Things that go "Boom"
Poli-Tik-Tok
Be Afraid; be very afraid.
Good Morning, Vietnam
Flower Power
100

This device, used only twice at the end of World War II, gave the United States the upper hand in foreign policy negotiations--that is, until 1949.

What is the atomic (nuclear) bomb?

100

Containment was the American Policy to contain this--the preferred economic system of the Soviet Union.

What is Communism?

100

The 1950s were characterized by this--a general paranoia over communist infiltration in the United States.

What is the Red Scare?

100

American involvement in Vietnam was based on this principle, which held that communism was most likely to spread to neighboring countries. 

What is Domino Theory?

100

This movement was a prime example of counterculture in the 1960s, characterized by drug use, communal living, and opposition to the Vietnam war.

What is the Hippie Movement?

200

1949 witnessed the first successful test of a nuclear weapon in this country--the US's main Cold War adversary

What is the USSR?

200

The Truman Doctrine, which provided economic aid to non-communist nations, successfully prevented communist revolutions in these two Southern European countries.

What are Turkey and Greece?

200

The Red Scare was driven by this controversial senator, who claimed without evidence that communists had infiltrated the US State Department

Who is Joseph McCarthy?

200

This turning point in the Vietnam War was broadcast on the US Nightly News, and demonstrated to many Americans that the war could not be won. 

What is the Tet Offensive?

200
Protests of the Vietnam war turned violent at this Ohio University, where National Guardsman fired their weapons into protesters, killing four students. 

What is Kent State?

300

The 1950s were characterized by this competition between the US and Soviet Union--during which each nation worked to build up its arsenal of destructive weapons.

What is the Nuclear Arms Race

300

This policy, which was part of the United States containment strategy, provided economic aid to western Europe in order to help rebuild after WWII.

What is the Marshall Plan?

300
Fears of communism in the United States were accelerated by the arrest and execution of this American couple, who passed atomic secrets to the USSR.

Who are the Rosenbergs?

300

This congressional resolution, following a skirmish involving the USS Maddox, gave president Johnson the power to make war without a war declaration.

What is the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution?

300

Vietnam war protest songs were on full display at this 1969 music festival in New York State.

What is Woodstock?

400

"Duck and Cover" became standard drill at US schools, especially after the development of these weapons, which allowed long-range delivery of nuclear warheads.

What are Intercontinental Ballistics Missiles (ICBMs)?

400
The division of Germany following WWII led to this standoff, during which the United States used cargo planes to deliver needed supplies.

What is the Berlin Blockade/Berlin Airlift?

400

Fear of communism in the United States led to this 1950s trend, which was characterized by traditional gender roles and a lack of individualism.

What is conformity?

400

This tragic event, which involved the murder of hundreds of Vietnamese civilians, tarnished the reputation of the United States Military and exemplified the consequences of guerilla warfare.

What is the My Lai Massacre?

400

The Hippies of the 1960s drew inspiration from this "generation" of counterculture authors and poets of the 1950s.

What are the Beats?

500

Brinkmanship is best exemplified by this standoff in October, 1962, during which the United States and Soviet Union nearly engaged in a catastrophic nuclear exchange.

What is the Cuban Missile Crisis?

500

This report, leaked to major US Newspapers in 1971, revealed that the government had lied about progress in Vietnam.

What are the Pentagon Papers?

500

To be accused of communist sympathies in the 1950s could lead to this--the loss of one's job and loss of reputation in a particular industry.

What is blacklisting?

500

The Vietnam War was further complicated by the assassination of this South Vietnamese leader--only three weeks before the assassination of JFK.

Who is Ngo Din Diem?

500

The Hippie movement inspired a backlash among conservative Americans known as the silent majority, who helped to elect this US President in 1968.

Who is Richard Nixon