Unit 10: Cold War Topic 2

Alliance for Progress

program set up by JFK to send economic aid to Latin America in an attempt to keep them away from communism

Peace Corps

American government organization started under Kennedy's administration that sends volunteers to provide technical, educational, and medical services in developing countries

Sputnik I

Soviet launched satellite in 1957 which caused American fear that the Soviet Union was ahead of the U.S. in the production of missiles

space race

For military reasons, US and USSR wanted to have best space technology; USSR first satellite and man in space; US first man on moon; caused US to focus on math and science in schools

Bay of Pigs invasion

In April 1961, a group of Cuban exiles organized and supported by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency landed on the southern coast of Cuba in an effort to overthrow Fidel Castro. When the invasion ended in disaster, President Kennedy took full responsibility for the failure.

brinkmanship

a foreign policy characterized by a willingness to push a dangerous situation to the brink, or edge, of war rather than give in to an opponent

mutually assured destruction

Deterrent policy in which neither USA-USSR would use nukes, because they would likewise be annihilated

Cuban Missile Crisis

International crisis in October 1962, the closest approach to nuclear war at any time between the U.S. and the USSR. When the U.S. discovered Soviet nuclear missiles on Cuba, President John F. Kennedy demanded their removal and announced a naval blockade of the island; the Soviet leader Khrushchev gave in to the U.S. demands a week later on the condition that US doesn't invade Cuba

Berlin Wall

1961 - The Soviet Union, under Nikita Khrushev, erected a wall between East and West Berlin to keep people from fleeing from the East, after Kennedy asked for an increase in defense funds to counter Soviet aggression.

Limited Test Ban Treaty

the 1963 treaty in which the United States and the Soviet Union agreed not to conduct nuclearweapons tests in the atmosphere

Vietcong

South Vietnamese communist guerrillas who, with the help of North Vietnam, fought against the South Vietnamese government in the Vietnam War.

Division of Vietnam

Vietnam was temporarily divided at the 17th parallel until a general election could be held but the nation remained divided (North led by Minh, South led by Diem) until the end of the Vietnam War

guerilla warfare

type of fighting in which soldiers use swift hit-and-run attacks against the enemy

Domino Theory

US theory that stated if one country fell to communism then then neighboring countries would fall as well.

draft

A law requiring people of a certain age to serve in the military

Kent State

An Ohio university where National Guardsmen opened fire on students protesting the Vietnam War on May 4, 1970, wounding nine and killing four

Jackson State

Mississippi university where two students were killed in 1970 by state police during a protest of the Vietnam War

26th Amendment

Lowered the voting age from 21 to 18

"Living Room War"

The Vietnam war was the 1st war that was shown on TV every night in America

Credibility Gap

American public's growing distrust of statements made by the government during the Vietnam War

Walter Cronkite

A newscaster who was known for his objectivity and trustworthiness, who said that the war in Vietnam would end in stalemate.

French Indochina

the former French colonies of Cambodia and Laos and Vietnam

Ho Chi Minh

Communist leader of North Vietnam

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

1964 Congressional resolution that gave U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson authorization, without a formal declaration of war by Congress, for the use of military force in Southeast Asia.

Tet Offensive

a massive surprise attack by the Vietcong on South Vietnamese towns and cities in early 1968.

My Lai Massacre

The killing of 200 Vietnamese old men, women and children by American soldiers, led to increased opposition to the Vietnam War

Vietnamization

President Richard Nixon's strategy for ending U.S involvement in the Vietnam war, involving a gradual withdrawal of American troops and replacement of them with South Vietnamese forces

Cambodia

Location where Nixon authorized secret bombing in 1970 during Vietnam war to cut off supply lines to the Vietcong

War Powers Act

Passed by Congress in 1973; the president is limited in the deployment of troops overseas to a sixty-day period in peacetime (which can be extended for an extra thirty days to permit withdrawal) unless Congress explicitly gives its approval for a longer period.

Democratic Convention of 1968

Significant amount of anti war protest activity. For eight days, protesters and police battled for control of the streets of Chicago. Hubert Humphrey won the nomination