HSC History revision of events (Cold War)

Berlin Blockade

The blockade was a Soviet attempt to starve out the allies in Berlin in order to gain supremacy. The blockade was a high point in the Cold War, and it led to the Berlin Airlift.

Korean War

The conflict between Communist North Korea and Non-Communist South Korea. The United Nations (led by the United States) helped South Korea.

Berlin Blockade date

June 1948 - May 1949

Korean War dates

June 25, 1950 - July 27, 1953

Tehran Conference

First major meeting between the Big Three (United States, Britain, Russia) at which they planned the 1944 assault on France and agreed to divide Germany into zones of occupation after the war

Tehran Conference date

November 1943

Yalta Conference

1945 Meeting with US president FDR, British Prime Minister(PM) Winston Churchill, and and Soviet Leader Stalin during WWII to plan for post-war

Yalta Conference date

February 1945

Potsdam Conference

The final wartime meeting of the leaders of the United States, Britain, and the Soviet Union was held at Potsdamn, outside Berlin, in July, 1945. Truman, Churchill, and Stalin discussed the future of Europe but their failure to reach meaningful agreements soon led to the onset of the Cold War.

Potsdam Conference date

17 July - 2 August 1945

Communism

A theory or system of social organization based on the holding of all property in common, actual ownership being ascribed to the community as a whole or to the state.

Socialism

A system in which society, usually in the form of the government, owns and controls the means of production.

Capitalism

an economic and political system in which a country's trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit, rather than by the state.

Cold War

A conflict that was between the US and the Soviet Union. The nations never directly confronted each other on the battlefield but deadly threats went on for years.

Democracy

A political system in which the supreme power lies in a body of citizens who can elect people to represent them

hot spot

A confrontation between communist and democratic states during the Cold War

Nationalism

A strong feeling of pride in and devotion to one's country

General MacArthur

Commander of the UN forces at the beginning of the Korean War, however President Harry Truman removed him from his command after MacArthur expressed a desire to bomb Chinese bases in Manchuria.

Truman

Elected Vice president in 1944; 33rd President, after FDR's death; led the U.S. through the end of World War II and beginning of the Cold War

Truman leadership date

1945-1953

Mao Zedong

(1893-1976) Leader of the Communist Party in China that overthrew Jiang Jieshi and the Nationalists. Established China as the People's Republic of China and ruled from 1949 until 1976.

Mao Zedong leadership dates

1946-1979

President Eisenhower

US President who sent military advisors to Vietnam and decided that the "Domino Theory" would be America's philosophy and reason for entering the Vietnam War

Eisenhower leadership date

1953-1961

JFK

35th President of the United States, didn't believe in segregation;

JFK leadership dates

1961-63

Stalin

Russian leader who succeeded Lenin as head of the Communist Party and created a totalitarian state by purging all opposition (1879-1953)

Stalin leadership dates

1924-53

Khruschev

leader after Stain, de-Stalinized Russia; authorized Berlin Wall creation

Kruschev leadership dates

1953-67

Truman Doctrine/Containment

A policy that mobilises forces and funds to halt the expansion of Communism

Iron Curtain

A political barrier that isolated the peoples of Eastern Europe after WWII, restricting their ability to travel outside the region

Marshall Plan

A United States program of economic aid for the reconstruction of Europe (1948-1952)

President Roosevelt

32nd President of the United States

President Roosevelt leadership date

1933-45

NATO

North Atlantic Treaty Organization; an alliance made to defend one another if they were attacked by any other country; US, England, France, Canada, Western European countries

Warsaw Pact

An alliance between the Soviet Union and other Eastern European nations. This was in response to the NATO

United Nations

An international organization formed after WWII to promote international peace, security, and cooperation.

Winston Churchill

A noted British statesman who led Britain throughout most of World War II and along with Roosevelt planned many allied campaigns. He predicted an iron curtain that would separate Communist Europe from the rest of the West.

Margret Thatcher

First female Prime Minister. First Prime Minister to win three general elections in a row since 1832. "Death of Socialism" Privatization, and gained more support from small business.

Thatcher leadership dates

1979-90

Potsdam Protocols

21 agreements between the Big Three made at the Potsdam Conference

Superpower status

This is when a country of power has both large economic and/or political influence and has a nuclear capacity (e.g US & USSR in the Cold War)

West Berlin

The part of the capital city of Berlin that was under control of the Americans, Brits and French after World War II.

East Berlin

The part of the capital city of Berlin that was under control of the Soviet Union World War II.

Berlin Wall

A wall separating East and West Berlin built by East Germany in 1961 to keep citizens from escaping to the West

Airlift

a system of transporting food and supplies by aircraft into an area otherwise impossible to reach

Communist China

Mao Zedong took control of China making the two largest nations in the world under communist control

Communist China date

21/9/1949

Kim Il Sung

Communist leader of North Korea; his attack on South Korea in 1950 started the Korean War. He remained in power until 1994.

