Unit 10: Cold War Topic 1

containment

the blocking of another nation's

attempts to spread its influence—especially the efforts of the

United States to block the spread of Soviet influence during the

late 1940s and early 1950s

deterrence

The development and maintenance of military strength as a means of discouraging attack

domino theory

the idea that if a nation

falls under communist control, nearby nations will also fall under

communist control

"Iron Curtain" speech

a phrase used by Winston Churchill in

1946 to describe an imaginary line that separated Communist

countries in the Soviet bloc of Eastern Europe from countries in

Western Europe

Truman Doctrine

a U.S. policy, announced

by President Harry S. Truman in 1947, of providing economic and

military aid to free nations threatened by internal or external

opponents.

Marshall Plan

the program, proposed by Secretary of

State George Marshall in 1947, under which the United States

supplied economic aid to European nations to help them rebuild

after World War II.

Berlin Airlift

a 327-day operation in which U.S.

and British planes flew food and supplies into West Berlin after

the Soviets blockaded the city in 1948

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

a defensive

military alliance formed in 1949 by ten Western European

countries, the United States, and Canada

Warsaw Pact

a military alliance formed in 1955 by

the Soviet Union and its Eastern European satellites

Chang Kai-shek

Nationalist Chinese leader who was defeated by Communist Chinese led by Mao Zedong in 1949

Mao Zedong

Communist Chinese leader who defeated the Chinese Nationalists led by Chang Kai-shek in 1949 and founded the People's Republic of China

Korean War

a conflict between North Korea and South

Korea, lasting from 1950 to 1953, in which the United States,

along with other UN countries, fought on the side of the South

Koreans and China fought on the side of the North Koreans.

38th parallel

Line that divided Korea - Soviet Union occupied the north and United States occupied the south, during the Cold War.

Suez Crisis

A major international incident that arose in 1956 from the decision by Gamal A. Nasser of Egypt to nationalize the Suez Canal, which long had been controlled by Great Britain.

Sputnik

First artificial Earth satellite, it was launched by Moscow in 1957 and sparked U.S. fears of Soviet dominance in technology and outer space

The Second Red Scare

A period during the Cold War where the American public was terrified of Communists and the spread of Communism. The Government screened all government employees to test their loyalty. Industries such as the media, Hollywood, universities and labor unions faced heightened scrutiny. Closely associated with Sen. Joseph McCarthy and McCarthyism.

House Un-American Activities Committee

a congressional committee that investigated

Communist influence inside and outside the U.S. government in

the years following World War II

Hollywood Ten

witnesses from the film industry who refused

to cooperate with the HUAC's investigation of Communist influence

in Hollywood

Taft-Hartley Act of 1947

Congressional legislation that aided the owners in potential labor disputes. This bill was passed over President Truman's veto; Truman only vetoed the bill for political reasons.

Fair Deal

President Harry S. Truman's economic program—an

extension of Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal—which included measures

to increase the minimum wage, to extend social security

coverage, and to provide housing for low-income families

McCarthyism

the attacks, often unsubstantiated,

by Senator Joseph McCarthy and others on people suspected

of being Communists in the early 1950s

military-industrial complex

A term often used to describe the economic and political ties between the military establishment and the defense-aerospace industry.

Eisenhower warned against the possible abuse of this relationship.

GI Bill

a name given to the Servicemen's

Readjustment Act, a 1944 law that provided financial and

educational benefits for World War II veterans

baby boomers

Generational cohort of people born after World War II, between 1946 and 1964.