U.S. History: Chapter 18 Flashcards
United Nations (UN)
international peacekeeping organization to which most nations belong; founded in 1945 to promote world peace, security, and economic development
satellite nation
country that is dominated politically and economically by another nation
containment
blocking of antoher nation’s attempts to spread its influence- especially the efforts of US to block spread of Soviet influence during late 1940s and early 1950s
iron curtain
phrase used by Winston Churchill to describe imaginary line that separated Communist countries in the Soviet bloc of Eastern Europe from countries in Western Europe
Cold War
state of hostility, without direct military conflict, that developed between US and Soviet Union after WWII
Truman Doctine
US policy, by president Harry Truman, of providing economic and military aid to free nations threatened by internal or external opponents
Marshall Plan
program, by George Marshall, under which the US supplied economic aid to European nations to help them rebuild after WWII
Berlin airlift
327 day operation when US and British planes flew food and supplies into West Berlin after Soviets blockaded the city
North Atlantic Treaty Organization
defensive military alliance formed by ten Western European counties, US and Canada
Chiang Kai-shek
nationalistic ruler of China, who was opposed by Chinese communists
Mao Zedong
leader of Chinese Communists
Taiwan
area to where Chiang and his demoralized government fled to
38th parallel
line that divided Korea into North and South Korea
Korean War
conflict between North Korea and South Korea, in which the US fought for South Korean and China fought for North Korea
HUAC
congressional committee that investigated Communist influence inside and outside the US government following WWII
Hollywood Ten
ten witnesses from the film industry who refused to cooperate with the HUaC’s investigation of Communist influence in Hollywood
blacklist
list of about 500 actors, writer, producers, and directors who were not allowed to work no Hollywood films because of their alleged Communist connections
Alger Hiss
accused by Whittaker Chambers of spying for the Soviet Union
Ethel and Julius Rosenberg
minor activists in the American Communist Party
Joseph McCarthy
most famous anticommunist activist
McCarthyism
attacks on suspected Communists in early 50’s by Joseph McCarthy
H-bomb
hydrogen bomb, even more destructive nuclear weapon than atomic bomb
Dwight D Eisenhower
president when both US and Soviets had H-bombs
John Foster Dulles
Eisenhower’s secretary of state who was anticommunist
brinkmanship
willingness of US under Eisenhower to go to the edge of all-out war
CIA
US agency created to gather secret information about foreign governments
Warsaw Pact
military alliance between Soviet Union and its Eastern European satellites
Eisenhower Doctrine
US commitment to defend the Middle East against attack by any communist country, announced by Eisenhower
Nikita Khrushchev
man to gain power after Stalin’s death
Francis Gary Powers
U-2 pilot
U-2 incident
downing of US spy plane and capture of its pilot by the Soviet Union
