Transcript The 1960s Vocabulary List

The 1960s
Vocabulary List
Communism
Definition:
 A way of organizing a
society in which the
government owns the
things that are used to
make and transport
products (such as land,
oil, factories, ships, etc.)
and there is no privately
owned property
The Peace Corps
Definition:
 A U.S. organization that
trains and sends people
who work without pay to
help poor people in other
countries.
Revolution
Definition:
 The usually violent
attempt by many people
to end the rule of one
government and start a
new one
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
Definition:
 The Central Intelligence
Agency is a part of the
U.S. federal government
that is responsible for
collecting information
about other countries or
foreign groups.
The Bay of Pigs Invasion
Definition:
 A military debacle in April
1961, during an Americanorganized effort to invade
Cuba and drive Fidel
Castro, the communist
ruler, from power. The
invasion force of 1,500
Cuban exiles was defeated
at the Bay of Pigs, a major
embarrassment for
President John F. Kennedy.
The Berlin wall
Definition:
 A barrier constructed by
the German Democratic
Republic (GDR, East
Germany) starting on 13
August 1961, that
completely cut off (by
land) West Berlin from
surrounding East
Germany and from East
Berlin.
The Cuban Missile Crisis
Definition:
 The showdown between the
United States and the
Soviet Union during
October 1962, after the
Soviet Union snuck
medium-range nuclear
missiles into communist
Cuba. After President John
F. Kennedy publicly
demanded their removal
and ordered the blockade
of Cuba, Soviet leader
Nikita Khrushchev agreed
to do so, preventing a
nuclear war.
Capitalism
Definition:
 A way of organizing an
economy so that the
things that are used to
make and transport
products (such as land,
oil, factories, ships, etc.)
are owned by individual
people and companies
rather than by the
government.
Nationalist
Definition:
 a member of a political
group that wants to form
a separate and
independent nation.
Guerrillas
Definition:
 A member of a usually
small group of soldiers
who do not belong to a
regular army and who
fight in a war as an
independent unit.
The Vietcong
Definition:
 A guerrilla member of
the Vietnamese
communist movement.
Civil Disobedience
Definition:
 A refusal to obey laws as
a way of forcing the
government to do or
change something.
“Sit-in”
Definition:
 A strike or protest in
which people sit or stay
in a place and refuse to
leave until they are given
what they demand.
Black Panther
Definition:
 A member of a militant
black American
organization (Black
Panther party) active in
the 1960’s and early
1970’s, formed to work
for the advancement of
the rights of African
Americans, often by
radical means.
Militant
Definition:
 Having or showing a
desire or willingness to
use strong, extreme, and
sometimes forceful
methods to achieve
something.
Reform
Definition:
 To improve (someone or
something) by removing
or correcting faults,
problems, etc.
Domestic Policy
Definition:
 The set of decisions that
a government makes
relating to things that
directly affect the people
in its own country.
Foreign Policy
Definition:
 A government’s policy on
dealing with other
countries, for example in
matters relating to trade
or defense.
The Great Society
Definition:
 The domestic plan of
President Lyndon B.
Johnson for the United
States.
 The plan desired to end
poverty, promote civil
rights, and improve
housing, health care, and
education.
Poverty
Definition:
 The state of being poor.
The Beat Movement
Definition:
 Members of the generation
that came to maturity in
the 1950s, whose rejection
of the social and political
systems of the West was
expressed through
contempt for regular work,
possessions, traditional
dress, etc, and espousal of
anarchism, communal
living, drugs, etc.
Commune
Definition:
 A group of people who
live together and share
responsibilities,
possessions, etc.
Students for a Democratic Society (SDS)
Definition:
 An organization created
by college students in the
early 1960s.
 The activist organization
protested racism,
corporations, and the
Vietnam War.
Activist
Definition:
 A person who uses or
supports strong actions
(such as public protests)
to help make changes in
politics or society.
Democratic Nation
Definition:
 A form of government in
which the people choose
leaders (by voting).
Hippie
Definition:
 A usually young person
who rejects established
social customs (such as
by dressing in an unusual
way or living in a
commune) and who
opposes violence and
war.
The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
Definition:
 Congressional action,
undertaken at President
Johnson’s request, giving
the President the
authority to deploy U.S.
troops to repel
aggression in Southeast
Asia.
Hawks
Definition:
 Members of American
society who supported
America’s involvement in
the Vietnam War.
Doves
Definition:
 Members of American
society who were against
America’s involvement in
the Vietnam War.
The Tet Offensive
Definition:
 A wide-ranging offensive,
launched by North
Vietnamese and Vietcong
troops throughout South
Vietnam in February
1968. It failed to cause
the South Vietnamese
government to collapse,
but convinced many
Americans that the war
was not winnable.