Chapter 23 and 24 Notes

NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization)

A military alliance formed in 1949 by 12 non-Communist countries, including the U.S., to provide collective security against the Soviet Union.

Truman Doctrine

A U.S. policy under President Truman to provide economic and military aid to countries resisting communism, particularly Greece and Turkey.

Marshall Plan

A U.S. program providing $13 billion in aid to help rebuild European economies after WWII.

Berlin Airlift

A U.S.-British operation that supplied food and resources to West Berlin after the Soviet blockade.

Taft-Hartley Act

A 1947 law passed over Truman's veto that restricted labor unions, banning closed shops (where only union members could be hired).

Harry Truman

33rd U.S. president (1945–1953) who led the U.S. through the end of WWII and the start of the Cold War.

George C. Marshall

U.S. Army General and Secretary of State who developed the Marshall Plan to help rebuild Europe.

Joseph Stalin

Leader of the Soviet Union (1924–1953) who expanded Soviet influence and was responsible for the Berlin Blockade.

Julius & Ethel Rosenberg

American citizens accused of spying for the Soviet Union and executed in 1953, their trial heightened fears of communism.

Joseph McCarthy

U.S. senator known for leading a campaign against alleged communists in the government, leading to McCarthyism.

Dwight D. Eisenhower

34th U.S. president (1953–1961) who led Cold War policies such as the Eisenhower Doctrine.

Levittown

Suburban communities with mass-produced homes in the 1950s, symbolizing postwar suburbanization.

Indian Urban Relocation Program

A federal program in the 1950s-60s encouraging Native Americans to leave reservations for urban areas.

Housing Segregation

Practices that restricted minorities from accessing housing in certain areas, maintaining racial divisions.

Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

Supreme Court case that declared school segregation unconstitutional, fueling the Civil Rights Movement.

Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955-56)

Mass protest by African Americans against segregated buses, leading to desegregation and Martin Luther King Jr.'s rise.

Southern Manifesto (1956)

Document signed by Southern politicians opposing racial integration, demonstrating resistance to civil rights progress.

Military-Industrial Complex

Term warning of excessive military spending and defense industry influence on politics, coined by Eisenhower.

The Golden Age

A period characterized by a post-WWII economic boom driven by consumer spending and suburbanization.

The Freedom Movement

Origins of the Civil Rights Movement which saw grassroots and legal efforts to challenge segregation.

Massive Retaliation

U.S. strategy of threatening full-scale nuclear war against any communist aggression, increasing Cold War tensions.

Domino Theory

Belief that if one nation fell to communism, neighboring nations would follow, influencing U.S. intervention.