Agent Orange - or Herbicide Orange (HO) is one of the herbicides and

defoliants used by the U.S. military as part of its herbicidal warfare program,
Operation Ranch Hand, during the Vietnam War from 1961 to 1971. Exposure
to the chemical can cause a various cancers and birth defects.
American Indian Movement (AIM) - an American Indian advocacy group
in the United States, founded in July 1968 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. AIM was
initially formed to address American Indian sovereignty, treaty issues,
spirituality, and leadership, while simultaneously addressing incidents of
police harassment and racism against Native Americans forced to move
away from reservations and tribal culture by the 1950s-era enforcement of
the U.S. federal government-enforced Indian Termination Policies originally
created in the 1930s.
Apollo program - also known as Project Apollo, was the third United States
human spaceflight program carried out by the National Aeronautics and
Space Administration (NASA), which accomplished landing the first humans
on the Moon from 1969 to 1972.
baby boom - any period marked by a greatly increased birth rate. The
greatest American Baby Boom is considered to be that after the second
World War.
Bay of Pigs - The Bay of Pigs Invasion was a failed military invasion of Cuba
undertaken by the CIA-sponsored paramilitary group Brigade 2506 on 17
April 1961. Made up of ex-Cuban nationals, Brigade 2506 attempted to
overthrow Fidel Castro's increasingly Columnist regime.
Berlin - the capital city of Germany. It was divided into Eastern and Western
sections during the Cold War and governed by the US and USSR.
black power movement - was a political movement to achieve a form of
Black Power and the many philosophies it contains. The movement saw
various forms of activism some violent and some peaceful, all hoping to
achieve black empowerment. The Black Power movement also represented
socialist movements, all with the general motivation of improving the
standing of black people in society. This movement spurred militant groups
like the Black Panther Party and non-peace advocates such as Malcolm X.
Brown v. Board for Education - a 1954 landmark Supreme Court Case that
reversed the 1886 Plessy v. Ferguson case that ruled "separate but equal"
constitutional
Camp David accords - signed by Egyptian President Anwar El Sadat and
Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin on 17 September 1978, following
twelve days of secret negotiations at Camp David. it called for a formal

peace treaty to be signed between Israel and Egypt, within three months and
provided a framework for further diplomatic actions to resolve tensions in the
region.
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) - a civilian foreign intelligence service of
the United States federal government, tasked with gathering, processing and
analyzing national security information from around the world, primarily
through the use of human intelligence. It was created September 18th, 1947.
Chicano movement - also called the Chicano Civil Rights Movement or El
Movimiento, was a civil rights movement extending the Mexican American
Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s with the stated goal of achieving
Mexican American empowerment.
Civil Rights Act of 1964 - a landmark piece of civil rights and US labor law
legislation in the United States that outlawed discrimination based on race,
color, religion, sex, or national origin.
Cold War - the state of political hostility that existed between the Soviet
bloc countries and the US-led Western powers from 1945 to 1990
containment - policy created by George F. Kennan that reasoned that
American response to Soviet expansion would break up or reduce Soviet
power
Cuban missile crisis - as a 13-day (October 16-28, 1962) confrontation
between the United States and the Soviet Union concerning American
ballistic missile deployment in Italy and Turkey with consequent Soviet
ballistic missile deployment in Cuba. The confrontation, elements of which
were televised, was the closest the Cold War came to escalating into a fullscale nuclear war.
Cuban revolution - an armed revolt conducted by Fidel Castro's 26th of July
Movement and its allies against the authoritarian government of Cuban
President Fulgencio Batista. The revolution began in July 1953, and continued
sporadically until the rebels finally ousted Batista on 1 January 1959,
replacing his government with a revolutionary socialist state. The 26th of July
Movement later reformed along communist lines, becoming the Communist
Party in October 1965.
detente - the easing of hostility or strained relations, especially between
countries.
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. Basis for US involvement in Vietnam

to prevent the spread of Communism
Eisenhower Doctrine - a speech by President Dwight David Eisenhower on
5 January 1957, within a "Special Message to the Congress on the Situation
in the Middle East." Under the Eisenhower Doctrine, a Middle Eastern country
could request American economic assistance or aid from U.S. military forces
if it was being threatened by armed aggression from another state. This was
created to further prevent the spread of Communism.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) - is an agency of the Federal
government of the United States which was created for the purpose of
protecting human health and the environment by writing and enforcing
regulations based on laws passed by Congress. It was established by the
Nixon Administration in 1970.
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution - was a joint resolution that the United States
Congress passed on August 7, 1964, in response to the Gulf of Tonkin
incident. It is of historical significance because it gave U.S. President Lyndon
B. Johnson authorization, without a formal declaration of war by Congress, for
the use of conventional military force in Southeast Asia.
Helsinki accords - was the final act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe held in Finlandia Hall of Helsinki, Finland, during July and
August 1, 1975. Thirty-five states, including the USA, Canada, and all
European states except Albania and Andorra, signed the declaration in an
attempt to improve relations between the Communist bloc and the West. The
Helsinki Accords, however, were not binding as they did not have treaty
status.
Hernandez v. Texas - the first and only Mexican-American civil-rights case
heard and decided by the United States Supreme Court during the postWorld War II period. In a unanimous ruling, the court held that Mexican
Americans and all other nationality groups in the United States had equal
protection under the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The ruling
was written by Justice Earl Warren. This was the first case in which MexicanAmerican lawyers had appeared before the US Supreme Court.
Housing Act of 1949 - a landmark, sweeping expansion of the federal role
in mortgage insurance and issuance and the construction of public housing.
It was part of President Harry Truman's program of domestic legislation, the
Fair Deal.
Housing Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) - was an
investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives. The
HUAC was created in 1938 to investigate alleged disloyalty and subversive

