Vietnam
This infamous massacre of Vietnamese civilians in 1968 shocked the world and deeply affected American public opinion about the war.
My Lai
This civil rights leader is best known for his role in the Montgomery Bus Boycott and his famous "I Have a Dream" speech.
Martin Luther King Jr.
The mastermind behind the 9/11 terrorist attacks, he was the founder of the terrorist organization responsible for the deadliest attack on American soil.
Osama bin Laden
This barrier, divided East and West Berlin and symbolized the ideological divide between communism and democracy during the Cold War.
Berlin Wall
his term refers to the practice of making accusations of subversion or treason without proper regard for evidence, particularly associated with Senator Joseph McCarthy's anti-communist campaign in the early 1950s.
McCarthyism
The guerrilla fighters of the National Liberation Front, they were known for their resilience and hit-and-run tactics against American and South Vietnamese forces.
Viet Cong
A prominent figure in the Nation of Islam, he advocated for black empowerment and self-defense, famously saying, "By any means necessary."
Malcom X
This controversial legislation, enacted in response to the 9/11 attacks, significantly expanded the government's surveillance powers and raised concerns about civil liberties.
Patriot Act
his tense standoff in 1962 occurred when the United States discovered Soviet missiles in Cuba, leading to a diplomatic crisis and bringing the world to the brink of nuclear war.
Cuban Missile Crisis
This congressional committee, established in 1938, became notorious for investigating alleged disloyalty and subversive activities by private citizens, particularly targeting suspected communists during the Cold War.
House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC)
This major offensive launched by the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army in 1968 surprised American forces and marked a turning point in the conflict.
Tet Offensive
This pivotal event, sparked by Rosa Parks' refusal to give up her bus seat, lasted over a year and played a significant role in the desegregation of public transportation.
Montgomery Bus Boycott
This military conflict, launched in 2003 by the United States and its allies, aimed to topple the regime of Saddam Hussein and eliminate Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction.
Iraq War
This failed CIA-backed invasion of Cuba in 1961 aimed to overthrow Fidel Castro's communist regime but ended in disaster for the United States.
Bay of Pigs
This foreign policy initiative, announced in 1947, aimed to contain the spread of communism by providing economic and military aid to countries threatened by communist expansion, particularly in Europe.
Truman Doctrine
The tragic event on May 4, 1970, where National Guard troops fired into a crowd of students protesting the Vietnam War, killing four and injuring nine others.
Kent State Shootings
The landmark Supreme Court case in 1954 that declared segregation in public schools unconstitutional, overturning the "separate but equal" doctrine.
Brown v. Board of Education
The tragic event on September 11, 2001, where coordinated terrorist attacks by the Islamic extremist group Al-Qaeda killed nearly 3,000 people in the United States.
9/11
Fought from 1950 to 1953, this conflict arose from the division of Korea after World War II and escalated into a proxy war between the United States and China, with devastating consequences for the Korean peninsula.
Korean War
This post-World War II initiative, named after a U.S. Secretary of State, provided billions of dollars in economic assistance to help rebuild Western European countries devastated by the war and prevent the spread of communism.
Marshall Plan
Published by the New York Times in 1971, these leaked documents revealed the U.S. government's deception regarding its involvement in Vietnam.
Pentagon Papers
These activists, both black and white, challenged segregation laws by riding interstate buses into the South, often facing violent opposition.
What are the Freedom Riders?
The terrorist organization responsible for the 9/11 attacks, led by Osama bin Laden and known for its global jihadist ideology.
Al-Qaeda
Coined by Winston Churchill, this metaphorical term describes the ideological and physical separation between Eastern and Western Europe during the Cold War.
Iron Curtain
This operation, conducted in 1948-1949, involved the airlifting of food and supplies to West Berlin by the United States and its allies in response to a Soviet blockade, ensuring the city's survival during the early Cold War.
Berlin Airlift