Bay of Pigs invasion: Failed U.S.-backed invasion of Cuba at the Bay of Pigs by fifteen hundred Cuban exiles opposed to Fidel Castro, on April 17, 1961.

Central Intelligence Agency (CIA): A U.S. government agency charged with accumulating information on foreign countries.

Cold War: A period of tension between nations from 1945 through 1989, with the United States and its allies on one side and a group of nations led by the Soviet Union on the other.

Cuban missile crisis: A showdown in October 1962 that brought the Soviet Union and the United States close to war over the existence of Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba.

Electoral College: A body officially responsible for electing the president of the United States. In presidential elections, the candidate who receives the most popular votes in a particular state wins all of that state's electoral votes. Votes are distributed among...