History Notes (06.09) – Flashcards

a state of being satisfied with one's self or with what one has

fitting one's attitudes and behavior to the standards of others

The G.I. Bill of Rights, also known as the Servicemen's Readjustment Act, was passed to guarantee returning veterans a year's unemployment compensation and medical coverage as well as low-interest loans for buying a home or starting a business. Definition: a federal law passed during World War II to help returning veterans secure education and access to home purchases at government expense met that need and many others. The bill guaranteed returning veterans a year's unemployment compensation and medical coverage. It offered low-interest loans for buying a home or starting a business.

Definition: a period characterized by a high birth rate, specifically in the United States from 1946-1964 Servicemen and women returning home from World War II and couples previously unable to afford a family started having children. 79 million babies born The boom led to an increase in schools, homes, and businesses providing goods and services for families. In response to the demand, new homes were constructed in new suburbs, outside of cities. Manufacturers of home necessities, such as furniture, yard tools, and appliances, prospered from the housing boom. As baby boomers aged, their needs, wants and abilities changed U.S. society.

Definition: a system of high-speed, limited access roads funded by the U.S. government in the 1950s Basic: The Highway Revenue Act provided funding to build a national system of superhighways. Explanation: The Eisenhower Interstate Highways system was designed to move forces across the country in the event of a wartime emergency as well as. It provides a fast, safe means for suburban commuters to get to work and for families to take vacations. Many drivers took advantage of these new highways, and cities across the country grew.

Definition: a movement started by an African American newspaper during World War II which called for equal rights at home along with victory for democracy in the war Explanation: The Pittsburgh Courier, an African American newspaper, launched Double V Campaign. The goal of the Double V campaign was the defeat of both Nazi racism and American racism. Its slogan was "Democracy: Victory at home, Victory abroad." By 1945, they had accomplished victory abroad, but there was still racism and inequality at home in the United States. The effects of the Double V campaign can be seen long after it ended. For example, Jackie Robinson's crossing of baseball's "color line" in 1947 was a symbolic victory. A larger victory came in 1948, when President Truman ordered the desegregation of the armed services.

What: Americans watched television programs of religious broadcasters delivering dynamic speeches to large crowds. Definition: special worship services or efforts made to awaken or heighten interest in religion, or a period characterized by increased interest in or practice of religion

Definition: The Beat Generation, or the Beats, was a group of artists who despised materialism and personal ambition. Their followers and imitators were known as Beatniks. The Beats challenged the conformity of the post-war years. They viewed suburbia and material possessions as destructive to the human spirit. They saw how the nuclear arms race threatened total annihilation. They sought fulfillment in the arts. People of the Beat Generation initiated some of the earliest protests.

Definition: trials held after World War II that focused on Nazi leaders and their actions during the Holocaust; trials were held at the International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg, Germany, and were organized by the United States, Great Britain, France, and the Soviet Union After World War II ended, war crime trials were held for military officers, government officials, and party leaders who participated in the Holocaust. Japanese leaders were also tried for crimes in the Pacific Theater.

Definition: international peace conference in Washington, DC, where the plan was made to create the United Nations What: Although World War II wasn't officially over, the Allied Powers already intended to ensure future peace and security through a new international organization. The stage was set for creating this international organization at a series of meetings called the Dumbarton Oaks Conference. Significant: Diplomatic leaders planned to create a framework for an organization to take the place of the failed League of Nations. The members decided which nations would be invited to join the organization. They created a smaller Security Council that would make decisions about future military interventions. Finally, they resolved the issue of veto power among council members. The next year, in April, representatives from 50 nations would meet to formally create the United Nations (UN).

Definition: an expression of the rights of all people made by the United Nations What: Delegates from the United Nations formed a Commission on Human Rights. Together they drafted a Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which the General Assembly adopted. Significance: Some of the main ideas were adopted from the 1941 State of the Union address given by Franklin Roosevelt. It was known as the "Four Freedoms" speech. Those freedoms were freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, freedom from fear, and freedom from want. The Declaration was intended as "a common standard of achievements for all peoples and . . . fundamental human rights to be universally protected." It symbolized a hope that living conditions could be improved for all people everywhere in the world. Many of the articles in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights are based on American principles.

