The Cold War Flashcards
the large increase in the number of babies born in the aftermath of World War II until 1964
baby boom
February 1945 meeting of the main Allied leaders to plan the future of post-WWII Europe.
Yalta Conference
July/August 1945 meeting of the main Allied leaders in which plans for postwar Europe were finalized; tensions between USA and USSR rose and beginnings of the Cold War
Potsdam Conference
a nation that is so powerful that it influences or controls less powerful states.
superpowers
after World War II, the U.S. foreign policy practice of attempting to restrict the expansion of Soviet influence around the world.
containment
the ideological barrier that existed between Eastern and Western Europe from 1945 to 1990.
Iron Curtain
the dominating influence of one country or group over others.
hegemony
foreign policy approach established in 1947; provide economic and military aid to countries that are attempting to resist communism
Truman Doctrine
A U.S. plan from 1948 to 1951, to aid in the economic recovery of Europe after World War II by offering funding.
Marshall Plan
A Soviet plan in 1949 to aid the economic recovery of Eastern Europe after World War II; required countries to create exclusive agreements with the Soviet Union.
Molotov Plan
Soviet blockade between 1948-49 to halt land travel into the capital of Germany in hopes of forcing the allies to give up their plan to combine the occupation zones into one democratic nation; the Allies resisted by airlifting supplies.
Berlin Blockade
A military alliance formed in 1949 among the U.S. and Western European countries to establish collective security against the Soviet Union.
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
Soviet response to the formation of NATO; agreement in 1955 by the USSR and Eastern European countries to establish a military alliance
Warsaw Pact
a war fought on the Korean Peninsula from 1950-53; communist North Korea invaded democratic South Korea; the U.S. and the United Nations send support to South Korea, while China joined on North Korea’s side; the war ended in a stalemate
Korean War
originally, the group of countries that recently gained independence from colonial rule; more broadly, these are the developing nations of the world.
Third World
a weapon created by fusing atoms; more powerful than an atomic weapon; first tested by the United States in 1952.
Hydrogen Bomb
a foreign policy characterized by a willingness to push aa dangerous situation to the brink, or edge, of war rather than give in to an opponent.
brinkmanship
a foreign policy in which a nation develops a weapons arsenal so deadly that another nation will not dare attack.
deterrence
formed in 1938, a committee of the U.S. House of Representatives that investigated subversive groups until 1975
House Un-American Activities Commission (HUAC)
the practice of publicly accusing people of subversive activities without evidence; named for Joseph McCarthy who used this method to search for communists in the United States.
McCarthyism
the era in which atomic weapons have been used; culture is marked by the existence of atomic technology threats.
Atomic Age
an agency established by Congress in 1951 to plan for civil defense during the arms race by preparing Americans to survive a nuclear attack; created films, posters, etc.
Federal Civil Defense Administration
the first man-made satellite to be shot into orbit around the Earth by the Soviet Union; began the Space Race between the USSR and the U.S., heightening the Cold War.
Sputnik
a U.S. government agency established in 1958 for the research and development of space exploration
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
an invasion of Cuba in 1961 for the purpose of overthrowing the Fidel Castro regime; organized by the CIA
Bay of Pigs
a concrete wall that the communist East German government erected in 1961 to cut off West Berlin from the rest of East Germany; prevented East Germans from escaping into the West; stood until 1989.
Berlin Wall
confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union in 1962 over the building of Soviet missile sites in Cuba; the United States created a blockade around Cuba; the Soviets agreed to withdraw weapons from Cuba and the U.S. agreed not to invade
Cuban Missile Crisis