Pyongyang

Capital of North Korea

Seoul

Capital of South Korea

Dr. Syngman Rhee

Leader of South Korea during the Korean War

Inchon Landing

The landing of UN troops, by General Douglas MacArthur, behind enemy lines at Inchon in Korea. In order to push back the North Korean troops.

Inchon landing date

5 July 1950

Chinese main counter attack

25 November 1950, during the Korean War

Phases during the Korean War

There were 4 phases: Invasion, Counterattack, Chinese Advance, Stalemate

Korean citizens killed in the Korean War

2 million

Chinese killed in the Korean War

401,000- 3 million

North Korean Military deaths in the Korean War

215,000

US military deaths in the Korean War

55,000

South Korean military deaths in the Korean War

47,000

38th Parallel

Dividing line between North and South Korea

Vietnam War

A prolonged war (1954-1975) between the communist armies of North Vietnam who were supported by the Chinese and the non-communist armies of South Vietnam who were supported by the United States.

Ho Chi Minh

Vietnamese communist statesman who fought the Japanese in World War II and the French until 1954 and South vietnam until 1975 (1890-1969)

Ho Chi Minh Trail

A network of paths used by North Vietnam to transport supplies to the Vietcong in South Vietnam

McCarthyism

The term associated with Senator Joseph McCarthy who led the search for communists in America during the early 1950s through his leadership in the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC).

Malenkov

Stalin's immediate successor, but he was quickly replaced by Khrushchev.

Cuban Revolution

A political revolution that removed the United States supported Fugencio Batista from power. The revolution was led by Fidel Castro who became the new leader of Cuba as a communist dictator.

Cuban Revolution date

1959

Cuban Missile Crisis

The 1962 confrontation bewteen US and the Soviet Union over Soviet missiles in Cuba.

President Nasser

the Egyptian president who took over the Suez canal in 1956 and would not allow Israel to use it.

De-Stalinisation

social process of neutralising the influence of Joseph Stalin by revising his policies and removing monuments dedicated to him and renaming places named in his honour

Sputnik 1

First artificial Earth satellite, it was launched by Moscow in 1957 and sparked U.S. fears of Soviet dominance in technology and outer space. It led to the creation of NASA and the space race.

NASA

an independent agency of the United States government responsible for aviation and spaceflight

Explorer 1

First satellite by the United States, launched in 1958

Suez Canal

A ship canal in northeastern Egypt linking the Red Sea with the Mediterranean Sea

Aswan Dam Project

The US originally was building a dam for Egypt, but when Egypt turned to USSR for loans, the US pulls away its offer, humiliating Egypt

Kitchen Debate

Debate between Nixon and Khrushechev. The two men discussed the merits of each of their respective economic systems, capitalism and communism.

Fidel Castro

Cuban socialist leader who overthrew a dictator in 1959 and established a Marxist socialist state in Cuba

Sino-Soviet Split

Tensions between the USSR and China that rocked the communist world

Sino-Soviet Split date

1960

Yuri Gagarin

Soviet cosmonaut who in 1961 was the first person to travel in space

Bay of Pigs Invasion

1961 failed invasion of Cuba by a CIA-led force of 1,200 Cuban exiles

Red Phone

A hotline initially installed during the Cuban Missile Crisis so that world leaders could have immediate contact in the instance of an emergency.

trade embargo

a policy prohibiting trade with a particular country

LBJ

36th President of the United States

LBJ leadership dates

1963-69

Leonid Brezhnev

Soviet Dictator who brought an end to the Dethawing of the Cold War, instituted his doctrine of intervention in Eastern Europe; invaded Afghanistan in 1979

Brezhnev leadership dates

1964-82

Brezhnev Doctrine

The USSR version of the domino theory, the belief that if one Communist Nation becomes capitalist, then more will follow

Domino Theory

A theory that if one nation comes under Communist control, then neighboring nations will also come under Communist control.

Alexander Dubcek

Leader of Czechoslovakia who introduced liberal reforms and was ousted by the Soviets during the Czechoslovakia Crisis

Solidarity

Polish trade union created in 1980 to protest working conditions and political repression. It began the nationalist opposition to communist rule that led in 1989 to the fall of communism in eastern Europe.

KGB

Soviet secret police agency charged with domestic and foreign intelligence

Nationalisation

The sale of private sector businesses to the government. The sale may be voluntary, forced, coerced or the assets simply expropriated

Non-alignment

political independence from Cold War superpowers, movement led by India

Third World

Term applied to a group of "developing" or "underdeveloped" countries who professed nonalignment during the Cold War.

Ideology

a system of ideas and ideals, especially one that forms the basis of economic or political theory and policy.

20th Party Congress speech

A speech by Khrushchev where he took a startling initiative against hard-liners by denouncing Stalin's crimes in a closed session