Cold War & Vietnam

Containment

This is the name of the policy that aimed to prevent the spread of communism by blocking Soviet influence. It is often presented as the Truman Doctrine, which stated that we should actively support those resisting communism.

NATO

This is an alliance between the United States, Canada, and ten Western European nations.

Iron Curtain

This term was used by Winston Churchill to represent the division between a mostly democratic Western Europe and a Communist Eastern Europe.

Sputnik

This names the first satellite to be launched into space by any country.

Warsaw Pact

This was an alliance between the Soviet Union and its Eastern European allies.

United Nations

This is an organization of nations set up after World War II, including both of the superpowers.

Bay of Pigs Invasion

This is the name of the US-backed assault on Cuba to overthrow Fidel Castro. It failed.

Brinkmanship

This is the policy of demonstrating willingness to engage in a war to protect national interests. Countries are always on the verge or the edge of war.

Marshall Plan

This is an economic aid package designed to give European nations the aid needed to rebuild after World War II.

U2 Incident

This names a dispute between the Soviet Union and the United States that resulted from the shooting down of a spy plane.

Domino Theory

The idea that if one country falls to communism, its neighbors will also fall.

Berlin Airlift

The blockade of the city of Berlin caused Truman to use a risky strategy to supply the city so that it could resist communist infiltration. This is the name of the strategy used.

38th Parallel

Dividing line between North and South Korea.

17th Parallel

Dividing line between North and South Vietnam.

Gulf of Tonkin Incident

An alleged attack on an American ship that caused President Johnson to request a "blank check' from Congress to fight in Vietnam.

Joseph McCarthy

Led a witchhunt for American spies in the US Government and held Congressional hearings on the issue, ruining lives and careers.

Latin America

The Eisenhower Doctrine called for a prevention of Soviet influence in this region.

Europe

The origins of the Cold War lay in a fundamental disagreement between the US and the Soviet Union over Post-WWII arrangements in this region.

Ho Chi Minh Trail

Allowed North Vietnam to send troops and material to the South.

Operation Rolling Thunder

The code name for American strategic bombing of North Vietnam.

War Powers Act

Limits the ability of the President of the United States to wage war without Congressional authorization/funding.

Flexible Response

Kennedy's plan to respond to Soviet aggression using nuclear weapons, strategically or tactially, special forces, or conventional war rather than only relying on nuclear deterence.

HUAC

The House Un-American Activities Committee, responsible for the long-term investigation of possible communist influence, notably in Hollywood, and in other aspects of American life.

Blacklist

Those found to be unsuitable by the House-UnAmerican Activities Committee for work in Hollywood.

Nikita Khrushcev

Soviet premier who was in power in the 1950s and 1960s, during the early years of the space race, and Cold War crises such as the U2 Incident and the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Proxy War

A war fought between a major power (US or USSR) and a smaller country on the side of the OTHER world power with that nation's support.

France

After WWII, the US began to aid this country's efforts to maintain control over "Indo-China" or Vietnam.

Lyndon Johnson

Liberal president and powerful politician who was vice president under John F. Kennedy. Escalated Vietnam and passed many substantial social programs, including Medicare and Medicaid.

Credibility Gap

Television, the worsening state of the U.S. economy, and the Fulbright hearings helped to increase this, which was a focus of Johnson's critics and built distrust as the war progressed.

William Westmoreland

As the U.S. commander in South Vietnam, this general introduced the concept of the body count in the belief that as the number of Vietcong casualties rose, the Vietcong would eventually surrender.

Agent Orange

The U.S. military used planes to spray this leaf-killing toxic chemical which devastated the landscape of Vietnam.

Napalm

To expose Vietcong tunnels and hideouts, U.S. planes dropped this gasoline-based bomb that set fire to the jungles of Vietnam.

Search and Destroy Missions

Conducted by U.S. soldiers, these resulted in the uprooting of Vietnamese villagers with suspected ties to the Vietcong, the killing of their livestock, and the burning of their villages.

Robert S. McNamara

Defense Secretary under Kennedy and Johnson who was there for the Cuban Missile Crisis and Vietnam Escalation. Admitted, he admitted that he "would have thought differently at the start" of the conflict in Vietnam if he had been aware of the Vietcong's resilience.

Bert the Turtle

This cartoon character was used to teach people to 'duck and cover' as a means of calming the fear of nuclear attack.