Unit 7: Cold War

Siler US History Honors

Satellite States

independent nation under the control of a more powerful nation

Cold War

worldwide rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union

Iron Curtain

term coined by Winston Churchill to describe the border between the Soviet satellite states and Western Europe

Truman Doctrine

promise to help nations struggling against communist movements

Containment

policy of keeping communism contained within its existing borders

Marshall Plan

foreign policy that offered economic aid to Western Europe after World War II

Berlin Airlift

program in which U.S. and British pilots flew supplies to West Berlin during a Soviet blockade

North Atlantic Treaty Organization

military alliance formed to counter Soviet aggression

Warsaw Pact

military alliance of the Soviet Union and its satellite states

Chiang Kai-Shek

Chinese Nationalist leader who opposed Mao Zedong’s communist forces during the Chinese civil war. After the fall of mainland China, He became the leader of a Nationalist government on the island of Taiwan.

Mao Zedong

a Chinese leader who successfully led a communist revolution in mainland China. He was chairman of the communist People’s Republic of China from 1949 to 1959, and chairman of the country’s Communist Party until 1976.

38th Parallel

dividing line between North and South Korea

Southeast Asia Treaty Organization

defensive alliance aimed at preventing communist aggression in Asia

Mutually assured destruction

policy in which the United States and the Soviet Union hoped to deter nuclear war by building up enough weapons to destroy one another

Brinkmanship

belief that only by going to the brink of war could the United States protect itself against Soviet aggression

Nikita Khrushchev

a Communist Party leader who served as premier of the Soviet Union from 1958 to 1964. He led the Soviet Union during the Cuban Missile Crisis, but lost power soon afterwards.

Eisenhower Doctrine

policy that stated that the United States would use force to help any nation threatened by communism

Central Intelligence Agency

U.S. intelligence-gathering organization

2nd Red Scare

period of intense anti-communist fear in the U.S. driven by Cold War tensions with the soviet union.

House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC)

congressional committee that investigated possible subversive activities within the United States

Julius and Ethel Rosenberg

two American civilians controversially convicted and executed for espionage during the Red Scare of the 1950s. Later evidence from the Venona Papers confirmed that both did have ties to Soviet espionage.

Joseph McCarthy

a U.S. Senator who led a series of high-profile investigations into Americans whom he accused of being disloyal to the United States. His tactics helped define the Red Scare of the 1950s

Blacklist

list of persons who were not hired because of suspected communist ties

Hollywood 10

group of movie writers, directors, and producers who refused to answer HUAC questions about communist ties

McCarthyism

negative catchword for extreme, reckless charges of disloyalty