Unit 8 keyterms

Big Three

The main Allied leaders during WWII: Franklin D. Roosevelt (USA), Winston Churchill (UK), and Joseph Stalin (USSR).

Tehran Conference

The first meeting of the Big Three in 1943 to plan the strategy for defeating Nazi Germany; they agreed on opening a second front in Europe.

Yalta Conference

Big Three meeting in 1945 to discuss post-war Europe, agreeing to divide Germany into zones and hold free elections in Eastern Europe.

Potsdam Conference

Final WWII meeting of the Big Three in 1945, where tension between the US and USSR over Eastern Europe emerged.

Cold War

Geopolitical tension between the US and USSR from 1947 to 1991, characterized by proxy wars and an ideological conflict.

United Nations

International organization founded in 1945 to promote peace, security, and cooperation among nations.

Iron Curtain

The term used by Churchill to describe the division between Western democracies and Eastern communist countries.

Satellite countries

Nations in Eastern Europe controlled politically and economically by the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

Containment

US policy aimed at preventing the spread of communism.

Truman Doctrine

US policy initiated in 1947 to support countries resisting communism in Greece and Turkey.

Marshall Plan

US economic aid program established in 1948 to rebuild Western Europe and curb the spread of communism.

Space Race

Competition between the US and USSR for milestones in space exploration, symbolizing technological rivalry.

Berlin Airlift

Western Allies' operation to supply West Berlin by air after the Soviet blockade (1948-1949).

Berlin Wall

Physical barrier erected in 1961 dividing East and West Berlin; emblematic of Cold War divisions.

NATO

Military alliance of Western countries formed in 1949 for mutual defense against Soviet aggression.

Warsaw Pact

Military alliance of communist countries, led by the Soviet Union, formed in response to NATO in 1955.

Korean War

Conflict (1950-1953) between communist North Korea and capitalist South Korea, resulting in a stalemate.

Vietnam War

Conflict (1955-1975) between communist North Vietnam and US-backed South Vietnam, ending in a communist victory.

Domino Theory

The belief that the fall of one country to communism would lead to the fall of neighboring countries.

Mao Zedong

Communist leader who founded the People's Republic of China in 1949.

Great Leap Forward

Mao's initiative (1958-1962) aimed at rapid industrialization and collectivization, leading to famine and deaths.

Vietcong

Communist guerrilla fighters in South Vietnam who supported North Vietnam during the Vietnam War.

Indira Gandhi

Prime Minister of India from 1966 to 1984; known for strengthening central government and declaring emergency rule.

Mohandas Gandhi

Leader of the Indian independence movement known for advocating nonviolent civil disobedience against British rule.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

American civil rights leader known for advocating racial equality through nonviolent protest.

Nelson Mandela

Anti-apartheid leader in South Africa who became the first Black president in 1994 after 27 years in prison.

Mikhail Gorbachev

Final leader of the USSR; known for reforms like glasnost and perestroika, which contributed to the end of the Cold War.

SALT

Strategic Arms Limitation Talks, negotiations to limit nuclear weapons between the US and USSR.