Review for Lectures 24-26: WWII through Vietnam Flashcards
Nye Commission
A US Senate committee investigating the weapons industry.
Americas First Committee
Isolationist political organization in the US pre-World War II.
Fascism
Authoritarian political ideology is characterized by extreme nationalism and totalitarianism.
Adolf Hitler
Infamous German dictator responsible for WWII and the Holocaust atrocities.
Spanish Civil War (1936)
Armed conflict between Republican and Nationalist groups in Spain (1936-1939).
Munich Agreement (1938)
A pact that allowed Nazi Germany’s annexation of Czechoslovakia’s Sudetenland.
Nazi-Soviet Pact Aug. 1939
Non-aggression treaty between Nazi Germany and Soviet Union in 1939.
Pearl Harbor
Surprise military attack by Japan on US naval base, Hawaii 1941.
Midway
A small atoll in the North Pacific, site of WWII battle.
Rosie the Riveter
Iconic cultural symbol representing the women who worked in factories.
Hiroshima
Japanese city destroyed by an atomic bomb in 1945.
Tuskegee Airmen
African American pilots who served in World War II.
Manhattan Project
A secretive project that developed the first nuclear weapons.
Japanese Internment
Forced relocation and incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II.
Office of War Information
US government agency for propaganda during WWII; 1942-1945.
Douglas MacArthur
Revolutionary leader who founded the People’s Republic of China.
NATO
A military alliance of 30 North American and European countries.
Mao Tse Tung
Revolutionary Chinese communist leader and founding father of the People’s Republic.
Warsaw Pact
Military alliance of Soviet satellite states in Eastern Europe (1955-1991).
The Cold War
A period of political and military tension between the US and USSR.
Marshall Plan
US-led initiative to rebuild post-war Europe.
George Kennan
American diplomat and historian known for his “containment” policy towards communism.
NSC 68
a secret policy paper outlining the U.S. strategy during the Cold War.
Policy of Containment
US strategy to prevent the spread of communism post-WWII.
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg
American citizens executed for secret or confidential information without permission.
‘Fellow Travelers’
Non-communist sympathizers or supporters of communist ideals or movements.
VENONA
A US intelligence program to decrypt Soviet messages.
Fair Deal
President Truman’s domestic policy agenda for post-WWII economic reforms.
Loyalty Security Program
A loyalty security program is a system that ensures customer loyalty.
Iron Curtain
A political barrier isolating Soviet-dominated Eastern Europe after World War II.
The Big Three
the leaders of the Allied Powers during World War II, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and General Secretary Joseph Stalin.
National Interstate Highways Act of 1956
Legislation that created the US interstate highway system, connecting states.
National Defense Education Act of 1958
US federal law funding education in science, math, and languages.
Military Industrial Complex
Collaboration between government and defense industry that influences policies and spending.
Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944 (The G.I. Bill)
US law that provided benefits to veterans after World War II.
Baby Boomers
People born in the post-WWII period, 1946-1964.
Ho Chi Minh
Vietnamese Communist revolutionary and politician who led Vietnam’s independence movement.
Vietminh
Vietnamese nationalist and communist movement that fought for independence from France.
Vo Nguyen Giap
A Vietnamese general and revolutionary leader.
General William Westmoreland
US Army General, served in World War II and Vietnam War.
ARVN
Army of the Republic of Vietnam, the military force of South Vietnam.
ARVN
Army of the Republic of Vietnam, the military force of South Vietnam.
Khe Sanh
US Marine base besieged by North Vietnamese Army in 1968.
Tet Offensive
A major military campaign during the Vietnam War launched by Viet Cong.
Robert McNamara
US Secretary of Defense, known for involvement in Vietnam War.
Dien Bien Phu
Vietnamese city where decisive battle occurred during First Indochina War.
Dien Bien Phu
Vietnamese city where decisive battle occurred during First Indochina War.
Passage to Freedom
Nickname for the 1954 evacuation of Vietnamese civilians to South Vietnam.
FNL (Viet Cong)
Viet Cong’s military and political organization during the Vietnam War.
Vietnamization
US policy of transferring combat responsibilities to South Vietnam forces.