Unit 8: Cold War 1945-1991

Question 1

Cold War

Answer 1

long power struggle between the US and USSR from 1945-1991 waged mostly on political and economic issues

Question 2

proxy wars

Answer 2

wars fought indirectly through other people i.e. Korean Conflict (US & USSR fought against each other through North & South Korea)

Question 3

Marshall Plan

Answer 3

European Recovery Plan after WWII; US program giving money to European countries to help them rebuild after WWII

Question 4

Truman Doctrine

Answer 4

President Truman’s policy stating that the US would assist any country fighting against communism

Question 5

Korean War (Conflict)

Answer 5

Known as the “Forgotten War”; civil war between North (communist) and South (democratic) Korea 1950-1953; US supported South Korea to stop the spread of communism

Question 6

38th Parallel

Answer 6

The dividing line between North and South Korea

Question 7

Dwight D. Eisenhower

Answer 7

34th US President; wins election of 1952 promising to get US out of Korean Conflict, settles truce between the Koreas

Question 8

Policy of containment

Answer 8

US policies to use several different methods to stop the spread of communism

Question 9

domino theory

Answer 9

fear that if one country falls to communism the neighboring countries will as well

Question 10

Berlin Airlifts

Answer 10

1948-1949: operation in which British and American planes dropped food and supplies on West Berlin due to the Berlin Blockade

Question 11

Berlin Wall

Answer 11

barrier between East and West Berlin; structure was built by the USSR; becomes a symbol for the era

Question 12

John F. Kennedy

Answer 12

35th US President; elected in 1960; helped by tv debates; enemies included Nikita Kruschev (USSR) and Fidel Castro (Cuba)

Question 13

Nikita Khruschev

Answer 13

leader of the USSR; allies himself with Castro; puts missiles in Cuba aiming at the US

Question 14

Fidel Castro

Answer 14

rebel leader of Cuba; ousts Cuban President Batista; defeats an invasion by 1,400 Cuban refugees

Question 15

Bay of Pigs

Answer 15

failed US mission planned by Eisenhower’s administration but carried out by Kennedy’s administration; attempt to overthrow Castro led by CIA trained 1,400 Cuban refugees; refugees get captured and held hostage for $53 million dollars; huge embarrassment for Kennedy

Question 16

Cuban Missile Crisis

Answer 16

October 1962 nuclear missiles spotted in Cuba by US U-S spy planes; for 13 days the US and USSR were on the brink of nuclear war

Question 17

Star Wars

Answer 17

the space race between the US and the USSR; Soviets win when they first reach space in 1957

Question 18

Sputnik

Answer 18

the world’s first satellite to visit space; launched by the USSR in 1957

Question 19

Kennedy Assassination

Answer 19

Nov. 22, 1963, Dallas, TX; President assassinated while riding in an open motorcade while campaigning for the Democrats and his re-election in 1964

Question 20

Lyndon B. Johnson

Answer 20

36th US President, President Kennedy’s VP, sworn in on Air Force One, strong Texan with an impatient personality

Question 21

Vietnam

Answer 21

conflict in this South East Asian country that spanned 5 US Presidents, conflict between North Vietnam (Communist) and South Vietnam (Democratic); eventually the US and United Nation forces get defeated and Vietnam becomes all one communist country

Question 22

Vietnamization

Answer 22

US policy under President Nixon to give the problem of Vietnam back to the people of Vietnam; removes US soldiers out of Vietnam and eventually accepts defeat

Question 23

Arms Race

Answer 23

Cold war competition between the U.S. and Soviet Union to build up their respective armed forces and weapons

Question 24

Division of Germany

Answer 24

1947 Germany got divided into 4 zones controlled by the U.S., Great Britian, France and Russia

Question 25

United_Nations

Answer 25

an organization of independent states formed in 1945 to promote international peace and security

Question 26

weapons of mass destruction

Answer 26

nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons that can kill tens of thousands of people all at once

Question 27

Iron Curtain

Answer 27

A term popularized by British Prime Minister Winston Churchill to describe the Soviet Union’s policy of isolation during the Cold War. The barrier isolated Eastern Europe from the rest of the world

Question 28

about fifty years of intense conflict between the US and the USSR that never actually resulted in the two countries fighting each other

Answer 28

The Cold War

Question 29

set up in Berlin after the failure of the Berlin Airlift; recognized as an “iron curtain” of sorts

Answer 29

The Berlin Wall

Question 30

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Mao Zedong

Answer 30

led the Communist Revolution in China

Question 31

superpower

Answer 31

nation with enough strength to influence events in the world

Question 32

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Joseph McCarthy

Answer 32

senator who encouraged the red scare in the US

Question 33

Ho Chi Minh

Answer 33

leader of North Vietnam

Question 34

Vietcong

Answer 34

North Vietnamese troops who used guerilla tactics

Question 35

The government owns and runs everything. In theory, everything is equal and no private ownership (no one owns anything). The U.S.S.R has this type of government.

Answer 35

Communist government

Question 36

An economic system based on private property and free enterprise. In other words, you can own a business, make a profit, and sell your product freely.

Answer 36

capitalism

Question 37

2nd Red Scare

Answer 37

Second wave of fear of communism in the US

Question 38

Apollo 11

Answer 38

US moon landing mission