APUSH Time Period 8A Vocab finished

Cold War

Cold War

The ___________ dominated international relations from the late 1940s to the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. The conflict centered on the intense rivalry between two superpowers: the Communist Soviet Union and the leading Western democracy, the United States. They competed directly through diplomacy and indirectly through armed conflicts among allies, but rarely through direct military actions against each other. However, in several instances, the Cold War took the world dangerously near nuclear war.

United Nations

The founding of the United Nations in the fall of 1945 provided one hopeful sign for the future. The General Assembly of the United Nations was created to provide representation to all member nations, while the 15-member Security Council was given the primary responsibility within the UN for maintaining international security and authorizing peacekeeping missions. The five major allies of wartime--the United States, Great Britain, France, China, and the Soviet Union- were granted permanent seats and veto power in the UN Security Council. Optimists hoped that these nations would be able to reach agreement on international issues.

Soviet satellite (buffer) states

Distrust turned into hostility beginning in 1946, as Soviet forces remained in occupation of the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. Elections were held by the Soviets-as promised by Stalin at Yalta-but the results were manipulated in favor of Communist candidates. One by one, from 1946 to 1948, Communist dictators, most of them loyal to Moscow, came to power in Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Albania, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia. Apologists for the Soviets argued that Russia needed ____________ or ____________ (nations under the control of a great power), as a protection against another Hitler-like invasion from the West.

Churchill’s “Iron Curtain“ speech

In March 1946, in Fulton, Missouri, Truman was present on the speaker's platform as former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill declared: "An iron curtain has descended across the continent" of Europe. The Iron Curtain metaphor was later used throughout the Cold War to refer to the division between the U.S. allies in Western Europe and Soviet allies of Eastern Europe. ______________ speech called for a partnership between Western democracies to halt the expansion of communism.

Containment/Truman Doctrine

Early in 1947, Truman adopted a __________ policy designed to prevent Soviet expansion without starting a war. In an article, Kennan had written that only "a long-term, patient but firm and vigilant containment of Russian expansive tendencies" would eventually cause the Soviets to back off their plan to spread communism and to live in peace with other nations. Truman first implemented the containment policy in response to two threats:

(1) a Communist-led uprising against the government in Greece

(2) Soviet demands for some control of a water route in Turkey, the Dardanelles.

In what became known as the ___________, the president asked Congress in March 1947 for $400 million in economic and military aid to assist the "free people" of Greece and Turkey against "totalitarian" regimes.

Berlin Airlift

A major crisis of the Cold War focused on Berlin. Soviets cut off all access by land to the German city. Truman dismissed any plans to withdraw from Berlin, but he also rejected using force to open up the roads through the Soviet-controlled eastern zone. Instead, he ordered U.S. planes to fly in supplies to the people of West Berlin. Day after day, week after week, the massive airlift continued. At the same time, Truman sent 60 bombers capable of carrying atomic bombs to bases in England. The world waited nervously for the outbreak of war, but Stalin decided not to challenge the airlift. (Truman's stand on Berlin was partly responsible for his victory in the 1948 election.)

NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization)

In 1949, Truman recommended that the United States join a military defense pact to protect Western Europe. The Senate readily gave its consent. Ten European nations joined the United States and Canada in creating the North Atlantic Treaty Organization ________, a military alliance for defending all members from outside attack.

Warshaw Pact

Truman selected General Eisenhower as NATO's first Supreme Commander and stationed U.S. troops in Western Europe as a deterrent against a Soviet invasion. Thus, the containment policy led to a military buildup and major commitments abroad. The Soviet Union countered in 1955 by forming the ____________, a military alliance for the defense of the Communist states of Eastern Europe.

Arms Race (For atomic weapons)

After the Berlin crisis, teams of scientists in both the Soviet Union and the United States were engaged in an intense competition, or __________, to develop superior weapons systems.

Chinese Civil War

Since coming to power in the late 1920s, Chiang Kai-shek (Jiang Jie-shi) had used his command of the Nationalist, or Kuomintang, party to control China's central government. During World War II, the United States had given massive military aid to Chiang to prevent all of China from being conquered by Japan. As soon as the war ended, a civil war dating back to the 1930s was renewed between Chiang's Nationalists and the Chinese Communists led by Mao Zedong. The Nationalists were losing the loyalty of millions of Chinese because of runaway inflation and widespread corruption, while the well-organized Communists successfully appealed to poor, landless peasants.

