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G.I. Bill
The G.I. Bill was a statement that said that veterans would receive support after the second world war. This support included college funds, insurance, and housing, so that the veterans and their families wouldn't have to worry about things like that when they arrived back home. The bill was passed by Franklin Roosevelt in 1944. -
Containment Policy
After World War II, the United States felt threatened by the increase of communism. The containment policy was created, along with multiple other attempts, to try to stop communism from spreading. The United States helped other countries, and made themselves look like the "good guys" just to stop communism from growing internationally. -
Baby Boom Generation
The Baby Boom Generation is a period of time where the population dramatically increased between 1946 and 1964. After the war, men came back from the war and the women were grateful, and showed it clearly by producing a baby 9 months later. However, many others had this idea as well and too many babies were born, thus creating the Baby Boom. -
Iron Curtain
After World War II, a boundary was built to divide Europe into different parts. This boundary was called the Iron Curtain, and was mentioned in Winston Churchill's speech. Churchill gave the speech on March 5th, 1946, and was important because it announced the beginning of the Cold War. -
The Cold War
Towards the end of WWII, the United States dropped 2 bombs on Japanese forces, and did not let Russia know about any of it until it happened. After WWII, the tension increased and suddenly the United States and Soviet Union were against each other & were competing to be the best. It was a race for the best military, the best weapons, who was communist and who wasn't, & even to be first to get into space. Wars were fought during the Cold War, but never once did a war occur between the 2 powers. -
Levittown
Levittown is the name given for multiple large areas that were built for housing. It was the beginning of large growing neighborhoods. It was specifically made for returning veterans after World War II, and was limited to the white race. -
Truman Doctrine
The Truman Doctrine was a statement that said the the United States would provide aid to other countries that felt threatened by communism. This aid includes medical supplies, food, and clothing. The Truman Doctrine allowed for the U.S to look like the "good guys" while the Soviets looked bad. -
Marshall Plan
The Marshall Plan was a plan in which the United States would aid European countries after the war. The U.S. would provide medical supplies, food, clothing, and water to countries that needed to be restored after the war. The Marshall Plan allowed other countries to like us, become our allies, and make us look like the "good guys". -
Berlin Airlift
After World War II, the Allies divided parts of Europe to control. However, the tension between the United States and the Soviet Union was rising fast, which resulted in the Soviets closing the entrances and exits to Berlin. The Berlin Airlift was then created and put into action, which resulted in the United States using airplanes to drop food, clothing, and other supplies into Berlin for 10 months. The Berlin Airlift caused NATO to form. -
NATO
NATO stands for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and was founded April 4th, 1949. The organization was made for military alliance between countries. Not only was the alliances military, it was also for political freedom as well. -
Domino Theory
In the 20th century, the United States had a fear of communism, and didn't want it to spread at all. The Domino Theory was the belief that if one country became communist, then all of the rest of the countries would do it as well. The United States did not want this to happen, therefore going into war to stop it. -
Rock n' Roll
Rock n' Roll became heavily popular in the 50's because of its rebellious traits. Many believed that the music shouldn't have been listened to because it evil and the world was conservative. However, this opinion changed due to music artists such as Elvis Presley. -
Korean War
Due to the end of World War II and the Allies figuring out who got what, Korea was divided into two sections. North Korea, which was communist (Occupied by Russia) and a South Korea, which the U.S had and it wasn't communist at all. The Korean War started in 1950 when North Korea invaded South Korea and the United States had to step in. A peace treaty was signed in 1953, but Korea was left still divided. -
Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Dwight D. Eisenhower was the 34th president of the United States and served after Harry S. Truman. While being president, Eisenhower attempted many times to simmer down the tension in the Cold War. During the Korean War, Eisenhower also worked and managed to get a truce between the United States and Korea. -
Rosenberg Trial
A few weeks after the Korean War, a man named Julius Rosenberg was arrested. Julius, along with his wife, Ethel, were accused of being spies and leading a spy ring. The couple never admitted to anything and said they were innocent, but both were sent to the electric chair and executed. -
Ray Kroc
Ray Kroc is best known as the businessman who founded McDonalds. Ray Kroc was highly successful, due to him building up McDonalds, which is now one of the most known fast food areas in the world. Ray Kroc is a perfect example of the industry quickly growing in the 50's. -
McCarthyism
McCarthyism, also known as the second Red Scare, was started by a man named Joseph McCarthy. He (falsely) claimed that he had a specific list of who would betray the country and of all the communists. This caused Americans to become extremely scared and refrain from trusting each other. McCarthyism ended on June 9th, 1954 when Joseph McCarthy was confronted about his lies. -
Rust Belt vs Sun Belt
The Rust Belt and the Sun Belt were two different areas of the United States. The Sun Belt was growing in both economy and industry, and consisted of most of the south. However, the Rust Belt was doing the exact opposite and consisted of the regions that were declining in industry and doing very poorly. -
Jonas Salk
