[APUSH] Chapters 26 and 27

thurgood marshall

American civil rights lawyer, first black justice on the Supreme Court of the United States. Marshall was a tireless advocate for the rights of minorities and the poor.

taft hartley act

A highly anti-labor piece of legislation which prohibited closed shops, allowed states to pass "right to work" laws, prohibited secondary boycotts, and gave the president to delay strikes in industries related to national safety.

baby boom

A large spike in the birthrate between 1945 and 1960 caused by postwar prosperity.

marshall plan

A plan to put containment into practice by offering large amounts of financial and military aid to European nations, making communism less attractive as European economies stabilized

nsc 68

A report issued by National Security Council which recommended 1) Quadrupling defense spending to 20% of the GNP 2) forming alliances with non-communist countries around the world 3) convincing the American public that 1) was necessary

sunbelt

A strip of states stretching from California to Florida which became a center of military spending, population, industrial growth, and political power during and after WWII.

collective security

A system in which a group of nations acts as one to preserve the peace of all which was the goal of Article X of the League Charter, the United Nations, NATO, SEATO, and the Warsaw Pact

martin luther king

African American reverend who led the Baptist church where the Montgomery Bus Boycott started. Leader of nonviolent movement for civil rights and integration.

rosa parks

African American woman who sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

john foster dulles

American politician principally known for serving as Eisenhower's Secretary of State; drafted the "policy of boldness" to confront Soviet aggression with the threat of "massive retaliation" with thermonuclear weapons.

bretton woods system

All exchange rates were fixed in terms of the dollar; the US stood ready to convert foreign holdings of dollars into gold at a rate of $35/ounce; created the International Monetary Fund EDIT: A bank meant to fund a war-torn world

nasa

An American organization intended to compete with the Soviets in the technological space race

little rock central high school crisis

Crisis that began in 1957 when the governor of Arkansas wouldn't allow the "Little Rock Nine" access to the school as part of the new desegregation. President Eisenhower then mobilized the 101st airborne division to force the school to admit the students.

strom thurmond

Democratic governor of South Carolina who headed the State's Rights Party (Dixiecrats); he ran for president in 1948 against Truman and lost

adlai stevenson

Democratic nominee in the elections of 1952 and 1956. Both times he was defeated by the republican candidate (Eisenhower). During the campaigns, he criticized McCarthy and other republicans calling them "Fear mongers".

seato

Dulles composed a regional defense pact so that South Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia wouldn't "fall" to communism. Stated that they would agree to defend one another in an attack. Signed by US, GB, France, Australia, NZ, Philippines, Thailand, and Pakistan.

ho chi minh

Leader of the communists in Vietnam

joseph mccarthy

Leader of the second red scare who accused government officials of being communists. He was eventually discredited and his accusations exposed as being unfounded.

massive retaliation (mad)

The nuclear policy that any nuclear attack should be met with complete annihilation of the enemy. It was thought to ensure peace because any war would imply inevitable complete destruction.

containment policy

The policy of stopping the spread of communism without fighting a war against already communist countries

sputnik

The satellite launched by the Soviets which started the space race

brown vs board of education of topeka, kansas

The supreme court case which finally overruled Plessy vs Ferguson, declaring that separate accommodations for blacks and whites were inherently unequal.

22nd amendment

This amendment, passed in response to Roosevelt's extended term of office, limited a presidents reign to a maximum of two full terms.

fair deal

Truman's program of national health insurance, federal aid to education, civil rights legislation, funds for public housing, and a new farm program which was mostly blocked by the Republican Congress.

cia

Played major role in overthrowing Iranian government that attempted to nationalize holding of foreign oil companies in 1953. Overthrew Guatemalan government that threatened US business in 1954. Part of Eisenhower's covert action.

douglas macarthur

Popular but ambitious and militant general who was the effective ruler of Japan after its defeat. He was in charge of UN forces in Korea 1950-51, before being forced to relinquish command by President Truman due to his insubordination.

hungarian revolt

Popular uprising that actually succeeded in overthrowing government backed by Moscow. Replaced by more liberal leaders who wanted to pull Hungary out of Warsaw Pact. Khrushchev sent tanks to restore control. US took no action, claimed it would start WWIII.

dwight eisenhower

President from 1952 to 1960, he was a fiscal conservative who nearly balanced the budget by opposing programs like national health care and aid to education. He presided over a period of economic prosperity. His foreign policy was massive retaliation, created by his secretary of State, John Foster Dulles. #ilikeike

harry truman

President who took office after FDR's death and gave the order to drop the atomic bomb on Japan. His Fair Deal extended FDR's New Deal, his Doctrine to contained communism with the help of the Marshall plan, NATO. He unexpectedly won the election of 1948 after campaigning against "do-nothing" Republican Congress.

montgomery bus boycott

Rosa Parks was tired after a long day at work and didn't feel like moving to the back of the bus that was reserved for African Americans. Was arrested for violating segregation law. Sparked massive protest in Montgomery, Alabama by boycotting taking the bus. Led to rise of MLK Jr. as civil rights leader, and Supreme Court ruling in 1956 that segregation laws were unconstitutional.

