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House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC)
In the time of the Cold War, Americans feared a communist menace inside the U.S. Because of this, HUAC was created in May 1938. They questioned people about their possible communist sympathies. A lot of people were blacklisted and lost their jobs because of this committee. -
G.I. Bill
The G.I. Bill was officially created to help veterans of World War II, and was signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on June 22, 1944. It established hospitals, made low-interest mortgages available and granted stipends covering tuition and expenses for veterans attending college or trade schools. From 1944 to 1949, nearly 9 million veterans received close to $4 billion from the bill's unemployment compensation program. -
Baby Boom Generation
In 1946, more babies were born than ever before: 3.4 million, 20 percent more than in 1945. As historian Landon Jones later described the trend: "the cry of the baby was heard across the land." It was the beginning of the "baby boom." In 1947, another 3.8 million babies were born, 3.9 million were born in 1952 and more than 4 million were born every year from 1954 until 1964. By then, babies made up almost 40 percent of the nation's population. -
Iron Curtain
The Iron Curtain was the name for the boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1991. Former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill said in a speech in 1946 that "from Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the continent." His speech is considered one of the opening volleys announcing the beginning of the Cold War. -
Containment Policy
The Containment Policy stated that the U.S. would try to stop and control the spread of Communism. They did this by providing either military support, economic and/or technical assistant to noncommunist countries. This policy was created in 1947. -
Cold War
During World War II, the United States and the Soviet Union fought together against the Axis powers, but the relationship between the two nations was tense. Americans were worried about the Soviet's communism and their leader Joseph Stalin. The Soviet Union on the other hand resented the Americans' decades-long refusal to treat the USSR as a legitimate part of the international community as well as their delayed entry into World War II. This caused a lot more tension between the two. -
Levittown
Levittown is the name of seven large suburban developments created in the U.S. by William Levitt. It was built after World War II (1947 to 1951) for returning veterans and their new families, and the communities offered attractive alternatives to cramped central city locations and apartments. -
Truman Doctrine
In 1947, President Harry S. Truman announced his Truman Doctrine. He wanted to offer countries military aid, economic aid and financial aid. With this, Truman promised to support any country fighting communism. -
Marshall Plan
The Marshall Plan is the name of the massive aid that was given to countries of war-torn Europe. This was the idea of George C. Marshall which he announced June 5th, 1947. This plan would also help the United States with creating allies and trading partners in Europe. -
Berlin Airlift
After World War II, the Allies divided Germany into a Soviet zone, an American zone, a British zone and a French zone. Berlin, located in the Soviet zone, was also divided into four sections. However, the Russians wanted Berlin all for themselves, so in June 1948 they closed highways, railroads and canals from western-occupied Germany into western-occupied Berlin. The U.S. and its allies then decided to supply their sectors of the city from the air, known as the Berlin Airlift. -
NATO
In 1949, when communism was spreading quickly, the United States, Canada and ten western European countries formed the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). It was based on collective security, and each NATO member pledged to defend every other member if ever attacked. The Soviet Union's response to this was the Warsaw Pact. -
1950's Prosperity
In the 1950's, the United States was the world's strongest military power. The economy was thriving, and things like new cars, suburban houses, credit cards and other consumer goods were available to more people than ever before. New music genres came to life, like rock n' roll, and the number of women entering workforce increased. However, the 1950's were also an era with a lot of conflict with the civil rights movement and the demonstration against communism. -
Domino Theory
The Domino Theory states that if one political event happens in one country, it will cause similar events to happen in the countries close to it. In the 1950's, this theory administered a lot of the U.S. foreign policy meaning that a communist victory in one nation would lead to a chain reaction of communist takeovers in neighboring states. -
Beatniks
The Beatniks were a group of American writers including Ginsberg,
Burroughs and Kerouac. They rejected much of American values
and culture. It started in New York and later San Francisco, and gave way to 1960s counterculture. -
Rock n' Roll
