Unit 8 Key Terms Flashcards
The Cold War
1947-1991
* An ideological war, democracy vs. communism
* Called a cold war because there was no actual fighting, only proxy wars
Propaganda During The Cold War
- The US used a lot of propaganda and advertisements to display how awful of a system communism was and how awesome capitalism was in comparison
The Long Telegram, Containment
1946
* Written by G. F. Kennan, the longest telegram ever written
* Wanted to control communism by containing it in the Soviet Union, barely worked
The Iron Curtain
- A symbolic line between democratic countries and communist countries, from a speech by Winston Churchill
Truman Doctrine
1947
* Written by Harry S. Truman, saying that the US will support any democratic nations from subjugation by authoritarian nations
Marshall Plan
1947-1948
* Granted economic aid to democratic nations in Europe, totaled to over 12.5 billion dollars
Division of Germany
1949
* Germany and its capital were divided into four equal areas between France, Great Britain, the US, and the Soviet Union
* France and Great Britain eventually gave their area to the US, division was supposed to be temporary but lasted for much longer
Berlin Blockade
1948-1949
* Stalin attempts to cut off access to Berlin from the US so that Berlin (and then the rest of Germany) will fall to communism
Berlin Airlift
1948-1949
* The US, along with many other democratic nations, got together to deliver supplies to Berlin via an airlift
NATO
1949
* NATO was created originally to ally democratic countries together against communism
The Warsaw Pact
1955
* Created by Stalin in response to NATO, mirrored NATO but as communism against democracy
Creation of West Germany & East Germany
1949
* The US created West Germany which was politically and economically stable and independent
* East Germany was created by Stalin to mirror West Germany but with communism
Worker Stikes Following WW2
- Price ceilings were lifted, so prices skyrocketed while worker wages didn’t increase at all
- Workers began going on strike for their wages to be increased, the largest strike in US history with over 4.6 million workers on strike
Employment Act
1946
* States that it was the government’s responsibility to protect wages and government stability, also said they needed to stop inflation and unemployment
Taft-Hartley Act
1947
* Gave the president the power to shut down strikes if necessary
* Allowed the executive branch to invade the affairs of private industries, overextension of power
Executive Order 9981
1948
* Truman wanted to provide equal rights to African Americans but saw lots of opposition from his fellow Democrats
* Used an executive order (bypassing Congress) to desegregate the military, but all other facilities were still segregated
Jackie Robinson
- African-American Man who played for the Brooklyn Dodgers, and was the most prominent African American professional athlete at the time
National Security Act
1947
* Established the National Security Council (NSC), the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and the Joint Chief of Staff
* Mandated a major reorganization of foreign policy and the military
Joint Chief of Staff
1947
* Made of senior military leaders from each branch of the military and made decisions in the case of wars, invasions, and other conflicts
Israel Becomes an Ally
1948
* The US began recognizing Israel as a country and became their #1 ally
* The main reason was to establish influence in the Middle East and have an ally that was close to Russia
The “Fair Deal”
1949
* Proposed by Harry S. Truman to create a civil rights bill, national healthcare, and federal aid to education and housing
* Though Truman won the election, congress never let him see his points get passed while in office
China Turns Communist
1949
* Mao Zedong took over China and the country fell to Communism
* Highlighted how weak containment was, showing it needed to be revised
Russia Develops an Atom Bomb
1949
* Russia officially released that they had made an atomic bomb
* The US began to panic at the thought of nuclear warfare and tried to investigate who the Russian mole was
Internal Report 68
1950
* Created by the National Security Council, it planned to revise the idea of containment and find another way to beat communism
* Decided to strengthen all branches of the military indefinitely and build a nuclear arsenal in case Russia would attack
* Created a lot of jobs for US citizens, with the 1950s being the height of the US economically
* Lead the international arms race and space race
The Korean War
1950-1953
* China and Russia invaded the Northern Half of Korea, making it to the 38th parallel
* North Korea became communist while South Korea was capitalist (A.K.A. not communist)
* The United Nations with the support of the USA launched a defensive attack on North Korea, with both sides going back and forth
* General Douglas McArthur led US involvement and wanted to nuke Korea and end the war quickly, but Truman disagreed and had him let go
* An armistice was held devising Korea at the 38th parallel, the war put Democrats in a bad light and only harmed the US population
House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC)
1938
* The US wanted to find Russian spies, and HUAC led the hunt for these
* Would accuse anyone they thought had ties and put them on trial, especially targeting Hollywood