U.S. Policy

The Truman administration sent George Marshall to China in 1946 to negotiate an end to the civil war, but his compromise fell apart in a few months. By 1947, Chiang's armies were in retreat. After ruling out a large-scale American invasion to rescue Chiang, Truman seemed unsure of what to do. In 1948, Congress voted to give the Nationalist government $400 million in aid, but 80 percent of the U.S. military supplies ended up in Communist hands because of corruption and the collapse of the Nationalist armies.

Two Chinas

By the end of 1949, all of mainland China was controlled by the Communists. Chiang and the Nationalists had retreated to an island once under Japanese rule, Formosa (Taiwan). From there, Chiang still claimed to head the legitimate government for all of China. The United States continued to support Chiang and refused to recognize Mao Zedong's regime in Beijing (the People's Republic of China) until 30 years later, in 1979.

In the United States, Republicans blamed the Democrats for the "loss of China" to Communism. In 1950, Stalin and Mao signed a Sino-Soviet pact. This added to fears of a worldwide Communist conspiracy.

Chiang Kai-shek/Nationalists

Since coming to power in the late 1920s, ____________ had used his command of the Nationalist party to control China's central government. During World War II, the United States had given massive military aid to Chiang to prevent all of China from being conquered by Japan

Mao Zedong/Communists

A civil war dating back to the 1930s was renewed between Chiang's Nationalists and the Chinese ___________ led by _________. The Nationalists were losing the loyalty of millions of Chinese because of runaway inflation and widespread corruption, while the well-organized __________ successfully appealed to poor, landless peasants.

Korean War

After the defeat of Japan, its former colony Korea was divided along the 38th parallel by the victors. Soviet armies occupied Korean territory north of the line, while U.S. forces occupied territory to the south. By 1949, both armies were withdrawn, leaving the North in the hands of the Communist leader Kim II Sung and the South under the conservative nationalist Syngman Rhee.

From the perspective of the grand strategy of the Cold War, Truman's containment policy in Korea worked. It stopped Communist aggression without allowing the conflict to develop into a world war. The Truman administration used the _________ as justification for dramatically expanding the military, funding a new jet bomber (the B-52), and stationing more U.S. troops in overseas bases.

Dwight D. Eisenhower

President __________ (1953-1961) focused in both his terms on foreign policy and the international crises arising from the Cold War. The experienced diplomat who helped to shape U.S. foreign policy throughout Eisenhower's presidency was Secretary of State John Foster Dulles.

John Foster Dulles and “brinkmanship“

___________ had been critical of Truman's containment policy as too passive. He advocated a "new look" to U.S. foreign policy that took the initiative in challenging the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China. He talked of "liberating captive nations" of Eastern Europe and encouraging the Nationalist government of Taiwan to assert itself against "Red" (Communist) China. Dulles pleased conservatives-and alarmed many others--by declaring that, if the United States pushed Communist powers to the brink of war, they would back down because of American nuclear superiority. His hard line became known as ________________.

Nikita Khrushchev

By 1955, a desire for improved relations on both sides resulted in a summit meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, between Eisenhower and the new Soviet premier, Nikolai Bulganin. At this conference, the U.S. president proposed an "open-skies" policy over each other's territory-open to aerial photography by the opposing nation-in order to eliminate the chance of a surprise nuclear attack. The Soviets rejected the proposal. Nevertheless, the "spirit of Geneva,” as the press called it, produced the first thaw in the Cold War. Even more encouraging, from the U.S. point of view, was a speech by the new Soviet leader __________________ in early 1956 in which he denounced the crimes of Joseph Stalin and supported "peaceful coexistence" with the West.

Hungarian Revolt, 1956

The relaxation in the Cold War encouraged workers in East Germany and Poland to demand reforms from their Communist governments. In October 1956, a popular uprising in Hungary actually succeeded in overthrowing a government backed by Moscow. The new, more liberal leaders wanted to pull Hungary out of the Warsaw Pact, the Communist security organization. This was too much for the Kremlin, and Khrushchev sent in Soviet tanks to crush the freedom fighters and restore control over Hungary. The United States took no action in the crisis.

