The Cold War Vocabulary Flashcards
Laissez-Faire
a policy or attitude of letting things take their own course, without interfering.
Communist
a person who supports or believes in the principles of communism.
Democracy
The USA was a capitalist democracy which valued freedom.
Truman Doctrine
blocking the Soviets from spreading communism.
Reparations
the making of amends for a wrong one has done, by paying money to or otherwise helping those who have been wronged.
Marshall Plan
The Marshall Plan, also known as the European Recovery Program, was a U.S. program providing aid to Western Europe following the devastation of World War II
Berlin Wall
Berlin Wall was to keep Western “fascists” from entering East Germany and undermining the socialist state, but it primarily served the objective of stemming mass defections from East to West.
Containment
stop the spread of the communism around the world
Berlin Airlift
the Berlin Airlift It was when western countries delivered much needed food and supplies to the city of Berlin through the air because all other routes were blocked by the Soviet Union.
Warsaw Pact
In 1949, the Soviet Union announced that it had developed an atomic bomb. Three years later,
both superpowers had an even more deadly weapon
NATO
NATO was a military alliance. Each nation promised to defend any other member that was attacked.
Brinkmanship
they produced more and more nuclear weapons and developed new ways to deliver them. Both sides were willing to go to the brink, or edge, of war.
Sputnik
the world’s first human-made satellite. Many people were shocked. Americans felt that the Soviets were far ahead in science and technology.
Arms Race
a competition between nations for superiority in the development and accumulation of weapons, especially between the US and the former Soviet Union during the Cold War.
Domino Theory’
the theory that a political event in one country will cause similar events in neighboring countries, like a falling domino causing an entire row of upended dominoes to fall.
