on November 22, 1963. He was murdered two days later as he was being transferred from one jail to another -
Warren Commission
Commission made by LBJ after killing of John F. Kennedy. (Point is to investigate if someone paid for the assassination of Kennedy.) Conclusion is that Oswald killed Kennedy on his own. Commissioner is Chief Justice Warren. -
Daisy Girl Ad
A controversial political advertisement aired on television during the 1964 United States presidential election by incumbent president Lyndon B. Johnson's campaign. Though only aired once (by the campaign), it is considered a factor in Johnson's landslide victory over Barry Goldwater and an important turning point in political and advertising history. This is considered the most controversial political ad in history. -
Barry Goldwater
In 1964, LBJ was opposed by this Republican Arizona senator who attacked the federal income tax, the Social Security
system, the Tennessee Valley Authority, civil rights legislation, the
nuclear test-ban treaty, and the Great Society -
Selma March
It was a March that was begun because of the segregation and all of the bad things that were going on in the area. And people marched to prove how angry and upset they were. And they had to prove their point. But the government has shown them their point too. Martin Luther King lead the march with 600 other brave people. This took 5 days and was 54 miles long. The african americans came with signs and sang songs so that the everybody would see them and they could be free and equal. -
Great Society
President Johnson called his version of the Democratic reform program the Great Society. In 1965, Congress passed many Great Society measures, including Medicare, civil rights legislation, and federal aid to education. -
Dolores Huerta
Dolores Huerta is a union leader and an activist for the rights of farm workers and women. Along with Cesar Chavez, she founded the first successful farm workers union in the country, the United Farm Workers, in 1962. She is a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. -
Hippies
believed in anti-materalism, free use of drugs, they had a casual attitude toward sex and anti-conformity, (1960s) practiced free love and took drugs, flocked to San Francisco- low rent/interracial, they lived in communal "crash pads", smoked marijuana and took LSD, sexual revolution, new counter culture, Protestors who influenced US involvement in Vietnam -
Black Panther Party
The Black Panther Party for Self Defense (aka the Black Panther Party) was an organization of armed black militants formed in Oakland, California, in 1966 by Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newton. The organization was originally formed as part of the Black Power and Civil Rights movements to aggressively bring the reality of racism, discrimination and lack of opportunity for Blacks to a national agenda.Another reason for the group's formation was to protect aa neighborhoods from racist police brutality -
Anti-War Movement
The Anti-War Movement was a student protest that started as the Free Speech movement in California and spread around the world. All members of the Anti-War Movement shared an opposition to war in Vietnam and condemned U.S. presence there. They claimed this was violating Vietnam's rights. This movement resulted in growing activism on campuses aimed at social reform etc. Primarily a middle-class movement. -
Tet Offensive
Tet offensive definition. A series of major attacks by communist forces in the Vietnam War. Early in 1968, Vietnamese communist troops seized and briefly held some major cities at the time of the lunar new year, or Tet. -
Stonewall Movement
In June 1969, police officers raided this Inn, which was a gay nightclub in New York, and began arresting patrons for attending the place. Gay onlookers taunted the police and then attacked them. Someone started a fire in the Inn, almost trapping people inside. This marked the beginning of the gay liberation movement. New organizations also began to rise up, like the Gay Liberation Front, which was founded in New York. -
Apollo 11
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. The astronauts also returned to Earth the first samples from another planetary body. -
Period: to
1970s
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OPEC
Organization of Petrolium Exporting Countries. Controls Middle Eastern natural resources. Members are Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Qatar, Indonesia, U.A.E, Nigeria, Equador, Angola, Algeria. -
Phyllis Schlafly
1970s; a new right activist that protested the women's rights acts and movements as defying tradition and natural gender division of labor; demonstrated conservative backlash against the 60s -
Warren Burger Supreme Court
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court from 1969 to 1986, he was responsisble for bringing the Court somewhat back to the right after the Earl Warren years. He presided over major cases involving abortion, affirmative action, the death penalty, and school desegregation -
Roe v. Wade
The Court held that a woman's right to an abortion fell within the right to privacy (recognized in Griswold v. Connecticut) protected by the Fourteenth Amendment. The decision gave a woman total autonomy over the pregnancy during the first trimester and defined different levels of state interest for the second and third trimesters. As a result, the laws of 46 states were affected by the Court's ruling. -
Watergate
A break-in at the Democratic National Committee offices in the Watergate complex in Washington was carried out under the direction of White House employees. Disclosure of the White House involvement in the break-in and subsequent cover-up forced President Nixon to resign in 1974 to avoid impeachment. -
Gerald Fords Presidency
'Press and people desperate for a 'regular guy'
'nothing any different from your next door neighbour'
America devastated by Watergate scandal, therefore seeking a 'regular guy'.Ford survived 2 assassination attempts (one by a cult member and the other by a lady who wanted to prove she could kill him) both were put in jail for life -
Camp Davis Accords
The Camp David Accords were the peace accords signed by Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat to finally end the Israeli-Egyptian disputes. The achievement by Carter is considered his greatest achievement in office. -
The Moral Majority
