Civil Rights
Student Non Violent Coordinating Committee
Who: Young people
What: Nonviolence organization focused on civil rights and pre-planned sit-ins
Where: Greensboro North Carolina mostly
When: 1960s
Why: To protest for African American rights
Significance: Showed a nonviolent route to achieving civil rights
Silent Spring
Who: Rachel Carson
What: A book about how pesticides were killing animals directly and indirectly
Where: Written in Maryland
When: 1962
Why: Bringing attention to environmental causes
Significance: Brought significant attention to environmental issues and helped create the EPA
Bakke v University of California
Who: Allan Bakke and the University of California
What: Supreme Court case that ended the racial quota system for acceptances in colleges
Where: University of California
When: 1978
Why: Bakke was more qualified and those less qualified got into law school
Significance: Shows significant backlash to minority group civil rights
Viet Cong
Who: South Vietnamese
What: Guerrilla force of rebels in South Vietnam rebel against the US and their government
Where: South Vietnam
When: 1959-1975
Why: Did not like their government or the US
Significance: Shows that the war was not black and white and that not everyone in South Vietnam was pro South Vietnam and US
Paris Agreement
Who: Governments across the globe
What: Aims to limit global temperature rise to under 2 degrees centigrade higher than pre-industrial average
Where: Paris, France
When: 2015
Why: Combat climate change
Significance: Has been a political issue within the US who has left and returned several times
Civil Rights Act
Who: Lyndon B. Johnson
What: Outlaws discrimination in public and for hiring employees, federal government could withhold funding from states if they opposed
Where: Focused primarily in the southern states
When: 1964
Why: JFK used as a martyr to push forward civil rights laws
Significance: Showed that the federal government was pushing for civil rights in the 1960s
Port Huron Statement
Who: Students at the University of Michigan
What: Make demands for participatory grassroots democracy, poverty elimination, and civil rights
Where: Michigan
When: 1962
Why: Push people to be involved in government
Significance: Served as an example of a more radical political ideology present in the 1960s
Detente
Who: Richard Nixon
What: French word meaning the relaxation of tensions between parties, used by Nixon to limit arms and missiles of countries, trade opens between Soviets and US
Where: US and Soviet Union
When: 1970s
Why: to limit missiles
Significance: US and Soviet Union become egotistical as they can both shape the world
Reaganomics
Who: Ronald Reagan
What: tax cuts to the rich, critics argued it favored those on top
Where: US
When: 1980s
Why: Cutting taxes would lead people to spend and stimulate the economy
Significance: Did not fix the economy, things got worse, and real average weekly wages decreased, government had to spend to make up for lost revenue
NAFTA
Who: Bill Clinton
What: North American Free Trade Agreement, eliminated tariffs between North American countries to stimulate economic growth
Where: US Mexico and Canada
When: 1994
Why: To stimulate economies in North America
Significance: Boosted trade between countries
Voting Rights Act
Who: Lyndon B. Johnson
What: Federal government could oversee state elections and make sure they were fair
Where: Southern states
When: 1965
Why: Bringing down the Jim Crow system and breathing life into the 15th amendment
Significance: Showed that the US was aware of the voting problems in the south but never fixed them till the 1960s.
Phyllis Schlafly
Who: Highly educated lawyer
What: Believed the equal rights amendment would take away freedoms, such as draft protection and alimony rights, and threatened the traditional family values
Where: St. Louis
When: 1970s
Why: Believed women were freer under their husbands
Significance: Showed that not all women were for the feminist movement
Kent State
Who: Students and military
What: A protest where 4 uninvolved students were shot and killed
Where: Ohio
When: 1970
Why: Tensions were high after a bombing at the ROTC building the day before
Significance: Example of how protests can go wrong in the modern era and that public opinion on Vietnam was very bad
War on Terrorism
Who: George W. Bush
What: Declaration of war on terrorism
Where: US and abroad
When: 2000s
Why: 9/11 raised concerns of terrosists
Significance: Led to the invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq
Tea Party
Who:
What: Conservative political group aimed at creating a smaller government
Where: US
When: 2000s
Why: People angry over the government involvement in the 2008 financial crisis
Significance: Their ideas have become part of the larger Republican Party
Malcolm X
Who: Figurehead of the Black Power movement
What: Nation of Islam organization focused in self control within local community
Where: Mostly New York City
When: 1960s
Why: Idea that black people would never be equal in a society dominated by whites
Significance: Shows a different perspective to the civil rights movement
The Feminine Mystique
Who: Betty Friedan
What: A book which discussed how women seemed depressed despite how good women were supposed to have had it
Where: Northeast
When: 1963
Why: Drug and alcohol abuse were rampant as many women felt guilty over not fitting the traditional mold expected of them
Significance: Identified the issue that was plaguing so many women at the time
Silent Majority
Who: Working class Americans
What: Poor working class Americans who refrain from active political engagement feel forgotten
Where: United States
When: 1970s and 1980s
Why: Parties were becoming too focused
Significance: Used by Nixon and Reagan heavily to win elections
Tonkin Gulf Resolution
Who: Lyndon B. Johnson and congress
What: Ship attacked on neutral waters in Gulf of Tonkin
Where: Gulf of Tonkin
When: 1964
Why: Concerns over the neutrality of the ships as they were conducting intelligence missions
Significance: President given full power to declare war and wage war on Vietnam
Occupy Wall Street
Who: Americans
What: Leftists wanted big businesses regulated more
Where: New York City
When: 2011
Why: Americans upset over higher breaks for large businesses than American people
Significance: Revealed a broader wealth inequality in America
Cesar Chavez
Who: Member of the Mexican Farmers Association
What: Boycott of grapes
Where: Mostly California
When: Founded 1962
Why: Wanted a livable wage and better healthcare
Significance: Shows how figures in history can be very flawed
Stonewall Inn Riot
Who: Gay men
What: A stand off against police who were attempting to raid a gay bar
Where: Stonewall Inn bar in New York City
When: 1969
Why: Gays were fed up with discrimination from the police
Significance: Part of a larger fight for gay rights, birthplace of gay rights movement
Iran Hostage Crisis
Who: Iranian students and American diplomats
What: Students loyal to the Ayatollah kidnapped 60 diplomats and held them for 444 days
Where: Iran
When: 1979
Why: Shah of Iran was in the US seeking cancer treatment
Significance: Leads to the US siding with Iraq in the Iran-Iraq war
Tet Offensive
Who: Lyndon B. Johnson and US Military
What: Coordinated surprise attack against the US pushing them back in the capitals of South Vietnam
Where: Vietnam
When: 1968
Why: Lunar New Year, US forces assumed Vietnamese would be celebrating
Significance: Showed that the war was not close to over and dramatically lowered public opinion who were questioning why the war was happening and if we could even win
War on Poverty
Who: Lyndon B. Johnson
What: Legislature to eliminate poverty in the United States
Where: United States
When: 1960s
Why: Large poverty rate in the United States
Significance: Lowered the poverty rate and established programs like project head start and medicare/medicaid