U.S. History II
Midterm Study Guide
2015
Important People & Themes throughout multiple chapters:
 U.S. Presidents – political party, years in office (date-to-date), key events and
beliefs.
o Harry S. Truman
o Dwight D. Eisenhower
o John F. Kennedy
o Lyndon B. Johnson
 Politics – the political spectrum, beliefs of Democrats and Republicans
Unit 1
Chapter 26: Cold War Conflicts
Section 1: Origins of the Cold War
Main Idea: The United States and the Soviet Union emerged from WWII as two
“superpowers” with vastly different political and economic systems. Tensions
between the two nations led to the Cold War.
Important Terms & Names:
 U.S. & USSR goals after WWII (identify)
 Joseph Stalin (who?)
 Communism vs. democracy (define, differences)
 Capitalism (define)
 United Nations (what? When?)
 Containment (what?)
 Iron curtain (what?)
 Truman Doctrine (who did it help? What was the goal?)
 Marshall Plan (who did it help? What was the goal?)
 Berlin Airlift (who? What? Where? When? Outcome?)
 NATO (what? When? Why?)
Section 2: The Cold War Heats Up
Main Idea: After WWII, China became a communist nation and Korea was split into
communist north and democratic south.
Important Terms & Names:
 Chinese Civil War (how was U.S. involved? Outcome?)
o Chiang Kai-shek (who?)
o Mao Zedong (who?)
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 38 parallel (what? Impact?)
 Korean War (who? Why? Outcome? Impact?)
Section 3: The Cold War at Home
Main Idea: During the late 1940s and early 1950s, fear of communism led to
reckless charges against innocent citizens.
Important Terms & Names:
 Loyalty Review Board (what was it? Who did they investigate? Why?)
 House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) (what was it? Who did
they investigate? Why?)
 Hollywood Ten (who? What did they do? Outcome?)
 Blacklist (what is it?)
 Alger Hiss (who? What did he do? Outcome?)
 Ethel and Julius Rosenberg (who? What did they do? Outcome?)
 Joseph McCarthy + McCarthyism (who? What? Why? Impact?)
Section 4:Two Nations Live on the Edge
Main Idea: During the 1950s, the United States and the Soviet Union came to the
brink of nuclear war.
Important Terms & Names:
 Central Intelligence Agency (what was the role of the CIA in the Cold War?)
 Warsaw Pact (what was it? Why was it formed?)
 Eisenhower Doctrine (what was it? What did it say?)
 Hydrogen Bomb (what was it? Impact?)
 Sputnik (who? What? Impact?)
 Space Race (what? Why? Between who?)
 U-2 Incident (what? Impact?)
 Nikita Khrushchev (who?)
Unit 2
Chapter 27: The Postwar Boom
Section 1: Postwar America
Main Idea: The Truman and Eisenhower administrations led the nation to make
social, economic, and political adjustments following WWII.
Important Terms & Names:
 Post-WWII problems (what were they?
 GI Bill of Rights (what is it? Why was it created?)
 Suburbs (what? Why were they created? Who lived there? What was the
impact?)
 Dixiecrat (who are they? Why?)
 Fair Deal (what is it? Who created it? What was the goal?)
Section 2: The American Dream in the Fifties
Main Idea: During the 1950s, the economy boomed, and many Americans enjoyed
material comfort.
Important Terms & Names:
 Conglomerate (what?)
 Franchise (what?)
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Baby boom (what? When? Impact?)
Consumerism (what? Why?
Planned obsolescence (what is it? Impact?)
Conformity (what is it? How did people conform in 1950s America?)
Gender roles (what were they?)
Section 3: Popular Culture
Main Idea: Mainstream Americans, as well as the nation’s subcultures, embraced
new forms of entertainment during the 1950s.
Important Terms & Names:
 Mass media (What is mass media? How was mass media changing? How did
mass media portray America in the 50s? What was not shown?)
 Beat movement (what is it? Who is involved? What did they oppose? ?)
 Rock ‘n’ roll (what is it? Who were the musicians?
 Jazz (what? Who? Why was it significant?)
Section 4: The Other America
Main Idea: Amidst the prosperity of the 1950s, millions of Americans lived in
poverty.
Important Terms & Names:
 White flight (what is it? Who? From where to where? Impact?)
 Urban renewal (where? Who? Why was urban renewal necessary? What did
it do?)
 Bracero
Unit 3
Chapter 28: The New Frontier and the Great Society
Section 1: Kennedy and the Cold War
Main Idea: The Kennedy administration faced some of the most dangerous Soviet
confrontations in American history.
Important Terms & Names:
 1960 Presidential Election (who? Why was it significant? Outcome?)
 Fidel Castro (who? Where? Why did the U.S. not like him? Who was his ally?)
 Bay of Pigs (who was involved? What was the plan? Outcome? Impact?)
 Cuban Missile Crisis (who was involved? What was the cause? Where?
Outcome? Impact?)
 Berlin Wall (what is it and why was it built? What event was it a result of?
What was it a symbol of?)
 Hot line (what was it? Why was it created? Who could use it?)
 Limited Test Ban Treaty (what was it? Why was it created? Impact?)
Section 2: The New Frontier
Main Idea: While Kennedy had trouble getting his ideas for a New Frontier passed,
several goals were achieved.
Important Terms & Names:
 New Frontier (Who’s plan was it? What were the goals? Why was it difficult
to accomplish these goals? Who opposed the plan?)
 Space Race (what was Kennedy’s goal? Why was it so urgent? Outcome?
Impact?)
 Peace Corps (Who/what? Why? Outcome?)
 Kennedy Assassination (when? Where? Who? Impact?)
 Warren Commission (What was it? What were the findings? Why is it
controversial?)
Section 3: The Great Society
Main Idea: The demand for reform helped create a new awareness of social
problems, especially on matters of civil rights and the effects of poverty.
Important Terms & Names:
 Great Society (Who’s plan was it? What were the goals? Who would be
helped? Who was opposed and why?)
 Medicare & Medicaid (what? Who did it help?)
 Immigration Act of 1965 (what was it?)
 Economic Opportunity Act (what was it?)
 Civil Rights Act of 1964 (what is it? Why is it significant?)
 Warren Court: Supreme Court under Chief Justice Earl Warren; took a liberal
and activist stand on issues in the 1960s.
o Brown v. Board of Education (what did the Supreme Court rule?)
o Baker v. Carr (what did it establish?)
o Miranda v. Arizona (what did the Supreme Court rule?)
Chapter 29, Section 1: Taking on Segregation
Main Idea: Activism and a series of Supreme Court decisions advanced equal rights
for African Americans in the 1950s and 1960s.
Important Terms & Names:
 Thurgood Marshall (who was he? What did he do?)
 Rosa Parks (who was she? What did she do?)
 Montgomery Bus Boycott (what was it? How does it relate to Rosa Parks?
Outcome? Impact?)
 Martin Luther King, Jr. (Who was he? What did he do? Outcome? Impact?)
 Southern Christian Leadership Conference (What was the SCLC? What was
the goal?)
 Student Nonviolence Coordination Committee (What was the SNCC? What
was their goal?)