political organization of the United States which had an agenda of evangelical Christian-oriented political lobbying. Formed by Jerry Falwell. Organization made up of conservative Christian political action committees which campaigned on issues its personnel believed were important to maintaining its Christian conception of moral law. This group pressured for legislation that would ban abortion and ban the states' acceptance of homosexuality. -
Iran Hostage Crisis
diplomatic crisis triggered on Nov 4, 1979, when Iranian protesters seized the US embassy in Tehran and held 66 American diplomats hostage for 444 days. Carter was unable to free the hostages despite several attempts; to many this event symbolized the paralysis of American power in the late 1970's -
Three-Mile Island
The site of a 1979 nuclear disaster, the worst in American history. A combination of mechanical failure and human error combined to permit an escape of radiation over a 16 mile radius. While it was ultimately not terrible, it harmed the public perception of nuclear power. -
Period: to
1980s
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space shuttle program
Between the first launch on April 12, 1981, and the final landing on July 21, 2011, NASA's space shuttle fleet -- Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavour -- flew 135 missions, helped construct the International Space Station and inspired generations. NASA's space shuttle fleet began setting records with its first launch on April 12, 1981 and continued to set high marks of achievement and endurance through 30 years of missions. -
Rap Music
.Technology of the time allowed for rappers to trade out turntables for sampler machines, which became increasingly efficient and affordable.also had its genesis in the 80s, and many rap artists were influenced by electro. There was also a significant amount of rap influenced by various types Latin music, which become popular among Spanish-speaking rap fans. -
Jimmy Carter
President, previously governor of Georgia, who stressed human rights; who created the Department of Energy and the Department of Education; criticized for his return of the Panama Canal Zone; weakened presidency due to Iran hostage crisis, energy crisis, and inflation -
entertainment
he 1980s was a decade preoccupied with success and image, and much of American art during that decade was shaped by this preoccupation. In a time of excess, art became bigger. Painting, theatrical musicals, and pop recordings all became bigger in scope and ambition, bigger in theme, bigger in budget, and bigger in promotion. Americans began to spend more money on arts Prices in the art market reached new heights as the wealthy discovered that acquiring fine art financial success. -
Ronald Reagan
believed in tax cuts and less government spending; cut out many welfare and public works programs; used the Strategic Defense Initiative to avoid conflict; His meetings with Gorbachev were the first steps to ending the Cold War; responsible for the Iran-contra Affair which bought hostages with guns. -
Reagan Presidency
American political discourse permanently Reaganized Introduced practices that became standard for his successors e.g. brief radio addresses allowed him to explain his policies clearly + simply State of the Union address introduced heroes, prominent Americans + human examples of policy needs among guests sitting in visitors' gallery Visual images views saw became more important than what was said about him by reporters/political opponents -
A.I.D.S. crisis
diagnosed in US in 1981; didn't receive much attention as perceived as a gay mans disease; Falwell said men getting what they deserve; over 32,000 died in a 7 yr period -
reagan docrine
Oppose the global influence of the Soviet Union during the final years of the Cold War; U.S. provided overt and covert aid to anti-communist guerrillas and resistance movements in an effort to "rollback" Soviet-backed communist governments in Africa, Asia, and Latin America; opening the door for capitalism -
iran contra affair
A political scandal in the United States that came to light in November 1986. During the Reagan administration, senior Reagan Administration officials secretly facilitated the sale of arms to Iran, the subject of an arms embargo in hopes of securing the release of hostages and allowing U.S. intelligence agencies to fund the Nicaraguan Contras. -
Sandra Day O'connor
She was the first woman to be appointed to the Court. Prior to O'Connor's appointment to the Court, she was an elected official and judge in Arizona serving as the first female Majority Leader in the United States as the Republican leader in the Arizona Senate. On July 1, 2005, she announced her intention to retire effective upon the confirmation of a successor. Samuel Alito was nominated to take her seat in October 2005, and joined the Court on January 31, 2006. -
Oprah Winfrey
In Oprah's first year of her new TV show she made 30 million dollars, due to the popularity she gained ownership from ABC which gave her the control of the company. She decided to name it Harpo productions, which is Oprah spelt backwards. Oprah's show were different to other talk shows, instead she spoke about real problems such as women's troubles in society and the difficulties of mid class women. Oprah was described as a warm hearted and highly influential woman. -
Persian Gulf War / 1st Iraq Wa
Iraq wanted to take over Kuwait's oil
fields, and wanted access to the Persian
Gulf (for oil transport). Iraq considered Kuwait to be part of
their country.Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein wanted
control of the Muslim. Iraq was defeated, and its army was
reduced. Hussein remained in power and rebuilt
his forces.The U.N. cease-fire agreement called for
Iraq to allow U.N. inspectors to look for
and destroy Iraqi weapons of mass
destruction. -
Period: to
1990
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Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton had many great success during his presidency. One of President Clintons' most recognized achievements was his booming economy. Clinton proposed the first balanced budget in years. but a failure of President Clinton's was his major health care reform. President Clinton decided to appoint his wife, Hillary Clinton to lead the health care reform committee. The mission of the health care reform was to provide health insurance to every American. -
World Trade Center Attack - 1993
