US History Cold War

Cold War

The ideological struggle between communism (Soviet Union) and capitalism (United States) for world influence. The Soviet Union and the United States came to the brink of actual war during the Cuban missile crisis but never attacked one another.

G.I Bill

Provided for college or vocational training for returning WWII veterans as well as one year of unemployment compensation. Also provided for loans for returning veterans to buy homes and start businesses.

United Nations

An international organization whose stated aims are to facilitate co-operation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress and human rights issues. It was founded in 1945 at the signing of the United Nations Charter by 50 countries, replacing the League of Nations, founded in 1919.

Iron Curtain

term coined by Winston Churchill in 1946 to describe an imaginary line dividing Communist countries in the Soviet bloc from countries in Western Europe during the Cold War

Truman Doctrine

Common name for the Cold War strategy of containment versus the Soviet Union and the expansion of communism. This doctrine was first asserted by President Truman in 1947.

George Kennan's Containment Theory

1946, Theory that stated that due to Stalin's opposition of the west, the Soviet Union must be contained to prevent the spread of communism. SIG: led to the 1950's containment policy that led to international interventions such as the Berlin Airlift and the Korean War.

Marshall Plan

Introduced by Secretary of State George G. Marshall in 1947, he proposed massive and systematic American economic aid to Europe to revitalize the European economies after WWII and help prevent the spread of Communism.

Berlin Blockade

On June 34, 1948 Soviet troops blockaded West Berlin, hoping it would force the Allies to reconsider their plan. Instead, US and Britain began sending supplies over and into West Berlin. About after 10 months USSR gave up and ending the blockade.

Berlin Airlift

Successful effort by the United States and Britain to ship by air 2.3 million tons of supplies to the residents of the Western-controlled sectors of Berlin from June 1948 to May 1949, in response to a Soviet blockade of all land and canal routes to the divided city.

NATO

North Atlantic Treaty Organization; an alliance made to defend one another if they were attacked by any other country; US, England, France, Canada, Western European countries

Warsaw Pact

Treaty signed in 1945 that formed an alliance of the Eastern European countries behind the Iron Curtain; USSR, Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, and Romania.

Losing China

Losing china was a series of arguments about which political group was responsible for China's change into a communist country during 1949.

House Un-American Activities Committee

an investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives. In 1969, the House changed the committee's name to "House Committee on Internal Security".When the House abolished the committee in 1975, its functions were transferred to the House Judiciary Committee

Richard Nixon

He was a committee member of the House of Representatives, Committee on Un-American Activities (to investigate "subversion"). He tried to catch Alger Hiss who was accused of being a Communist agent in the 1930's. This brought Nixon to the attention of the American public. In 1956 he was Eisenhower's Vice-President.

Hollywood 10

ten witnesses from the film industry who refused to cooperate with the HUAC's investigation of Communist influence in Hollywood. (got blacklisted)

Alger Hiss

Was a U.S. State Department official involved in the establishment of the United Nations. He was accused of being a Soviet spy in 1948 and convicted of perjury in connection with this charge in 1950

Whittaker Chambers

TIME magazine editor and former communist. Confessed to spying for the Soviet Union during the 1930's. Named fellow spies, some of them in Roosevelt's cabinet.

The Rosenbergs

Ethel and Julius were accused of stealing and plotting to convey atomic secrets to Soviet agents. A jury found them guilty of espionage, Albert Einstein, the pope, and the president of France all pleaded for clemency. They died in the electric chair on June 19, 1953.

Senator Joseph McCarthy

1950s; Wisconsin senator claimed to have list of communists in American gov't, but no credible evidence; took advantage of fears of communism post WWII to become incredibly influential; "McCarthyism" was the fearful accusation of any dissenters of being communists

McCarthyism

In 1950, Senator Joseph R. McCarthy began a sensational campaign against communists in government that led to more than four years of charges and countercharges, ending when the Senate censured him in 1954. McCarthyism became the contemporary name for the red scare of the 1950's.

Edward R.Murrow

Was a director of talks in 1935 and then Director of European operations in 1938. Began reporting when austria was invaded. (Goodnight and Good luck). Was the eyes and ears of America and Europe during the early years of WW2.

Korean War

Conflict that began with North Korea's invasion of South Korea and came to involve the United Nations (primarily the United States) allying with South Korea and the People's Republic of China allying with North Korea.

UN Police Action

United States was simply participating in a United Nations "police action." But in fact, the United States made up the overwhelming bulk of the U.N. contingents, and General MacArthur, appointed U.N. commander of the entire operation, took his orders from Washington, not from the Security Council.

Inchon Landing

The landing of UN troops in 1950, by General Douglas MacArthur, behind enemy lines at Inchon in Korea. In order to push back the North Korean troops. Decisive battle in the Korean War.

38th Parallel

A line of latitude separating what is now North and South Korea, decided upon after the war ended in 1945, with the northern Soviet troops surrendering to the Allies, and the Soviets accepting the Japanese and American surrender as well. While never intended to be permanent, this divide lasted for many years.

Yalu River

A river drawing the border between North Korea and China, which Chinese troops crossed when MacArthur attempted to push the Northerns across it and decisively end the war.

Douglas MacArthur

(1880-1964), U.S. general. Commander of U.S. (later Allied) forces in the southwestern Pacific during World War II, he accepted Japan's surrender in 1945 and administered the ensuing Allied occupation. He was in charge of UN forces in Korea 1950-51, before being forced to relinquish command by President Truman.

Levittown

In 1947, William Levitt used mass production techniques to build inexpensive homes in surburban New York to help relieve the postwar housing shortage. Levittown became a symbol of the movement to the suburbs in the years after WWII.

Baby Boom

A cohort of individuals born in the United States between 1946 and 1964, which was just after World War II in a time of relative peace and prosperity. These conditions allowed for better education and job opportunities, encouraging high rates of both marriage and fertility.

Conference of Vienna

After the Napoleonic Wars, what conference was held to redraw the boundaries of Europe

Berlin Wall

A fortified wall surrounding West Berlin, Germany, built in 1961 to prevent East German citizens from traveling to the West. Its demolition in 1989 symbolized the end of the Cold War. This wall was both a deterrent to individuals trying to escape and a symbol of repression to the free world.

Bay of Pigs

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.

Cuban Missile Crisis

In October 1962, the United States and the Soviet Union came close to nuclear war when President Kennedy insisted that Nikita Khrushchev remove the 42 missiles he had secretly deployed in Cuba. The Soviets eventually did so, nuclear war was averted, and the crisisended.