Period 8: 1945-1980 Flashcards
A policy based in the belief that if communism could be kept within its existing boundaries, it would collapse under the weight of its internal weaknesses
Containment
1947 policy of providing economic and military aid to any country threatened by communism or totalitarian ideology, mainly helped Greece and Turkey
Truman Doctrine
A plan that the US came up with to revive war-torn economies of Europe. This plan offered $13 billion in aid to western and Southern Europe.
Marshall Plan
1948 that supplied food and fuel to citizens of West Berlin when the Russians closed off land access to Berlin
Berlin Airlift
The First peace time alliance the United States belonged to. It made a promise to defend one another if they were attacked by any other country; US, England, France, Canada, Western European countries
NATO
1950’s Wisconsin senator claimed to have list of communists in the state department but no credible evidence; took advantage of fears of communism post WWII to become incredibly influential
Joseph McCarthy
A congressional committee that investigated Hollywood for communist sympathizers
House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC)
Wars in which the superpowers backed different sides that acted as substitutes (proxies) for the superpowers themselves examples would be the Korean War and the Vietnam war.
Proxy War
First artificial Earth satellite, it was launched by Moscow in 1957 and sparked U.S. fears of Soviet dominance in technology and outer space. It led to the creation of NASA and the space race.
Sputnik
The collapse of colonial empires. Between 1947 and 1962, practically all former colonies in Asia and Africa gained independence.
Decolonization
Vietnamese leader who is responsible for ousting first the French, then the United States from his country. Supported by both communist China and the Soviet Union he achieved his goal of a united communist Vietnam in 1975
Ho Chi Minh
An unsuccessful invasion of Cuba in 1961, which was sponsored by the United States. Its purpose was to overthrow Cuban dictator Fidel Castro.
Bay of Pigs
1962 A Brink-of-war confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union over the latter’s placement of nuclear-armed missiles in Cuba. The Soviet Union turned back with concessions from the U.S. that missiles would be removed from Turkey and that the U.S. would not invade Cuba.
Cuban Missile Crisis
1964 Congressional resolution that authorized President Johnson to commit US troops to South Vietnam and fight a war against North Vietnam.
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
1968; North Vietnamese forces launched a huge attack on the Vietnamese New Year (Tet). The U.S. won the battles but Americans reacted sharply, with declining approval of LBJ and more anti-war sentiment.
Tet Offensive