Hollywood 10
1947
* 10 witnesses in Hollywood refused to cooperate with HUAC, with the Hollywood 10 growing to become the Hollywood 500
* All members would be unfairly blacklisted from Hollywood and condemned as spies, even though there was little to no evidence
Alger Hiss
1948
* A worker for the state government who was put on trial twice without evidence, but was still found guilty and jailed
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg
1950-1953
* A husband and wife duo who were alleged to be spies for the Soviets, with Julius being affiliated with the Manhattan Project
* Both of them were found guilty of espionage and were the only two people executed for suspected espionage during this period
Joe McCarthy, McCarthyism
1950-1954
* Republican senator Joe McCarthy spread a lot of fear over possible espionage, using women to help spread gossip of possible spies
* Had a list of 205 members of government who he suspected were communist spies
Arthur Miller, “The Crucible”
1953
* Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible about the Salem Witch Trials and warned about following the lead of one person, making clear comparisons to Senator Joe McCarthy
Lavender Scares
1950s
* Grew along the red scare, targeting LGBTQ+ people for being “deviants” and spies
* Hundreds of people were accused and lost their jobs
Executive Order 10450
1953
* Signed by Eisenhower, barring LGBTQ+ people from serving in the federal government and essentially let the government decide who could work with them and who couldn’t
McCarran International Security Act
1950
* Communists had to register as a member of their party with the Attorney General
* Government employees had to take loyalty oaths and affirm their allegiance
* Established the Subversive Activities Control Board (SACB) to investigate organizations that possibly were communist
22nd Amendment
1951
* Restricted presidents to only two terms in office
Dwight “Ike” D. Eisenhower
- The first Republican to enter the presidential office in 20 years, and was referred to as a moderate Republican
- Maintained FDR’s deals, but believed the government should stay out of private/personal business and individual freedom
- The first candidate to appeal to women, looking at causes women supported like education and lowering inflation
GI Bill
1944
* Passed by FDR, providing benefits to veterans like education and loans, creating economic growth
Baby Boom
1946-1964
* A worldwide explosion in birth rates as a result of WW2 ending, with people having several kids
* Led to increased production of goods for babies like baby food and cribs
* A lot of jobs were created in fields like education, construction, and production
National Highway System
1956
* The National Institute of Defense began building highways so the military and resources could travel across the country quickly
Rise of Roadside Culture
- Cars have become a vital part of many people’s lives, allowing people to travel further for leisure and to find new opportunities, and leading to a growing market
- Fast food joints grew because of affordability and speed
- Motels grew as a quick place to stop at while on the road
- Drive-in theaters grew as a popular form of entertainment enjoyable from your car
Levittowns/Surburbias/Cookie Cutter Towns, The “White Flight”
- Mass-produced suburbs that became popular with the Cold War as people wanted to buy homes outside of cities
- Many white families began moving to these suburbs to leave those “not like them”
- Because of a need to build homes rapidly most homes had standard sets of items like kitchen appliances
Rise of TV Shows
- TV shows became a popular form of entertainment and were used to present the idea that families should conform to gender roles
- Always showed fathers as central figures, women as submissive housewives, and a few kids
- Families were always white, a healthy white family wasn’t shown on TV until the 1980s with Bill Cosby
Gender roles in the 1950s & 1960s
- Only 5-6% of women had jobs, most women who went to college went mainly to find husbands
- Advertisements and entertainment re-inforced gender roles by showing what expectations there were for women
Religious revival in the 1950s & 1960s
- Christianity began to rise again as the US became a “godly” nation meant to combat the “ungodly” Soviet Union
- Increased focus on the youth, notions of god added in places live the pledge of allegiance and on our money
Rise of Teenage Culture
1950s
* Subcultures began to grow for teenage groups, as kids had free time because they didn’t need to go to work after school anymore
* Shopping malls and other forms of commerce grew to target youth
* Music by the likes of Chuck Berry, Fats Domino, and Elvis Presley grew as rebellious music for teenagers, most parents were worried about how “vulgar” they were
Beat Generation, Anticonformity
1950s
* A group of writers known as the beat generation wrote about anticonformity, with significant figures like Jack Kerosene and William Burroughs
* The anticonformist movement continued to grow, which is how we ended up with hippie culture
Massive Retaliation
- A strategy where a state will retaliate with much greater force than received (you get slapped, you nuke their home)
Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD)
- An argument not to go to war where it’s known that direct conflict could cause excessive damages