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Cold War

Terms in this set (69)

Nation Building
Mindset under Kennedy that called for a "peaceful resolution" to help 3rd World nations through the early stages of nationhood with aid programs. This mentality included US programs like the Alliance for Progress and the Peace Corps.
Counterinsurgency
Organized military actively designed to count or go against rebels. This was used by the US in Vietnam.
Berlin Wall Crisis
After Kennedy rejected the Soviet negotiations to end Western occupation of Berlin, the Soviets constructed a huge concrete and barbed wire wall to stop East Germans from going to the more prosperous West Germany.
Bay of Pigs Invasion
CIA operation under Kennedy (who was humiliated by its failure). The US sent native Cuban invaders to Cuba at the Bay of Pigs with the goal to assassinate Castro and win the support of the Cuban people to create an uprising against the Communist government. The invasion failed with the Cuban invaders executed and Castro leaning more towards the Soviets.
Cuban Missile Crisis
As a result of US hostilities towards Cuba, Castro looked to the USSR for military and economic support. Khrushchev gave Cuba nuclear missiles capable of hitting the US. After 13 very tense days on the brink of nuclear war, Kennedy and Khrushchev negotiated that the Soviet Union would remove missiles from Cuba if the US pledged never to attack Cuba and to get rid of their missiles in Turkey.
Tonkin Gulf Resolution
1964 - After false reports that a US ship (USS Maddox) in the Gulf of Tonkin was attacked, Congress (with the pushing of Johnson) passed the resolution which gave the president the authority to take all necessary measures against attacks on the US (gave the president a blank check).
My Lai Massacre
1968 - Incident in which a US Army unit led by Lt. William Calley entered the village of My Lai in Vietnam, and mutilated, raped, and killed unarmed civilians (mostly women and children) for 4 hours. Over innocent people 500 were killed.
Tet Offensive
An all-out effort by the US to take control of the Vietnam War. It was named after the Vietnamese holiday of Tet (the day in which it started) and many villages were destroyed. It was mostly a psychological victory, not an actual one for the US.
Nixon Doctrine
Doctrine that the US would help nations that helped themselves. Nixon knew that the US couldn't afford to sustain its many overseas commitments, such as Vietnam.
Vietnamization
Informed by the Nixon Doctrine, it was the building up of South Vietnam troops to replace the US troops that Nixon was withdrawing.
Pentagon Papers
A top-secret official study of US decision in Vietnam. They were leaked to the New York Times and it revealed that American leaders had frequently lied to the American people.
Hawks
Those who supported the Vietnam War believed that withdrawing troops would be equivalent to surrender.
Doves
Those who opposed the Vietnam War and staged massive demonstrations and demanded immediate withdraw. One of the most prominent Doves was Senator William Fulbright who wrote The Arrogance of Power.
War Powers Act
1973 - Act passed by Congress which stipulated that the president must inform Congress within 48 hours if US forces are sent into hostile areas with a declaration of war.
Detente
Under Nixon and Henry Kissinger, it called for a relaxation of tensions between the US and the Communist World. Nixon is the first president to visit China and the Soviet Union, which eases some of the tensions of the Cold War.
SALT Treaty
The Strategic Arms Limitations Treaty, it limited the number of intercontinental ballistic missile each superpower could have in its arsenal. There were actually two SALT Treaties, the first under Nixon and the second under Reagan.
Camp David Accords
Meeting with both the Egyptian and Israeli leaders at Camp David, President Carter was able to get the leaders to sign a peace treaty, Israel to pull out of the Sinai Peninsula, and also provided the continual negotiations on the future status of the Palestinian people living in the occupied territories of Jordan's West Bank and Egypt's Gaza Strip. It improved Mideast peace, however, other Arab states criticized the treaty.
Independent Internationalism
US foreign policy after WWI in which the US was active on a global scale but retained its independence of action and traditional unilateralism free from the League of Nations.
