Cold War Flashcards
A sustained state of military and political tension between the USA and Soviet Union
The Cold War
Who were the two world superpowers after ww2
USA and Soviet Union
What kind of society was the USA
Capitalist Democracy
What kind of society was the USSR
Communist Dictatorship
Economic system where property and businesses are privately owned. People have freedom to succeed or fail
Capitalism
Government provides everything for the people. More security but less choice and freedom
Communism
Winston Churchill (Britain), Franklin D Roosevelt (USA), Joseph Stalin (USSR)
The Big Three
Conference that met in a Black Sea port to discuss postwar issues after ww2. The Big Three decided that:
The Soviet Union would enter Pacific War in return for territory in Asia.
Soviet Union wanted a buffer between enemies in the West. (US/Britain fear Soviet control of East & spread of communism)
Germany divided- 4 zones (US, Britain, France, Soviet Union)
FDR proposes the United Nations
Yalta
Ideological boundary dividing Europe into two separate (competing) areas. 1945-1991
Western Bloc- Democracy
Eastern Bloc- Communism
Iron Curtain
50 nations met in San Francisco to settle disputes and hopefully prevent future wars
United Nations
Clement Attlee (Britain), Harry S Truman (USA), Joseph Stalin (USSR) meet:
They agree that Germany should stay in it’s occupied zones.
Poland is moved around to suit the Soviets.
Potsdam
US make take aggressive steps to contain Soviet (communist) expansion. Fighting spread of communism by limiting to countries where already exist.
Containment/ Truman Doctrine
Us provides economic aid to European countries ($13 billion) so they can rebuild and protect themselves against communism.
Marshall Plan
1948: US, Britain, France unite their German zones to form West German Republic which includes three Berlin zones. Stalin set up blockade around Berlin
Berlin Blockade
American and British cargo planes drop food, fuel, and other supplies into West Berlin for 10 months
Berlin Airlift
1949- US, Canada, and 10 other countries join forces against communism. “An armed attack against one shall be seen as an armed attack against all”
North Atlantic Treaty Organization-NATO
Soviet Union and surrounding communist countries of Eastern Europe form a military alliance in response to NATO
Warsaw Pact
Eisenhower’s theory that when one country falls to communism, its neighbor will soon follow, and communism will eventually reach America
Domino Theory
Hammer and Sickle, tools of the middle class
Symbols of Communism
Communist who defeated Chiangmai Kai-shek and became leader of China
Mao Zedong
A climate of fear that descends upon America: Americans worry that communist spies and sympathizers have penetrated all levels of society
The Red Scare Part 2
Massive hunt to uncover communists who (it was believed) were attempting to weaken the government from the inside:
Truman to lenient
Orders an investigation in the loyalty of all federal employees
Millions investigated by FBI, required all communist to register/provide list of members
“With-Hunts” to find “Reds”
Congressional committee formed to investigate cases of communist subversion
Launched sensational investigation of the Hollywood film industry
House Un-American Activities Committee
List of individuals, barred from working in Hollywood
Blacklists
10 Hollywood actors that were arrested and blacklisted for not cooperating with HUAC’s hearings on anti-communist activity
The Hollywood 10
German born British spy who helped create the A-bomb
Klaus Fuchs
Unfounded accusations against alleged communists
McCarthyism
Wisconsin Senator who gave a speech in West Virginia. Raised a sheet with names of 250 State Dept. employees who were members of communist party
Joseph McCarthy
Summons, bullies federal employees either dismissed or resign
Congressional Subcommittee
1954: McCarthy claims that communists had infiltrated the US military.
Two-month, televised hearings expose McCarhty’s sneering, cruel style.
Senate formally criticizes (censures) McCarhty for conduct “unbecoming a US Senator”
Army attorney, Joseph Welch
Army-McCarthy Hearings
Competition with each other to have the best, most powerful weapons in the world
Arms Race
A situation in which the USA and USSR both were in a stalemate because if either makes a move, it will be met with nuclear attack
Mutually Assured Destruction
Surge in birth rates from 1946-1964
Baby Boomers
Residential area; typically on the fringes (within commuting distance) of major cities
75% of new home construction took place here
Suburbs
Introduced mass-produced housing based on navy model
William Levitt
17,000 identical houses built from premade materials, erected quickly on site
Levittown
Popular TV shows mold desires/expectations of average
The Happy Middle Class
Fast-moving, guitar based music, derived from African-American rhythm & blues
Rock ‘N’ Roll
The King of Rock ‘N’ Roll
Elvis Presley
Middle-class (white) Americans “take-off” to suburbs, leaving behind islands of poverty
White Flight
Neighborhoods inhabited mainly by poor minority groups
Ghettos
Amount of taxable property, asserts, & income goes down when people leave a city
Declining tax-base
Goods produced using mechanical or electronic devices
Automation of industries
Group of writers who were “weary” (beat) with all forms of the modern industrial state
The “Beat Generation”
Betty Friedan’s book describing the frustration and unhappiness of the suburban housewives
The Feminine Mystique
Government provided wide-range of benefits for ww2 vets
G.I Bill
Slogan that helped Republicans win control of both houses of Congress
“Had Enough?”