activities on the part of private citizens, public employees, and those

organizations suspected of having Communist ties.
Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 - abolished the quota system
based on national origins that had been American immigration policy since
the 1920s. The new law maintained the per-country limits, but it also created
preference visa categories that focused on immigrants' skills and family
relationships with citizens or U.S. residents. The bill set numerical restrictions
on visas at 170,000 per year, with a per-country-of-origin quota. However,
immediate relatives of U.S. citizens and "special immigrants" had no
restrictions
Interstate Highway and Defense System Act of 1956 - was enacted on
June 29, 1956, when President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the bill into law.
With an original authorization of US$25 billion for the construction of 41,000
miles of the Interstate Highway System supposedly over a 10-year period, it
was the largest public works project in American history through that time.
iron curtain - the notional barrier separating the former Soviet bloc and the
West prior to the decline of communism
Korean War - a proxy war between Communist forces and the United States
through combat in Korea. Started June 25, 1950 when North Korean forces
invaded South Korea. As a result, Korea became divided into two separate
countries and the Korean Demilitarized Zone was established between the
two.
Marshall Plan - also known as the European Recovery Program. It
channeled over $13 billion to finance the economic recovery of Europe
between 1948 and 1951.
Medicare and Medicaid - a social health care and insurance programs for
families and individuals with limited resources. Both programs were
introduced in the 1960s by President Lyndon B. Johnson.
military-industrial complex - a phrase used by outgoing President Dwight
Eisenhower when warning of a close relationship between the government
and its defense industry.
Montgomery bus boycott - the 1955 boycott of buses in Montgomery,
Alabama following the NAACP-staged arrest of Rosa Parks for refusing to
relinquish her seat in the front of the bus to a white person
mutually assured destruction (MAD) - concept in which a full-scale use
of nuclear weapons by two or more opposing sides would cause the complete
annihilation of both the attacker and the defender

National Energy Act of 1978 - National Energy Act of 1978 was a

legislative response by the U.S. Congress to the 1973 energy crisis.
National Organization for Women (NOW) - an American feminist
organization founded in 1966. They were frustrated with the way in which
the federal government was not enforcing the new anti-discrimination laws.
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) - an intergovernmental
military alliance based on the North Atlantic Treaty which was signed on 4
April 1949. It provided collective security against the Soviet Union or other
threats to NATO allies.
NSC 68 - a 58-page top secret policy paper by the United States National
Security Council presented to President Harry S. Truman on April 14, 1950. It
was one of the most important statements of American policy that launched
the Cold War.
Panama Canal Treaty - a treaty signed by President Jimmy Carter on
September 7, 1977 granting Panamanian control of the canal in 2000.
Peace Corps - a volunteer program run by the United States government.
The stated mission of the Peace Corps includes providing technical
assistance, helping people outside the United States to understand American
culture, and helping Americans to understand the cultures of other countries.
The work is generally related to social and economic development. It was
established March 1st, 1955
Pentagon Papers - was the name given to a secret Department of Defense
study of U.S. political and military involvement in Vietnam from 1945 to
1967, prepared at the request of Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara in
1967.
rock and roll - a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the
United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, from African-American
musical styles such as gospel, jazz, boogie woogie, and rhythm and blues,
with country.
Roe v. Wade - a landmark decision by the United States Supreme Court on
the issue of abortion. It was decided simultaneously with a companion case,
Doe v. Bolton. The Court ruled 7-2 that a right to privacy under the Due
Process Clause of the 14th Amendment extended to a woman's decision to
have an abortion, but that this right must be balanced against the state's
interests in regulating abortions: protecting women's health and protecting
the potentiality of human life.

Six-Day War - was fought between June 5 and 10, 1967 by Israel and the
neighboring states of Egypt (known at the time as the United Arab Republic),
Jordan, and Syria.
Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) - were two rounds of bilateral
conferences and corresponding international treaties involving the United
States and the Soviet Union on the issue of armament control. The two
rounds of talks and agreements were SALT I and SALT II.
Sun Belt - the southern tier of the United States, including the states of
Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, South
Carolina, Texas, roughly two-thirds of California (up to Greater Sacramento),
and parts of Arkansas, North Carolina, Nevada, and Oklahoma. It refers to the
great amount of sunshine this region gets.
Taft-Hartley Act - a United States federal law that restricts the activities
and power of labor unions.
Tet Offensive - was one of the largest military campaigns of the Vietnam
War, launched on January 30, 1968, by forces of the Viet Cong and North
Vietnamese People's Army of Vietnam against the forces of the South
Vietnamese Army of the Republic of Vietnam, the United States Armed
Forces, and their allies. It was a campaign of surprise attacks against military
and civilian command and control centers throughout South Vietnam.
Truman Doctrine - a principle in which the United States' protection of free
countries threatened by Soviet forces or Communist insurrection
Voting Rights Act of 1965 - signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson
on August 6, 1965, aimed to overcome legal barriers at the state and local
levels that prevented African Americans from exercising their right to vote
under the 15th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.
War on Poverty - the unofficial name for legislation first introduced by
United States President Lyndon B. Johnson during his State of the Union
address on January 8, 1964. This legislation was proposed by Johnson in
response to a national poverty rate of around nineteen percent.
Warren Court - The Warren Court refers to the Supreme Court of the United
States during the period when Earl Warren served as Chief Justice. Was
known for it's dramatic use of judicial powers and liberalism.
Watergate - a major political scandal that occurred in the United States in
the 1970s, following a break-in at the Democratic National Committee
headquarters at the Watergate office complex in Washington, D.C. in 1972
and President Richard Nixon's administration's attempted cover-up of its

involvement. When the conspiracy was discovered and investigated by the

U.S. Congress, the Nixon administration's resistance to its probes led to a
constitutional crisis.