| A | B |
|---|
| Brown v. Board of Education | Civil rights case decided in 1954 in which the Supreme Court ruled that segregation was illegal and "inherently unequal;" overturned Plessy v. Ferguson (1896( |
| Civil Rights Act of 1964 | Law passed by Congress that barred segregation in public places; authorized the Attorney General to bring suits to desegregate schools and other public facilities: established the Fair Employment Practices Committee; made discrimination based on gender illegal. |
| King, Martin Luther | Black civil rights leader who believed in civil disobedience and peaceful protest as the means to fight social injustice; assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee, in April 1968 |
| Malcolm X | Muslim minister who orginally believed in complete separation of the races; before his death, he rejected this view of separatism and expressed hope for unity between blacks and whites; promoted using "any means necessary" to stop discrimination; opposed M. L. King's non-violent policy of integration; assassinated in 1965 |
| Montgomery Bus Boycott | Rosa Parks was told to give up her seat to a white person on a Montgomery public bus; she refused and was arrested. To protest, Martin Luther King organized a boycott of the bus system and arranged car pools for blacks; laws changed to prohibit Alabama's segregated seating law. |
| Voting Rights Acto fo 1965 | Law passed by Congress that banned literary tests, provided for sending federal officials into states, when necessary, to ensure all Americans the right to vote. |
| ERA | Equal Rigths Amendment; a proposed amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1972 to make it illegal to discriminate against women; not ratified by the requisite number of states. |
| NOW | National Organization of Women; a group that works for equal rights in education, employment, and wages for women. |
| Chavez, Cesar | Founder of the National Farm Workers Association. Chavex organized a national boycott of grapes to support the union's demand for higher wages. (This five year struggle was victorious, but cost many workers their homes and automobiles.) |
| Bush, George | 41st Presidnet, 1989 to 1993; nation pushed into mild recession; Commander-in-Chief during the Persian Gulf War; in the final months of his term, he sent U.S. troops to Somalia to help get food to starving people there. |
| Carter, James E. | 39th President, 1977 to 1981; faced inflation brought on by rising oil prices, high unemployment, and the Iranian hostage crisis; championed human rights abroad; negotiated Middle East Peace Agreement at Camp David; after leaving office, has built homes for the poor and worked on various peace and hunger projects as a volunteer. |
| Eisenhower, Dwight | 34th President, 1953 to 1961; Commander-in-Chief of Allied forces in Europe during World War ll; led the D-Day invasion of France; as president supported a large government program to build a system of superhighways across the United States. |
| Ford, Gerald | 38th President, 1974 to 1977; became President after Nixon resigned; only President never elected to office; pardoned Richard Nixon. |
| Johnson, Lyndon B. | 36th President, 1963 to 1969; his Great Society program made some improvements, but Johnson lost public support because of his escalation of the war in Vietnam; responsible for major civil rights legislation; before becoming President, he served in Congress for more thatn 20 years. |
| Kennedy, John F. | 35th President, 1961 to 1963; youngest President ever elected and the first Roman Catholic to hold office; fourth President to be assassinated (1963); famous quotes: "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you cand do for your country." and "Ich bin Ein Berliner," his program, New Frontier, initiated Man on the Moon program. |
| Nixon, Richard M. | 37th President, 1960 to 1974l reduced U.S. involvement in Vietnam and opened ties to China (1972); when Watergate cover was exposed, became the first President to resign from office; pardoned for Watergate involvement by President Ford. |
| Reagan, Ronald | 40th President, 1981 to 1989; favored a tough approach to the Soviet Union, high military spending, and decreaed social spending; initiated Reaganomics (supply side economics); credit withe ending the Cold War; former governor of Califronia: was a Hollywood film star before entering politics. |
