period 8 terms

Joseph Stalin

Longtime dictator of the Soviet Union. After Lenin's 1924 death, he consolidated power and eliminated rivals, ruling with an iron fist until his own death on March 5, 1953. Favored centralization and collectivization. Purged millions through man-made famine, imprisonment in gulags, and executions. After his death, Nikita Khrushchev denounced his actions and cult of personality, and he undertook steps to reform the Soviet system.

Iron curtain

A metaphor for the dividing line between the West and the Soviet Union. Coined by Winston Churchill in a March 1946 speech delivered in Fulton, Missouri.

Harry S. Truman

Thirty-third President. Served 1945-1953. Desegregated the U.S. military. Help found the United Nations and pushed for the Marshall Plan. Reformed U.S. foreign policy toward internationalism, with a focus on containment of communism. Oversaw early Cold War conflicts, like the Berlin Airlift and the Korean War. Ordered the use of atomic weapons on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Narrowly won reelection in a 1952 upset.

Marshall Plan

A program proposed by a guy in 1947. Supplied $13 billion to Western Europe, enabling its postwar economic boom and ending the threat of mass starvation.

Berlin Airlift

A major crisis in the early Cold War. From June 1948 to May 1949, the Soviet Union blockaded the West's land access to Berlin. President Truman responded by airlifting in supplies around the clock, putting the onus for starting WWIII on the Soviets.

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

A military alliance formed by the Western Allies of World War II to deter Soviet aggression. It guarantees collective defense under the rule that an attack on one member is an attack on all members.

Warsaw Pact

A collective defense arrangement similar to NATO, to protect the Eastern bloc from Western aggression. It also served to solidify Soviet control over Eastern Europe. Dissolved in 1991.

National Security Act

A landmark 1947 act that restructured the U.S. government's military and national security agencies. Established the National Security Council, the Central Intelligence Agency, the Department of Defense, and an independent U.S. Air Force.

Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)

a foreign intelligence service founded in 1947. It is the successor of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS). In the mid 1970s, the Church Committee investigated it for a string of abuses; as a result, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence was formed to oversee it.

Mao Tse-Tung

Chinese communist revolutionary. Founding father of the People's Republic of China, which he ruled until his death in 1976. Defeated the Nationalists in the Chinese Civil War. His rapid industrialization program, the Great Leap Forward, killed millions from famine. From 1966 to 1976, the Cultural Revolution, which sought to reimpose Maoist ideology on China and purge dissident thought, killed between five and ten million people, causing major social disruption in the process. Achieved détente with Nixon following the Sino-Soviet split.

Korean War

Nicknamed "the Forgotten War." De facto ran from June 1950 to July 1953, but the lack of a formal peace treaty means it is still technically ongoing. Principally a war fought between North and South Korea, with the North backed by the People's Republic of China and the South backed by a U.N. coalition. Despite wild swings in fortune by both sides throughout the war, it ultimately ended in a stalemate. Borders were fixed at the prewar status quo.

Second Red Scare

Lasted from 1947 to 1956. A period of social anxiety and paranoia concerned with communist infiltration throughout society. Driven by events such as the Rosenbergs' trial, the Soviet occupation of Eastern Europe, and the victory of Mao's Communists in the Chinese Civil War.

House Un-American Activities Committee

A House committee founded in 1938 to root out alleged subversives. Associated with the Hollywood blacklist of the Second Red Scare, as well as Alger Hiss. Disbanded in 1975; its duties are handled by the House Judiciary Committee.

Richard M. Nixon

Thirty-seventh President. Served 1969-1974. Vice President under Eisenhower. A noted anticommunist, he narrowly lost the 1960 election to JFK. Domestically, he accepted the Great Society programs. Internationally, he pursued a policy of détente and realpolitik, most famously establishing relations with the People's Republic of China in order to counterbalance the Soviet Union. He also escalated the Vietnam War, secretly bombed Cambodia, and sponsored a coup in Chile. Only U.S. president to resign, doing so over the Watergate scandal.

