US 2 – Final Exam Review
What event in the second half of the 20th
Century (post World War II) has most impacted
the world in which we live today? Be sure to
support your answer with details.
What was the Cold War?
• Political tension between US and USSR
• Rivalry between opposing ideologies
(capitalism and communism)
• “cold war” because no direct fighting between
either nation
Containment
• Policy of keeping communism from spreading
Satellite Nation
• Nation controlled by another (Soviet Union
controlled satellite nations in Eastern Europe)
Truman Doctrine
• Policy created under Harry Truman to provide
economic and military aid to free nations from
communism
• Directly aided Turkey and Greece
Marshall Plan
• Program devised by Secretary of State George
Marshall that offered financial assistance to
European nations after World War II
Berlin Airlift
• Shipment of supplies by the United States and
the British in response to the Berlin Blockade
(from the Soviet Union)
NATO
• North Atlantic Treaty Organization
• International organization of Western
countries
• Aimed to prevent spread of communism
Korean War
• Conflict between North and South Korea in
the early 1950’s
• After the war, Korea was still divided into two
separate nations
Mao Zedong
• Led the Communist revolution in China
Harry Truman
• President during the Korean War
• Wanted a “limited war” – did not want China
to become involved
General MacArthur
• Military leader during the Korean War
• Wanted “total warfare” – absolute victory
38th Parallel
• Dividing line between North and South Korea
Dwight D. Eisenhower
• President who believed in concept of the
Domino Theory
– If one country falls to communism, neighboring
countries will as well
– Related to Southeast Asia
Red Scare
• Fear of communism and its negative impact
on life in the United States
• Amplified by Senator McCarthy – hunted for
Communist “spies” in the US government and
military
Sputnik
• First satellite launched into space by the
Soviet Union
Stalin
• Soviet leader during WWII and early Cold War
• Wanted to keep Germany weak to prevent
further conflicts
• Hoped to control Eastern Europe via satellite
nations
Warsaw Pact
• Military/political alliance between Soviet
Union and its satellite nations
Iron Curtain
• Symbolized the division of Europe into the
democratic west and communist east
What was the main goal for the US
during the Cold War?
• Containing communism
• Preventing it from spreading
How did US leaders respond to the
threat of Soviet expansion in Europe?
• Berlin Airlift – provided supplies to West Berlin
• Truman Doctrine – helped Turkey and Greece
economically; prevented the need of these
countries from having to fall to communism
• Marshall Plan – aided European countries rebuild
after WWII
What methods did the US use in its global
struggle against the Soviet Union?
• Money
• Military aid
How did the fear of communism affect
American society during the Cold War?
• Red Scare
• McCarthyism
• Blacklist
• Arms Race
What factors contributed to North Korea
invading South Korea in June 1955?
• US removed many of its troops from SK in
1949
• Soviets did not think US would defend SK,
thought they could easily help NK win quickly
Compare Truman vs. MacArthur’s
ideas on the Korea War
• MacArthur wanted “total war”; thought it was
a good idea to invade China to rid them of
communism
• Truman did not want to involve China due to
their relationship with Soviet Union
– Only wanted a “limited war”
What was the outcome of the Korean
War?
• Country remains divided
• NK = communist
• SK = democratic
What were the effects of Sputnik?
• Amplified the Space Race – goal of getting into
space and to the moon; more money being
spent on US space program
• Increased Red Scare (some people thought the
satellites could drop nuclear bombs on US)
De Jure Segregation
• Segregation by law
De Facto Segregation
• Segregation by customs and/or practice
Jim Crow Laws
• Laws in the South that limited the freedoms of
African Americans
Brown vs. Board of Education
• Changed policy of “separate but equal” with
regards to public schools
Malcolm X
• Civil Rights Activist/Leader
• Was a member of Nation of Islam
Rosa Parks
• Civil Rights Activist
• Refused to give up her seat on a public bus to
a white man
Martin Luther King, Jr.
• Civil Rights Activist/Leader
• Delivered “I Have a Dream” speech during
March on Washington protest
Southern Christian Leadership
Conference
• Organization founded in 1957 by MLK and
others to work towards civil rights through
nonviolent means
Montgomery Bus Boycott
• African Americans refusing to use the busses
in Montgomery, Alabama as a way to protest
segregation in the busing system
Little Rock Nine
• Nine AA students chosen to integrate the Central
High School in Little Rock, Arkansas
• Race riots due to the integration/desegregation
• US military was sent in by President Eisenhower;
had to escort the student to and from school
everyday for entire school year
Sit-In
• Act of physically sitting in a segregated
location as a form of nonviolent protest
• Most famous one occurred in Greensboro, NC
at a restaurant
Freedom Summer
• Event in Mississippi to promote equality in
voting
Freedom Riders
• Civil Rights activists who rode busses to try to
promote integration on interstate busses
• Were met with violence and hostility by
southerners as they entered Alabama
James Meredith
• First AA to attend the University of Mississippi
March on Washington
• Over 250,000 people went to Washington DC
to demand stronger equality and improved
civil rights
• MLK delivered his famous “I Have a Dream”
speech
Civil Rights Act of 1964
• Prohibited discrimination due to race, religion,
nation of origin, and/or gender
How did southerners respond to the
Freedom Riders?
• Violently
• Attacked the busses with firebombs
What was the Little Rock Crisis?
How did Eisenhower respond?
• Conflict in Little Rock, Arkansas over
integrating the local High School
• Eisenhower sent in federal troops to enforce
the integration and protect the Little Rock
Nine (AA students)
Why were nonviolent protests
effective?
