cold war betch

Cold War

A period of geopolitical tension between the US and USSR (1947–1991) characterized by proxy wars and ideological conflict rather than direct military combat.

Yalta Conference Decisions

1945 meeting where FDR Churchill and Stalin agreed to divide Germany into four zones and promised free elections in Eastern Europe (which Stalin later reneged on).

Berlin Airlift

The 1948 US response to the Soviet blockade of West Berlin; Truman ordered round-the-clock flights to deliver food and fuel to the city.

Marshall Plan

An economic recovery program that provided $13 billion in aid to rebuild Western Europe to prevent the spread of communism by stabilizing economies.

NATO

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization; a collective security alliance formed in 1949 between the US and Western European nations to deter Soviet aggression.

Containment

The core US foreign policy strategy during the Cold War aimed at stopping the expansion of communism rather than attempting to roll it back.

Truman Doctrine

1947 policy stating the US would provide military and economic aid to any country threatened by communism (specifically triggered by Greece and Turkey).

Korean War

The 1950–1953 conflict following North Korea's invasion of South Korea; ended in a stalemate at the 38th parallel and expanded the Cold War to Asia.

Warsaw Pact

A military alliance formed in 1955 by the Soviet Union and its Eastern European satellites in response to West Germany joining NATO.

George Kennan

The American diplomat and "Father of Containment" who authored the "Long Telegram" arguing that Soviet power was expansionist and must be checked.

McCarthyism

The practice of making public accusations of disloyalty or subversion without evidence; named after Senator Joseph McCarthy during the Second Red Scare.

The Fair Deal

President Truman's domestic agenda that proposed expanding Social Security raising the minimum wage and national health insurance (mostly blocked by Congress).

Eisenhower Doctrine

A 1957 policy declaring the US would use armed force to help any Middle Eastern nation threatened by communist aggression.

John Dulles

Eisenhower’s Secretary of State who advocated for a more aggressive "New Look" foreign policy and the "liberation" of captive peoples.

“Brinkmanship” & “Massive Retaliation”

Dulles’s strategy of being willing to go to the edge of war to force an opponent to back down and relying on nuclear weapons rather than conventional forces.

Sputnik

The first man-made satellite launched by the USSR in 1957; it sparked the Space Race and led to the creation of NASA and the National Defense Education Act.

The National Security Council

A White House advisory body created in 1947 to coordinate foreign policy and military strategy for the President.

NSC-68

A 1950 secret policy paper that called for a massive increase in US military spending and a globalized approach to containing communism.

HUAC

The House Un-American Activities Committee; a congressional committee that investigated suspected communist subversion in the US government and film industry.

Military Industrial Complex

The close relationship between the federal government the military and the defense industry; Eisenhower warned of its "unwarranted influence" in his farewell address.

1950s

A decade characterized by unprecedented economic prosperity the rise of the "affluent society" social conformity and the growth of the suburbs.

Causes of economic growth 1945-1960

Driven by high government spending (G.I. Bill/military) a consumer demand surge after WWII and the growth of the suburbs and automobile industry.

Levittown/Suburbs

Mass-produced housing developments that utilized assembly-line techniques; symbolized the post-war shift from cities to suburban living.

Federal Highway System

Created by the 1956 Interstate Highway Act; it transformed American travel commerce and suburbanization while being justified for national defense.

Television

The dominant medium of the 1950s that reinforced social norms commercialism and a shared national culture.

Rock N Roll

A genre of music that emerged in the 1950s blending R&B and country; it became a symbol of teenage rebellion and the "generation gap."

Elvis Presley

The "King of Rock N Roll" who popularized the genre and became a cultural icon of the youth movement in the 1950s.

Increased Birth Rate

Known as the "Baby Boom"; the surge in births between 1946 and 1964 that fueled economic growth and changed American demographics.

Brown v Board of Education & Plessy v Ferguson

The 1954 Supreme Court case that overturned the 1896 "separate but equal" doctrine ruling that de jure segregation in schools was unconstitutional.

Little Rock 9

The group of African American students who integrated Central High School in 1957; Eisenhower sent federal troops to protect them from white mobs.

Montgomery Bus Boycott

A 13-month protest sparked by Rosa Parks that led to a Supreme Court ruling outlawing segregation on public buses and rose MLK to prominence.

Jackie Robinson MLK Rosa Parks

Key figures of the early Civil Rights Movement who broke the color barrier in baseball (Robinson) led the SCLC (King) and initiated the bus boycott (Parks).

Keynesian Economics

The economic theory that government spending should be used to stimulate the economy and manage demand; adopted by most post-WWII US presidents.