Washington Conference
1921-1922 - Invitation by the US to delegates from Britain, Japan, France, Italy, China, and other to discuss limits on naval armaments. It was in response to a naval arms race between Britain, US, and Japan which proved dangerous to economic recovery after WWI. It was also in response to the US' worries that Japan's large navy would overtake the US'. Three treaties were made to limit navies and help global relations. Yet the provisions weren't made for limiting submarines or for enforcement of the Open Door Policy.
Kellogg-Briand Act
1928 - Pact signed by 62 nations in agreement to condemn war as a means for solving international controversies and renounce it as an instrument of national policy. It was weak but showed the popular opinion that war was barbaric and that peace was the goal.
1936 Pan American Conference
Conference held in Buenos Aires where US officials endorsed non-intervention. The new policy marked a distinct change from the Roosevelt Corollary. The conference brought about the Declaration of Panama in which the Latin American governments drew a security line around the hemisphere to warn aggressors away, which gave the US a sphere of influence in the region through WWII.
Fascism
A collection of ideas and prejudices that celebrated supremacy of the state over the individual, dictatorship, and militarism. Fascism was present in Italy, Germany, and Japan.
Neutrality Acts of 1935-37
Acts signed by FDR to keep distance from the European conflicts. The Acts prohibited arms shipments to either side once the president declared the existence of belligerency. Later acts forbade loans to belligerent nations and a joint resolution in 1937 declared the US neutral in the Spanish Civil War with Roosevelt embargoing shipments to either side. Also in 1937 the US introduced the cash and carry principle in which warring nations wanting to trade with the US would have to pay for goods in cash and carrying them on their own ships.
Policy of Appeasement
Response by Britain and France to Germany's aggression and alliances (which violated the Treaty of Versailles). The policy permitted Hitler with a few territorial gains (Rhineland) in hopes of curbing Hitler's expansionist goals. The policy proved disastrous.
Roosevelt's Quarantine Speech
1937 - FDR denounced Japanese aggression against China and called for a "quarantine" to curb the "epidemic of world lawlessness"
Lend-Lease Act
Proposed by FDR to promote British victory in WWI, it allowed the US to lend, not sell, weapons to Britain. FDR sent ships to escort the goods half way and stationed troops in Greenland and Iceland. The USSR also received small aid. Britain.
Atlantic Charter
Issued by FDR and Churchill that set aims for collective security, disarmament, self-determination, etc.
Code Talkers
Navajos who were US marines that set up radio equipment and transmitted vital information to headquarters about the enemy. They used their Navajo language as the code which the Japanese were never able to break.
Tehran Conference
1943 - The Allied leaders met in Iran to discuss the problems of the badly strained Allied alliance. After much disagreement, Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin agreed to launch Operation Overlord, a cross-Channel invasion of France in early 1944. From there, the Allies would march to Eastern Europe and defeat Germany. The Soviets promised to aid the Allies against Japan once the Germans were defeated.
Operation Overlord
Cross-Channel invasion of France agreed upon at the Tehran Conference. It was the code name for the Battle of Normandy and the D-Day invasion.
D-Day
June 6, 1944 - Largest amphibious landing in history which launched Operation Overlord. 200,000 Allied troops under the command of Dwight D. Eisenhower rushed ashore at Normandy, France. The attack included water craft, land soldiers, and airborne troops. The Allies immediately encountered the enemy with ferocious fighting but were able to break down the Germany defense some.
"Island Hopping" strategy
American strategy in Asia of taking the weak Pacific islands and avoiding the stronger ones on the way to Japan.
Manhattan Project
Secret US project that developed the Atomic Bomb.
Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Two separate Japanese cities on which the US dropped the atomic bomb. Five days after the bombing of Nagasaki, Japan surrendered unconditionally.
Office of War Information
Established in 1942 by FDR, it took charge of domestic propaganda through films, books, and other media which portrayed the Allies as heroes against evil.
