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Nation of Islam
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An organization composed chiefly of AfricanAmericans, advocating the teachings of Islam and originally favoring the separation of black and white racial groups in the United States
Members of the Nation of Islam are known as Black Muslims; they read the Koran, worship Allah as their God, and accept Mohammed as their chief prophet. -
Elvis Presley
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An American musician and actor. Regarded as one of the most significant cultural icons of the 20th century, often referred to as "the King of Rock and Roll"
Born on January 8, 1935, in Tupelo, Mississippi
On August 16, 1977, he died of heart failure, which was related to his drug addiction.
Since his death, Presley has remained one of the world's most popular music icons. -
38th Parrallel
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Actualy known as the 38th latitude, it was chosen by U.S. military planners at the Potsdam Conference as an army boundary.
The line was intended as a temporary division of the country, but the onset of the Cold War led to the establishment of a separate U.S.-oriented regime in South Korea under Syngman Rhee and a communist regime in North Korea under Kim Il-sung. -
Iron Curtain Speech
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It is a term used in the West to refer to the boundary line which divided Europe into two separate areas of political influence from the end of World War II until the end of the Cold War.
During this period, Eastern Europe was under the political control and influence of the Soviet Union, while Western Europe enjoyed political freedom
The term comes from a speech by W. Churchill on March 5, 1946 in MO -
Marshal Plan
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The European Recovery Program
The goals of the United States were to rebuild war-devastated regions, remove trade barriers, modernize industry, make Europe prosperous again, and prevent the spread of communism
United States gave $13 billion in economic support to help rebuild Western European economies after the end of World War II. -
Berlin Airlift
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Berlin was divided into four sections - U.S, Britain, France and Soviet zone.
In June 1948, the Soviets closed all highways, railroads and canals from western-occupied Germany into western-occupied Berlin.
U.S. and its allies decided to supply their sectors of the city from the air.
This effort, known as the “Berlin Airlift,” lasted for more than a year and carried more than 2.3 million tons of cargo into West Berlin. -
Joe McCarthy
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He was an American politician who served as U.S. Senator from the state of Wisconsin
He was noted for making claims that there were large numbers of Communists and Soviet spies and sympathizers inside the United States federal government and elsewhere.
Ultimately, his tactics and inability to substantiate his claims led him to be censured by the United States Senate. -
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg
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On June 17, 1950, Julius Rosenberg was arrested on suspicion of espionage - to pass secret information to the USSR through a courier. On August 11, 1950, Ethel was arrested
The trial against them began on March 6, 1951 and they were convicted on March 29, 1951. They were the only two American civilians to be executed for espionage-related activity during the Cold War.
They were executed on June 19, 1953. -
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Julius and Ethel Rosenberg
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Brown vs. Board of Education
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Thirteen black parents took their children to schools in their neighborhoods and attempted to enroll them for the upcoming school year. All were refused admission.
The Supreme Court ruled that separating children in public schools on the basis of race was unconstitutional.
It signaled the end of legalized racial segregation in the schools - "separet but equal" -
Rosa Parks
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She was born on February 4, 1913, in Tuskegee, Alabama
Her refusal to surrender her seat to a white passenger on a Montgomery, Alabama bus spurred a city-wide boycott. The city of Montgomery had no choice but to lift the law requiring segregation on public buses.
She received many accolades during her lifetime, including the NAACP's highest award. -
Montgomery Bus Boycott
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From December 5, 1955, to December 20, 1956
Bus Boycott, in which African Americans refused to ride city buses in Montgomery, Alabama, to protest segregated seating,
It is regarded as the first large-scale demonstration against segregation in the U.S.
The boycott began on the day of Parks’ court hearing and lasted 381 days.
The Supreme Court ultimately ordered Montgomery to integrate its bus system -
Beatnik
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Term which is used to describe a usually young and artistic person who rejects the mores of conventional society
Cool 50's youth culture. Wore berets and polo necks. Hung out in coffee shops playing bongos and reciting poetry and experimenting with marijuana. -
Civil Rights Act of 1957
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The first civil rights legislation since Reconstruction. The new act established the Civil Rights Section of the Justice Department and empowered federal prosecutors to obtain court injunctions against interference with the right to vote
It also established a federal Civil Rights Commission with authority to investigate discriminatory conditions and recommend corrective measures -
Nikita Khrushchev
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He led the Soviet Union during the height of the Cold War, serving as premier from 1958 to 1964
Though he largely pursued a policy of peaceful coexistence with the West, he instigated the Cuban Missile Crisis by placing nuclear weapons 90 miles from Florida
He approved the construction of the Berlin Wall
He was forced to resign as both premier and head of the Communist Party -
Fidel Castro
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He was born on August 13, 1926
Marxist Cuban political leader who established the first communist state in the Western Hemisphere after leading an overthrow of the military dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista (1/1/1959)
He served as prime minister until 1976, when he became president of Cuba (1976 to 2008)
He handing off power to his younger brother Raúl in 2008. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
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October 14, 1962 – October 28, 1962
Leaders of the U.S. and the Soviet Union engaged in a tense, 13-day political and military standoff over the installation of nuclear-armed Soviet missiles on Cuba, just 90 miles from U.S. shores
Many people feared the world was on the brink of nuclear war.
U.S. agreed to Russian's offer to remove the Cuban missiles in exchange for the U.S. promising not to invade Cuba. -
Martin Luther King Jr.
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He was born on January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia
Through his activism, he played a pivotal role in ending the legal segregation of African-American citizens in the South and other areas of the nation, as well as the creation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
He received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964.
He was assassinated in April 1968 -
24th Amendment
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Citizens in some states had to pay a fee to vote in a national election. This fee was called a poll tax.
On January 23, 1964, the United States ratified the 24th Amendment to the Constitution, prohibiting any poll tax in elections for federal officials. elections for federal officials. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
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It is considered one of the crowning legislative achievements of the civil rights movement because it ended segregation in public places and banned employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin -
Malcom X
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In 1946, he went to prison for larceny and breaking and entering. He became a member of the Nation of Islam, and after his parole in 1952, quickly rose to become one of the organization's most influential leaders.
He went on a pilgrimage to Mecca, which proved to be life altering for him - instead of just preaching to African-Americans, he had a message for all races.
On February 21 1965, he was assassinated.
