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APUSH Period 8 Vocab
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Soviet Union | Communist superpower formed after the Russian Revolution; main U.S. rival in the Cold War. |
| Security Council | Powerful UN body responsible for international peace; includes five permanent veto members. |
| Satellite States | Eastern European countries controlled politically and militarily by the Soviet Union. |
| Iron Curtain | Term describing the division between communist Eastern Europe and democratic Western Europe. |
| George F. Kennan | U.S. diplomat who proposed the containment strategy against communism. |
| Containment Policy | U.S. strategy to stop the spread of communism worldwide. |
| Truman Doctrine | U.S. policy giving aid to nations resisting communism, first applied to Greece and Turkey. |
| George C. Marshall | U.S. Secretary of State who proposed economic aid to rebuild Europe. |
| Marshall Plan | U.S. program giving billions to rebuild Western Europe and prevent communism. |
| Berlin Airlift | U.S. and allies flew supplies into West Berlin during the Soviet blockade (1948–49). |
| North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) | Military alliance of Western nations formed to resist Soviet aggression. |
| Warsaw Pact | Military alliance of communist Eastern European nations led by the USSR. |
| National Security Act | 1947 law creating the Department of Defense, CIA, and National Security Council. |
| Douglas MacArthur (Japan) | U.S. general who oversaw the occupation and rebuilding of Japan after WWII. |
| Mao Zedong | Communist leader who established the People’s Republic of China in 1949. |
| Korean War | 1950–1953 war between communist North Korea and democratic South Korea involving U.S. and UN forces. |
| 38th Parallel | Line dividing North and South Korea before and after the Korean War. |
| Stalemate | Situation where neither side in a conflict can achieve victory. |
| Brinkmanship | Strategy of pushing dangerous events to the edge of war to gain advantage. |
| Spirit of Geneva | Temporary easing of Cold War tensions after the 1955 meeting between world leaders. |
| Nikita Khrushchev | Soviet leader during much of the Cold War who faced off with the U.S. in several crises. |
| Sputnik | First artificial satellite launched by the USSR in 1957, starting the Space Race. |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) | U.S. agency created in 1958 to lead space exploration. |
| U-2 Incident | 1960 event where a U.S. spy plane was shot down over the Soviet Union. |
| Cuba | Caribbean island that became communist under Fidel Castro in 1959. |
| Fidel Castro | Communist leader who ruled Cuba after overthrowing its government in 1959. |
| military-industrial complex | Relationship between the military and defense industries influencing government policy. |
| Berlin Wall | Barrier built in 1961 separating communist East Berlin from democratic West Berlin. |
| Bay of Pigs | Failed 1961 U.S.-backed invasion attempting to overthrow Fidel Castro in Cuba. |
| Cuban Missile Crisis | 1962 confrontation when the USSR placed nuclear missiles in Cuba. |
| Nuclear Test Ban Treaty | 1963 treaty banning nuclear weapons tests in the atmosphere and underwater. |
| John F Kennedy | U.S. president (1961–1963) who led during the Cuban Missile Crisis and promoted the New Frontier. |
| Lyndon B. Johnson | U.S. president who passed Great Society programs and expanded the Vietnam War. |
| Non-Proliferation Treaty | 1968 agreement to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons. |
| Henry Kissinger | U.S. diplomat who promoted détente and improved relations with China and the USSR. |
| Détente | Policy of easing tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union in the 1970s. |
| Strategic Arms Limitations Talks (SALT I) | 1972 agreement limiting certain nuclear weapons between the U.S. and USSR. |
| Soviet-Afghan War | 1979–1989 conflict where the USSR invaded Afghanistan and faced resistance. |
| McCarran Internal Security Act | Law requiring communist organizations to register with the government. |
| House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) | Congressional committee that investigated communist influence. |
| Alger Hiss | Government official accused of spying for the Soviet Union. |
| Julius Rosenberg | American convicted of passing atomic secrets to the Soviets. |
| Joseph R. McCarthy | Senator who claimed many Americans were communists in government. |
| McCarthyism | Practice of making accusations of disloyalty without proper evidence. |
