Final Exam 1960's and Vietnam

1968 Democratic Convention

Bloody riot in 1968 in Chicago to protest the Democratic support of the Vietnam war. Led to Republican win for the presidency.

Cuban Missile Crisis (1962)

Brink-of-war confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union over the placement of nuclear-armed missiles in Cuba. DATE

Fall of Saigon (1975)

Communist forces marched into Saigon, shortly after officials of the Thieu regime and the staff of the American embassy had fled the country. It was renamed Ho Chi Minh City. DATE

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution (1964)

Congressional resolution authorizing President Johnson to take military action in Vietnam. DATE

Cambodia

Country bordering Vietnam in which Nixon had begun secret bonbing raids.

Fidel Castro

Cuban socialist leader who overthrew a dictator in 1959 and established a Marxist socialist state in Cuba.

17th Parallel

Dividing latitude between North and South Vietnam in 1953.

November 22, 1963

JFK was shot by Lee Harvey Oswald in Dallas, TX during a parade with Texas Governor John Connally.

Bobby Kennedy

JFK's brother and attorney general. Worked for Civil Rights and asked people to be non violent after Martin Luther Kings death. Ran for democratic presidential nomination but was assassinated.

LBJ

JFK's successor president who escalated involvement in vietnam, by using tonkin gulf resolution, created great society policies, declared war against poverty and racism, and passed both the Civil Rights act and Voting Rights Act.

Peace Corps

Kennedy proposed this which was an army of idealistic and mostly youthful volunteers to bring American skills to underdeveloped countries.

New Frontier

Kennedy's plan, supports civil rights, pushes for a space program, wans to cut taxes, and increase spending for defense and military.

Ngo Dinh Diem

Leader of South Vietnam, 1954-1963; supported by United States, but not by Vietnamese Buddhist majority; assassinated in 1963.

Vietminh

League for the Independence of Vietnam; group of Vietnamese nationalists organization in the 1940 by Ho Chi Minh to drive the Japanese out of Vietnam.

Camelot

Lively atmosphere of the Kennedy administration in the 1960's. Spirit of America suddenly brought to a close at Kennedy's assassination.

26th Amendment

Lowered the voting age from 21 to 18.

58000

Number of US dead in Vietnam.

Kent State

Ohio college where an anti-war protest got way out of hand, the National Guard was called in and killed three innocent & unarmed students.

Robert McNamara

Secretary of Defense under JFK & LBJ; expanded American involvement in Vietnam.

Yuri Gagarin

Soviet cosmonaut who in 1961 was the first person to travel in space.

Silent Majority

Term used by President Nixon to describe Americans who disapproved of the anti-war rioters.

Port Huron Statement

The SDS's mission statement that outlined it's goals and principles. The statement showed the feelings of some in America who didn't like the way power was rooted in possessions and privileges.

Warren Commission

The group in charge with investigating the assassination of JFK. It came to the conclusion that Oswald was alone in his actions and advised to reform presidential security measures.

Daniel Ellsberg

The individual most responsible for illegally leaking the pentagon papers to the press in 1971.

Jack Ruby

The night club owner who assassinated Lee Harvey Oswald on November 24, 1963.

Domino Theory

The political theory that if one nation comes under Communist control then neighboring nations will also come under Communist control.

Great Society

The term for the domestic programs of the Johnson administration.

Woodstock

Three day rock concert in upstate N.Y. August 1969, exemplified the counterculture of the late 1960s, nearly 1/2 million gathered in a 600 acre field.

1973

US left the Vietnam War.

Lee Harvey Oswald

United States assassin of President John F. Kennedy.

Ho Chi Minh

Vietnamese communist statesman who fought the Japanese in World War II and the French until 1954 and South vietnam until 1975.

Richard Nixon

Was elected to be President after Johnson decided to not to run again. He promised peace with honor in Vietnam which means withdrawing American soliders from South Vietnam.

Walter Cronkite

A newscaster who was known for his objectivity and trustworthiness, who said that the war in Vietnam would end in stalemate.

JFK

35th president of the US: during Bay of Pigs, Cuban Missle Crisis, Berlin Wall; started Peace Corps; expands NASA; pushes Civil Rights Bill of '63 after March on Washington.

Viet Cong

A Communist-led army and guerrilla force in South Vietnam that fought its government and was supported by North Vietnam.

Agent Orange

A chemical that kills plants; used in Vietnam to expose Viet Cong hideouts but ended up harming American soldiers.

Operation Rolling Thunder

A continuous air bombing campaign against north vietnam from 1965 to 1968 in which 1 million tons of ordance were dropped.

William Fullbright

A democratic Senator who was a leading dove, raised questions about expanding the war. Held hearings in 1966 to examine U.S. policy.

Berlin Wall

A fortified wall surrounding West Berlin, Germany, built in 1961 to prevent East German citizens from traveling to the West; was both a deterrent to individuals trying to escape and a symbol of repression to the free world.

Napalm

A jellylike substance that once dropped by planes, splattered and burned uncontrollably. This was used to attack the Viet Cong and North Vietnam hideouts.

War Powers Act

A law enacted in 1973, limiting a presidents right to send troops into battle without consulting congress.

My Lai

A massacre of hundreds of unarmed Vietnamese civilians by American soldiers during the Vietnam War.

Tet Offensive (1968)

A massive surprise attack by the Vietcong on South Vietnamese towns and cities; was a huge physiological victory for North Vietnam. DATE

SDS (Students for a Democratic Society)

A popular college organization that protested shortcoming in American life: notably racial injustice and the Vietnam War.

Pentagon Papers

A top-secret United States government report on the history of the internal planning and policy-making process within the government itself concerning the Vietnam War that was released.

William Westmoreland

American General who commanded American military operations in the Vietnam War at its peak from 1964 to 1968 and continued to request more troops.

Bay of Pigs

An unsuccessful invasion of Cuba in 1961, which was sponsored by the United States. Its purpose was to overthrow Cuban dictator Fidel Castro.

Geneva Accords (1954)

Peace agreement that divided Vietnam into Communist-controlled North Vietnam and non-Communist South Vietnam until unification elections could be held in 1956. DATE

Hawks & Doves

People who supported the war's goal arguing against those who opposed the war.

Vietnamization

Policy of equipping and training of the South Vietnamese to fight for themselves to allow American troops to withdrawal.

Escalation

Policy of increasing military involvement in Vietnam.

"War on Poverty"

President Lyndon B. Johnson's program in the 1960's to provide greater social services for the poor and elderly

Nikita Khrushchev

Ruled the USSR from 1958-1964; lessened government control of soviet citizens; seeked peaceful coexistence with the West instead of confrontation.