Unit 8 Vocab Flashcards
● The struggle between the Communist world led by the Soviet Union and the noncommunist world led by the U.S
● A war of words and influence that lasted from 1945 to 1991
The Cold War
● Nations that influence or control less powerful states
● Countries that control global affairs because of size, economic strength, military power, and ability
Superpowers
● An economic system in which individuals and private businesses make most of the economic decisions
● Also called free-enterprise system
● Used in U.S./Western Europe
Capitalism
● A type of system characterized by single-party rule of politics and government control of the economy
● Government/Economy of the USSR and Eastern Europe
Communism
● He developed the first successful inactivated polio vaccine
● By 1960, the widespread distribution of his vaccine and an oral vaccine developed by Albert Sabin had nearly eliminated the disease
Jonas Salk
● A new international peacekeeping organization formed after WWII
● Discussed at the Yalta Conference
● The major goal was to prevent future world wars or events such as the Holocaust
● Located in New York City
United Nations
● A treaty designed to expand world trade by reducing tariffs
● Between its signing and 1993, average tariffs dropped from 40 to 5 percent
General Agreement on Tariffs and
Trade (GATT)
● Evangelist Christian preacher who attracted millions to religious revivals that he held around the nation
● He was outspoken in his opposition to Communism and supported American Cold War policy
Billy Graham
● Under him, the Allies successfully ended World War II; tensions with the Soviet Union increased, marking the start of the Cold War
● President during the Korean War
● Passed an executive order to desegregate the military (most units were desegregated by 1951)
Harry S. Truman
● July 1945–The U.S. (Truman), Britain (Atlee), and the USSR (Stalin) meet to work out the final plans for Germany
● Truman continues to press for free elections in Europe
● Formalized the decision to divide Germany into 4 zones
● Recognized the USSR’s right to ask for reparations
Potsdam Conference
● Symbolized the growing geographic and political divisions between Communist and Capitalist (democratic) nations in Europe
● Imaginary “curtain” both physical and ideological, blocked people from crossing to non-communist countries and stopped ideas
Iron Curtain
● Based on ideas of George F. Kennan
● The restriction of Soviet expansion and communism
● The goal was not to overthrow communism where it already
existed, but to PREVENT communism from spreading further to other countries
Containment
● President Truman’s promise to aid nations struggling against communist movements in 1947
● Set a new course in American foreign policy
Truman Doctrine
● American rock ‘n’ roll singer, known for his distinctive throaty tone in songs such as “Hound Dog” and “All Shook Up”
● Regarded as one of the most significant cultural icons of the 20th century, is often referred to as “the King of Rock and Roll”, or simply, “ the King”
Elvis Presley
● Massive monetary aid program proposed by Secretary of State George Marshall
● Money to be given to the countries of war-torn Europe to rebuild economies to prevent the spread of communism
● Money was to be spent on goods made in the U.S.
● Successful and created goodwill towards the U.S.
Marshall Plan
● The airlift was a joint effort by the U.S. and Britain to fly food and supplies into West Berlin
● High point in the Cold War, was an attempt by the USSR to starve out the Allies in Berlin in order to gain supremacy
● Soviet Union had placed a blockade of (democratic) West Berlin by closing all highway and railroad links in June 1948
Berlin Blockade/Airlift
● A system in which a group of countries commit to jointly dealing with a nation that threatens the peace or security of any one of the countries
● Countries pledge to defend every other country in “group” if attacked
● (NATO vs Warsaw)
Collective Security
● 1949 alliance of North American and Western European nations that agreed to band together in the event of war and to support and protect each nation involved
● Each member pledged to defend every other if attacked
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
● Military alliance between the Soviet Union and nations of Eastern Europe, formed in 1955
● Formed in response to NATO
Warsaw Pact
● 34th President of the United States from 1953 until 1961
● Became President at the end of the Korean War
● Would continue Truman’s anti-communist Cold War policies as well as create his own
Dwight D. Eisenhower
● A genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940’s and early 1950’s
● Primarily from a combination of African- American genres together with western swing and country music
Rock - and - Roll
- A group of American post - World War II writers who came to prominence in the 1950’s
- Central elements of “Beat” culture: refused to conform to accepted ways of dressing, thinking, and acting as well as criticizing the materialism of middle- class America
