pt pt 1 period 8

Containment

US policy to stop the spread of communism

Truman Doctrine

US gives aid to countries resisting communism

Marshall Plan

US economic aid to rebuild Europe and prevent communism

NATO

Military alliance of US and Western Europe against USSR

Domino Theory

If one country becomes communist nearby countries will follow

Arms Race

Competition between US and USSR to build nuclear weapons

Mutually Assured Destruction

Both sides have enough nukes to destroy each other preventing war

Korean War

War between North and South Korea showing containment in action

38th Parallel

Line dividing North Korea and South Korea

Ho Chi Minh

Communist leader of North Vietnam

Second Red Scare

Fear of communism spreading in the US during 1950s

HUAC

Government committee that investigated suspected communists

McCarthyism

Accusing people of communism without evidence

Joseph McCarthy

Senator who led anti-communist accusations

Viet Cong

Communist fighters in South Vietnam

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

Gave president power to escalate Vietnam War

Tet Offensive

Major attack that turned US public against the war

Vietnamization

US troops withdraw and South Vietnam takes over fighting

Credibility Gap

Public distrust in government statements about Vietnam War