Unit 8 Cold War Flashcards
What was the Cold War?
The struggle between the communist and democratic nations after World War II, characterized by tension between the U.S. and the Soviet Union.
What does espionage mean?
Spying.
What was the Potsdam Conference?
The final wartime meeting of the leaders of the United States, Britain, and the Soviet Union held in July 1945 to discuss the future of Europe.
Truman, Churchill, and Stalin’s failure to reach meaningful agreements led to the onset of the Cold War.
What is the Eastern Bloc?
Nations favorable to the Soviet Union in Eastern Europe during the Cold War, including Poland, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, Rumania, Hungary, and East Germany.
What was the Marshall Plan?
A United States program of economic aid for the reconstruction of Europe from 1948 to 1952.
What were the Nuremberg Trials?
A series of trials in 1945 conducted by an International Military Tribunal charging former Nazi leaders with crimes against peace, crimes against humanity, and war crimes.
What was the Berlin Airlift?
Allies dropped food into West Berlin.
What is NATO?
An organization formed in 1949 as a military alliance of western European and North American states against the Soviet Union and its Eastern European allies.
What was the Warsaw Pact?
An alliance between the Soviet Union and other Eastern European nations in response to NATO.
What is a technocrat?
An expert who is a member of a highly skilled elite group.
What is the European Union?
An international organization of European countries formed after World War II to reduce trade barriers and increase cooperation among its members.
What is NAFTA?
North American Free Trade Agreement; allows open trade between the U.S., Mexico, and Canada.
What is the Truman Doctrine?
President Truman’s policy of providing economic and military aid to any country threatened by communism or totalitarian ideology.
What was the Red Scare?
A period of general fear of communists.
What is the CIA?
Central Intelligence Agency; collects intelligence information and conducts secret actions against foreign targets.
What is the Containment Policy?
The U.S. policy of containing communism using any means possible.
What is the Domino Theory?
The idea that if a country fell to communism, neighboring countries would also fall.
What was the Korean War?
The conflict between Communist North Korea and Non-Communist South Korea, with the United Nations (led by the United States) helping South Korea.
What does DMZ stand for?
Demilitarized zone, an area from which warring parties agree to remove their military forces.
What is brinkmanship?
The policy of pushing a dangerous situation to the brink of disaster.
What was the Geneva Conference?
A meeting in which Vietnam was split along the 17th parallel line.
What was the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution?
U.S. president sent troops without congressional approval.
What was the Tet Offensive?
A turning point in the Vietnam War when North Vietnamese forces attacked the U.S.
What is Vietnamization?
The idea of having the South Vietnamese take over the war effort.