second berlin crisis

Sputnik made Soviets cocky, and they pushed the Berlin issue by giving West 6 months to remove troops from West Germany before it would be taken over by East Germans. US refused, and to calm Khrushchev down, Eisenhower invited him to the US in 1959. At Camp David they agreed to put off crisis and schedule another conference in Paris in 1960.

nato

The anti-communist military alliance for defense

truman doctrine

The anti-communist policy of containing communism by offering aid to countries and groups which rejected communism

servicemens readjustment act (g.i. bill)

The federal government stimulated the postwar economic expansion by focusing on a better educated workforce and promoting new construction. This bill gave more than half of the returning GIs the opportunity to continue their education at the government's expense. This started a postwar boom in higher education.

domino theory

The idea that one country after another would fall to communism if it was not contained, and eventually the United States would too.

mao zedong

The leader of the communist party in China

eisenhower doctrine

US pledged economic and military aid to any Middle Eastern country threatened by communism in 1957. Applied first to Lebanon in 1958 and sent 14,000 marines to prevent outbreak of civil war.

huac

Un-American Activities Committee. Established to seek out Nazis originally, but reactivated to find Communists. Looked for Communist influence everywhere, and people, even of high ranking, were called before to testify. Those who refused to testify were tried, and many blacklisted from industry.

berlin airlift

When Stalin cut off supply lines to West Berlin, the United States decided to fly supplies into West Berlin rather than let the Berliners starve and have the Soviets take the city.

u 2 incident

When the Russians shot down a high-altitude spy plane (the U-2) over the Soviet Union. Due to Eisenhower's mistake of allowing spy planes to fly over the Soviet territory to find out about its enemy's missile program, Khrushchev denounced Eisenhower and called off the Paris summit

potsdam conference

Where the United Nations was founded and the final ultimatum was issued to Japan before dropping the atom bombs

sncc (student non violent coordinating committee)

a group established in 1960 to promote and use non-violent means to protest racial discrimination; they were the ones primarily responsible for creating the sit-in movement

julius amp; ethel rosenberg

Communists found guilty of passing information about the American atomic bomb to the Soviet Union

yalta conference

Conference held by the Big Three (Roosevelt, Churchill, Stalin) to discuss postwar options. This resulted in: The division of Germany into occupation zones, the promise of free elections in East European countries, Soviet entrance into war with Japan, Soviet control of some Pacific territories, and the formation of the United Nations.

council of economic adviser

Created to counsel both the president and Congress on means of promoting national economic welfare.

george marshall

Creator of the Plan to block the spread of communism in Europe by stabilizing the economy with massive aid packages

dixiecrats

In the election of 1948 the Democratic party split into a liberal faction and a conservative faction. This was the States' Rights party created by the Southern Democrats.

opec (organization of petroleum exporting countries)

Involves Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, Iran, and Venezuela. Could prove to be problematic to future presidents due to growing Western dependence on Middle East oil, spreading Arab nationalism, and a conflict between the Israelis and Palestinian refugees

national interstate and defense highway act

the largest public works project in American history when it was passed, authorized $25 billion to build 41,000 miles of roads, greatly assisting the burgeoning car culture of the 1950s

george kennan (citizen x)

"the father of containment", he was a key figure in the emergence of the Cold War

jiang jieshi

(1887-1975) Leader of the Guomindang, or Nationalist Party in China. Fought to keep China from becoming communist, and to resist the Japanese during World War II. He lost control of China in 1949, and fled to Taiwan where he setup a rival government. Also known as Chang Kai Shek.

dien bien phu

A battle in Vietnam where the communist forces of Ho Chi Minh surrounded and defeated a large French army

joseph stalin

Brutal dictator of Soviet Russia who tried to obtain a buffer zone in eastern Europe by forcing the western powers out of western Berlin.

military industrial complex

Eisenhower first coined this phrase when he warned American against it in his last State of the Union Address. He feared that the combined lobbying efforts of the armed services and industries that contracted with the military would lead to excessive Congressional spending and an overly aggressive foreign policy.

covert action

Eisenhower's conduct of US Foreign Policy. Undercover intervention in internal politics.

modern republicanism

Eisenhower's government plan: "conservative when it comes to economics, more Liberal when it comes to social programs "

henry wallace

FDR's vice president before Truman who was more liberal than Truman. He ran against Truman with the Progressive Party (and lost) in the election of 1948.

sclc (southern christian leadership conference)

Formed by MLK Jr. Organized ministers and churches in South to support civil rights.

united nations

Founded in fall of 1945. Created to provide representation to all member nations, but had a 15 member Security Council that was primarily responsible for maintaining international security and authorizing peacekeeping missions. US, Britain, France, China, and the USSR given permanent seats and veto power in Security Council.

thomas dewey

He was the unsuccessful Republican candidate for the U.S. Presidency in 1944 and 1948. As a leader of the liberal faction of the Republican party he fought the conservative faction led by Senator Robert A. Taft, and played a major role in nominating Dwight D. Eisenhower for the presidency in 1952.

levittown

In 1947, William Levitt used mass production techniques to build inexpensive homes in suburban New York to help relieve the postwar housing shortage. It is just one example of the postwar shift to the suburbs.