Unit 8: Period 8: 1945–1980

Cold War

Long-term geopolitical rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union after WWII, fought mainly through alliances, aid, propaganda, espionage, covert action, and proxy wars rather than direct U.S.–USSR combat (partly due to nuclear risk).

Containment

Core U.S. strategy to prevent the spread of Soviet influence and communism, generally aiming to stop expansion rather than “roll back” communism where it already existed.

Truman Doctrine (1947)

U.S. pledge to support nations resisting communism, initially focused on providing political and economic support to Greece and Turkey.

Marshall Plan / European Recovery Program (1948)

U.S. program that sent about $12 billion in aid to rebuild Western Europe’s economies, using prosperity and stability as an anti-communist tool.

Berlin Blockade (1948)

Soviet attempt to cut off ground access to West Berlin after Western allies merged zones and moved toward integrating them into the Western economy.

Berlin Airlift (1948–1949)

U.S.-led effort to supply West Berlin by air with food and fuel during the Berlin Blockade until the USSR abandoned the blockade.

NATO (1949)

U.S., Canada, and Western European collective security alliance promising that an attack on one member is an attack on all; a major shift toward peacetime alliances for the U.S.

National Security Act of 1947

Law that reorganized the U.S. military and created key Cold War institutions including the Department of Defense, National Security Council, and CIA.

Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)

U.S. intelligence agency created in 1947 that became a major tool for espionage and covert operations during the Cold War.

Military-industrial complex

Term highlighted by Eisenhower for the close relationship among the military, defense contractors, and politicians that could encourage high military spending and intervention.

NSC-68 (1950)

Policy document calling for a major buildup of U.S. conventional and nuclear forces in response to perceived Soviet threats.

Korean War (1950–1953)

Proxy war that militarized containment after North Korea invaded South Korea; ended in an armistice that left Korea divided.

38th parallel

Line dividing Korea after WWII into a Soviet-influenced North and a U.S.-influenced South; the war largely ended near this border.

MacArthur controversy

Conflict in which Gen. Douglas MacArthur urged widening the Korean War against China; Truman refused and fired MacArthur for insubordination, reinforcing civilian control of the military.

Fair Deal

Truman’s postwar domestic agenda extending New Deal-style reforms in a more conservative political climate (often linked to veteran reintegration efforts such as the GI Bill).

Taft–Hartley Act (1947)

Republican-backed law restricting labor rights and increasing government power to intervene in strikes; reflected rising postwar conservatism and antiunionism.

President’s Committee on Civil Rights

Truman-appointed committee that advocated stronger federal civil rights actions, including measures against segregation, poll taxes, and lynching.

Desegregation of the armed forces

Truman-era executive action ending segregation in the U.S. military, advancing civil rights but provoking major southern backlash.

Election of 1948

Truman’s upset victory over Thomas Dewey, aided by campaigning against the Republican “do-nothing” 80th Congress and rebuilding a Democratic coalition.

Second Red Scare

Post-WWII surge of anti-communist fear marked by investigations, loyalty programs, blacklists, and accusations that often went beyond available evidence.

Federal loyalty program (1947)

Truman program screening government employees for “security risks,” leading to mass investigations and dismissals sometimes without full hearings.

House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC)

Congressional committee that investigated alleged communist influence in government and culture, contributing to fear, public hearings, and blacklisting.

Hollywood blacklist

Industry practice (often under political pressure) of denying employment to suspected communists or alleged sympathizers, restricting speech without requiring criminal convictions.

Alger Hiss case

High-profile Cold War case in which a former State Department official was accused of espionage but convicted of perjury; fueled claims of communist penetration of elites.

Rosenberg case

Case in which Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were convicted of conspiracy to commit espionage involving atomic secrets and executed in 1953, intensifying Cold War fears and controversy.

McCarthyism

Era of anti-communist accusations led by Sen. Joseph McCarthy, who used claims and innuendo to attack alleged communists and ruin careers.

Army–McCarthy hearings

Televised hearings sparked by McCarthy’s accusations against the U.S. Army; helped turn public opinion against McCarthy and contributed to his downfall.

GI Bill (Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944)

Program supporting veterans through benefits such as education and homeownership assistance, contributing to postwar prosperity and suburban growth.

Suburbanization

Rapid postwar growth of suburbs enabled by highways, federal housing/lending policies, and mass homebuilding; expanded middle-class homeownership but often deepened segregation.

Redlining

Discriminatory lending and housing practice that labeled minority neighborhoods as risky for mortgages, restricting access to homeownership and reinforcing residential segregation.

Baby boom

Postwar surge in birthrates that expanded demand for suburban housing, schools, and consumer goods and shaped 1950s social expectations.

Sunbelt

Growing region in the South and Southwest that attracted people and jobs (including defense/aerospace), shifting political power and aiding later conservative strength.

Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

Supreme Court decision declaring segregated public schools unconstitutional (“separate educational facilities are inherently unequal”), overturning Plessy’s logic in education but facing resistance.

Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955–1956)

Mass protest sparked by Rosa Parks’ arrest that demonstrated the power of coordinated economic action and elevated Martin Luther King Jr.

Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC)

Civil rights organization associated with Martin Luther King Jr. that promoted nonviolent direct action such as boycotts and sit-ins.

Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC)

Student-led civil rights organization emerging from sit-ins that organized grassroots activism and later moved toward Black Power approaches.

Congress of Racial Equality (CORE)

Civil rights organization that used direct action and helped organize the Freedom Riders to challenge segregation in interstate travel.

Freedom Riders (1961)

Activists organized (notably by CORE) to test and enforce desegregation of interstate transportation; violent reactions drew national attention.

Civil Rights Act of 1964

Law banning segregation in public accommodations and employment discrimination (race, color, religion, sex, national origin) and creating the EEOC to enforce job provisions.

Voting Rights Act of 1965

Law targeting barriers like literacy tests and empowering federal oversight in areas with histories of discrimination, dramatically strengthening Black voting rights.

New Look

Eisenhower’s Cold War strategy emphasizing nuclear deterrence and the threat of massive retaliation to contain communism while controlling costs.

Brinkmanship

Cold War tactic of pushing confrontations to the edge of war to force concessions, relying on an opponent’s fear of escalation.

Cuban Missile Crisis (1962)

Closest U.S.–USSR nuclear confrontation; Kennedy ordered a naval quarantine and demanded missile removal, ending in compromise including secret removal of U.S. missiles from Turkey.

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution (1964)

Congressional measure giving President Johnson broad authority to escalate U.S. involvement in Vietnam after disputed reports of attacks on U.S. ships.

Operation Rolling Thunder

Sustained U.S. bombing campaign against North Vietnam beginning in 1965, part of the broader escalation and “Americanization” of the war.

Tet Offensive (January 1968)

Major coordinated North Vietnamese and Viet Cong attacks; not a clear U.S. military defeat but a major political/psychological turning point that undermined official optimism.

Great Society

Johnson’s ambitious domestic reform agenda aimed at reducing poverty and racial injustice through expanded federal programs and civil rights enforcement.

Stagflation

1970s economic condition combining inflation with slow growth/unemployment, made worse by factors including oil shocks and contributing to political and policy turmoil.

Watergate scandal

Political espionage and cover-up stemming from the 1972 DNC break-in that exposed abuse of power and led to Nixon’s resignation in August 1974.

Détente

1970s policy of easing Cold War tensions, including improved relations with China and arms-limitation efforts (e.g., SALT I), without ending the underlying rivalry.