APUSH - Chapter 34: Key Terms

Yalta Conference

Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin met in Yalta, Crimea. They met to discuss how to lay foundations for the postwar division of power in Europe. They agreed to divide Germany into four zones and to hold free elections in Eastern Europe. The conference was controversial because it allowed the Soviet Union to expand its influence in Eastern Europe.

Bretton Woods Conference

The meeting of Western Allies to establish a postwar international economic order to avoid crisis like the one that caused WWII. This led to the creation of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

United Nations

An international body formed in 1945 to bring nations together in hopes of preventing more world wars. The U.N. was realistic in recognizing the authority of the Big Five powers in keeping peace in the world. This allowed the Security Council of these powers to have veto power.

Nuremberg Trials

Highly publicized proceedings against former Nazi leaders for war crimes and crimes against humanity in postwar Germany. The trials led to several executions and long prison sentences.

Berlin Airlift

Year-long mission of flying food and supplies to blockaded West Berliners, whom the Soviet Union cut off from access to the West in the first major crisis of the Cold War.

Containment

America’s strategy against the Soviet Union based on ideas of George Kennan. This declared that the Soviet Union and communism had to be stopped from spreading through both military and political pressure. Containment guided American foreign policy throughout most of the Cold War.

Truman Doctrine

President Truman’s universal pledge of support for any people fighting any communist or communist-inspired threat. Truman presented the doctrine to Congress in 1947 in support of his request for $400 million to defend Greece and Turkey against Soviet-backed insurgencies.

Marshall Plan

Massive transfer of aid money to help rebuild postwar Western Europe with the purpose to bolster capitalist and democratic governments while also preventing communist groups. It also provided markets for American goods, created reliable trading partners, and supported the development of

NATO

Military alliance of Western European powers and the United States and Canada established in 1949. Its purpose was to defend against the common threat from the Soviet Union. This marked a giant stride forward for European unity and American internationalism.

NSC-68

NSC-68 was a top-secret policy paper created by the US National Security Council. It outlined a plan for the US to increase military spending and expand its global influence in response to the threat of Soviet expansionism. It was a key document in shaping US foreign policy during the Cold War.

House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC)

Investigatory body established in 1938 to root out “subversion.” Sought to expose communist influence in American government and society, specifically through many investigations and hearings, which led to its controversy.

McCarthyism

A period of intense anti-communist suspicion and persecution in the United States during the 1950s. It was named after Senator McCarthy, who led the charge against alleged communists in government, entertainment, and other fields. The movement was fueled by fears of Soviet infiltration and espionage, and it ruined the careers and reputations of many innocent people. It eventually lost momentum after McCarthy's tactics were exposed as unethical and unconstitutional.

Executive Order 9981

Order issued by President Truman to desegregate the armed forces. The president’s action resulted from a combination of pressure from civil rights advocates, election-year political calculations, and the new geopolitical context of the Cold War.

Taft-Hartley Act

The Taft-Hartley Act was passed by the US Congress in 1947. It amended the National Labor Relations Act and restricted the power of labor unions. It was passed due to concerns about strikes and union power.

Operation Dixie

Failed effort by the CIO after World War II to unionize southern workers, especially in textile factories. The campaign was largely unsuccessful due to opposition from employers, politicians, and the conservative culture of the South.

Employment Act of 1946

Legislation declaring that the government’s economic policy should aim to promote maximum employment, production, and purchasing power, as well as to keep inflation low. The act created the Council of Economic Advisers to provide the president with data and recommendations to make economic policy.

GI Bill

this law helped returning World War II soldiers reintegrate into civilian life by securing loans to buy homes and farms and set up small businesses, and also by making tuition available to attend college.The act was intended to cushion the blow of 15 million returning servicemen on the employment market and to help the postwar economy.

Fair Deal

The Fair Deal was a set of proposals put forth by President Harry Truman in 1949. It aimed to expand New Deal programs, increase minimum wage, provide national health insurance, and more. It was largely unsuccessful due to opposition from Congress and conservative groups.

Sunbelt

The fifteen-state crescent through the American South and Southwest that experienced terrific population and productivity expansion during World War II and particularly in the decades after the war, eclipsing the old industrial Northeast.

Levittown

Suburban communities with mass-produced tract houses built in the New York and Philadelphia metropolitan areas in the 1950s by William Levitt and Sons. Typically inhabited by white middle-class people who fled the cities in search of homes to buy for their growing families.

redlining

A discriminatory practice by banks and other institutions that denied or limited financial services to certain neighborhoods based on their racial and ethnic composition. It occurred from the 1930s to the 1960s, and was motivated by racism and a desire to maintain segregation. Redlining led to disinvestment, decay, and poverty in many minority communities, and contributed to the persistent racial wealth gap.

baby boom

Demographic explosion from births to returning soldiers and others who had put off starting families during the war. This large generation of new Americans forced the expansion of many institutions such as schools and universities.

Joseph Stalin

Soviet dictator who led the Soviet Union through World War II and shaped Soviet policies in the early years of the Cold War. Stalin secured protective "satellite states" in Eastern Europe at the Yalta Conference and pushed Soviet scientists to develop atomic weapons, leading to an arms race with the United States.

Jiang Jieshi

Leader of the Chinese Nationalists.  He was defeated by communist revolutionaries in 1949 and was forced to flee to the island of Taiwan. Here, with the support of the United States, he became president of the Republic of China.

Alger Hiss

A former U.S. State Department official and lawyer who was accused of being a Soviet spy and convicted of perjury during the Red Scare. The case against Hiss was based on the testimony of Whittaker Chambers, a former Communist Party member turned informant.

George F. Kennan

American diplomat who authored the "containment doctrine", arguing that the Soviet Union was inherently expansionist and had to be stopped, through political and military force, from spreading throughout the world.

Benjamin Spock

Pediatrician who authored the best-selling book "Baby and Child Care" in 1946, revolutionizing how children were raised and cared for in the US. He instructed parents on modern child-rearing, replacing traditional means of passing along such knowledge.