| Second Red Scare | Period of intense fear of communism in the U.S. after WWII. |
| Servicemen’s Readjustment Act (or GI Bill of Rights) | Law providing education and housing benefits to WWII veterans. |
| Baby Boom | Large increase in U.S. birth rates after WWII (1946–1964). |
| Levittown | Mass-produced suburban housing development symbolizing postwar suburbia. |
| Sun Belt | Southern and western U.S. region that grew rapidly after WWII. |
| 22nd Amendment | Constitutional amendment limiting presidents to two terms. |
| Fair Deal | Truman’s domestic program expanding Social Security and minimum wage. |
| Dwight D. Eisenhower | U.S. president (1953–1961) known for moderate policies and interstate highways. |
| Interstate Highway Act | 1956 law funding a nationwide highway system. |
| New Frontier | Kennedy’s domestic reform program promoting economic growth and social change. |
| Great Society | Johnson’s program aimed at ending poverty and improving education and healthcare. |
| New Federalism | Nixon’s policy of shifting power from the federal government to the states. |
| Richard Nixon | U.S. president involved in détente with China and the USSR but resigned after Watergate. |
| Stagflation | Economic condition of slow growth combined with high inflation. |
| Rock and roll | Popular music style of the 1950s that influenced youth culture. |
| Beatniks | 1950s countercultural writers and artists who rejected mainstream values. |
| Kennedy Assassination | Killing of President John F. Kennedy in Dallas in 1963. |
| Warren Commission | Group that investigated the assassination of John F. Kennedy. |
| Committee on Civil Rights | Truman-era group that proposed measures to end racial discrimination. |
| National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) | Civil rights organization fighting racial discrimination through courts. |
| Jackie Robinson | First African American to play in Major League Baseball in the modern era. |
| Brown v. Board of Education | 1954 Supreme Court case declaring school segregation unconstitutional. |
| Thurgood Marshall | NAACP lawyer who argued Brown v. Board and later became a Supreme Court justice. |
| Earl Warren | Chief Justice whose court expanded civil rights and liberties. |
| desegregation | Ending separation of races in public places. |
| Little Rock Nine | Nine Black students who integrated a high school in Arkansas in 1957. |
| Rosa Parks | Civil rights activist whose arrest sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott. |
| Montgomery Bus Boycott | 1955–1956 protest against segregated buses in Alabama. |
| Emmitt Till | Black teenager murdered in Mississippi in 1955, shocking the nation. |
| Martin Luther King Jr | Civil rights leader who promoted nonviolent protest. |
| Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) | Civil rights group led by MLK that organized nonviolent protests. |
| Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) | Youth civil rights group active in sit-ins and voter registration. |
| Covert action | Secret operations conducted by a government. |
| Suez Canal | Important waterway in Egypt that was the center of a 1956 international crisis. |
| Eisenhower Doctrine | Policy promising U.S. aid to Middle Eastern countries resisting communism. |
| Organization of Petroleum Exporting (OPEC) | Group of oil-producing nations that controls oil production and prices. |
| Yom Kippur War | 1973 war between Israel and Arab states that led to the oil crisis. |
| Oil Embargo | OPEC’s ban on oil exports to certain countries, causing energy shortages. |
| Camp David Accords | 1978 peace agreement between Egypt and Israel brokered by the U.S. |
| Iran Hostage Crisis | 1979–1981 period when American diplomats were held hostage in Iran. |
| The Peace Corps | U.S. volunteer program sending Americans to help developing nations. |
| Panama Canal | Waterway connecting the Atlantic and Pacific later transferred from U.S. control to Panama. |
| Vietnam War | Long conflict where the U.S. supported South Vietnam against communist North Vietnam. |
| Domino theory | Belief that if one country fell to communism others nearby would follow. |
| Tonkin Gulf Resolution | 1964 law giving Johnson authority to escalate the Vietnam War. |
| Credibility gap | Public distrust of government statements about the Vietnam War. |
| Hawks vs Doves | Hawks supported the Vietnam War; doves opposed it. |
| Tet Offensive | Major 1968 communist attack that weakened U.S. public support for the Vietnam War. |
| Vietnamization | Nixon’s policy of transferring combat roles to South Vietnamese forces. |
