Cold War
This U.S. foreign policy aimed to prevent the spread of communism by providing economic and military aid to countries resisting Soviet influence.
Containment
This congressional act helped returning World War II veterans by providing financial aid for college and housing.
GI Bill
This landmark 1954 Supreme Court case declared racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional.
Brown V. Board of Education
This Wisconsin senator became infamous for claiming he had a list of communists working in the U.S. government, despite lacking evidence.
Joseph McCarthy
This 1947 doctrine stated that the U.S. would provide economic and military aid to Greece and Turkey to stop the spread of communism
Truman Doctrine
This economic recovery program provided $13 billion to help rebuild Western Europe after World War II, with the goal of preventing communist expansion.
Marshall Plan
This mass-produced suburban development symbolized the "American Dream" of homeownership in the 1950s.
Levittown
This African American teenager was brutally murdered in Mississippi in 1955, helping to galvanize the Civil Rights Movement.
Emmitt Till
The U.S. House of Representatives established this committee to investigate suspected communist activity in government and entertainment
HUAC (House Un-American Activities Committee)
This U.S. Cold War policy stated that if one country fell to communism, neighboring countries would also fall, like a row of dominoes.
Domino Theory
In 1949, this military alliance was formed by the U.S., Canada, and Western European nations to provide mutual defense against the Soviet Union.
NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) *DAILY DOUBLE*
This cultural phenomenon, referring to the increase in births between 1946 and 1964, significantly impacted American society.
Baby Boom
In 1957, this group of African American students faced violent resistance when they attempted to integrate Central High School in Arkansas.
Little Rock Nine
This couple was convicted of espionage and executed in 1953 for allegedly passing atomic secrets to the Soviet Union.
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg
President Eisenhower took this unprecedented action to enforce school integration in Little Rock in 1957.
Sending in the military to protect the Little Rock Nine
This term, coined by Winston Churchill, described the political and ideological barrier that separated Soviet-controlled Eastern Europe from the democratic West.
Iron Curtain
This term refers to the pressure in 1950s society to conform to social norms, such as traditional gender roles and suburban life.
Conformity
This civil rights organization, founded in 1909, played a key role in legal battles against segregation and discrimination.
NAACP
This practice of blacklisting and public accusations without proper evidence became synonymous with McCarthyism.
Witch Hunts
Popularized by television shows like Leave It to Beaver, this term describes the idealized family structure of the 1950s.
Nuclear Family
The U.S. and its allies fought the Soviet-backed North Koreans in this war from 1950 to 1953, which ended in a stalemate and the division of Korea
Korean War
This literary and cultural movement of young people in the 1950s rejected materialism and societal norms, inspiring later countercultural movements.
Beat Generation
This Arkansas governor defied a federal court order by using the National Guard to block African American students from entering Little Rock Central High School.
Orval Faubus *DAILY DOUBLE*
The fear of communist influence in Hollywood led to this group of screenwriters and directors being blacklisted for refusing to testify before HUAC.
Hollywood Ten
The U.S. government created this program to review federal employees and dismiss those suspected of communist ties
Loyalty Review Boards