Cold War Flashcards
1
Q
Containment Policy
A
- Developed under Truman
- ## Foreign policy designed to contain or block Soviet expansion
2
Q
Marshall Plan (1948 - 1951)
A
- European Recovery Program
- Channeled over $13 billion to finance the economic recovery of Europe
- Soviet Union viewed the Plan as an attempt to interfere with the internal affairs of other states and refused to participates
3
Q
Truman Doctrine (1947)
A
- Truman asked for US assistance for Greece and Turkey to forestall communist domination of the two nations
- Often cited as the official declaration of the Cold War
- Offered military aid to those countries that were in danger of communist upheaval
- US took the lead along with Western European nations against the Soviet Union and the Eastern Bloc countries
4
Q
NATO (1949)
A
- A mutual defense pact aimed at containing possible Soviet aggression against Western Europe
- Stood as the main US-led military alliance against the Soviet Union throughout the Cold War
- Marked a decisive break from America’s tradition of isolationism
5
Q
Berlin Airlift
A
- Soviet Union cut off Western land access to West Berlin, located deep in the Soviet Zone
- Truman ordered massive airlift of food, fuel, and other supplies to citizens
6
Q
Mao Zedong
A
- Led communist forces in China through a long revolution beginning in 1927 and ruled the nation’s communist government from its establishment in 1949
7
Q
The “Fall” of China (1949)
A
- Chinese communists (led by Mao Zedong) defeated the Chinese nationalists and declared the People’s Republic of China an independent and Communist Nation
8
Q
Consequences of Communist China
A
- US refused to recognize new government in Beijing
- US interpreted Chinese Revolution as part of a managing Communist monolith
- Contributed to anti-Communist hysteria in US
9
Q
Korean War (1950-1953)
A
- Began when North Korea (Soviet-backed) invaded South Korea (Pro-Western Republic) in 1950
- Truman got unanimous condemnation of North Korea as aggressor from UN
- First collective military action by the UN
- First military action of the Cold War
- Fought under UN auspices (vs. Vietnam War which was not)
- Extended the containment policy to Asia
- Ended 1953
- Set border between NK and SK near 38th parallel
- Racial integration of US armed forces
10
Q
Vietnam War
A
- American involvement grew out of the policy of containment
- North Vietnam (Communist regime led by Ho Chi Minh) vs South Vietnam (principle ally US)
- Nixon ordered the withdrawal of US forces in 1973
- Communist forces seized control of Saigon in 1975 and ended the Vietnam War
11
Q
Domino Effect
A
- US believed that if one nation fell under Communist control, nearby nations would also inevitably fall under Communist influence
12
Q
McCarthyism
A
- US Senator from Wisconsin
- Claimed that the US State Department was infested with Communists
13
Q
Bay of Pigs (1961)
A
- Fidel Castro came to power in 1959
- Overthrew American-backed president
- CIA launched full-scale invasion of Cuba by 1,400 American-trained Cubans
- Invasion failed
- Troops were outnumbered and surrendered
- Damaged U.S. credibility
- pushed Castro closer to SU
14
Q
Cuban Missile Crisis (1962)
A
- A tense, 13-day political and military standoff
- Discovery of Soviet missile sites in Cuba
- US naval blockade around Cuba, made it clear that US was prepared to use military force if necessary
- Soviet withdrew missiles
- US promised not to attack Castro/invade Cuba
15
Q
Detente
A
- Nixon and Kissinger believed that the US needed a new and more flexible foreign policy
- Detente called for a relaxation of tensions between the US and Communist world
- Nixon visited China in 1971
- Nixon visited Moscow
