APUSH unit 8 vocab

Soviet Union

Communist superpower and rival of the United States during the Cold War.

Security Council

A major agency within the United Nations which remains in permanent session and has the responsibility of maintaining international peace and security.

Satellite States

Eastern European countries under Soviet control after WWII.

Iron Curtain

Term coined by Winston Churchill to describe the cold war divide between western Europe and the Soviet Union's Eastern European satellites.

George F. Kennan

While working as an American diplomat, he devised the strategy of containment, which called for the halting of Soviet expansion.

Containment Policy

U.S. strategy in the cold war that called for containing Soviet expansion; originally devised in 1947 by U.S. diplomat George F. Kennan.

Truman Doctrine

President Harry S. Truman's program of post-Second World War aid to European countries—particularly Greece and Turkey—in danger of being undermined by communism.

George C. Marshall

As the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, he orchestrated the Allied victories over Germany and Japan in the Second World War.

Marshall Plan

U.S. program for the reconstruction of post-Second World War Europe through massive aid to former enemy nations as well as allies; proposed by General George C. Marshall in 1947.

Berlin Airlift

U.S. and Allies flew supplies into West Berlin during a Soviet blockade (1948-49).

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

Defensive alliance founded in 1949 by ten western European nations, the United States, and Canada to deter Soviet expansion in Europe.

Warsaw Pact

Soviet-led military alliance of Eastern European communist states.

National Security Act

1947 law restructuring the military and creating the CIA and National Security Council.

Douglas MacArthur (Japan)

During World War II, he and Admiral Chester Nimitz dislodged the Japanese military from the Pacific Islands they had occupied.

Mao Zedong

Leader of Chinese Communist Revolution and founder of the People's Republic of China.

Korean War

After a Communist government came to power in China in 1949, Korea became a "hot spot."

38th Parallel

Dividing line between North and South Korea.

Stalemate

Outcome of the Korean War; neither side achieved victory.

Brinkmanship

Cold War policy of pushing conflicts to the edge of war to intimidate the enemy.

Spirit of Geneva

1955 meeting easing Cold War tensions; symbolized hope for peace.

Nikita Khrushchev

Soviet leader after Stalin; involved in Cuban Missile Crisis and de-Stalinization.

Sputnik

First artificial satellite launched by the USSR in 1957; started the space race.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

U.S. agency created in 1958 to lead space exploration.

U-2 Incident

1960 U.S. spy plane shot down over USSR, increasing Cold War tensions.

Cuba

Island nation that became communist under Fidel Castro.

Fidel Castro

In 1959, his Communist regime came to power in Cuba after two years of guerrilla warfare against the dictator Fulgenico Batista.

Military-industrial complex

Term coined by Eisenhower warning against close ties between military and defense industry.

Berlin Wall

Barrier built in 1961 by East Germany to prevent citizens from fleeing to the West.

Bay of Pigs

Failed 1961 U.S.-backed invasion of Cuba by anti-Castro exiles.

Cuban Missile Crisis

1962 confrontation over Soviet missiles in Cuba; nearly led to nuclear war.

Nuclear Test Ban Treaty

1963 agreement to prohibit above-ground nuclear testing.

John F. Kennedy

U.S. President (1961-63) who navigated Cold War crises and promoted civil rights.

Lyndon B. Johnson

U.S. President who expanded civil rights and escalated the Vietnam War.

Non-Proliferation Treaty

1968 agreement to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons.

Henry Kissinger

U.S. diplomat who led détente and negotiated during the Vietnam War.

Détente

1970s policy to ease Cold War tensions between the U.S. and USSR.

Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT I)

1972 agreement to limit nuclear weapons.

Soviet-Afghan War

1979-89 conflict; USSR tried to prop up a communist Afghan government, met U.S.-backed resistance.

McCarran Internal Security Act

1950 law requiring communist organizations to register with the government.

House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC)

Congressional group investigating suspected communists.

Alger Hiss

Government official accused of being a Soviet spy; convicted of perjury.

Julius Rosenberg

U.S. citizen executed for passing atomic secrets to the USSR.

Joseph R. McCarthy

Senator who led anti-communist witch hunts in the 1950s.

McCarthyism

Practice of making accusations of communism without evidence.

Second Red Scare

Widespread fear of communist influence in the U.S. during the Cold War.

