MONTGOMERY BUS BOYCOTT:
Event that resulted from Rosa Parks refusal to give up her seat to a
white man on a Montgomery, AL bus on December 1, 1955. Her arrest led to the Montgomery Improvement
Association organizing a yearlong
boycott of the Montgomery bus system using carpools to transport. The MBB brings the civil rights movement to the
attention of the nation and propels Dr. Martin Luther King into national
prominence.
BABY BOOMERS: Those
born between 1945 and 1965. The nation
was experiencing economic prosperity following WWII and people were marrying
earlier and having more children.
ROCK and ROLL: a new
form of music beginning in the 1950s that combined country with black rhythm
and blues.
BROWN V. BOARD OF EDUCATION:
Supreme Court decision in 1954 that overturned the “separate but equal”
doctrine established by Plessy v. Ferguson.
The B. v. B of C. case ruled that “separate educational facilities are
inherently unequal.” This case results
in the integration of the public schools.
PLESSY v. FERGUSON:
Supreme Court case of 1896 that ruled that “separate but equal”
facilities were constitutional.
Overturned by Brown v. Board of Education.
ROSA PARKS:
Montgomery, AL citizen who sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott by
refusing to give up her seat to a white man.
MARTIN LUTHER KING:
Montgomery pastor of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church who was elected
leader of the Montgomery Improvement Association in 1955 and rose to prominence
as the leader of the civil rights movement.
Assassinated on April 4, 1968 in Memphis, TN.
DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER:
Republican Elected President in 1952 and re-elected in 1956; had been a war hero from WWII as the Supreme
Allied Commander. Responsible for the
nation’s interstate highway system ; a reduction of ground forces in the
military and greater dependence on increasing the nation’s nuclear
arsenal. His and his Secretary of State,
John Foster Dulles’, defense strategy against the Soviet Union becomes known as
MAD, mutually assured destruction. It
was based on massive retaliation if the Soviet Union attacked the U.S. America’s stockpile of nuclear weapons
quadrupled during his presidency. This
was known as the “New Look” defense policy.
Domestically, he did not want to expand the federal government’s power;
did not strongly support segregation; did support the continuation of New Deal
programs. Little improvement for the
poor. Supported the French in Vietnam
and voiced what became known as the “domino theory.” Once Vietnam was divided, he supported the
South Vietnamese government. The CIA’s
involvement increased during his presidency.
Did establish NASA. U-2 incident
in 1960 dashed ended any hope of a nuclear arms agreement that his
administration had worked on with Nikita Khrushchev who had become the leader
of the Soviet Union in 1953 upon the death of Stalin.
JOHN KENNEDY:
Democrat elected President in 1960 and initiates what he called “a NEW
FRONTIER.” Defeated Richard Nixon by a
very narrow margin in the popular vote.
Was the youngest man every elected president and the first Roman
Catholic. “Ask not what your country can
do for you, ask what you can do for your country.” Did not support racial justice until forced
to. Attacked poverty in the U.S. and
called for a huge tax cut which congress passed. Assassinated on November 22, 1963 by Lee
Harvey Oswald. Lyndon Johnson became
President.
LYNDON JOHNSON :
Texan who was John Kennedy’s Vice-President. Became President upon Kennedy’s death. His program was the “GREAT SOCIETY.” Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed. War on poverty. Economic Opportunity Act passed in 1964
which created the Head Start for preschoolers, Job Corps for unemployed young
people, legal services for the poor, Community Action Program; Medicare and Medicaid established.
RICHARD NIXON:
Republican elected President in 1968.
Promised to get the U.S. out of Vietnam.
In 1972, the first U.S. president to go to China and the two countries
established formal diplomatic relations in 1979. Promoted DÉTENTE, the easing of conflict with
the Soviet Union through arms control and trade; SALT, Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty in
1972 in which the U.S. and Soviet Union agreed to limit antiballistic missiles
to two each; signed the Helsinki accords in 1975 which formally recognized the
post-WWII boundaries in Europe and the recognition of “the universal
significance of human rights and fundamental freedoms.” WATERGATE was his downfall (June of 1972,
five men working for Nixon’s reelection broke into Democratic Party
headquarters in Washington D.C. to repair a bugging device planted earlier and
were discovered and arrested. Nixon and
his aides attempted to cover this up and in 1974 the House of Representatives began
impeachment procedures against Nixon, resulting in his resignation in August,
1974.) Gerald Ford became President.
NEW FRONTIER: Name
given to John Kennedy’s programs during his presidency.
GREAT SOCIETY: Name given to Lyndon Johnson’s programs
during his presidency
CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964:
Made discrimination in employment, education, and public accommodations
illegal.
VOTING RIGHTS ACT OF 1965:
passed in Johnson’s presidency, it banned literacy tests and other
practices used to disqualify black voters and authorized federal intervention
to ensure access to the voting booth.
MIRANDA v. ARIZONA:
Supreme Court case and decision of 1966 that required police officers to
inform suspects of their rights upon arrest.
GIDEON v. WAINWRIGHT:
Supreme Court case and decision of 1963 that ruled that when an accused
could not afford to hire a lawyer, the state had to provide one.
ROE v. WADE: 1973
Supreme Court decision that the Constitution protects the right to abortion,
preventing states from prohibiting abortions in the early stage of pregnancy. In 1977, congress restricted the right to
abortion by prohibiting coverage under all government-financed health programs,
and the Supreme Court allowed states to impose additional obstacles.
EDUCATIONAL AMENDMENTS ACT OF 1972: banned sex discrimination in all aspects of
education, such as admissions, athletics, and hiring.
SNCC: Created during
the civil rights movement in 1960; Student nonviolent Coordinating
Committee; grew out the sit-ins that
resulted from four African American college students requesting service at the
white-only Woolworth’s lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina.
CORE: Congress of
Racial Equality; helped to organize
freedom rides.
NAACP: National
Association for the Advancement of Colored People
FREEDOM RIDERS: groups
of, usually young, blacks and whites who would come to the South for the
purpose of implementing Court orders for integrated transportation.
MARCH ON WASHINGTON:
1963 demonstration of 250,000 blacks and whites in Washington D.C.
calling for equality in jobs and freedom.
Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I Have A Dream” speech was the highlight of
the demonstration
SELMA MARCH: 1965
march from Selma to Montgomery. Came
after “Bloody Sunday” in which Alabama troopers used violent force to turn
back this voting rights march at the
Edmund Pettis Bridge in Selma, Alabama.
CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1968:
banned racial discrimination in housing and jury selection and
authorized federal intervention when states failed to protect civil rights
workers from violence
MALCOLM X: Called for
black pride and autonomy, separation from the
“corrupt [white] society, and self-defense against white violence; his
ideas resulted in the term, “black power” which became the rallying cry in SNCC
and CORE and the Black Panther party for Self-Defense. Led to strong white backlash.
HENRY KISSINGER: National
Security Adviser and Secretary of State under Richard Nixon; brokered the Paris Peace Accords.
PARIS PEACE ACCORDS:
Ended U.S. combat involvement in Vietnam in 1973.
GENEVA ACCORDS:
Results in division of Vietnam in 1954, resulting in the U.S. supporting
South Vietnam and our subsequent military involvement.