Joseph McCarthy

Senator from Wisconsin (1947-1957). The face of the Second Red Scare, his baseless accusations and dramatic flare attracted major media attention. After the 1954 Army-McCarthy hearings exposed him doctoring evidence, public opinion swung against him. The Senate censured him. Died in 1957, age 48, from hepatitis exacerbated by alcoholism.

Second Red Scare

Lasted from 1947 to 1956. A period of social anxiety and paranoia concerned with communist infiltration throughout society. Driven by events such as the Rosenbergs' trial, the Soviet occupation of Eastern Europe, and the victory of Mao's Communists in the Chinese Civil War.

House Un-American Activities Committee

A House committee founded in 1938 to root out alleged subversives. Associated with the Hollywood blacklist of the Second Red Scare, as well as Alger Hiss. Disbanded in 1975; its duties are handled by the House Judiciary Committee.

Richard M. Nixon

Thirty-seventh President. Served 1969-1974. Vice President under Eisenhower. A noted anticommunist, he narrowly lost the 1960 election to JFK. Domestically, He accepted the Great Society programs. Internationally, he pursued a policy of détente and realpolitik, most famously establishing relations with the People's Republic of China in order to counterbalance the Soviet Union. He also escalated the Vietnam War, secretly bombed Cambodia, and sponsored a coup in Chile. Only U.S. president to resign, doing so over the Watergate scandal.

Joseph McCarthy

Senator from Wisconsin (1947-1957). The face of the Second Red Scare, his baseless accusations and dramatic flare attracted major media attention. After the 1954 Army-McCarthy hearings exposed him doctoring evidence, public opinion swung against him. The Senate censured him. Died in 1957, age 48, from hepatitis exacerbated by alcoholism.

Dwight D. "Ike" Eisenhower

Thirty-fourth President. Served 1953-1961. A former five-star general, Ike acted as Supreme Commander of the Western Allies in Europe. He oversaw the invasion of North Africa and the Normandy landings. A moderate conservative, Ike preserved the New Deal programs and established NASA. His signature achievement is the Interstate Highway System. In terms of foreign policy, he ended the Korean War, began American involvement in Vietnam, and directed the overthrow of democratic governments in Iran and Guatemala.

Nikita Khrushchev

Leader of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964. Domestically, his tenure was marked by an easing of Stalin era political and cultural restrictions. Internationally, his efforts at warming relations with the West often ran afoul of his own flare for drama and a tendency to gamble on long odds. Following his loss of face in the Cuban Missile Crisis, he was removed by conservative elements in the Kremlin and replaced by Leonid Brezhnev.

Fidel Castro

Cuban revolutionary and First Secretary of Cuba from 1961-2011. He overthrew the Batista regime in 1959 and established a communist state in Cuba. Famously survived hundreds of assassination attempts by the CIA. Died in 2016 at age 90.

Sputnik

The first manmade satellite. Launched by the Soviet Union in 1957. Sparked the Space Race, as well as a massive investment in the American education system.

NASA

A federal agency under the Executive Branch that handles the civilian space program. Founded in 1958.

Military-industrial complex

A term coined by President Eisenhower in his farewell address. It refers to the vested interest the American military and arms industry have in influencing public policy, especially as it relates to defense spending and military conflicts. In the original draft of his speech.

John F. Kennedy

Thirty-fifth President. Served 1961-1963. First Roman Catholic president. Narrowly elected over Richard Nixon, his term in office was dominated by the rising civil rights movement, such as the Freedom Riders, and escalating Cold War tensions. The early months of his presidency were dominated by the Bay of the Pigs and the building of the Berlin Wall. In October 1962, he dealt with the Cuban Missile Crisis. Assassinated on November 22, 1963 in Dallas, Texas by Lee Harvey Oswald.

Berlin Wall

A militarized concrete barrier separating East and West Berlin. Existed from 1961 to 1989. Constructed by the Soviets to halt a brain drain of East Germans. Its fall heralded German reunification and the twilight of the Cold War.

Cuban Missile Crisis

A confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union over the placement of Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba. Occurred October 16-28, 1962. Considered one of the Cold War's tensest events. Resolved diplomatically, it bolstered President Kennedy's then-shaky reputation but led to the overthrow of Nikita Khrushchev.