Office of Price Administration
Established by FDR after Pearl Harbor, it converted the economy from civilian to military production. Factories stopped making consumer goods and switched to various things needed for the war.
No strike- no blockout
Pledge between workers and factories to guarantee uninterrupted war production.
National War Labor Board
Helped forge a compromise between labor interests and management interests. It acted in some ways as a court for labor disputes. They were given legal authority to settle labor disputes in times of war.
Alien Registration Act
1940- AKA the Smith Act. Made it unlawful to advocate the overthrow of the US government by force or violence, or to join any group that did so. It also required alll non-citizn groups to register with the US
Conscientious Objectors
those who had religious (not moral or ethical) objections to war and were able to refuse military service. Many were sent to civilian public service camps to work in conservation or hospitals.
Internment of Japanese-Americans
Imprisonment of those of Japanese descent, even ones who were US citizens. It was a result of irrational increasing fear in the US of Japanese being evil and part of the enemy during wartime. None of the Japanese interned ever had a charge brought against them.
Hiabayshi vs. US
Court case in which the Supreme Court ruled that residents having an ethnic background of the invading enemy may pose a greater threat to other US citizens.
Korematsu vs. US
Court case in which the Supreme Court approved the removal of Nisei Japanese from the West Coast. One dissenting judge, Murphy, denounced the ruling as "legalized racism"
Rosie the Riveter
symbol of a working woman portrayed as a symbol.
Latchkey Children
term used during WWII referring to the kids who were left alone all day or returned home from school to an empty house because both of their parents were working.
Harry S. Truman
Vice President under FDR who became President after Roosevelt's death. He was left with the task of dealing with peace and post-war world
War Refugee Board
1944- created by FDR, it set up refugee camps in Europe and helped to save 200,000 Jews from death. But it was too late to have a major effect.
Yalta Conference
meeting of the 3 allied leaders at yalta in Russia to settle various questions for after the war, including what to do with Germany. Each ally had different goals. Stalin demanded boundaries that would give Russia part of Poland in the east and Germany was to be divided into 4 zones controlled by the US, Great Britain, France, and Russia. The Soviet Union agreed to declare war on Japan after the death of Hitler and agreed to sign an alliance with Jiang Jeishi rather than the communist Mao in China. The US proposed a UN and the 3 allied agreed on the Declaration of Liberated Europe, a pledge to rebuild the economies of Europe
Postdam Conference
Allied conference, now with Truman after FDR's death. The alliance seemed to be crumbling, but the Big 3 did agree on German disarmament, dissolution of Nazi Laws, and war crime trials. It decided that each occupying nation should extract reparations from its own zone of Germany and it called for unconditional surrender.
"Long Telegram"
Telegram by the US diplomat to Russia, George Long. The pessimistic telegram was sent to DC and asserted Soviet fanaticism that made any agreement with the USSR impossible. This telegram led to a growing belief among US officials that only the strategy of toughness would work against the Soviets.
Churchill's "Iron Curtain" speech
Delivered by Winston Churchill in Missouri, it warned that the Soviet "Iron Curtain" had cut off Eastern Europe from the West. Churchill called for an Anglo-American partnership to resist the USSR.
Truman Doctrine
Policy that would be used for the next 50 years in US foreign policy. It called for the US to support "free peoples" who are "resisting" armed political groups and outside pressures. It called for the US to support (intervene) the resistance of Communism.
Containment Doctrine
Policy outlined in George Keenan's X Article, advocating firm containment designed to show counter force every time Russia showed signs of "encroaching upon the interests of a peaceful and stable world". Keenan wanted to keep Soviet expansion in check. It became the key belief in Cold War policy.
Marshall Plan
Plan by US Secretary of State, Marshall, it stated the US would finance a massive European recovery program. It sent money to Western Europe and provided all foreign aid dollars must be spent in the US. The program caused inflation and created a greater gap between Eastern and Western Europe. It did however spur massive Western European industrial production and helped Europe with self-sustaining economic growth.
