1960’s & 1970’s AmericaTest ReviewAnswers

1. What was impact of Television and its effect on the 1960 presidential

election?

• First televised presidential debate.

• JFK, young and personable, he wears tv makeup to help the harsh lighting.

• Nixon doesn’t wear makeup, awkward on tv “looked like death”

• Public perception favored JFK- he was seen as “winner” of debate

• Contributed to JFK winning the election

2. What was the New Frontier?

• Kennedy’s domestic program to help poor areas of the country

• Raise government spending

-ARA: area redevelopment plan

3. What was the Great Society? Why is it

called the“War on Poverty”?

• Johnson started domestic programs intended to fight poverty in the United States

• Medicare provides medical assistance to the elderly

• Medicaid offers medical assistance to those who are having financial problems.

• Head Start is a program for under-privileged children that assists in education, health and social services

4. What was the Cuban Missile Crisis?

• Followed Bay of Pigs failure

• Put us on the brink of WWIII

• Major success of Kennedy’s presidency

• Led to the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty

5. How did the Cold War affect the economics of the

United States?

• During the Cold War, government spending on nuclear arms and the space race increased dramatically

6. What is a Hotline and why was it

established?

• Direct line between Washington D.C. and Moscow for times of emergency

• Established after the Cuban Missile Crisis

7. What is Containment?

• The United States policy to stop the spread of communism during the Cold War

8. What is the 26th Amendment and what is it

a direct result of?

• This amendment lowered the voting age from 21 to 18.

• This was a direct result of the Vietnam War

• The rationale is that if a soldier at 18 is old enough to fight and die for the country, they are then old enough to vote for its leaders

9. What was the Tet Offensive?

• Mass, surprise attempt by the North Vietnamese to strike out against the American/South Vietnamese forces

• Occurred on the Vietnamese New Year (Tet) a day that had normally been a cease-fire

• In most part it was unsuccessful, but it appeared as a failure to the American media and public

• Made the U.S. realize we were in an “unwinable” war

10. What is the Domino Theory?

• The idea that if Vietnam falls to communism, then the rest of South East Asia will follow as well

• Ended up not being true..

11. What is Guerilla Warfare?

• Irregular warfare, conflicts in which a small group of combatants use military tactics, such as ambushes, sabotage, raids, the element of surprise, and extraordinary mobility to harass a larger and less-mobile traditional army, or strike a vulnerable target, and withdraw almost immediately.

• Used by the North Vietnamese during the Vietnam War

12. What is a Quagmire, and how does it apply to the

Vietnam War?

• A difficult or precarious situation; a predicament; A perilous, mixed up and troubled situation; a hopeless tangle

• The Vietnam War is often seen as a “quagmire” because the enemy was "grinning at us" knowing we couldn't win it (without taking drastic measures), and we couldn't withdraw from it without looking like fools.

13. What was the Gulf of Tonkin

Resolution?

• After a U.S. Navy ship is fired upon in the Gulf of Tonkin- next to Vietnam- Congress gives President Johnson a “blank check” to deal with matters in Vietnam

• Virtually grants him whatever he needs to help South Vietnam

14. What are some examples of Chemical

Warfare, and how was it used during Vietnam?

• The use of napalm, cluster bombs and agent orange to clear foliage in Vietnam

• The North Vietnamese were a hidden enemy so these were used to try and overcome that

15. What was the Public’s Opinion of the Vietnam War?

• As the war continued, the American people began to wonder why we were over there

• The more American lives that were lost, the more people questioned the war and became critical of it

• Television only made the public less supportive

16. What was Woodstock?

• Large, 3 day long music festival that took place in New York in 1969

• Symbolic of the Counter Culture movement

17. What was the debate about laws

protecting women?

• The League of Women Voters and the National Women’s Party were two different groups that supported the Women’s Rights Movement but disagreed on what laws they were trying to get passed.

18. Who is Betty Friedan?

• Major Women’s Rights leader• Wrote the Feminine Mystique,

which launched the Women’s Movement

• The book interviewed women she had graduated college with, and she found that most felt unfulfilled

• Organized NOW in 1966

19. What is Title IX?

• Part of the 1972 Educational Amendments

• Prohibited federally funded schools from discriminating against girls in nearly all aspects of their operations, from admissions to athletics

20. What happened in the Supreme

Court case Roe v. Wade?

• Supreme Court case that ruled that state governments could no longer regulate abortion during the first three months of pregnancy, a time within a woman’s constitutional right to privacy.

• This gave rise to the right-to-life movement, whose members considered abortion morally wrong.

22. What started the Counter Culture

movement?

• The youth were unhappy with LBJ and the Vietnam War, and so it spurred the youth to form a massive rebellious movement

23. What is Affirmative Action?

• President Johnson declares that the Civil Rights Act is not enough to end discrimination and segregation

• Issued Executive Order 11246, called Affirmative Action

• Businesses/schools have to actively employ/accept minority groups

• They’re required to have a certain percentage of minority group involvement

24. What were the opposing views of government during the Counter Culture movement?

• the mainstream view of the American government was “love it or leave it”

• The Counter Culture movement viewed the government with mistrust, that it should be questioned

25. What is Communal Living? And how did it fit into the Counter Culture movement?

• The idea of mixed families living all together, sharing everything

• Mainstream believed this defied the American tradition of suburban life

• Counter Culture view that people shouldn’t live in isolation supported this type of lifestyle

26. How did music change during the Counter Culture movement?

• Before the Counter Culture movement, the sole purpose of music was personal enjoyment, it was innocent and entertaining

• During the Counter Culture movement, music began to be created to make a political statement or send a message. It also began to include drug and sexual references

27. What was Watergate’s impact on America?

• American’s lost faith in the federal government

• This lead to a general decline in trust in the president/government

• Americans no longer “idolize” the president

28. Who are the two reporters that broke the story?

• Carl Bernstein

• Bob Woodward

29. Why did the burglars break-in to Watergate?

• Watergate is a hotel/office building complex

• It was the head of the Democratic National Committee

• The burglars were intending to steal campaign information and set up wire taps

30. How was Nixon involved?

• He ordered the cover-up of the break-in

31. Who was Spiro Agnew?

• -Nixon’s first Vice President-He was forced to resign because he had been caught taking bribes

32. What was Nixon’s “Enemies List”?

• It was a list of people who Nixon thought were trying to sabotage his presidency. -It included people from many different spectrums- politicians, actors, sports figures etc.

33. What were the Watergate Tapes?

• The tapes were records of conversations from the oval office that Nixon had recorded.- The court requested them after Nixon was suspected of having part in the break-in-He claimed executive privilege and that the tapes would be a threat to national security if handed over- The courts still demanded them and when he turned them over, they had been altered and provided evidence that he had ordered the cover-up

34. Why did Nixon resign?

• So that he could leave office with some dignity left, instead of being voted out, which would have happened

35. What was significant about Nixon’s visit to China?

-First president to go to China- opens relations with China for the first time in 25 years- major success, lasting impact