AP World History Vocabulary - Unit 8

Flashcards for key vocabulary terms associated with Unit 8 of AP World History focusing on the Cold War and decolonization.

Big Three

Leaders of the United States (Franklin D. Roosevelt and later Harry S. Truman), the United Kingdom (Winston Churchill), and the Soviet Union (Joseph Stalin) during World War II who planned postwar peace.

Cold War

A period of tension and competition between the United States and the Soviet Union without direct fighting, marked by ideological conflict and political rivalry.

Hydrogen bomb

A much more powerful nuclear weapon than the atomic bomb, developed primarily by the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

United Nations

An organization formed in 1945 to promote international cooperation and maintain world peace, with key founders including Franklin D. Roosevelt and Eleanor Roosevelt.

Iron Curtain

An imaginary division between the communist nations of Eastern Europe and the capitalist countries of Western Europe, famously described by Winston Churchill.

Containment

The U.S. policy devised by policymakers like George Kennan to stop the expansion of communism around the world during the Cold War.

Proxy war

An indirect war in which large powers, such as the United States and the Soviet Union, support rival factions in another country's conflict.

Berlin Wall

A barrier that divided communist East Berlin and capitalist West Berlin, erected in 1961 and a significant symbol of the Cold War.

Vietnam War

A conflict in which the United States fought to prevent the spread of communism in South Vietnam, involving key figures like President Lyndon B. Johnson.

Cultural Revolution

A campaign launched by Mao Zedong in China aimed at reinforcing communist ideology and eradicating capitalist elements in society.

Suez Crisis

A conflict beginning in 1956 when Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal, leading to military intervention by France, the UK, and Israel.

Muslim League

A political group that played a crucial role in the creation of Pakistan, particularly led by Muhammad Ali Jinnah.

Khmer Rouge

The violent communist regime led by Pol Pot in Cambodia from 1975 to 1979, responsible for mass atrocities.

Indira Gandhi

The Prime Minister of India known for her leadership during critical Cold War tensions and domestic issues, including the Emergency period.

Prague Spring

A brief period of political liberalization in Czechoslovakia in 1968, led by Alexander Dubček, that was suppressed by the Soviet Union.

Martin Luther King Jr.

An influential U.S. civil rights leader who advocated for nonviolent protest and played a key role in the fight against racial discrimination.

Mikhail Gorbachev

The last General Secretary of the Communist Party in the Soviet Union who introduced significant reforms, influencing the end of the Cold War.

Glasnost

A policy introduced by Mikhail Gorbachev that promoted increased openness and freedom of information in the Soviet Union.