Definition: the state of hostility that arose between the United States and the Soviet Union after World War II What: The Cold War was a period of tense international relations between the systems of communism in the Soviet Union and capitalism in the West. The term refers to a state of tension between two powers that fell short of actual warfare, but one in which the powers tried to defeat one another. Who: Soviet Union with communist satellite nations and the West (United States, Great Britain, etc.) Significance: The United States is a democracy in which people elect their leaders. The Soviets embraced a totalitarian government with no free elections. The American economy was largely based on free-market principles with some government oversight. The Soviet economy was controlled entirely by the government. During the Cold War, both sides developed nuclear bombs and engaged in a nuclear arms race, using government finances to build a stockpile of nuclear weapons. The differences between the countries would lead to a series of conflicts in which the two sides wouldn't directly engage in warfare, although the threat was very real.

Definition: defensive military alliance formed by the United States and its allies in 1949 What: Several capitalist countries joined in a collective security agreement called the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Significance: These countries came together in response to the threat of Soviet expansion and nuclear weaponry. It was the first time that the United States had entered into an alliance with other countries during a time of peace. The agreement was a clear illustration of the new U.S. policy of containment. The Soviet Union responded a few years later. It created the Warsaw Pact with its Eastern European satellite nations. NATO and the Warsaw Pact demonstrate the sharp political division that existed between the East and the West in the post-war world.

Congress investigated communist influence in the United States through the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC). The widespread suspicion and accusations against Americans of communistic activities became known as McCarthyism. Definition: Significance: Stalin's refusal to allow free elections caused many Americans to believe that the Soviet Union was intent on world domination. One of the first areas HUAC investigated was the entertainment industry. Some accused entertainers were blacklisted, permanently blocked from working in Hollywood. Non-government groups also began to issue their own blacklists of people they suspected held communist beliefs. In this era, a simple suggestion could ruin people's careers and lives. Despite his lack of facts, many Americans supported Senator McCarthy in his search for communists. His sensationalist approach encouraged other Americans to charge people based on suspicion rather than evidence. Then, in 1954, McCarthy accused officials in the U.S. Army of communist sympathies. The hearings on the case were nationally televised, and many Americans around the nation realized that McCarthy had gone too far. His popularity began to diminish. McCarthy was later censured, or publicly reprimanded, by the U.S. Senate for his actions.

Definition: Cold War conflict between North Korea and South Korea that included the United States, Soviet Union, and China The Korean War was a Cold War conflict that resulted from the division of Korea by an Allied agreement following the end of the World War II in the Pacific. Significance: In 1948, the failure to hold free elections throughout the Korean Peninsula triggered a key event in the Cold War. North Korea established a communist government, while South Korea established a capitalist one. The situation escalated into open warfare when North Korean forces invaded South Korea. The United States and United Nations reacted quickly. The Korean peninsula became a battleground. By the time the war was over, little ground had been exchanged between North and South.

Definition: international boundary between North Korea and South Korea in 1945 established at the end of World War II Significance: During World War II, Soviet troops crushed the Japanese forces in Korea and continued down the peninsula until they had reached the 38th parallel of North latitude. This was the line where they had agreed to stop. As they did in occupied nations in Europe, Soviet leaders installed a communist government in North Korea. U.S. troops remained south of the 38th parallel. In the months preceding the Korean War, tensions between North and South intensified. Cross-border skirmishes and surprise raids persisted. After the war, a demilitarized zone was established near the 38th parallel to act as a military boundary between the two states of North Korea and South Korea.

What: General Douglas MacArthur, a World War II hero who directed the rebuilding of Japan, took charge of the U.S. and UN forces during the Korean War. Significance: In 1950, most Americans regarded General Douglas MacArthur as a war hero. He had supervised Japan's transition into a modern, democratic nation. At the outbreak of fighting in Korea, Truman had appointed MacArthur to command U.S. forces. Truman and MacArthur reached a point where they disagreed about how the war should be handled, and Truman relieved MacArthur of his command.

