Cold War Flashcards
Joseph McCarthy
1908-1957
Republican Senator from Wisconsin, who fueled fears during the early 1950s that Communism was rampant and growing as he had evidence that there were communism-supporters in the government.
McCarthyism
1950s
A symptom of a massive and widespread anticommunist hysteria that engulfed Cold War America
The House of Un-American activities
Established in 1938
Created to investigate alleged disloyalty and rebel activities on the part of the private citizens, public employees, and organizations suspected of having Communist ties.
Containment
Adopted in 1947
The policy designed to contain Soviet influence to the areas where it already existed and prevent its political expansion into new areas. Formed the basis for US foreign policy and military decisions for more than 30 years.
One of the events from the tensions timeline.
Domino theory
Introduced in 1954
Suggested that a communist government in one nation would quickly lead to communist takeovers in neighboring nations, each falling like a perfectly aligned row of dominoes.
Truman Doctrine
Late 1940s-1990s
The principle that the US should give support to countries threatened by Soviet forces or Communist insurrection
Executive Order 9835
1947
Established loyalty reviews for government workers, especially Foreign Service officers
One of the events from the tensions timeline
McCarran Act
1950
Registers Communists and investigates people or groups advocating “totalitarian dictatorships”
One of the events from the tensions timelime
Warsaw Pact
1955
a collective defense treaty established by the Soviet Union and seven other Soviet satellite states in Central and Eastern Europe: Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland and Romania (Albania withdrew in 1968)
NATO
created in 1949
by the United States, Canada, and several Western European nations to provide collective security against the Soviet Union. NATO was the first peacetime military alliance the United States entered into outside of the Western Hemisphere.
Marshall Plan
1948-1951
Proposed that the US provide economic assistance to restore the economic infrastructure of postwar Europe and secure US geopolitical influence over Western Europe.
Détente
Détente is the relaxation of strained relations, especially political ones, through verbal communication
Military-industrial complex
20th century
The matrix of relationships between officials in the Department of Defense and executives in the defense industry who all benefited from the increases of the defense spending.
Levittown
1947
The 1st mass-produced suburb and is widely regarded as the archetype for postwar suburbs throughout the country.
The Kitchen Debate
July 1959
A series of impromptu exchanges through interpreters between Nixon and Khrushchev, representatives of two polar political ideologies, on a tour displaying high standards of American living.
Redlining
1930s-1968
A discrimination practice that consists of a systematic denial of mortgages, insurance loans to residents of certain areas based on their race or ethnicity.
Levittown policies
1947-1968
Encouraged by the government, the developers promoted discrimination policies, allowing only white people to buy their homes.
Duck And Cover Bert The Turtle
1951
This film was shown in schools as the cornerstone of the government’s “duck and cover” public awareness campaign. According to the United States Library of Congress (which declared the film”historically significant” and inducted it for preservation into the National Film Registry in 2004), it “was seen by millions of schoolchildren in the 1950s.
Fears promoted:
- the fear of the nuclear attack by the Soviets
The main messages: YOU MUST BE PREPARED TO DUCK AND COVER AS THE BOMB CAN COME UNEXPECTED
“Communists Should Not Teach in American Colleges”
Published May 1949
By Raymond B. Allen, President of the University of Washington, Seattle.
“the first obligation and duty of the teacher is
to be a free man”
“ a member of the Communist Party is not a free man, that he is instead a slave to immutable dogma and to a clandestine organization masquerading as a political party”
Fears promoted:
- Fear of professors not instilling freedom in classrooms
- Fear of future generations not having freedom
- Communists having a control over education
Hollywood Review
Sep-Oct 1955
Being blacklisted in the motion picture industry means being banned to seek employment in this industry.
Being greylisted means one’s employability is limited and he/she is prohibited from some types of tasks.
Fears promoted:
- the spread of Communism ideology in the media
Is this Tomorrow America Under Communism
comic book published in
1947 by the Catechetical Guild Educational Society
Fears Promoted:
- Communism taking over America
- People are left with nothing as the Communist government will be in control of the nation’s money
- Russians attacking Americans, including a struggling woman and an African American veteran still wearing his uniform
“The Iron Curtain Look is Here”
Published in 1952
Lydia Kirk focuses on how untrendy and expensive the Russian clothes for females is. This triggers a fear that if women succumb to Communism, they will not be able to have nicely styled clothes and pursue femininity.
