unit 8 (1945-1980) Flashcards
what period is unit 8 in
1945-1980
Origins and motivations of cold war
The contrasting experiences + differing aims of the west and the east
Post WWII Economy
Propsperous economy for US
What is caused by the prosperity of the post-WWII US Economy?
Federal spending, baby boom, tech devleopments
Impacts of Post-WWII Economy
Improved higher education (G.I. Bill- education for returning soldiers), “Sun Belt”
Sun Belt
Areas down South, growing defense industry
Challenges to conformity by who?
Artists (beat generation - similar to lost generation of 1920, Intellectuals (Affluent Societ, and youth
What “world” does the US desire for?
A world of free trade and enterprise, with nations collaborating + working together to a non-global war future
US Foreign Policy Post WWII in ONE word
Containment
What is Containment and who proposed it
George Kennan - US sought to keep communist from spreading
What programs take containment measures?
Collective Security - NATO, Economic Frameworks - Truman Doctrine, Marshall Plan, Conflicts - Korea/Vietnam (North was communist in both
Detente and indirect confrontation
SALT vs. Cuban Missile Crisis
Cold War impact on other countries/regions?
- US + USSR sought allies among new decolonized countries (india)
- Latin America - US supported non-communist gov even if not most democratic
- US involvement in middle eat - oil crises - 1973 oil embargo
Cold War domestic issues - what did both US political parties support?
Both parties supported containing communism
What debates emerged during the time between both parties?
Debates emerged over how to root out Communists
The Eisenhower Doctrine
announced by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1957, was a policy of providing military and economic assistance to countries in the Middle East to contain Soviet expansion in that region
Who emerged out of WW2 as the most powerful nation?
United States
Cold War
conflict between two belligerents in which neither engages in open warfare with the other
battle of ideologies
Joseph Stalin
Leader of Soviet Union, rather keep soviet troops in the countries after the war to create a buffer zone between Russia and Germany.
Iron Curtain
a term used by Churchill to describe the cold war divide between western Europe and Soviet Eastern Europe.
Truman document
advocated containment of communism by lending support to any country threatened by soviet communism
Marshall Plan
Developed by George Marshall: allocated 13 bil financial aid for european nations to rebuilt
If nations had healthy economy, opt more for democracy (worked)
Berlin blockade
Soviet blockage of canals, roads, railways that western. powers supplied western Berline
Response to Berlin blockade?
Berlin Airlift - US and Allied airplanes carry supplies into western Berlin - prevented Soviet from taking over city
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
Member nations enter military alliance to resist any aggressive soviet union actions
Warsaw Pact
Similar to NATO but for Eastern Europe
Nuclear Proliferation
Fierce arms race between US and Soviets
Hydrogen Bomb
Atomic bomb, increasing powerful bombs
What would result in the usage of the hydrogen bombs and increasingly powerful war technology?
Mutual assured destruction
Proxy Wars
a war instigated by a major power which does not itself become involved
Vietnam War and Korean War
Korean War
Illustrates proxy war of US v. Soviet and result. of Truman’s Containment policy.
Second Red Scare
Taft-Hartley Act
Made in response to massive labor union strikes, made it more difficult for workers to strike + must pledge that they weren’t members of the Communist party
Federal Employee Loyalty and Security Program
designed to root out communist influence in the U.S. federal government
Unamerican Activites Comitee (HUAC)
created in 1938 to investigate alleged disloyalty and rebel activities on the part of private citizens, public employees and organizations suspected of having Communist ties.
Holywood Ten
A group of Hollywood writers and producers, some of whom were former communists, who were jailed for contempt by the House Un-American Committee (HUAC) when they refused to answer questions about their political beliefs or the beliefs of their colleagues.
Joseph McCarthy
a U.S. senator from Wisconsin who, in the 1950s, claimed that numerous communists and Soviet spies had infiltrated the United States government. His accusations led to investigations and hearings that became known as the “Red Scare.”
McCarthyism
A brand of vitriolic, fear-mongering anti-communism associated with the career of Senator Joseph McCarthy
Rosenberg Case
Soviet tested first atomic bomb - Americans convinced they stole info from US
Involved Julius and Ethel Rosenberg who were American communists. They were executed for passing nuclear weapons secrets to the USSR. House Un-American Activities Committee. Committee in the House of Representatives founded on a temporary basis in 1938 to monitor activities of foreign agents.