Jonas Salk is known for introducing the polio vaccine. The vaccine consisted of inactive cells of the virus, and Salk developing this vaccine helped cure polio. Although people were hesitant at first to try the vaccine, it was very successful and led to other vaccinations in the future. -
Interstate Highway Act
The Interstate Highway act was signed by President Eisenhower and was passed June 29th, 1956. The act was passed in order to gain authorization for construction. After being passed, the act led to one of the biggest construction jobs in the United States. -
Space Race
The Soviets and the United States were not only at cut throat competition at building nuclear weapons, but also at getting into space. The two powers were both eager to get their countries equipment into space first, and both accelerated their progress. Due to these events, the Space Race was born. -
Sputnik
During the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union were in hurry to quickly do things first. In October of 1957, the Soviets released the first Satellite to go into space. This satellite, called Sputnik, caused the United Space to become extremely scared about the Soviets being ahead of them. Afterwards, the United States rushed to also build up their space programs. -
Beatniks
Beatniks were a popular stereotype in the 1950's to 1960's. The stereotype was young people who were more "rebellious" and liked danger, and originated from the Beat Generation. The beatniks were known as rebellious writers who were thought of as people who wore turtlenecks, dark clothing, and berets. -
Bay of Pigs
The Bay of Pigs invasion happened due to a man named Fidel Castro coming into power. The United States decided that an air attack would be the best way to push Castro out of power, and we were confident that the operation would be successful. Unfortunately, Castro's troops outnumbered ours and the invasion failed, badly. This invasion made American, and especially JFK, look extremely bad to Cuba, which resulted in pushing them further towards the Soviets. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis began when a U.S. spy plane photographed pictures of Cuba and saw missiles within the area. JFK, who was president at the time, had to take caution in all his actions in order to avoid a war, such as lying to protect America, building a "quarantine", and asking reporters to keep quiet. The crisis is important because there were multiple instances where we came seconds from a third world war. -
Betty Friedan
Betty Friedan was best known as the author of a famous book that was published in 1963, titled Feminine Mystique. The book showed different perspective and sparked a "second wave feminism" in the U.S. In the novel, the author points out that women going to college is decreasing, the birthrate is rising, and the marriage age is dropping. -
John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy was the 35th president of the United States, and served his presidency from January 20th, 1961 to November 22nd, 1963. He was responsible for the Civil Rights Act, and was president through the Cold War as well as the Cuban Missile Crisis. He was assassinated in Dallas, Texas on November 22nd, 1963. -
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson was the 36th president, and served his term after President JFK was assassinated. While being president, LBJ accomplished something called a "Great Society." The Great Society were programs that worked to eliminate poverty and racial injustice. -
Anti War Movement
Anti-War movements began in small groups around 1964. Many songs were made, and protests began. Many people wanted peace, and did not want them or their families to be in the violence. -
Great Society
Great Society was created to remove racial injustice and poverty. The program was created by the president, who at the time was Lyndon B Johnson. OnMay 22nd, 1964, LBJ gave a speech about the Great Society. -
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
August 2nd, 1964, an American ship was attacked by North Vietnam. The ship was called Maddox, and was attacked in the Gulf of Tonkin. This incident is important because Congress allowed the president to do whatever measures necessary. -
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a bloody and gruesome war that occured after the Korean War, and lasted from 1964 to 1973. The war was between North Vietnam and South Vietnam, and the United States got involved in 1965. However, Nixon ended up removing troops and U.S. involvement in 1973, and two years later, the capital of South Vietnam was taken over. -
Tet Offensive
Tet Offensive was a large military attack in multiple places in South Vietnam. It was North Vietnam's Viet Cong against the South, and both sides suffered. North Vietnam lost military wise, but Southern Vietnam gained a lot of destruction due to the attack. -
Moon Landing
As the tensions between the Soviets and the United States increased, so did their motivation to get into Space. During the Cold War, a space race occurred between the two powers, which resulted in both parties accelerating their progress to get into space first. On July 20th, 1969, the United States landed on the moon. -
Vietnamazation
Vietnamization was the acceleration of ending U.S. involvement in the war. President Nixon began removing U.S. troops from South Vietnam. The policy includes increasing the bombings and decreasing the troops. -
War Powers Act
The War Powers act was passed to limit power to send troops into combat without authorization. The Act was passed by Congress in 1973. This act overrode the veto of President Nixon, and did not give him certain powers without Congress's approval. -
Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon was the 37th president of the United States. He was president throughout the Vietnam War, and was involved in the Watergate Scandal. Nixon resigned before he could be impeached for attempting to cover up illegal activities. -
26th Amendment
Back when the war was being fought, it angered many people that they had to go into war but they were denied the ability to vote. The 26th amendment stated that anyone over the age of 18 has the right to vote. This amendment was passed in March 23, 1971, and actually ratified July 1, 1971.
