Key Historical Terms and Figures of the 20th Century

Defining Moments and Leaders of the 20th Century

• Civil Rights: Freedoms and Equality

  Social freedoms and privileges inherent to citizens of democratic systems. It also refers to the process by which the U.S. Black population achieved equal rights, particularly highlighted in 1963 with President Kennedy.

• Decolonization: Post-WWII Independence

  The process by which old colonial empires dissolved and formed independent countries, primarily in the twenty years following the end of World War II.

• Mahatma Gandhi: Pacifism and Independence

  Indian nationalist leader and a worldwide symbol of peace. Educated in England, upon his return to India, he initiated actions against British colonial policy. These actions were marked by non-violence and the recovery of Hindu traditions. He led numerous hunger strikes and civil disobedience campaigns against British control. India gained independence in 1947. The year after, he was assassinated by a Hindu fanatic. He remains a universal symbol of pacifism.

• Cold War: Global Geopolitical Confrontation

  A term used since 1947 to describe the geopolitical confrontation between Western powers (led by the USA) and the European socialist bloc (led by the USSR). It created situations of tension across all fields and by all means, ensuring no direct military confrontation between the two superpowers. The Cold War ended with the dissolution of the USSR in 1991.

• Intifada: Palestinian Uprising

  A Palestinian uprising, notably in 1987, characterized by stone-throwing by Palestinian youths in Israeli-occupied territories.

• John F. Kennedy: Civil Rights Advocate

  U.S. President elected in 1960. He sought to implement an ambitious reform agenda. His policy aimed at recognizing the civil rights of Black Americans. He was assassinated in 1963.

• Nelson Mandela: Anti-Apartheid Icon

  Leading South African Black nationalist and political leader. He opposed apartheid and advocated for a multi-racial, democratic South Africa. In 1961, the ANC was banned. The following year, in 1964, he was arrested and sentenced to life imprisonment. His international prestige ultimately led to his release in 1990. He returned to lead the African National Congress and was elected President in 1994, remaining in office until 1999. He is a global symbol of freedom, the fight for equality, and peace.

• Martin Luther King Jr.: Non-Violent Civil Rights

  American Protestant pastor and a prominent leader in the struggle for Black civil rights. From his youth, he fought against segregation in the Southern U.S. through non-violent means. In 1963, he led a massive peaceful demonstration in Washington. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. In 1968, he was assassinated in Memphis while participating in an act in defense of civil rights.

• Iron Curtain: Cold War Divide

  A term used during the Cold War to describe the ideological and physical boundary dividing Western European capitalist states from Soviet-controlled Eastern Europe.

• Third World: Post-WWII Non-Alignment

  A term referring to a group of the world's poorest countries, most of which gained independence after World War II and were not politically aligned with either the West or the USSR during the Cold War.