USW FINAL

Containment

US policy to stop the spread of communism during the Cold War

Domino Theory

Idea that if one country became communist nearby countries would also fall to communism

Detente

Easing of tensions between the US and Soviet Union during the Cold War

Proxy War

A conflict where larger powers support opposing sides instead of fighting directly

Partition

Division of a country into separate parts or nations

Segregation

Separation of people based on race

McCarthyism

Fear-driven accusations of communism in the US led by Joseph McCarthy

Partition of India and Pakistan

British India split in 1947 into Hindu-majority India and Muslim-majority Pakistan

NATO

Military alliance of Western democratic countries formed during the Cold War

Iron Curtain

Term used by Winston Churchill describing the division between communist Eastern Europe and democratic Western Europe

Berlin Wall

Wall built in 1961 dividing East and West Berlin to stop movement from East to West

Korean War

1950-1953 conflict between communist North Korea and democratic South Korea involving the US and China

Cuban Missile Crisis

1962 standoff between the US and Soviet Union over Soviet missiles in Cuba

Civil Rights Movement

Movement fighting racial segregation and discrimination in the US

Brown v. Board of Education

1954 Supreme Court case that ended legal school segregation

Civil Rights Act of 1964

Law banning discrimination based on race

Vietnam War

Conflict where communist North Vietnam fought South Vietnam and the US intervened to stop communism

Ho Chi Minh

Leader of North Vietnam who wanted independence and supported communism

Pentagon Papers

Leaked documents revealing the US government misled the public about the Vietnam War

Agent Orange

Chemical defoliant used by the US in Vietnam that caused health and environmental damage

Iran

Middle Eastern country with a majority Persian population and Shia Muslim religion

1953 Iranian Coup

US and Britain helped overthrow Iran’s prime minister and restore the Shah

Iranian Revolution

1979 revolution that replaced the Shah with an Islamic government led by Ayatollah Khomeini

Iraq

Middle Eastern country with a majority Arab population and mainly Muslim religion

Gulf War

1991 war where the US-led coalition forced Iraq out of Kuwait

2003 Iraq Invasion

US-led invasion to remove Saddam Hussein from power

War on Terror

US campaign against terrorism after the 9/11 attacks

9/11

Terrorist attacks on September 11 2001 by Al Qaeda against the United States

Al Qaeda

Islamist terrorist organization led by Osama bin Laden responsible for 9/11

ISIS

Extremist terrorist group that controlled territory in Iraq and Syria

Hamas

Palestinian Islamist political and militant group

Hezbollah

Shia Muslim militant and political group based in Lebanon

Geopolitics

How countries use power resources and ideology to influence relationships and decisions

Interventionism

Foreign policy where a country becomes actively involved in other nations’ affairs

Isolationism

Foreign policy avoiding involvement in foreign conflicts

Cold War

Period of tension and competition between the US and Soviet Union without direct war

Coup

A sudden overthrow of a government

Winston Churchill

British Prime Minister who warned about the Iron Curtain after WWII

Fidel Castro

Communist leader of Cuba after the Cuban Revolution

Ayatollah Khomeini

Religious leader who led the Iranian Revolution

JFK

US president during the Cuban Missile Crisis

Jimmy Carter

US president during the Iran hostage crisis

George W. Bush

US president during 9/11 and the Iraq and Afghanistan wars

Ronald Reagan

US president known for anti-communist Cold War policies

Osama bin Laden

Leader of Al Qaeda and organizer of the 9/11 attacks

Saddam Hussein

Leader of Iraq removed during the 2003 US invasion

Afghanistan

Country invaded by the US after 9/11 because the Taliban sheltered Al Qaeda

Taliban

Islamist group that controlled Afghanistan and sheltered Al Qaeda

Invasion of Ukraine

Russian military invasion of Ukraine beginning in 2022

Declension

Idea that periods of progress are often followed by decline in US histor