cold war Flashcards
iron curtain
A metaphorical divide between communist east and democratic west
NATO
- North Atlantic Treaty Organization
- april 1949
- meeting of 10 western european countries, US, and Canada
- decided for countries to be united if attacked
- shows shift in US help to europe from economic to military
Warsaw Pact
- background: soviets still want to unite berlin after the berlin blockade and airlift
- cause: West germany became independent and democratic and joined NATO in 1949
- warsaw pact (1955): eastern european countries (albania, hungary, etc) coming to together and agreeing to give each other military assistance if attacked
- also agreed to have soviet troops in these eastern european countries
containment
- President Truman’s plan to stop the plan of communism after WWII
- the Marshall Plan and Truman Doctrine
Harry Truman
president during Berlin Airlift, Marshall Plan, Truman Doctrine, Korean War (1945-1953)
Truman Doctrine
- states that the US will intervene with military to help countries who have been attacked
- part of containment (stop spread of communism)
Marshall Plan
- created in 1947 by George Marshall (secretary of state)
- US sent money to 16 European countries to rebuild cities, railroads, factories, electrical systems
- as life improved, the appeal of communism decreased
- considered a success by US and Europeans
-part of containment (stop spread of communism)
Berlin Blockade
- started in 1948
- berlin was split up between Soviets (east) and Allies (west)
-Soviets want to control all of berlin - stalin made railroads close & cut of electrical system to starve allies out of city
Berlin Airlift
- US and British airlifted supplies into west berlin during the Berlin Blockade
- lasted 10 months
- soviets wanted to avoid war, so they did not shoot down allied planes
- Soviets gave up and gave resources back
red scare
- fear of communism in the US
- caused by US government (McCarthy) accusing citizens of spying for the Soviets
Joseph McCarthy
- US senator who accused citizens of spying for the Soviets
Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD)
- 1961 - neither side will be able to win the arms race
- US military policy
- states that we should create enough weapons (missiles) to ensure victory if attacked
proxy war
a war when superpowers back countries without directly fighting
ex: korean war
Korean War
- 1950 - 1953
- fought in proxy war
- south - backed by US, capitalist
- north - military advisors from soviet union, communist
north korea pushes into south korea border ➡ south korea pushes border into china ➡ chinese (and maybe north korea) push borders back into almost original spot
38th parallel
- divided North and South Korea before the Korean War
- the US proposed the divide
- Soviets = help communists in North Korea
- US = help democratic government in South Korea
Kim il-Sung
- dictator of north korea from 1945- 1994
Berlin Wall
- built in 1961 to stop east germans from escaping to the west w/ armed guards
- lasted 30 years
- symbol of division in europe
- stopped young people looking for a better life from escaping into west berlin (allied)
Nikita Khrushchev
- leader of the soviet union after stalin
- sent and built nuclear bases and missiles in Cuba during the cuban missile crisis
John F. Kennedy
- US president during the Berlin Wall, Cuban Missile Crisis, Vietnam War
- 1961-1963
Fidel Castro
- led the rebellion and overthrowing of the cuban government (1959)
- become leader of communist cuba during the cuban missile crisis
Cuban Missile Crisis
- 1962
- US military presence & control of natural resources in cuba since the spanish american war
- Cuba changes to communism under Fidel Castro
- cuban government receives aid from the soviets
- nikita krushchev (leader of the soviet union) sent and built missiles to cuba that can easily hit the US (or any point in the western hemisphere)
- US threatened to invade and remove missiles
- CIA bay of pigs (failed)
- after both groups of ships meet in the water, cuba agrees to remove the missiles and the US won’t invade and they will take out missiles bases in turkey
Bay of Pigs
- by made by the CIA during the cuban missile crisis
- cuban escapees will go back to cuba and blend in as citizens
- spread rebellion against communism and overthrow the cuban government
- FAILED, escapees caught and captured
Sputnik
- October 4, 1957 - soviets launch successful satellite into space (Sputnik)
- Sputnik II - second soviet space launch with a dog
- shocked and embarrassed the US b/c we thought we had more advanced space technology
Apollo 11
- july 20, 1969
- US gets first people on the moon with the Apollo space program
- Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin Jr
- great source of pride for US
Mao Zedong
- leader of communist China starting in 1949
- china = most populated country & communism popular
space race
- 1958 - 1969ish
- included Sputnik one and two, Apollo 11
- US created NASA after Sputnik
- many US Space fails
- President Kennedy has a mission to have a successful Space launch
Vietnam War
CAUSE
- vietnam going to hold election in 1956 for leader after its independence from France
- election cancelled by US and Diem (democratic leder of South Vietnam
BEGINNING OF WAR
- south vietnam : controled by anti-communists
- have US support
- communist rebels (viet cong)
- backed by north vietnam
US INVOLVEMENT
- President Johnson decided that the US couldn’t let vietnam be communist ( domino theory)
- UN sends in troops to fight Viet Cong
- majority American
- 1965 - 180,000 US troops
- 1967 - 500,000 US troops
ENDING OF WAR
- Nixon got US troops out by 1972
- peace agreement made in 1973
- 1976 - vietnam has one communist government
- 1st time US looses a major war
Ho Chi Minh
- likely winner of the 1956 vietnam elections
- communist
domino theory
- US uses it to justify their involvement in Vietnam
- states that if vietnam becomes communist, then communism will quickly spread and take over all of Asia
gulf of tonkin resolution
- US military boat gets fired at by North Vietnam during the beginning of the Vietnam war
- congress gave the US permission to send in more military into vietnam
guerilla warfare
- opposed to trench warfare (WWI)
- smalls groups of soldiers
- traps/land mines
- used by the Viet Cong (communist rebels, opposed to the US) in the vietnam war
- able to blend in with civilians
agent orange
- herbicide that kills plants (mostly foliage)
- used by the US in the vietnam war to be able to see their enemy clearer
- open up dense forest
- dropped from planes
napalm
think, jelly-like gasoline, highly flammable
- inside a bomb
- used to destroy/set fire to Viet Cong hideouts in vietnam war
- used by US
glasnost
- means ‘openness’
- policy that increased freedom of press, speech, and religion
perestroika
- means ‘restructuring’
- improve economy
détente
- relaxing of tensions and de-escalation at the end of the cold war