- Ex: Jack Kerouac’s “ On the Road”
Beat Generation/ Beatniks
● American real-estate developer
● In his position as president of Levitt & Sons, he was widely credited as the father of modern American suburbia
● He created Levittown, the first “cookie cutter” suburb by mass-producing houses in residential neighborhoods
William J. Levitt
● Signed by Eisenhower to authorize funds to build 41,000 miles of highway that would connect the nation’s major cities
● This would carry the nation’s growing traffic, boost economic prosperity and provide a valuable transportation network to strengthen national defense
Interstate Highway Act
● A time after WWII when many babies were born
● The largest amount of children born in the U.S. in a single period (1944-1964)
Baby Boom
● Britain and France joined forces with Israel in an attempt to seize control of the Suez Canal in 1956
● This occurred after the leader of Egypt (President Gamal Abdel Nasser) had nationalized it and brought it under Egypt’s control—this would threaten the flow of oil to Europe
Suez Crisis
● This was passed in response to the Suez Crisis (January 1957)
● Announced that the U.S. would use force to help Middle Eastern
nations threatened by communism
● Used to justify sending troops to Lebanon in 1958
Eisenhower Doctrine
● A competition between nations to achieve the more powerful weapons arsenal
● Competition to have the most destructive and most powerful weapons
Arms Race
● A foreign policy in which a nation develops a weapons arsenal so deadly that another nation will not dare attack
● A policy of ‘massive retaliation—the U.S. would respond to communist threats to its allies by threatening to use crushing force,
perhaps even nuclear weapons
Deterrence
● The principle that either side would respond to a nuclear attack by launching its own missiles
● Also called massive retaliation
● Only used or justified if a nation’s very survival is at stake
Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD)
● Former leader of China until Mao Zedong started a communist revolution in 1949
● He and those that supported him fled to Taiwan
● Chiang’s government continued to declare its intention to retake mainland China
● Chiang ruled the island securely as President of the Republic of China and General of the Kuomintang until his death in 1975
Chiang Kai-Shek
● Led communist party in China
● Gained the support of peasants
● Set up the People’s Republic of China in 1949 (Communist China)
Mao Zedong
● Conflict over the future of the Korean peninsula, fought
between 1950 and 1953 and ending in a stalemate
● Created the 38th Parallel—The line dividing North and South Korea
● Started when North Korea invaded South Korea to reunify country
Korean War
● Area along the border between North and South Korea that no military forces are allowed to enter
● Still exists between North and South Korea today
● A buffer zone
Demilitarized Zone (DMZ)
● The first artificial satellite to orbit Earth
● Launched by the Soviets in 1957
● Started the Space Race
Sputnik
● Race to be the first country to
space/the moon
- Soviet Union launches Sputnik 1957
- America sends the Apollo mission to the moon in 1968–bragging rights
Space Race
● United States government agency responsible for the civilian space
program as well as aeronautics and aerospace research
● President Dwight D. Eisenhower established it in 1958
National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA)
● A law (1958) providing funding to U.S. education institutions at all levels
● Emphasis on Math and Science
● Passed to increase the technological sophistication and power of the United States
National Defense Education Act
● An investigative committee of the U.S. House of Representatives
● Better known for its role in investigating alleged disloyalty and subversive activities on the part of private citizens, public employees, and those organizations suspected of having ties to Communism
House of Un-American Activities
Committee (HUAC)
● American communists who were executed in 1953 for conspiracy to commit espionage during a time of war
● The charges related to passing information about the atomic bomb to the Soviet Union
● This was the first execution of civilians for espionage in United States history
Ethel and Julius Rosenberg
● Republican Senator from Wisconsin who made unsupported accusations against government officials of being Communist
● From 1950-1954 he was perhaps the most powerful politician in the U.S
Joseph McCarthy
● Negative term for extreme reckless charges
● By making irresponsible allegations, McCarthy did more to discredit legitimate concerns about domestic communism than any other single American
McCarthyism
Provided federal funds to help
returning GIs transition to civilian
life
Included loans to buy new homes
and paid college tuition
Helped increase housing boom
and suburbs
GI Bill of Rights (Servicemen’s
Readjustment Act)