• Showed the country that those using violence
were more evil and had were more dangerous
What successes and challenges faced
the CR movement after 1964?
• Successes:
– Eliminated discrimination due to
race/gender/religion/etc.
– Gave equal access to public
facilities/restaurants/parks/etc.
• Challenges:
– De facto segregation (customs/practice
– Difficulties in urban environments (lack of
funding/high poverty and unemployment rates/etc.)
John F. Kennedy
• Elected President of the United States in 1960
• Helped prevent
• Assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald
Richard M. Nixon
• Republican candidate for President in 1960
• VP under Eisenhower in the 1950s
Fidel Castro
• Leader of communist revolution in Cuba
Flexible Response
• Military strategy implemented under JFK
• Called for both increase of producing nuclear
weapons, but also for additional spending on
traditional military forces and special forces
Peace Corps
• International volunteer program to aid
developing countries
Alliance for Progress
• Program aimed at helping Latin American
countries
Bay of Pigs Invasion
• Failed attempt to overthrow Fidel Castro in
Cuba
• Hurt JFK’s credibility early on in his Presidency
Cuban Missile Crisis
• US spy planes found Soviet missile sites being
built in Cuba
• JFK enacted a naval blockade to prevent further
creation of missile sites
• Very close to nuclear war between the US and
Soviet Union
Nikita Khruschev
• Soviet Union Premiere (leader) during the
1960s
Hot Line
• Phone line between Washington DC and
Moscow, Russia
• Designed to allow leaders of both nations to
easily contact each other if necessary
• Helped reduce Cold War tensions
Nuclear Test Ban Treaty
• Signed by US, Soviet Union, and Great Britain
• Agreement to end aboveground nuclear tests
• Helped reduce Cold War tensions
Berlin Wall
• Symbol of Divided Germany
• Constructed by Soviet Union to prevent East
Germans from escaping through West Berlin
New Frontier
• JFK’s plan to improve American society
– Economy
– Health care
– Education
– Civil rights
– Space race
Deficit Spending
• Federal government spending more money
than it makes from collecting taxes
Space Race
• Competition between US and USSR to be first
nation into space (USSR won) and first to put a
man on the moon (US won)
Lyndon B. Johnson
• VP under JFK; became president after JFK was
assassinated
• President during majority of Vietnam War
• Plan for improving lives of Americans = Great
Society
Warren Commission
• Investigated the JFK assassination
• Declared Lee Harvey Oswald to be the only
assassin
War on Poverty
• Aimed at improving lives of Americans living in
poor conditions
Great Society
• Plan from Lyndon B. Johnson to improve the
lives of the average American
• Led to creation of Medicare and Medicaid
Medicare
• Program to provide health insurance for the
elderly
Medicaid
• Program to provide health insurance for the
poor and disabled
Warren Court
• Nickname for Supreme Court under Chief Justice
Earl Warren
• Most liberal time in court history
• Supported civil rights, civil liberties, personal
privacy
• Miranda Rights
How did JFK respond to the continuing
challenges of the Cold War?
• Flexible response
– Increased spending on nuclear weapons and
traditional military forces/special forces
• Set up Hot Line between Wash DC and Moscow
to minimize conflicts
• Nuclear Test Ban Treaty
– Eliminated aboveground nuclear testing
What were the goals of JFK’s New
Frontier?
• Provide better healthcare for elderly
• Improve urban living conditions
• Improve education
• Increase national defense
• Increase international aid (Alliance for Progress
and Peace Corps)
Why did Bay of Pigs Fail?
• Failed air strike early on
• Lack of US air support; did not give the Cuban
troops invading the necessary
cover/protection
How did Johnson’s Great Society Programs
change the lives for most Americans?
• Medicare/Medicaid = healthcare for elderly, poor
and disabled
• Improved education throughout the country
• Improved urban housing
• Improved restrictions on consumer products and
the environment
Ho Chi Minh
• Communist leader in North Vietnam
– Compared Vietcong soldiers to tigers
– Compared US soldiers to elephants
Domino Theory
• If one nation falls to communism, its
neighbors will as well
– Eisenhower
– Relates to southeast Asia
Vietcong
• Communist rebels
• Guerilla fighters
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
• Gave Johnson war powers, allowed him to commit
U.S. troops to Vietnam without asking Congress to
declare war
• Napalm – jellied gasoline that explodes on
impact and covers large areas in flames
• Agent Orange – herbicide meant to kill plant
life
• Hawks – pro-war/military action in Vietnam
• Doves – anti-war/wanted US to withdrawal
from Vietnam
Credibility Gap
• The lack of trust in the Johnson administration
due to mixed messages about to the war led
to this
• American public’s growing distrust of the
statements made by the government
Tet Offensive
• 1968
• Turning point of the war
• North Vietnamese & Vietcong surprise attack
on cities that lasted about one month, but US
& South Vietnamese won
My Lai Massacre
• Lieutenant Calley’s unit began shooting and
killing Vietnamese civilians
Vietnamization
• Nixon’s plan to gradually remove US troops
from Vietnam
Kent State
• College that had protests against the Vietnam
War – 4 students were killed
Pentagon Papers
• Revealed secret government history of
America’s involvement in the Vietnam War
• President Nixon tried to block the publication
Paris Peace Accords
• Treaty signed by US, North Vietnam, South
Vietnam, and the Vietcong
– End of US involvement
War Powers Act
• Passed in 1973 to restrict the president’s warmaking powers; must consult with Congress