People
J.F. Kennedy
- President of the United States.
-1961 until his assassination in 1963.
-youngest person elected to the presidency and the first Catholic president.
-navigated the United States through the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, a tense confrontation with the Soviet Union over the presence of nuclear missiles in Cuba.
Activists
-individuals or groups of people who actively participate in advocating for or promoting social, political, environmental, or other changes to address specific issues or bring about improvements in society.
- protests, campaigns, lobbying, and raising awareness to achieve their goals and create positive change.
Hippies
members of a countercultural movement that emerged in the 1960s, particularly in the United States. The term "hippie" is often used to describe individuals who rejected mainstream values, embraced nonconformity, and advocated for peace, love, and harmony. Hippies were known for their distinctive clothing, including tie-dye shirts and bell-bottom pants, as well as their interest in Eastern philosophies, psychedelic music, and communal living. The movement was characterized by a rejection of materialism, opposition to the Vietnam War, and a focus on social and environmental issues.
Generation gap
refers to the differences in attitudes, values, beliefs, and cultural norms between different age groups, particularly between older and younger generations. These distinctions often arise due to the unique experiences, influences, and societal changes that each generation undergoes.
Baby boomers
refers to the generation of individuals born in the post-World War II period, typically between the years 1946 and 1964. The term "baby boom" reflects the significant increase in birth rates during this period. Baby boomers have had a considerable impact on various aspects of society as they have aged, influencing cultural, economic, and political trends over the years.
Pierre Trudeau
-Prime Minister of Canada.
-1968 to 1979 and again from 1980 to 1984.-
-Introduced the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms in 1982.
-Promoted multiculturalism and bilingualism as fundamental elements of Canadian identity.
UNICEF
- protect children’s rights, to make sure the basic needs of children are met, and to help children reach their full potential
- United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund.
Proxy War
a war instigated by a major power which does not itself become involved. Bigger countries use smaller countries to fight for them.
Militant
combative and aggressive in support of a political or social cause, and typically favoring extreme, violent, or confrontational methods.
Quiet Revolution
a period of rapid change and reform that modernized Quebec society during the years 1960 to 1966 under the Liberal provincial government of Jean Lesage.
John Diefenbaker
-Prime Minister of Canada
- introduced the Canadian Bill of Rights in 1960, a landmark piece of legislation aimed at protecting individual rights and freedoms.
Star War Program
President Reagan in 1983 ordered research into the use of satellites that could be used to destroy ICBM’s in flight using lasers or electro-magnetic power.
Emergency Act
statute passed by the Parliament of Canada in 1988 which authorizes the Government of Canada to take extraordinary temporary measures to respond to public welfare emergencies, public order emergencies, international emergencies and war emergencies. Every province has to agree in order for this to be used.
CND
(Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament)
Due to Britain’s unique position in the cold war this protest group started to grow. Britain was the third country to develop nuclear weapons, they are expensive, and the U.S. has had a military with nuclear weapons stationed in the U.K. for many years. This led some to see Britain as America’s nuclear “aircraft carrier”. Those in Britain believed - for good reason - that if nuclear war ever broke out Britain would be a priority target and due to their size the entire island could be wiped out. So the CND was born. They held rallies and marches inBritain hoping to persuade the Labour Party to unilaterally disarm Britain but it didn’t happen and the movement almost completely came to an end, though we see it everywhere today. The nuclear disarmament symbol is the peace symbol today, but it is a rocket in the middle (Britain made it). The peace sign used to mean victory (which meant “victory, we will destroy our enemies”) but the hippies turned it into a peace sign. Churchill used to go around giving people the sign before it was known as the peace sign.
NATO
(North Atlantic Treaty Organization)
the mutual defense organization set up to protect several Western European countries, Canada, and the U.S. from possible aggression from the U.S.S.R. after the Second World War.
Nikita Khrushchev
- Soviet statesman and leader of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964.
-Initiated "destalinization," denouncing excesses of Stalin's rule.
-Played a key role in the Cuban Missile Crisis (1962) and the space race.
-Achieved milestones in space exploration, including the launch of Sputnik 1 in 1957.
WHO
(World Health Organization)
the United Nations health organization responsible for providing leadership for global health.
NORAD
(North American Aerospace Defense Command)
a defense agreement signed in 1958 between Canada and the United States
(known as the North American Air Defense Agreement until 1981).
FLQ
(Front de Libération du Québec)
a revolutionary movement founded to work for an independent, socialist Quebec.
SALT
(Strategic Arms Limitation Talks) -
has been shut down as of today because America threw it in the trash the day after September 11, 2001 occured. The idea was to limit weapons being built. Salt-I was signed in 1972 - both sides agreed to their anti-ballistic missiles and they reached an agreement on how many bombers, submarines and missiles could be built but it didn’t account for new technology. So they agreed to stop making older weapons because both sides knew they had new ones they wanted to build anyway. It didn’t work. They were so specific that they put all of the old weapons in the contract but just renamed them. Salt-II - was signed in 1979 - this limited the number of long ranger bombers and missiles to 2250 each - it didn’t mention “specific” ones so more weapons - including new ones - fell under this umbrella. This wasn’t formally approved for a long time after it was signed due to increased tension between the superpowers… again.
Igor Gouzenko
- Soviet cipher clerk who defected to Canada in 1945
- provided crucial information about Soviet spy networks operating in Canada and the Western world
Rene Levesque
- Quebecois journalist and politician.
-Founded the Parti Québécois (PQ) to promote Quebec nationalism.
-Served as the Premier of Quebec from 1976 to 1985.
-Organized referendums on Quebec sovereignty, notably in 1980.
SLBM
(Submarine Launched Ballistic Missile)
nuclear submarines can sit offshore and fire these towards coastal targets. At this time, submarines never had to go up for air and they never had to surface. They never had to surface because they were now using nuclear powers so they did not have to come up for gas.
MIRV
(Multiple Independently Targeted Re-entry Vehicles)
- one missile that can fit several warheads that it can release so each can go to its own target. Even if 1 in 8 missiles is missed by defending forces, that one missile can launch 8 more nuclear warheads.
MAD
(Mutually Assured Destruction)
the idea that the use of nuclear weapons by one side would ensure it would be destroyed by the other side as well making it “not worth it” to start a nuclear war.