Berlin Airlift
Ordered by Truman in response to the Soviets cutting off Western land access to the jointly occupied city of Berlin. Truman sent food and supplies to Berlin by means of an airlift. Eventually the Soviets stopped the blockade and founded the German Democratic Republic (Eastern Germany).
Point Four Program
1949 - Under Truman it gave $35 million (not much) to improve food, health, and housing conditions in 3rd World countries that the US wanted to gain support from in the Cold War. Truman advocated it as an inexpensive way to thwart Communism.
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
Under Truman, it was founded by the US, Canada, and many Western European nations. It was a western security pact against the Soviets. Truman hoped NATO would prevent Western Europe from embracing neutrality or Communism during the Cold War.
NSC- 68
Top secret document from the National Security Council to Truman predicting continued tensions with the USSR. It called for an enlarged military budget and the mobilization of public opinion to support military increase.
Jiang Jieshi
Nationalist leader during China's civil war. He was backed by the US against Mao and the Communists. After WWII he became an unreliable US partner who rejected US advice. Although his government became weak and corrupt, Truman continued to back him as an alternative to Communist Mao.
Mao Zedong
Communist leader in China. American leaders were concerned that he was a puppet of the Soviet Union. Mao did favor the Soviets in the Cold War, but resented Stalin for not supporting the Chinese Communists during the Chinese Civil War.
People's Republic of China
Mao's Communist government of China, however the US (Truman) refused to recognize the new Chinese government. Mao's new government turned US concerns to other parts of Asia with concern that China would take over other Asian nations.
Korean War
1950 - When North Korea moved across the 38th parallel which divided Communist and Republic Korea. The North was backed by the Soviets and the South was backed by the US. The war began as a civil war with each side trying to reunite Korea under their own regimes. Truman blamed the Soviet's for North Korea's actions. Stalin reluctantly backed North Korea after the civil war began in order to prevent Mao's influence in Korea and in hopes of preventing US expansionist interests in South Korea. Stalin committed limited military power, causing Chinese and North Korean to resent the USSR for not giving more aid. No peace treaty was made, just an armistice.
General Douglas MacArthur
In Korea, MacArthur was head of the UN forces. He had previously commanded troops in Asia during WWII and the occupation of Japan after the war. At Inchon, Mao commanded troops that pushed back the North Koreans to the 38th parallel. By 1951, Washington was ready for peace negotiations, but MacArthur called for an attack on China to eliminate Communism in Asia. Truman then fired MacArthur.
Brinkmanship
Policy embraced by the US of not backing down in a crisis (Cold War), even if it meant going to (but not actually) the brink of war.
Domino Theory
Popularized by Eisenhower, it suggested that small, weak neighboring nations of Communist countries would fall to Communism like a row of dominos if they weren't supported by the US.
Plausible Deniability
Principle followed by heads of American intelligence agencies that covert operations should be conducted in such a way, and the decisions that launched them, were concealed so well that the president could deny any knowledge of it.
Sputnik and Space Race
Sputnik was the Soviet's satellite in space, which prompted feelings of vulnerability to air attacks in the US. This resulted in a space race between the USSR and the US. Also the USSR launched the world's first ICBM prompting a missile race too.
Eisenhower Doctrine
1957 - The US would intervene in the Middle East if any government threatened by Communist takeover asked for help. It was in response to Arab nationalism (Nasser) and Washington's worries that the USSR would take over there.
1954 Geneva Accords
Signed by France and Ho Chi Minh's Democratic Republic of Vietnam after a war between France and Vietnamese rebels. It temporarily divided Vietnam at the 17th parallel with Ho in the North and the French puppet government of Bao Dai in the South. The US refused to accept the accords and a CIA team secretly entered North Vietnam.
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