history vocab

berlin wall

The Soviet Union, under Nikita Khrushchev, erected a wall between East and West Berlin to keep people from fleeing from the East, afterwards Kennedy asked for an increase in defense funds to counter Soviet aggression.

leonid

Seized power from Nikita Khrushchev and became leader of the Soviet Communist party in 1964. Ordered forces in to Afghanistan and Czechoslovakia.

Detente diplomacy

Relaxation of tensions between Soviet Union in US -started by Nixon but continues under Ford.

SALT

Negotiations between the United States and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics opened in 1969 in Helsinki designed to limit both countries' stock of nuclear weapons.

Muslim League

Founded in 1906 to better support demands of Muslims for separate electorates and legislative seats in Hindu-dominated India; represented division within Indian nationalist movement.

Muhammad Ali Jinnah

Indian statesman who was the founder of Pakistan as a Muslim state (1876-1948)

Space Race

A competition of space exploration between the United States and Soviet Union.

Mao Zedong

(1893-1976) Leader of the Communist Party in China that overthrew Jiang Jieshi and the Nationalists. Established China as the People's Republic of China and ruled from 1949 until 1976.

38th Parallel

Dividing line between North and South Korea.

Ho Chi Minh

Communist leader of North Vietnam.

Berlin Air Lift

United States and British planes dropped millions of tons of supplies to the people living in the city to help them survive the blockade set up by the Soviet Union.

Khmer Rouge

Communist Party in Cambodia that imposed a reign of terror on Cambodian citizens.

Warsaw Pact

An alliance between the Soviet Union and other Eastern European nations. This was in response to the NATO.

Iron Curtain

A political barrier that isolated the peoples of Eastern Europe after WWII, restricting their ability to travel outside the region.

Containment Cold War

Stop the spread of communism by giving political and economic aid to weaker countries, so the USSR can't take them over.

Truman Doctrine

Truman Doctrine

1947, President Truman's policy of providing economic and military aid to any country threatened by communism or totalitarian ideology, mainly helped Greece and Turkey.

Marshall Plan

A United States program of economic aid for the reconstruction of Europe (1948-1952).

Cold War

A conflict that was between the US and the Soviet Union. The nations never directly confronted each other on the battlefield but deadly threats went on for years.

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

vj day

Japan surrendered on September 2, 1945. Peace treaty was signed

Isoroku Yamamoto

Japanese admiral who planned the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 (1884-1943)

Nuremberg Trials

Trials of the Nazi leaders, showed that people are responsible for their actions, even in wartime

Battle of Britain

An aerial battle fought in World War II in 1940 between the German Luftwaffe (air force), which carried out extensive bombing in Britain, and the British Royal Air Force, which offered successful resistance.

d day

June 6, 1944 - Led by Eisenhower, over a million troops (the largest invasion force in history) stormed the beaches at Normandy and began the process of re-taking France. The turning point of World War II.