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Cold War

Terms in this set (46)

United Nations
An international organization formed after WWII to promote international peace. This peace-keeping organization replaced the League of Nations. It corrected the weaknesses of the League of nations. In particular it had an army that it could use to settle problems and also major world powers such as the U.S. joined.
Cold War
A conflict between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. Both nations tried to gain influence in the world by using all possible methods short of total war. The nations never directly confronted each other on the battlefield but deadly threats went on for years. 1945-1991.
democracy
A government controlled by its citizens, either directly or through representatives.
communism
A political and economic system where the factors of production are collectively owned and directed by the government. People's rights and freedoms are restricted.
satellite nations
countries under the control of a larger country
containment
American cold war policy of preventing the spread of communism beyond its existing borders.
Truman Doctrine
Granting aid to countries threatened by communist takeover. This was part of Truman's promise of containment.
Marshall Plan
A United States program of economic aid (13 billion dollars) to rebuild Europe after WWII and to stop Soviet expansion. This was based on the belief that poverty in European nations would lead to the spread of communism.
NATO
1949; North Atlantic Treaty Organization. This alliance included nations with democratic governments such as the U.S., Canada, and Western European countries. This supported the goals of democratic governements.
Warsaw Pact
1955; This treaty formed an alliance of the Eastern European countries behind the "Iron Curtain" such as the USSR, Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, and Romania. This supported the goals of Communist governments.
Berlin Blockade
1948; Soviet response to U.S., Britain, and France uniting their occupied parts of Germany into West Germany. Prevented all travel and supplies from getting to West Berlin. Western Allies got around it with the Berlin Airlift.
Iron Curtain
Name referring to the invisible political line that divided democratic and communist nations in Europe.
superpower country
A country that has a leading position in the world and is capable of projecting significant military power anywhere in the world. No other country can match their military strength.
Berlin Airlift
1948; Organized by President Truman this supplied food and fuel to the citizens of West Berlin for almost a year when the Russians closed off and access to Berlin.
occupation zone
Zones with troops from another country there to manage it.
Nikita Khrushchev
Became leader of the Soviet Union in 1953. He ordered the building of the Berlin Wall in 1961.
Berlin Wall
1961; This was built to separate communist East Berlin from democratic West Berlin.
Chiang Kai-shek
General and leader of Chinese Nationalists in China. He became a military dictator whose major goal was to crush the Communist movement led by Mao Zedong.
Cuban Missile Crisis
1962; Crisis that arose between the U.S. and the Soviet Union over a Soviet attempt to deploy nuclear missiles in Cuba.
blockade
to close or cut off from supplies, trade, travel, etc.
Fidel Castro
Communist revolutionary in Cuba who gained power after overthrowing the dictatorship of Cuban Leader Batista in 1959. He made Cuba a Communist nation and accepted military aid from the Soviet Union as seen during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
John F. Kennedy
35th President of the United States. Events during his administration include the Cuban Missile Crisis, the building of the Berlin Wall, the Space Race, and the early events of the Vietnam War. He was assassinated in Dallas Texas in 1963.
Lyndon Johnson
36th President of the United States who escalated the commitment of U.S. forces in Vietnam in an effort to prevent a Communist takeover of South Vietnam.
Mao Zedong
Leader of the Communist Party in China that overthrew the nationalists. Established China as the People's Republic of China and ruled from 1949-1976.
Nuclear Arms Race
Cold War competition between the United States and Soviet Union to develop the most advanced nuclear weapons.
Space Race
Competition between the United States and Soviet Union over the control of space. The U.S. and Soviet Union invested billions of dollars in developing satellites, space stations, rockets, etc. This investment resulted in great scientific advances but also created friction as fears arose regarding attacks from outer space.
Sputnik
First Earth satellite sent into orbit. It was launched in Moscow by the Soviet Union and launched the space race - resulting in increased fears and competition between the nuclear nations of the United States and Soviet Union.
domino theory
A theory that if one nation comes under Communist control, then neighboring nations will also come under Communist control.
Ho Chi Minh
Vietnamese leader who first drove the French out of Vietnam. He was feared by the United States as a Communist who would spread Communism throughout Asia. He led the Vietminh. controlled North Vietnam with a Communist government, and was supported by both Communist China and the Soviet Union.
Geneva Accords
An agreement which divided Vietnam at the 17th parallel into Communist and non-Communist governments. Communist North Vietnam (led by Ho Chi Minh) and an American-backed government in South Vietnam. It required elections to unite North and South Vietnam, which South Vietnam refused to participate in.
North Korea
In the years following the Korean War, this country has been considered a "trouble spot" due to its totalitarian government, its past ties with terrorists, and its knowledge of how to build nuclear weapons.
Harry S. Truman
33rd President of the U.S. Saw the end of WWII with the dropping of the two atomic bombs on Japan. He also established the Truman Doctrine for foreign policy, which sought to limit the spread of communism.
Joseph Stalin
Russian leader of the Soviet Union who was the head of the Communist Party and created a totalitarian state by purging all opposition (1879-1953).
General Douglas MacArthur
Led UN troops in the Korean War. He was fired by President Truman after expressing a desire to use atomic bombs to end the Korean War.
38th parallel
Division between North and South Korea. The 2 countries are still divided by this today.
Ronald Reagan
40th President of the US. "The Great Communicator; Met with Gorbachev and signed a nuclear arms reduction treaty in 1987. Was President as Cold War escalated and then ended.
Strategic Defense Initiative
Announced in 1983 by President Reagan. Popularly known as "star wars". This was a program to create defenses able to stop nuclear missiles from reaching the U.S. It resulted in the Soviet Union increasing their military spending (leading them to more economic problems).
Perestroika
"Restructuring"; A policy initiated by Mikhail Gorbachev that involved restructuring of the society and the economy of the Soviet Union. Began shift of the Soviet Union from a communist economy towards a capitalist economy.
Glasnost
"Openness"; Policy of Mikhail Gorbachev which called for openness and transparency in the government. It allowed for the media to criticize the government of the Soviet Union and made made the problems of the USSR public knowledge.
Mikhail Gorbachev
Soviet leader who initiated policies such as glasnost and perestroika. His major reforms ushered in the end of the Cold War.
Mutually-Assured Destruction
The idea that the buildup of nuclear arms would not result in a "hot war" because if nuclear missiles were deployed, both sides would be destroyed. This idea prevented the U.S. and Soviet Union from ever formally going to war.
Capitalism
economic system of the United States. This economic system is based on free enterprise.
Yalta Conference
Meeting of the Big Three before the end of WWII to decide what to do after WWII. U.S. and Great Britain wanted self-rule and democratic elections for formerly Axis controlled lands while the USSR wanted them to create communist-socialist systems. They also decide to divide Germany into 4 occupation zones.
Big Three
U.S. (Franklin D. Roosevelt), Great Britain (Winston Churchill), and the Soviet Union (Joseph Stalin)
Chinese Civil War
Conflict within China between Chinese nationalists (led by Chang Kai-Shek) and Chinese Communists (led by Mao Zedong). The Communists won and were aided by the Soviet Union.
Democratization
Process of creating governments chosen by the people. This happened throughout Eastern Europe as the Soviet Union collapsed.
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