Adlai E. Stevenson Illinois governor who became the Democratic candidate for president in 1952 and 1956; lost both times to Eisenhower

Alfred Kinsey biologist whose studies of human sexuality attracted great attention in the 1940s and 1950s, especially for his conclusions on infidelity and homosexuality

Army-McCarthy Hearings congressional investigation of Senator Joseph McCarthy televised in 1954; revealed McCarthy’s villainous nature and ended his popularity

Atoms for Peace plan Eisenhower’s 1953 proposal to the UN that the US and other nations cooperate to develop peaceful uses of atomic energy

automation a process or system designed so that equipment functions automatically, reducing the need for human labor






Baghdad Pact 1955 regional defense alliance signed between Turkey and Iraq; Great Britain, Pakistan, and Iran soon joined; the US supported the pact but did not officially joined until mid-1957

Beats group of American writers, poets, and artists in the 1950s, including Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg, who rejected traditional middle-class values and championed nonconformity and sexual experimentation

bilateral involving two parties

brinkmanship practice of seeking to win disputes in international politics by creating the impression of being willing to push a highly dangerous situation to the limit

Brown v. Board of Education 1954 Supreme Court ruling that separate educational facilities for different races were inherently unequal






Central Intelligence Agency agency established in 1947 to gather and organize intelligence operations in foreign countries; it has also conducted more active covert operations in some countries, including fomenting rebellions and assassinations

Civil Rights Act of 1957 primarily investigated restrictions on voting; created by the US Commission on Civil Rights and the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice

Cooper v. Aaron 1959 Supreme Court decision that barred state authorities from interfering with desegregation either directly or through strategies of evasion

cover record new version of a song already recorded by an original artist

covert operation program or event carried out in secret






de facto existing in practice, though not officially established by law

de jure according to, or brought about by, law, such as the “Jim Crow” laws that separated the races throughout the South until the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964

demilitarized zone an area from which military forces, operations, and installations are prohibited

domino theory idea that if one nation came under communist control, then neighboring nations would also fall to the communists






Earl Warren Supreme Court chief justice (1953-1969) under whom the Court issued decisions protecting civil rights, the rights of criminals, and First Amendment rights

Eisenhower Doctrine 1957 policy that provided military and economic aid to Arab nations in the Middle East to help defeat communist-nationalistic rebellions

Elvis Presley immensely popular rock ‘n’ roll musician from a poor white family in Mississippi; many of his songs and concert performances were considered sexually suggestive






fallout shelter underground shelter stocked with food and supplies that was intended to provide safety in case of atomic attack

Federal Highway Act 1956 law appropriating $32 billion for the construction of interstate highways

Fidel Castro Cuban revolutionary leader who overthrew the corrupt regime of dictator Fulgencio Batista in 1959 and established a communist state






Geneva Agreement 1954 truce signed by French and Viet Minh representatives, dividing Vietnam along the 17th parallel into the communist North and the anti-communist South






John Foster Dulles Eisenhower’s secretary of state; he used the threat of nuclear war to deter Soviet aggression

junta group of military officers ruling a country after seizing power






Martin Luther King, Jr. ordained Baptist minister, brilliant orator, and civil rights leader committed to nonviolence; he led many of the important protests of the 1950s and 1960s

massive retaliation John Foster Dulles used this term in a 1954 speech implying that the US was willing to use nuclear force in response to communist aggression anywhere

multilateral involving more than two parties






National Defense Student Loans loans established by the US government in 1958 to encourage the teaching and study of science and modern foreign languages

New Look Eisenhower’s national security policy that called for reductions in the size of the army, development of tactical nuclear weapons, and the buildup of strategic air power employing nuclear weapons

Nikita Khrushchev Soviet leader who denounced Stalin in 1956 and improve the Soviet Union’s image abroad; deposed in 1964 after 6 years as premier for his failure to improve the country’s economy






pan-Arab movement attempts to politically unify the Arab nations of the Middle East; its followers advocated freedom from Western control and opposition to Israel

plebiscite special election that allows people to either approve or reject a particular proposal






Reverend Norman Vincent Peale minister who told his congregations that positive thinking could help them overcome all their troubles in life; his book The Power of Positive Thinking was an immediate bestseller

rock ‘n’ roll style of music that developed out of rhythm-and-blues in the 1950s, with a fast beat and lyrics appealing to teenagers

Rosa Parks black seamstress who refused to give up her seat to a white man on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1955, triggering a bus boycott that stirred the civil rights movement






Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlevi Iranian ruler who inherited the hereditary title shah from his father in 1941 and with CIA support helped to oust the militant nationalist Mohammed Mossadegh in 1953

Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) group formed by Martin Luther King, Jr., and others after the Montgomery Bus Boycott; it became the backbone of the civil rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s

Southern Manifesto 1954 statement issued by 100 congressman aver the Brown v. Board of Education decision, pledging to oppose desegregation

Sputnik 1957; first artificial satellite launched into space; Soviet Union began the space race with this launch.

standard of living level of material comfort as measured by the goods, services, and luxuries currently available

Sunbelt region stretching from Florida in a westward arc to the state of Washington






thermonuclear relating to the fusion of atomic nuclei at high temperatures, or to weapons based on fusion, such as the hydrogen bomb (as distinct from weapons based on fission)

Thurgood Marshall civil rights lawyer who argued 32 cases before the Supreme Court and won 29; he became the first African-American justice of the Supreme Court in 1967






United States Information Agency agency established in 1953 to distribute information about US culture and political policies and gain support for American international goals






vice squad police unit charged with the enforcement of laws dealing with vice (immoral practices such as gambling and prostitution)

Viet Minh Vietnamese army made up of communist and other nationalist groups; fought for independence from French rule 1946-1954