In the 1950's, a new music genre rose up. It was rock n' roll, a mix of gospel, country, blues and other music forms with strong African American influences. White artists made rock acceptable to a wider audience, and it was said to encourage race mixing and immoral behavior. It was also often called "the devil's music." -
McCarthyism
In 1950, the American politician Joseph McCarthy claimed that he knew the names of hundreds of communists who had infiltrated the U.S. state department. However, he didn't have any proofs. His claim caused a lot of fear among Americans. "McCarthyism" is identified with making harsh accusations without evidence. -
Korean War
The Korean war started on June 25, 1950. About 75,000 soldiers from the North Korean People's Army rushed across the border between the Soviet-backed Democratic People's Republic of Korea to the north and the pro-Western Republic of Korea to the south. This was the first military action of the Cold War. It was a war against the forces of international communism itself. -
Dwight D. Eisenhower
In 1944, Dwight D. Eisenhower led the invasion of Nazi-occupied Europe as a supreme commander of Allied forces in Western Europe during World War II. When leading Republicans convinced him to run for president in 1952, Eisenhower won over Democrat Adlai Stevenson. He served two terms in the white house from 1953 to 1961. While he was a president, Eisenhower managed Cold War-era tensions with the Soviet Union and ended the war in Korea. -
Jonas Salk
Jonas Salk was an American physician and medical researcher. March, 1953, Salk announced on a national radio show that he had successfully tested a vaccine against poliomyelitis. This was the virus that caused the disease of polio. Dr. Jonas Salk was celebrated as the great doctor-benefactor of his time. -
Rosenberg Trial
In 1950, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were found guilty of spying for the Soviet Union at the United States. They were executed June 19th 1953. Many people doubted the guilt, but the Venona Papers revealed the identities of several Americans who had spied for the Soviet Union, including Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. -
Ray Kroc
Ray Kroc was an American entrepreneur, and best known for expanding McDonald's. Kroc joined McDonald's in 1954, and built it into the most successful fast food operation in the world. McDonald's went from being a local chain to the world's most profitable restaurant franchise operation because of Ray Kroc. -
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War started November 1st 1955, and ended with the fall of Saigon in 1975. It started out with a fight between North Vietnam and the government of South Vietnam. The North supported by communist allies (Soviet Union), and the South supported by the United States. It was a long and costly armed conflict, which was increasingly unpopular in America. It ended with the withdrawal of U.S. forces in 1973, and the unification of Vietnam under Communist control two years later. -
Interstate Highway Act
In 1956, President Eisenhower signed the Federal-Aid Highway Act. This created National System of Interstate and Defense Highways that would eliminate unsafe roads, inefficient routes and traffic jams. Also, because of the chance of an atomic attack, this road net would offer quick evacuation of target areas. -
Space Race
After the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, it started a space race between them and the United States. It became a competition were both nations wanted to prove the superiority of their technology. The United States felt threatened by the launching of Sputnik, and in 1958, they launched its own satellite. It was called Explorer I and was designed by the U.S. Army. -
Sputnik
In 1957, the Soviet Union launched the first man-made satellite into space. It was called Sputnik. This started a space race, and raised the fear that the Soviet Union might use their missiles to attack the United States. -
Bay of Pigs
January 1, 1959, Fidel Castro drove his guerilla army into Havana and overthrew General Fulgencio Batista, who was the nation's American- backed president. After this, officials at the U.S. State Department and the CIA tried to push Castro from the power. In April, 1961, the CIA announced that its leaders believed would be the definitive strike: a full-scale invasion of Cuba. But, the invasion didn't go well, and the invaders surrendered after less than 24 hours of fighting. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a 13-day political and military standoff in 1962 where the Soviet Union had placed missiles on Cuba which was a threat to the Unites States. In a TV address in October 1962, President Kennedy told the American people about the missiles, and explained his decision to place a blockade around Cuba. Many people feared the world was about to go into a nuclear war, but the U.S. and the Soviet Union ended up with an agreement avoiding a nuclear war. -
Betty Friedan
