History Final Key Terms Flashcards
Cold War
Term given to the tense and hostile relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union from 1947 to 1989. Thenterm “cold” was apt because the hostility stopped short of direct armed conflict
Iron Curtain
Metaphor couned by Winston Churchill in 1946 to denmark the line dividing Soviet-controlled countries in Eastern Europe from democratic nations in western Europe following World War II
Containment
The post-world war II foreign policy strategy that committed the United States to resisting the influence and expansion of the Soviet Union and communism. The strategy of containment shaped American foreign policy throughout the cold war
Truman Doctrine
President Truman’s commitment to “support free people’s who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures.” First applied to Greece and Turkey in 1947, it became justification for US intervention into many countries during the cold war
Marshall Plan
Aid program that began in 1948 to help European economies recover from WWII. Between 1948 and 1953, the US provided $13 Billion to seventeen Western European nations in a project that helped it’s own economy as well
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
Military alliance formed in 1949 among the United States, Canada, and Western European countries to conquer any possible Sobiet threat. It represented an unprecedented commitment by the United States to go to war if any of it’s allies were attacked
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
Agency created by the National Security Act of 1947 to expand the government’s espionage capacities and ability to thwart communism through covert activities, including propaganda, sabotage, economic warfare, and support for anti communist forces around the world
Mao Zedong
Communist leader in China during their civil war. He established the People’s republic of China (PRC) in October of 1949 while the nationalists fled to Taiwan.
House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC)
Congressional committee especially prominent during the early years of the Cold War that investigated Americans who might be disloyal to the government or might have associated with Communists or other radicals. It was one of the key institutions that promoted the second red scare
Korean War
Conflict between North Korean forces supported by China and the Soviet Union and South Korean ans US led United Nations forces over control of South Korea. Lasting from 1950 to 1953, the war represented the first time that the United States went to war to implement containment.
NSC 68
Top secret government report of April 1950 warning that national survival required a massive military buildup. The Korean war brought up nearly all of the expansion called for in the report, and by 1952 defense spending claimed nearly 70 percent of the federal budget.
Brown v Board of Education
1954 Supreme Court ruling that overturned the “separate but equal” precedent established in Plessy v Ferguson in 1896. The court declared that separate educational facilities were inherently unequal and thus violated the 14th amendment.
Montgomery Bus Boycott
Yearlong boycott of Montgomery’s segregated bus system in 1956-1956 by the city’s African American population. The boycott brought MLK to national prominence amd ended in victory when the Supreme Court segregated transportation unconstitutional
Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC)
Established to coordinate local protests against segregation and disfranchisement.
Malcom X
Wanted separation from the white society. Used a more aggressive approach against white violence. More popular in urban areas.
Black Power Movement
Movement of the 1960s and 1970s that emphasize black racial pride and autonomy. Black power advocates encourage African-Americans to assert community control, and some with in the movement also rejected the ethos of nonviolence.
Black Panther Party for Self Defense
A revolutionary organization with an ideology of Black nationalism, socialism, amd armed self-defense, particularly against police brutality.
American Indian Movement (AIM)
Organization established in 1968 to address the problems indians faced in American cities, including poverty and police harassment. AIM organized indians to end relocation and termination policies and to win greater control over their cultures amd communities
Chicano Movement
Mobilization of Mexican Americans in the 1960s and 1970s to fight for civil rights, economic justice, political power, and to combat police brutality. Notably, the movement worked to improve the lives of migrant farm workers and to end discrimination in employment and education.
