Upgrade to remove ads
Only $2.99/month

US History - Cold War & 1950s Schellhase edit

Terms in this set (39)

United Nations
International organization founded in 1945 to promote world peace and cooperation. It replaced the League of Nations. (p. 833)
Satellite Nation
a country dominated politically and economically by another nation, especially by the Soviet Union during the Cold War
Containment
a U.S. foreign policy adopted by President Harry Truman in the late 1940s, in which the United States tried to stop the spread of communism by creating alliances and helping weak countries to resist Soviet advances
Iron Curtain
Winston Churchill's term for the Cold War division between the Soviet-dominated East and the U.S.-dominated West. (p. 831)
Cold War
A conflict that was between the US and the Soviet Union. The nations never directly confronted each other on the battlefield but deadly threats went on for years.
Truman Doctrine
President Truman's policy of providing economic and military aid to any country threatened by communism or totalitarian ideology
Marshall Plan
Introduced by Secretary of State George G. Marshall in 1947, he proposed massive and systematic American economic aid to Europe to revitalize the European economies after WWII and help prevent the spread of Communism.
Berlin Airlift
Joint effort by the US and Britian to fly food and supplies into West Berlin after the Soviet blocked off all ground routes into the city
North Atlantic Treaty Organization
1949 alliance of nations that agreed to band together in the event of war and to support and protect each nation involved
Cold War - Main Points
1. Conflict between US and Soviet Union
2. Political and Economic differences between two nations.
3. Shaped US foreign policy until the Sov Union collapse.
Chiang Kai-Shek
General and leader of Nationalist China after 1925. Although he succeeded Sun Yat-sen as head of the Guomindang, he became a military dictator whose major goal was to crush the communist movement led by Mao Zedong. He was defeated and retreated to Taiwan.
Mao Zedong
Leader of the Chinese Communist Party (1927-1976). He led the Communists on the Long March (1934-1935) and rebuilt the Communist Party and Red Army during the Japanese occupation of China (1937-1945). (789)
Taiwan
Island off Chinese mainland; became refuge for Nationalist Chinese regime under Chiang Kai-shek as Republic of China in 1948; successfully retained independence with aid of United States; rapidly industrialized after 1950s.
38th parallel
Latitudinal line that divided Communist North Korea and Democratic South Korea; established after the Korean War. The north surrendered to the Soviet Union and the south surrendered to the US. Twho nations developed as a result.
Korean War
Conflict that began with North Korea's invasion of South Korea and came to involve the United Nations (primarily the United States) allying with South Korea and the People's Republic of China allying with North Korea. The war lasted from 1950-1953.
HUAC
An investigating committee which investigated what it considered un-American propaganda. Specifically commmunist influence inside and outside the US gov. after WWII.
Hollywood Ten
Ten witnesses from the film industry who refused to cooperate with the HUAC's investigation of Communist influence in Hollywood. They were sent to prison for refusing to answer questions.
Blacklist
List of people in the Hollywood film industry who were refused jobs because they did not cooperate with HUAC and thus were alleged to have communist backgrounds.
Alger Hiss
A former State Department official who was accused of being a Communist spy and was convicted of perjury. The case was prosecuted by Richard Nixon.
Ethel and Julius Rosenberg
were American communists who were executed after having been found guilty of conspiracy to commit espionage. The charges were in relation to the passing of information about the atomic bomb to the Soviet Union. Theirs was the first execution of civilians for espionage in United States history
Joseph McCarthy
Wisconsin Republican senator who exploited public concern for political gain during the 1950's by claiming to have a list of communist in the state department and conducting investigations of the alleged Communists. He was discredited in 1954.
McCarthyism
McCarthy's anti-communist smear tactic which involved making unsupported accusations against people for disloyalty without providing evidence.
H-bomb
the hydrogen bomb - a thermonuclear weapon much more powerful than the Atomic bomb
Dwight D. Eisenhower
He was the U. S. general who led the attack in North Africa in Nov. of 1942.He was the master organizer of the D-Day invasion in Europe (June 6, 1944). He ran for the Republican ticket in the 1952 and the1956 elections and won. He was very well liked by the public.
brinkmanship
The policy of threatning massive military retaliation (going to the brink of war) to force an opponent to back down.
Central Intelligence Agency
an independent agency of the United States government responsible for collecting and coordinating intelligence and counterintelligence activities abroad in the national interest.
Warsaw Pact
An international defense alliance between the Soviet Union and many of its Eastern European satellite states as a response to NATO. Formed in 1955.
Eisenhower Doctrine
A 1957 policy of the US that it would defend the middle east against an attack by any communist country
Nikita Khrushchev
Stalin's sucessor; ruled the USSR from 1958-1964; lessened government control of soviet citizens; seeked peaceful coexistence with the West instead of confrontation
U-2 incident
The incident when an American U-2 spy plane was shot down over the Soviet Union. The U.S. denied the true purpose of the plane at first, but was forced when the U.S.S.R. produced the pilot and the plane to validate their claim of being spied on. The incident worsened East-West relations during the Cold War.
GI Bill of Rights
Also known as the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944 it gave money to veternas for education, one year of unemployment benefits, and offered federal loans. Many veterans used the money to buy homes, farms, and start new businesses.
suburb
Residential communities, located on the outskirts of city centers, that are usually relatively homogenous.
Harry S. Truman
The 33rd U.S. president, who succeeded Franklin D. Roosevelt upon Roosevelt's death in April 1945. Led the country through the last few months of World War II; best known for making the controversial decision to use two atomic bombs against Japan in August 1945. After the war, he was crucial in the implementation of the Marshall Plan, which greatly accelerated Western Europe's economic recovery.
Fair Deal
Truman's extension of the New Deal that increased min wage, expanded Social Security, and constructed low-income housing.
baby boom
A population explosion between 1945 and 1964 following World War II.
consumerism
buying material goods. It was the driving force of the 1950s. The phrase "keeping up with the Joneses" emerged as a way of life for consumers. Critics warned that American culture was on its way to becoming a "throwaway society"
The american dream
The notion that success involves owning a house, being able to provide for your family and attaining certain material objects. The concept is a driving force in many works of American culture.
mass media
forms of communication, such as newspapers and radio, that reach millions of people
Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
an independent governmeent agency that regulates interstate and international communications by radio and television and wire and cable and satellite
THIS SET IS OFTEN IN FOLDERS WITH...