Harry Truman’s domestic reforms policy aimed at solving the nation’s economic problems. Congress blocks it
Fair Deal
Restricted the activities/power of labor unions
1. Outlawed the closed-shop (workplace that hires only union members)
2. Allowed the government to stop strikes that endangered public health
Taft-Hartley Bill
- Greatest upset in election history
- Truman (D) defeats NY governor Thomas Dewey (R)
- Dixiecrats Storm Thurmond
- Progressive Party’s Henry Wallace
Election of 1948
Truman travels 30,000 miles by train and delivers 250 speeches to American people
“Whistle-Stop” Tour
Desegregated the armed forces enforce existing Civil Rights laws
A Fair Deal (Again)
Landslide victory for Eisenhower (R) (442-89) over Adlai Stevenson (D)
First republican to win since 1928 (Hoover)
Election of 1952
- Conservative when it comes to money & liberal when it comes to human rights
- Moderate “Middle of the road” republican
- Federal government “smaller rather than bigger”
- Removed Truman’s wage & price controls
- Budget surplus: $300 million
Eisenhower’s domestic policy
40,00 miles of highway that tied the nation together
Largest public works program in the nation’s history
Improved military mobility in case of attack
Eisenhower Interstate System
- Policy that promised US nuclear attacks in answer to Soviet expansion
- Coined by Secretary of State, John Foster Dulles
- Condemned Containment
Massive Retaliation
The idea that we had to push the Soviets to the brink of war to get results
Brinkmanship
- The race to make nuclear weapons (More bang for your buck)
- Hydrogen Bombs replace atom bombs
- Intermediate-Range Ballistic Missiles (IRBMs)
- Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs)
US-Soviet Arms Race
Educated the public on how to prepare for nuclear attack
Civil Defense Administration
1957: World’s first artificial satellite launched into space by Soviets
Sputnik
America answers the Sputnik with their own satellite aka the flopnik (it exploded a couple feet in the air)
Vanguard
Administration that aimed to put an astronaut in space
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
Period of eased tension between US and Soviets after death of Stalin (1953)
Cold War Thaw
Leader of Soviets in 1955 after Stalin died
Nikita Khrushchev
May 1, 1960: Soviets shot down U-2 (spy) plane and captured American pilot Gary Powers
U-2 Incident
- President from 1960-1963
- One of 9 kids
- Wrote Why England Slept
- Potsdam Conference
- House, Senate, and President
JFK
- First time in history, radio and television played a factor in who wins
- JFK: promises new programs to get country moving again
- Nixon: pledged to continue the policies of Eisenhower
Election of 1960
- More federal funds for education
- Eradicate poverty
- Civil rights legislation
- Landing a man on the moon
The New Frontier
- November 22, 1963: JFK killed in Dallas while traveling in his car on a campaign
- Lee Harvey Oswald arrested for killing Kennedy
- Jack Ruby kills Oswald
- Did Oswald really kill JFK?
JFK assassination conspiracy
This president introduced a set of ambitious programs called the “Great Society”
LBJ
Kennedy’s plan to send special forces abroad (Green Berets) trained to fight guerrilla wars
Flexible response
Kennedy’s 10 year development plan To assist free leaders and free governments in casting off the chains of poverty because communism was an attractive option to impoverished countries
Alliance for progress
- 1961: America’s plan to overthrow Castro using 1,500 CIA-trained Cuban refugees
- Cuban forces crushed the exiles
Bay of Pigs
- Wall of concrete blocks and barbed wire built by East Germany government w/ Soviet support
- Cut off communism & travel between East and West Germany
Berlin Wall
- October, 1962: American spy plane makes unsettling discovery while flying over Cuba
- Soviets building nuclear missile launch sites in Cuba
- Sites near completion
- Kennedy ordered a naval blockade of Cuba
Cuban Missile Crisis
- July 20, 1969: Neil Armstrong & Buzz Aldrin become first humans to walk on the moon
One Giant Leap for Mankind
NASA program aimed to land a man on the moon
Apollo Project
A war in a Cold War that is not fought between the two Cold War powers but is instigated by those two and fought between two or more smaller countries
Proxy War
A political system that promotes nationalism, militarism, and the supremacy
Fascism
