Key Terms Post War America

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    Rock n' Roll

    Is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, from a combination of African-American genres such as blues, boogie-woogie, jump blues, jazz, and gospel music, together with Western swing
  • War Powers Act

    War Powers Act
    Was an American emergency law that increased Federal power during World War II.
  • G.I Bill

    G.I Bill
    Was a law that provided a range of benefits for returning World War II veterans
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    House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC)

    a committee of the U.S. House of Representatives, investigated allegations of communist activity in the U.S. during the early years of the Cold War (1945-91).
  • Venona Papers

    Venona Papers
    Is a list of names apparently deciphered from codenames contained in the Venona project
  • Iron Curtain

    Iron Curtain
    The notional barrier separating the former Soviet bloc and the West prior to the decline of communism that followed the political events in eastern Europe in 1989
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    1950s Prosperity

    The booming economy, the booming suburbs and most of all the so-called “baby boom.” This boom began in 1946, when a record number of babies–3.4 million–were born in the United States. About 4 million babies were born each year during the 1950s.
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    Baby Boom generation

    Makes up a substantial portion of the North American population. Representing nearly 20% of the American public, baby boomers have a significant impact on the economy.
  • Truman Doctrine

    Truman Doctrine
    The principle that the US should give support to countries or peoples threatened by Soviet forces or communist insurrection. First expressed in 1947 by US President Truman in a speech to Congress seeking aid for Greece and Turkey, the doctrine was seen by the communists as an open declaration of the Cold War
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    Cold War

    Was a state of political and military tension after World War II between powers in the Western Bloc and powers in the Eastern Bloc. Historians do not fully agree on the dates, but 1947–91 is common.
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    Containment Policy

    Was a United States policy using numerous strategies to prevent the spread of communism abroad.
  • Marshall Plan

    Marshall Plan
    Was an American initiative to aid Western Europe, in which the United States gave $13 billion in economic support to help rebuild Western European economies after the end of World War ...
  • Berlin Airlift

    Berlin Airlift
    At the end of the Second World War, U.S., British, and Soviet military forces divided and occupied Germany. Also divided into occupation zones, Berlin was located far inside Soviet-controlled eastern Germany.
  • North Atlantic Treaty Organization(NATO)

    North Atlantic Treaty Organization(NATO)
    Primary purpose was to unify and strengthen the Western Allies' military response to a possible invasion of western Europe by the Soviet Union and its Warsaw Pact allies.
  • "McCarthyism"

    "McCarthyism"
    A campaign against alleged communists in the US government and other institutions carried out under Senator Joseph McCarthy in the period 1950–54
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    1950s,1960s,1970s,1980s

    1950- Baby Boom, Economy Boom
    1960- Was a decade of revolution and change in politics, music and society around the world.
    1970- Was a tumultuous time. In some ways, the decade was a continuation of the 1960s.
    1980- Often remembered for its materialism and consumerism, the decade also saw the rise of the “yuppie,” an explosion of blockbuster movies and the emergence of cable networks like MTV, which introduced the music video and launched the careers of many iconic artists.
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    Rust Belt and Sun Belt

    Rust Belt-The northern cities experienced changes that followed the end of the war, with the onset of the outward migration of residents to newer suburban communities,
    Sun Belt- Factors such as the migration of immigrant workers from Mexico, warmer climate, and a boom in the agriculture industry allowed for the southern third of the United States to grow economically.
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    Korean War

    Was a war between North and South Korea, in which a United Nations force led by the United States fought for the South, and China fought for the North, which was also assisted by the Soviet Union.
  • Rosenburg Trial

    Rosenburg Trial
    The trial of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg begins in New York Southern District federal court
  • Dwight D. Eisenhower

    Dwight D. Eisenhower
    Contained a peace treaty in Korea and worked hard during his two terms (1953-1961) to ease the tensions of the Cold War.
  • Domino Theory

    Domino Theory
    The theory that a political event in one country will cause similar events in neighboring countries, like a falling domino causing an entire row of upended dominoes to fall.
  • Jonas Salk

    Jonas Salk
    He determined that there were three distinct types of polio viruses and was able to develop a "killed virus" vaccine for the disease. On ths day the vaccine was finally released in the US.
  • Ray Kroc

    Ray Kroc
    He created the milkshake machine. McDonald brothers were some of the first people to buy the machine.
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    Vietnam War inclduing the fall of Saigon

    Resistance War Against America or simply the American War, was a Cold War-era proxy war that occurred in Vietnam, Laos
  • Interstate Highway Act

    Interstate Highway Act
    The law authorized the construction of a 41,000-mile network of interstate highways that would span the nation.
  • Space Race

    Space Race
    Was a 20th-century competition between two Cold War rivals, the Soviet Union and the United States, for supremacy in spaceflight capability.
  • Gary Powers

    Gary Powers
    Was an American pilot whose CIA U-2 spy plane was shot down while flying a reconnaissance mission in Soviet Union airspace, causing the 1960 U-2 incident.
  • John F. Kennedy

    John F. Kennedy
    Was the 35th President of the United States (1961-1963), the youngest man elected to the office. Also youngest president to ever die.
  • Bay of Pigs

    Bay of Pigs
    Known in Latin America as Invasión de Playa Girón, was a failed military invasion of Cuba undertaken by the CIA-sponsored paramilitary group Brigade 2506 on 17 April 1961
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    Cuban Missile Crisis

    Was a 13-day confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union concerning Soviet ballistic missiles deployment in Cuba
  • Betty Friedan

    Betty Friedan
    Her 1963 book The Feminine Mystique is often credited with sparking the second wave of American feminism in the 20th century.
  • Lyndon B. Johnson (LBJ)

    Lyndon B. Johnson (LBJ)
    He was elected vice president of the United States in 1960, and became the 36th president in 1963, after President John F. Kennedy was assassinated.
  • Great Society

    Great Society
    “with your courage and with your compassion and your desire, we will build a Great Society... where no child will go unfed, and no youngster will go unschooled.”
    The main goal was the elimination of poverty and racial injustice.
  • Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

    Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
    Gave broad congressional approval for expansion of the Vietnam War
  • Anti-War Movement

    Anti-War Movement
    Is a social movement, usually in opposition to a particular nation's decision to start or carry on an armed conflict, unconditional of a maybe-existing just cause. The term can also refer to pacifism, which is the opposition to all use of military force during conflicts.
  • Medicaid

    Medicaid
    In the United States is a social health care program for families and individuals with low income and limited resources.
  • Medicare

    Is the federal health insurance program for people who are 65 or older, certain younger people with disabilities, and people with End-Stage Renal Disease
  • Vietnamization

    Vietnamization
    the US policy of withdrawing its troops and transferring the responsibility and direction of the war effort to the government of South Vietnam.
  • Miranda v. Arizona

    Miranda v. Arizona
    Miranda v. Arizona addressed four different cases involving custodial interrogations. In each of these cases, the defendant was questioned by police officers, detectives, or a prosecuting attorney in a room in which he was cut off from the outside world.
  • Abbie Hoffman

    Abbie Hoffman
    Was an American political and social activist and anarchist who co-founded the Youth International Party ("Yippies").
  • Tet Offensive 1968

    Tet Offensive 1968
    Was one of the largest military campaigns of the Vietnam War
  • Roy Benavidez

    Retired United States Army master sergeant who received the Medal of Honor for his actions in fighting near Loc Ninh, South Vietnam on May 2, 1968.
  • Richard Nixon

    Richard Nixon
    After successfully ending American fighting in Vietnam and improving international relations with the U.S.S.R. and China, he became the only President to ever resign the office