What: A force of Cubans, opposed to the Castro regime's takeover, intended to liberate the island. Significance: Even though the rebellion was organized and armed by the CIA, the attempt was unsuccessful. The troops were soundly defeated by Castro's militia in three days. Though no U.S. troops were involved, it was a propaganda disaster. President Kennedy took the blame for the failed invasion, even though it had been planned 15 months before he took office. Although war was not declared, the Bay of Pigs disaster significantly increased tensions between the United States and its island neighbor. Castro used the incident to further cement his power. He announced an end to democratic elections. At the end of the year, he publicly acknowledged that he was a communist and began to implement communist policies.

What: The Cuban Missile Crisis was a confrontation during the Cold War when each side threatened the other with a possible nuclear missile attack. Significance: In October 1962, a spy plane flying over Cuba photographed Soviet bases capable of launching nuclear missiles. The missiles could strike most of the United States, eastern Canada, and a good deal of Latin America. Kennedy warned Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev that a nuclear attack from Cuba against any nation in the Western Hemisphere would bring "full retaliatory action." He further declared a naval "quarantine" of Cuba that would stop and search for weapons on any ships bound for Cuba. In the end, the Soviets backed down. Following secret negotiations, Khrushchev agreed to remove the missiles in exchange for a pledge not to attempt another invasion of Cuba and to remove U.S. missiles from bases in Turkey. There was an immediate easing of Cold War tensions. Russia agreed to open a direct telephone line between Moscow and Washington to allow the leaders of the two superpowers to communicate immediately in event of another nuclear crisis. Trade restrictions between the two countries were eased.

What: The members of the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) pledged mutual support to prevent the spread of communism in the region. Who: Australia, France, New Zealand, Pakistan, the Philippines, Thailand, Great Britain, and the United States Significance: Southeast Asia, particularly Vietnam, was seen as a weak point in Cold War power politics. Many thought that if one nation fell to the communists, they all would. Although many member nations sent troops to aid in the fight against communism during the Vietnam War, the organization itself did not play a large role in the conflict.

Definition: peace treaty ending the Indochina Wars between France and Vietnam; established North Vietnam and South Vietnam under separate governments and called for free elections soon after What: The treaty that established independence for French Indochina was called the Geneva Accords. Significance: The First Indochina war was significant because it showed the world that a colonial power from the West (France) could be defeated by native revolutionary forces. After the war, the treaty divided the territory of Vietnam into two nations: a communist North Vietnam and non-communist South Vietnam. The Geneva Accords stated that free elections would take place in 1956 to unite the two nations under one government. However, with the United States' support, the elections never happened.

Definition: Congressional act granting the president the power to send U.S. troops into battle without a formal declaration of war What: Following attacks on U.S. ships in the Gulf of Tonkin, the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution gave the president the power to undertake any military action he deemed necessary to protect U.S. security without congressional approval. Significance: The president now had the power to commit U.S. troops to war without getting a formal declaration of war. He didn't even have to put the matter to a congressional vote. Because the U.S. Constitution grants the power to declare war to Congress, no president had ever before held this much power. The Gulf of Tonkin resolution dramatically changed the conflict in Vietnam.

Definition: a series of coordinated attacks launched by communist forces against U.S. and South Vietnamese forces during the Vietnamese New Year, which is known as Tet What: Communist forces coordinated a series of attacks throughout South Vietnam during Tet, the Vietnamese New Year. Significance: Communist forces hoped to take control of cities in South Vietnam and incite the people there to rebel against the government. U.S. and South Vietnamese troops were able to repel the attacks, and the Vietcong failed to achieve much practical ground in the Tet Offensive. However, the attacks raised many doubts at home in the United States about the war.

