The 1950s Flashcards
Marshall Plan
To boost European economies, the US gave more than $13 billion to help Europe rebuild after the war in 1948
Fair Deal
President Truman’s extension on the Roosevelt’s New Deal that included new housing and employment to create more government jobs and put an end to racial discrimination in hiring
NATO
North Atlantic Treaty Organization
a military alliance that included Canada, the US, and ten western European countries
The post-war enemy of America
communism
US economy after WWII
booming
a little inflation
Warsaw Pact
alliance between communist nations in case NATO attacked
the other countries would come to aid
Truman Doctrine
military, political, and economic policy promising aid to countries fighting to maintain democracy
Containment
stopping the spread of communism through military and nonmilitary means (Marshall Plan, NATO and the Truman Doctrine)
Joseph McCarthy
junior Senator from Wisconsin who led investigations to uncover communism in American politics and life, further heightening the hysteria of communism in the 1950s
Arms Race
competition between the US and the Soviet Union to develop more nuclear weapons such as the 1952 hydrogen bomb
Sputnik
first man-made satellite
made by the Soviet Union
started the space race
Space Race
started after the launch of Sputnik
Congress set billions of dollars aside for space research and created NASA
Korean War: countries involved
Conflict involving US-led UN forces against North Korea and China to stop communism from spreading to South Korea
COMMUNISTS: North Korea, China and Russia
OPPOSING: almost three million from South Korea and from 21 United Nations (UN) countries including Australia.
Korean War (6)
1950-1953
- North Korea crossed the 38th parallel and pushed South Korean forces and Americans to Pusan
- American and UN forces pushed back to almost to the Yalu River and China
- China got upset and helped North Korea
- war was then in deadlock/stalemate
- armistice signed in 1953
Korean War: why?
North Korea wanted to reunite the Korean peninsula and establish a communist government and spread communism
Korean War: results
After two years of negotiations, an armistice was reached in 1953
Why was MacArthur fired?
MacArthur wanted to bomb China, which was a communist country and helping N. Korea
Truman said nope
MacArthur badmouthed Truman to the media
Truman asked MacArthur to resign
-MacArthur made public statements which contradicted the administration’s policies, which was to have a “limited war”
How did the Federal Highway Act change US lifestyle and cause economic growth for the US? (mention 5)
Mention:
- increased production of automobiles
- mobility: tourism
- small towns dying (towns that the highway bypassed)
- creation of suburbs, which led to increase in housing developments
- inner city forgotten
- migration to the sunbelt
- building roads: increase jobs
- trade increase; goods- consumerism
- industries related to road building increased (e.g. dynamite, gasoline)
Outcome of Mao Zedong’s rule
- Over 1 million soldiers fought in the Korean War in China
- Many suffered from famine and oppression
- Between 1959-1962, more than 20 million people died from starvation
Truman or Eisenhower?
Dropped world’s first atomic bomb
Truman
Truman or Eisenhower?
War hero
Eisenhower
Truman or Eisenhower?
Marshall Plan
Truman
Truman or Eisenhower?
Ended segregation in the armed forces through an executive order called the Civil Rights Initiative
Truman
Truman or Eisenhower?
Ended Korean War
Eisenhower
Truman or Eisenhower?
Sent troops to S. Korea
Truman
Truman or Eisenhower? Arms race (beginning)
Truman
Truman or Eisenhower?
Federal Highway Act
Eisenhower
Truman or Eisenhower?
Sputnik launch
Eisenhower
Truman or Eisenhower?
Brinkmanship
Eisenhower
Truman or Eisenhower?
H-bomb
Eisenhower
Truman or Eisenhower?
Containment plan
Truman
Truman or Eisenhower?
Chinese Revolution
Truman
Truman or Eisenhower?
Space Race
Eisenhower
Truman or Eisenhower?
Fair Deal
Truman
Truman or Eisenhower?
NATO formed
Truman
Truman or Eisenhower?
Provided aid to French in Vietnam War
Truman
Truman or Eisenhower?
Offered funds to South Vietnam to fight communism against the North
Eisenhower
Truman or Eisenhower?
Downsized military and cut military spending
Eisenhower
Mao Zedong: accomplishments
established a communist government in China
Mao Zedong beliefs
- For communists to be strong, the peasants must be convinced to embrace communism
- Peasants under communist rule could overtake western economics by implementing hard work
Cold War
a 40-year standoff between the US and the Soviet Union that resulted in the space race, arms race, and intense competition between the two superpowers