Servicemen's Readjustment Act (or GI Bill of Rights)

Gave WWII vets education and housing benefits.

Baby Boom

Post-WWII population surge from mid-1940s to early 1960s.

Levittown

Suburban housing development symbolizing postwar suburban growth.

Sun Belt

Southern and western U.S. states that saw population and economic growth after WWII.

22nd Amendment

Limits presidents to two terms in office.

Fair Deal

Truman's domestic program aimed at expanding New Deal reforms.

Dwight D. Eisenhower

President (1953-1961); promoted interstate highways and warned of military-industrial complex.

Interstate Highway Act

Funded the building of a national highway system for defense and travel.

New Frontier

JFK's domestic program focused on science, education, and civil rights.

Great Society

LBJ's programs to end poverty and racial injustice.

New Federalism

Nixon's plan to shift power and resources from federal to state governments.

Richard Nixon

President known for détente, Watergate scandal, and Vietnamization.

Stagflation

Economic condition of high inflation and unemployment during the 1970s.

Rock and roll

Popular music genre that became a symbol of youth rebellion.

Beatniks

1950s counterculture group rejecting materialism and promoting artistic freedom.

Kennedy Assassination

JFK was killed in 1963 in Dallas, shocking the nation.

Warren Commission

Group that investigated JFK's assassination; concluded Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone.

Committee on Civil Rights

Truman's group that recommended civil rights reforms.

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)

Civil rights organization fighting segregation through courts.

Jackie Robinson

Broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball in 1947.

Brown v. Board of Education

1954 case that declared school segregation unconstitutional.

Thurgood Marshall

NAACP lawyer in Brown case; later first Black Supreme Court Justice.

Earl Warren

Chief Justice whose court expanded civil rights and liberties.

Desegregation

Ending racial segregation in public institutions.

Little Rock Nine

Black students who integrated a white high school in Arkansas in 1957.

Rosa Parks

Civil rights activist who sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

Montgomery Bus Boycott

Protest against bus segregation led by Black community in 1955-56.

Emmitt Till

Black teen murdered in Mississippi; his death galvanized the civil rights movement.

Martin Luther King Jr.

Civil rights leader who promoted nonviolent protest.

Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC)

Civil rights group founded by MLK to coordinate protests.

Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC)

Student-led civil rights group promoting grassroots activism.

Covert action

Secret operations by the CIA to influence foreign governments.

Suez Canal

Vital waterway in Egypt; site of 1956 crisis involving Britain, France, Israel, and Egypt.

Eisenhower Doctrine

U.S. pledged to defend the Middle East from communist threats.

Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)

Oil-producing nations that control oil prices.

Yom Kippur War

1973 war between Israel and Arab nations; led to U.S. involvement and oil embargo.

Oil Embargo

OPEC cut off oil to the U.S. in 1973, causing energy crisis.

Camp David Accords

1978 peace agreement between Egypt and Israel brokered by President Carter.

Iran Hostage Crisis

1979 seizure of U.S. embassy in Tehran; 52 Americans held for 444 days.

The Peace Corps

Volunteer program created by JFK to help developing countries.

Panama Canal

U.S.-controlled canal in Central America; handed back to Panama in 1999.

Vietnam War

Conflict between communist North Vietnam and U.S.-backed South Vietnam (1955-75).

Domino theory

Belief that if one country fell to communism, others nearby would follow.

Tonkin Gulf Resolution

Gave LBJ power to escalate U.S. involvement in Vietnam.

Credibility gap

Public skepticism about the truthfulness of government statements on Vietnam.

Hawks vs Doves

Hawks supported the war; doves opposed it.

Tet Offensive

1968 surprise attack by North Vietnam; turned U.S. opinion against the war.

Vietnamization

Nixon's plan to withdraw U.S. troops and train South Vietnamese forces.

Kent State Massacre

National Guard shot anti-war protesters in 1970.

My Lai Massacre

Mass killing of Vietnamese civilians by U.S. troops.

Pentagon Papers

Secret documents showing government deception about the Vietnam War.

Paris Accords

1973 peace agreement that led to U.S. withdrawal from Vietnam.

War Powers Act

Law limiting the president's ability to send troops without congressional approval.

Fall of Saigon

1975 capture of South Vietnam's capital by communists, ending the war.

Ho Chi Minh

Communist leader of North Vietnam.