Betty Friedan was a writer, feminist and a women's right activist. She explored the idea of women finding personal fulfillment outside of their traditional roles. Friedan also helped advance the women's rights movement as one of the founders of the National Organization for Women. In 1963, she wrote The Feminine Mystique, and she is remembered as a pioneer of feminism and the women's rights movements. -
John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy was elected in 1960 ad the 35th president of the United States. He became the youngest man and the first Roman Catholic to hold that office. As president, Kennedy announced a naval blockade of Cuba when the U.S. discovered the Soviet Union's missiles placed there. He also led a renewed drive for public service and eventually provided federal support for the growing civil rights movement. Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963, which shocked the whole world. -
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson was the 36th president of the United States following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. He launched an ambitious slate of progressive reforms with a goal of ending poverty and creating a Great Society for all Americans. Many of the programs he introduced made a lasting impact in the areas of health, education, urban renewal, conservation and civil rights. -
Great Society
The Great Society was a set of domestic programs launched by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964-1965. The main goal was to eliminate poverty and racial injustice. Johnson first used the term Great Society during a speech at Ohio University. -
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
This resolution was passed in August, 1964, in response to the Gulf of Tonkin incident. It gave broad congressional approval for expansion of the Vietnam War, and allowed President Lyndon B. Johnson the use of conventional military force in Southeast Asia. -
Anti-War Movement
Most Americans supported the Vietnam war early on, but in 1966, oppositions began to spread more widely. Some of the individual acts of protest were burning draft cards, self-immolation and antiwar entertainment, while there were group protests at government and associated buildings, "teach-ins" and "sit-ins." But protests did little to change public opinion about the war, and it brought the war more closely into the public eye. -
Tet Offensive 1968
In 1968, North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces launched the Tet Offensive. It was named for the lunar new year holiday called Tet. It was a coordinated series of fierce attacks on more than 100 cities and towns in South Vietnam. Even though U.S. and South Vietnamese forces managed to hold off the Communist attacks, news coverage of the offensive shocked the American people. The attacks were a turning point in the Vietnam War, and the beginning of America's withdrawal from the region. -
Vietnamization
When President Richard Nixon took office in 1969, he introduced a new strategy called Vietnamization. This strategy was supposed to end the American involvement in the Vietnam War. This would be completed by transferring all military responsibilities to South Vietnam. In 1973, the U.S. created a treaty with the North Vietnamese, withdrew American combat troops and declared the Vietnamization strategy complete. But, in 1975, South Vietnam fell to Communist forces. -
Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon was the 37th president of the United States. He is maybe best remembered as the only president ever to resign from office. However, as president, Nixon's achievements included forging diplomatic ties with China and the Soviet Union and also withdrawing U.S. troops from an unpopular war in Vietnam. -
Moon Landing
In 1969, two Americans (Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin) were the first two humans on the moon. The name of the spaceflight that landed them was Apollo 11. It was launched by a Saturn V rocket from Kennedy Space Center, and was the fifth manned mission of NASA's Apollo program. -
26th Amendment
During the time of the Vietnam War, 18 year olds began to demand the right to vote. They felt it was unfair that they could be forced to serve in the military, but not choose the representatives that actually sent them to war. President Nixon therefore signed a bill in 1970 that would allow 18 year olds to vote, which the Supreme Court declined in the case of Oregon v. Mitchell. But with an increasing support for a Constitutional amendment, Congress passed the 26th Amendment in 1971. -
War Powers Act
The War Powers Act was passed in 1973 in the aftermath of the Vietnam War. The act makes it hard for the President to send American troops into combat areas without Congressional approval. It limits the power of the President when it comes to use of military forces. -
Rust Belt VS Sun Belt
The Rust Belt, also called the "Manufacturing Bell," is a region that consists of areas in the Midwestern and Northeastern United States. This area prospered in the late 19th - 20th century, at a time where the U.S. was focused on industrialization and globalization. The Sun Belt consists of the warm climate states. This area is characterized by being economically boosted by chemical, electronics, agricultural, aerospace and oil industries. These terms gained popularity in the 1980s.
