american

Potsdam Conference

A 1945 meeting between Truman, Atlee, and Stalin to divide Germany into four zones of occupation.

Cold War

A state of indirect conflict between the U.S. and the Soviet Union lasting over 40 years.

GATT

General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, aimed at expanding trade by reducing tariffs.

NATO

North Atlantic Treaty Organization, a military alliance formed to counter Communist expansion.

The Truman Doctrine

U.S. pledged support for free people resisting communism, offering $400 million in aid to Greece and Turkey.

Containment

The policy to prevent the expansion of communism as articulated by diplomat George Kennan.

The Marshall Plan

A recovery plan that provided $13 billion in aid to Western European nations after WWII.

The Geneva Convention

An international agreement governing the humane treatment of wounded soldiers and prisoners of war.

McCarthyism

The practice of making accusations of subversion or treason without proper regard for evidence.

The Suez Crisis

A 1956 event where Egypt's control of the Suez Canal led to military intervention by Israel, France, and Great Britain.

Brinkmanship

The strategy of pushing a dangerous situation to the edge of disaster to achieve an advantageous outcome.

Mutually Assured Destruction

The doctrine that a nuclear attack from one superpower would result in a devastating retaliatory strike.

Iron Curtain

A term used to describe the division between the capitalist West and communist East during the Cold War.

Underlying Causes of the Red Scare

Fear that Communist sympathizers were undermining the American way of life during the Cold War.

HUAC (House Un-American Activities Committee)

A committee in the House of Representatives tasked with investigating alleged disloyalty and subversive activities.

The Hollywood Ten

A group of filmmakers who refused to testify before HUAC and were subsequently blacklisted.