At 12:18 p.m., a terrorist bomb exploded in a parking garage of the World Trade Center in New York City, leaving a crater 60 feet wide and causing the collapse of several steel-reinforced concrete floors in the vicinity of the blast. Although the terrorist bomb failed to critically damage the main structure of the skyscrapers, six people were killed and more than 1,000 were injured. The World Trade Center itself suffered more than $500 million in damage. -
George H.W. Bush
This man possessed a formidable résumé, including ambassador to the United Nations, chairman of the Republican Party, special envoy to China, and director of the CIA. Naturally, this man focused on foreign policy. During his presidency, the Berlin Wall fell, America was successful in helping Kuwait win the Iraq-Kuwait War, and the Soviet Union dissolved. However, due to an inability to prevent the economic downturn during his presidency he was not reelected to a second term. -
North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
The North American Free Trade Agreement or NAFTA is an agreement signed by the governments of Canada, Mexico, and the United States, creating a trilateral trade bloc in North America. The agreement came into force on January 1, 1994. It superseded the Canada-United States Free Trade Agreement between the U.S. and Canada. In terms of combined purchasing power parity GDP of its members, as of 2007 the trade bloc is the largest in the world and second largest by nominal GDP comparison. -
Hillary Clinton
Clinton was the 1st Lady from 1993-2001,led initiative to address healthcare reform. was the first female to seriously contend for presidential nomination. She lost nomination of Obama
Prominent child care advocate and health care reformer in Clinton administration; won U.S. senate seat in 2000 -
Welfare Reform
increased the power of the states relative to the federal government
replaced the Aid to Families with Dependent Children program with block grants to the states
illustrated the process of devolution by giving states greater discretion to determine how to implement the federal goal of transferring people from welfare to work -
Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA)
The act defines marriage as an act as only legal union between one man and one woman. The law also allows states not to recognize same-sex marriages performed legally in other states.The law also prohibits same-sex couples who are legally married or are recognized as a couple as a result of a civil union from collecting any federal benefits that married couples get such as not being able to leave an inheritance being subject to tax regulations and not being able to file joint federal income tax. -
Technology
The 1990s was the true beginning of the electronic age. It was a time when personal computers evolved from curiosities into an essential, when information evolved from a physical thing printed on paper and stored in libraries into an ever-changing digital commodity, and made it possible for billions of people to connect with one another.These changes created a world that moved at a faster pace than ever before, where ideas spread at a viral pace and great fortunes could be made almost overnight. -
Ralph Nader
A leftist American political activist who promotes the environment, fair consumerism, and social welfare programs. His book Unsafe at Any Speed brought attention to the lack of safety in American automobiles. He was also an author, lecturer, and attorney. Areas of particular concern to Nader include consumer protection, humanitarianism, environmentalism, and democratic government -
Period: to
contromporary period
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Election of 2000
came down to electoral college votes and specifically the vote in Florida; because of the controversy over a recount in Florida, Gore sued to have a manual recount; was the 1st time the Supreme Court got involved in electoral college decision; decided the votes should stand as counted and Bush got the votes for the state giving Bush the presidency without winning the popular vote -
No Child Left Behind Education Act
No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) is part of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, a re-authorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). NCLB sets high standards and accountability for student achievement to make sure that all children are caught up to 21st century learning. -
2nd Iraq War
Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, the most junior lieutenant general in the U.S. Army, is selected to take command of all ground forces in Iraq, replacing General Tommy Franks.
Once a tank division commander, Sanchez seems unprepared for the random bombings, assassinations, sniping. -
Hurricane Katrina Disaster
Katrina was the largest and 3rd strongest ever USA hurricane.
Category 5 hurricane (only prepared for 3), it reached 175km/h wind speed.it passed over water which made it to gain much energy as it passed over the gulf of mexicos warm waters. Somethings that the hurricain did was cause the deathts of 2,000 people. as well as causing $150 billion of cost in the property that was ruined.80% New Orleans underwater and Saints stadium was destroyed aswell. Katrina impacted 90,000 miles squared. -
John McCain
Senator from AZ who rain for President in 2008 on the Republican ticket; an independent thinker who could be explosive at times; plain speaker and had a reputation for honesty; survived 5 yrs in POW camp in Vietnam -
The Great Recession
the financial crisis that started in the summer of 2007 and intensified in September 2008 marked the end of an era for U.S. investment banking. By 2009, output was 3.6% below potential and unemployment was up to 8.9%. By February 2010, 8.5 million jobs were lost -
Election of 2008
Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama fought for the Democratic nomination; John McCain as the Republican; Obama ran a grass roots campaign that engaged young voters and the black community; the failing economy was the centerpiece of the election -
Barack Obama
born to white American mother and Kenyon father; grew up in Indonesia and Hawaii; graduated from Harvard Law School; worked as a community activist in Chicago; served in US Senate 3 yrs before running for President; first black President; ran on campaign of hope and change; expanded TARP to bail out auto companies; passed comprehensive health care bill without one Republican voting for it