Sputnik

In 1957, the Soviet Union shocked the United States by launching the first satellites, _________ I and _________ II, into orbit around the earth. Suddenly, the technological leadership of the United States was open to question. To add to American embarrassment, U.S. rockets designed to duplicate the Soviet achievement failed repeatedly. Fears of nuclear war were intensified by ______. The missiles that launched the satellites could also deliver thermonuclear warheads anywhere in the world in minutes, and there was no defense against them.

National Defense and Education Act

 In 1958, Congress created the ___________ (NDEA), which authorized hundreds of millions of federal dollars for schools for math, science, and foreign language education.

NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration)

In 1958, Congress created the ___________ to direct the U.S. efforts to build missiles and explore outer space. Billions were appropriated to compete with the Russians in the space race.

U-2 Incident

The friendly "spirit of Camp David" never had a chance to produce results. Two weeks before the planned meeting in Paris, the Russians shot down a high-altitude U.S. spy plane the _________ over the Soviet Union. The incident exposed a secret U.S. tactic for gaining information. Eisenhower took full responsibility for the flights-after they were exposed by the ____________ but his honesty proved to be a diplomatic mistake.

Fidel Castro/Communist takeover of Cuba

Perhaps more alarming than any other Cold War development during the Eisenhower years was the emergence of Cuba as a Communist country. A revolutionary named _______, overthrew the Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista in 1959. At first, no one knew whether _________'s politics would be better or worse than those of his ruthless predecessor. Once in power, however, _______ nationalized American-owned businesses and properties in Cuba.

"military-industrial complex"

"_____________-" In his farewell address as president, Eisenhower spoke out against the negative impact of the Cold War on U.S. society. He warned the nation to "guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence.. by the ______________." He feared the arms race was taking on a momentum and logic all its own. It seemed to some Americans in the 1960s that the United States was in danger of going down the path of classical Rome by turning into a military, or imperial, state.

John F. Kennedy

In 1960, ____________ was elected president after attacking the Eisenhower administration for the recent recession and for permitting the Soviets to take the lead in the arms race.

Bay of Pigs Invasion

The youthful Kennedy made a major blunder shortly after entering office. He approved a plan to use Cuban exiles to overthrow Castro's regime. In April 1961, the CIA-trained force of Cubans landed at the Bay of Pigs in Cuba but failed to set off a general uprising as planned. Trapped on the beach, the anti-Castro Cubans surrendered after Kennedy rejected the idea of using U.S. forces to save them. Castro used the failed invasion to get more aid from the Soviet Union and to strengthen his grip on power.

Berlin Wall

Trying to shake off the embarrassment of the Bay of Pigs

defeat, Kennedy agreed to meet Soviet premier Khrushchev in Vienna in the summer of 1961. Khrushchev seized the opportunity to threaten the president by renewing Soviet demands that the United States pull its troops out of Berlin. Kennedy refused. In August, the East Germans, with Soviet backing, built a wall around West Berlin. Its purpose was to stop East Germans from fleeing to West Germany. As the wall was being built, Soviet and U.S. tanks faced off in Berlin. Kennedy called up the reserves, but he made no move to stop the completion of the wall. In 1963, the president traveled to West Berlin to assure its residents of continuing U.S. support. To cheering crowds, he proclaimed: "Freedom has many difficulties and democracy is not perfect, but we have never had to putup a wall to keep our people in....As a free man, I take pride in the words, 'Jch bin ein Berliner' [I am a Berliner]." The __________ stood as a gloomy symbol of the Cold War until it was torn down by rebellious East Germans in 1989.

Nuclear Test Ban Treaty

In 1963, the Soviet Union and the United States-along with nearly 100 other nations-signed the ____________________ to end the testing of nuclear weapons in the atmosphere. This first step in controlling the testing of nuclear arms was offset by a new round in the arms race for developing missile and warhead superiority.

Cuban Missile Crisis

The __________ had a sobering effect on both sides. They soon established a telecommunications hotline between Washington and Moscow so the countries' leaders could talk directly during a crisis. In 1963, the Soviet Union and the United States--along with nearly 100 other nations-signed the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty to end the testing of nuclear weapons in the atmosphere. This first step in controlling the testing of nuclear arms was offset by a new round in the arms race for developing missile and warhead superiority.