Social Movements in the Americas Flashcards
(59 cards)
Founding Fathers
The group of men who drafted the US Constitution in 1787 and established a system of checks and balances that later affected civil rights progress.
Plessy v. Ferguson
The 1896 Supreme Court case that upheld racial segregation under the ‘separate but equal’ doctrine, thereby legitimizing Jim Crow laws.
Jim Crow
The set of state and local laws enforcing racial segregation in the Southern United States following the Civil War.
NAACP Litigation
The legal strategy used by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People to challenge segregation and discrimination in American society.
Dixiecrats
Southern Democrats who split from the Democratic Party in 1948 to oppose civil rights reforms and support segregation.
Truman Civil Rights Initiatives
Efforts by President Truman (1945–53) to address racial inequality, including establishing a civil rights commission and taking steps toward desegregation.
Eisenhower Civil Rights Actions
Limited federal interventions during President Eisenhower’s term (1953–61), including responses to crises like Little Rock and enforcement of desegregation rulings.
Kennedy Administration Civil Rights
A period marked by increased black activism and federal responses—including the Freedom Rides, SNCC voter registration, and James Meredith’s enrollment—during President Kennedy’s term.
Civil Rights Act (1964)
A landmark law aimed at ending discrimination in employment, education, and public accommodations, which built on earlier federal civil rights efforts.
Korean War
The 1950–53 conflict whose pressures indirectly accelerated actions such as military desegregation in the United States.
Baby Boomers
The post–World War II generation whose size and cultural attitudes helped fuel the counterculture and student protest movements of the 1960s and 1970s.
Counterculture
A broad social movement in the 1960s–70s that rejected conventional values, embraced communal living and free expression, and opposed the Vietnam War.
Free Speech Movement
A student-led protest at the University of California, Berkeley in 1964 demanding the right to free expression on campus.
Students for a Democratic Society (SDS)
A New Left organization that mobilized student protests against the Vietnam War and social injustices during the 1960s.
Berkeley Protests
Mass demonstrations at UC Berkeley during the 1960s—led by figures such as Mario Savio—challenging university policies and the Vietnam War.
Columbia University Protests (1968)
Student demonstrations at Columbia University addressing issues of racism, the Vietnam War, and institutional complicity, which led to significant campus disruptions.
Draft Card Burning
A form of protest during the Vietnam War era where students publicly burned their draft cards to oppose compulsory military service.
Tlatelolco Plaza Massacre
The violent suppression of a 1968 student protest in Mexico City near the Olympic site, which resulted in numerous deaths and injuries.
New Left
A political movement in the 1960s that questioned established authority and advocated for radical reforms in society, politics, and culture.
ROTC (Reserve Officer Training Corps)
A college program that prepares students for military service; its presence on campuses became a focal point for anti–Vietnam War protests.
Student Peace Union
An organization formed in the early 1960s by students dedicated to anti-war and peace initiatives.
Kent State Shooting
The 1970 incident where National Guard troops shot and killed unarmed student protesters at Kent State University during a demonstration against the Vietnam War.