Interstate Highway Act
authorized the building of highways throughout the nation, urban to suburban areas
GI Bill
a federal law that provides educational and housing benefits to veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces.
Baby boom
boom boom baby
Suburbs
Places surrounding cities that the middle class went to after the return of prosperity following WWII
Levittown
seven mass-produced suburban housing developments created in the United States by William J. Levitt and his company, widely considered as the archetype of post-war suburbs. Low-cost housing program.
Executie Order 9981
Banned segregation in US armed forces
Comitee on Civil Rights
Encouraged desegregation of amred forces, abolishment of poll taxes, encouragement of fed protection from lynching
24th amendment
Abolished Poll Tax
Brown V. The Board of Education
Racial segregation of schools
Olive Brown - segregated schools violate 14th amendment (grant all citizens equal protection under law)
Court overturned segregated schools, schools now integrated –> ordered that schools would be integrated with “all deliberate speed” (Southern states resisted)
Southern Manifesto
Supreme Court engaged in gross abuse of power in Brown decision, shut schools down instead of them being integrated
Orval Faubus
Called in state’s national guard to prevent black students from entering Little Rock HS
Decolonization during this time and its effects?
The collapse of colonial empires. Between 1947 and 1962, practically all former colonies in Asia and Africa gained independence. US vs. Soviet Union to compete for their ideal “worlds” of democracy of communism
John F. Kennedy
His economic programs launched the country on its longest sustained expansion since World War II
Bay of Pigs Invasion
an abortive invasion of Cuba in April 1961 by some 1,500 Cuban exiles opposed to Fidel Castro
Cuban Missile Crisis
an incident where Soviet missiles were placed in Cuba as a response for help.
increased tensions between the Soviets and the Americans. As a result, a hotline was established between the two nations to avoid any accidents.
Military Industrial Complex
refers to the relationship between a nation’s military, government, and industrial sector. These entities work together to research, produce, and supply military equipment and infrastructure.
Vietnam War
a long, costly, and divisive conflict that pitted the communist government of North Vietnam against South Vietnam and its principal ally, the United States. The conflict was intensified by the ongoing Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union.
Domino Theory
If US lost Vietnam to communism, then like a domino, rest of the nations in the region would also become communisty
Gulf of Tonkin Incident
North Vietnam fired on US battleship in Gulf? Lyndon B. Johnson used as justification for US military involvement in the region
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
Gave president blank check to excercise whatever powers were necessary to protect American interests in region
Why were there anti-war protests regarding the Vietnam War?
Unclear motives, unofficiallly declared war, Johnson administration’s capmaigns of disinformation on the war (never stopped believing that just a little more escalation would win the war)
Credibility Gap
Television vs. Propaganda /Presidential public information – THE PRESIDENT IS LYIN TO US
Tet Offensive
Heavy casualties on US troops, US inflict even more on N Vietnam
Vietcong
A communist-led army and guerrilla force in South Vietnam that fought its government and was supported by North Vietnam.
Richard Nixon
Elected President in 1968 and 1972 representing the Republican party. He was responsible for getting the United States out of the Vietnam War by using “Vietnamization”, which was the withdrawal of 540,000 troops from South Vietnam for an extended period. He was responsible for the Nixon Doctrine.
Vietnamization
Removal of US troops from vietnam while still lending financial aid + munitions. to carry out war for themselves
Nixon Document
stated that the United States would honor its existing defense commitments, but in the future other countries would have to fight their own wars without support of American troops.
Culture of Conformity
Rebelling with the Beat Generation, opposed conformity and consumerism - criticize social norms
(Beatniks)
Brinkmanship
Foreign policy approach involving pushing adversaries to the brink of war
Civil Disobedience
Nonviolent protests where individuals intentionally break laws they consider unjust
Great Society
a set of domestic programs in the United States launched by Democratic President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964–65 aiming to eliminate poverty and racial injustice
Environmentalism
Activist movement begun in the 19060s that was concerned with protecting the environment through activities such as conservation, pollution control measures and public awareness campaigns.
Equal rights amendment
passed by Congress in 1972, stating that “equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.” Despite public support, the amendment failed to acquire the necessary support
How did foreign policy chane within the US?
Abandoned isolationaism, expanded foreign relations