What: As the Vietnam conflict continued, more people began to oppose the war. The anti-war protest began largely as a student movement and expanded to a national protest crossing socioeconomic lines. Who: Draft dodgers, doves, conscientious objectors Significance: Protest groups, such as Vietnam Veterans Against the War and Students for a Democratic Society, loudly criticized the war and its effects. The draft was another major issue of the war. Some opponents of the draft ignored their orders, some fled to Canada and others burned their draft cards in protest. Anti-war protestors came together outside the Democratic National Convention to speak out against the war. A stunned nation watched as police beat demonstrators with nightsticks and protestors threw bottles and rocks at police. Then in 1970, anti-war protests turned deadly. At Kent State University in Ohio, National Guard members fired on students protesting military operations in Cambodia. Four demonstrators died. Less than two weeks later, police fired on student protestors at Jackson State University in Mississippi, killing two.

What: Richard Nixon won the presidential election of 1968 and took control U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. Significance: Nixon's administration worked to turn the bulk of the fighting over to the South Vietnamese military through the process of Vietnamization. Troop levels declined greatly after Nixon took office, and peace talks continued. Shortly before the 1972 presidential election, Nixon's administration negotiated a tentative peace agreement with the North Vietnamese. Nixon easily won re-election. The following January, the two nations signed the Paris Peace Accords to end the war, and the last U.S. troops left South Vietnam soon after.

a value system that emphasizes material possessions and economic self-interest

the Cold War strategy of preventing the geographical spread of Communism

in military usage, an examination or survey of an enemy's strength and position

a term used to describe people, especially in the motion picture industry, who are unable to find work after being accused of communist sympathies

the theory that events that happen in one country will make them more likely to occur in neighboring countries

competition between the United States and Soviet Union during the Cold War to create the largest stockpile of nuclear weapons

phrase used by Winston Churchill to describe the imaginary line that separated Western and Eastern powers during the Cold War

a cessation of hostilities while a peace treaty is negotiated

an area in which military personnel and equipment are forbidden

people who opposed U.S. military involvement in Vietnam

people who supported U.S. military involvement in Vietnam

tiny particles of radioactive material resulting from nuclear explosions that can cause radiation sickness and cancer

American policy of providing aid to any country whose welfare was deemed essential to the safety of the United States

The post-World War II economic expansion, also known as the postwar economic boom, the long boom, and the Golden Age of Capitalism, was a period of economic prosperity in the mid-20th century which occurred, following the end of World War II in 1945, and lasted until the early 1970s. It had many social, cultural, and political effects (not least of which was the demographic blip termed the baby boomers). Movements and phenomena associated with this period include the height of the Cold War, postmodernism, decolonization, a marked increase in consumerism, the welfare state, the space race, the Non-Aligned Movement, import substitution, opposition to the Vietnam War, the civil rights movement, the sexual revolution, and the beginning of second-wave feminism, and a nuclear arms race. In the United States, the middle class began a mass migration away from the cities and towards the suburbs. Thus, it can be summed up as a period of stability and prosperity in which most people could get a job for life, a spouse, children, house, dog, and picket fence - see American Dream.

Post World War II prosperity differed by ethnic groups and social class, because some ethnic groups and social classes weren't doing well after post War II because people back then were highly racist and segregation was everywhere.

Period of anticommunist hysteria that swept the United States after World War I Cause: World War II left many European economies in shambles. Because of this, European countries were slowly converting their governments from democratic capitalist nations to government-controlled command economies (Communism) Government controlled economies were bringing in more money a the time, and still are (look to China today) Effect: -America sent a crap ton of money to European nations to help them rebuild, in hopes of preventing them from becoming communist nations. -Winston Churchill's famous speech about a dark curtain descending over Europe. -In America, people who supported communism were considered criminals. People would tell government officials that their neighbors were communists, and their neighbors would be arrested. It's very similar to the Salem Witch Trials, in which girls would accuse people they didn't like of practicing witchcraft, and the would-be witches were hanged. Your American History teacher would love it if you mentioned a comparison between the two ;)