| Kent State Massacre | 1970 killing of four student protesters by National Guard troops. |
| My Lai Massacre | 1968 killing of Vietnamese civilians by U.S. soldiers. |
| Pentagon Papers | Leaked documents revealing government deception about Vietnam. |
| Paris Accords | 1973 agreement ending U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. |
| War Powers Act | Law limiting the president’s ability to send troops without Congress approval. |
| Fall of Saigon | 1975 capture of South Vietnam’s capital by North Vietnam. |
| Ho Chi Minh | Communist leader of North Vietnam. |
| Viet Cong | Communist guerrilla fighters in South Vietnam. |
| War on Poverty | Johnson’s campaign to reduce poverty through social programs. |
| Department of Transportation (DOT) | Federal department overseeing national transportation systems. |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) | Agency managing housing programs and urban development. |
| Ralph Nader | Consumer advocate who criticized unsafe products and corporations. |
| Silent Spring Rachel Carson | 1962 book exposing environmental damage from pesticides. |
| Immigration Act of 1965 | Law ending the national origins quota system. |
| James Meredith | First Black student admitted to the University of Mississippi. |
| George Wallace | Alabama governor who supported segregation. |
| Letter from Birmingham Jail | Martin Luther King Jr.’s defense of nonviolent protest. |
| March on Washington | 1963 civil rights rally where MLK gave his famous speech. |
| I Have a Dream Speech | Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech calling for racial equality. |
| Civil Rights Act of 1964 | Law banning discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. |
| 24th Amendment | Amendment banning poll taxes in federal elections. |
| Freedom Riders | Civil rights activists who challenged segregation on interstate buses. |
| March to Montgomery | 1965 voting rights protest march in Alabama. |
| Malcolm X | Black nationalist leader who advocated self-defense and Black pride. |
| Black Panthers | Radical group promoting Black power and community programs. |
| Stokely Carmichael | SNCC leader who popularized the term Black Power. |
| Watts Riot | 1965 uprising in Los Angeles highlighting racial tensions. |
| The Feminine Mystique Betty Friedan | 1963 book criticizing limits placed on women in society. |
| National Organization for Women (NOW) | Feminist group advocating equal rights for women. |
| Title IX | Law banning sex discrimination in federally funded education programs. |
| Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) | Proposed constitutional amendment guaranteeing equal rights for women. |
| Cesar Chavez | Labor leader who organized farmworkers into unions. |
| American Indian Movement (AIM) | Organization advocating for Native American rights. |
| Indian Self-Determination Act of 1975 | Law giving tribes greater control over their own programs. |
| Gideon v Wainwright | Supreme Court case guaranteeing the right to a lawyer for criminal defendants. |
| Miranda v. Arizona | Case requiring police to inform suspects of their rights. |
| Baker v. Carr | Case establishing the principle of one person, one vote. |
| Yates v. United States | Case limiting convictions under anti-communist laws. |
| The New Left | 1960s political movement focused on civil rights and antiwar activism. |
| Counterculture | Youth movement rejecting traditional social norms in the 1960s. |
| Woodstock | 1969 music festival symbolizing the counterculture movement. |
| Sexual Revolution | Social movement challenging traditional views on sexuality. |
| Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) | Federal agency responsible for environmental protection. |
| Clean Air Act | Law regulating air pollution. |
| Southern Strategy | Nixon’s political strategy to gain support from white Southern voters. |
| Watergate Scandal | Political scandal involving a break-in and cover-up that led to Nixon’s resignation. |
| impeachment | Formal accusation of wrongdoing against a public official. |
| Gerald R Ford | U.S. president who took office after Nixon resigned. |
| National malaise | Term describing the feeling of national decline during the 1970s. |
| Roe v. Wade | Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion nationwide. |
| Televangelists | Religious leaders who spread messages through television. |
| Moral Majority | Conservative political group promoting traditional Christian values. |
| Think Tank | Organization that researches and develops policy ideas. |
Created by:
arianacontreras