Cold War Chapter 26

Cold War

Conflict between the U.S.S.R. and the United States which began after WWII in response to communist expansion.

Communism

State controls all property and economic activity/totalitarian government…no opposing parties.

Capitalism

Private citizens control economic activity/democratic government…competing political parties.

Stalin

Originally supported Hitler…only after invasion on USSR did Stalin become one of the Allies.

The United Nations (UN)

New world peace organization established after WWII to preserve peace and provide a better life for all.

General Assembly

Discussion body of the UN where every country has one vote.

Security Council

Action body of the UN with 15 members, 5 permanent seats (China, France, US, UK, USSR) with veto power.

Secretariat

Part of the UN headed by the Secretary General that handles day-to-day work.

International Court of Justice

Judicial body of the UN that settles legal disputes between countries.

Potsdam Conference

Final conference of WWII held in July 1945 with the Big Three (US, USSR, UK).

Self-determination

The right of countries to determine their own political status.

Satellite nations

Eastern European nations taken over by the USSR after WWII.

Containment

U.S. policy to prevent the extension of communist rule to other countries.

Iron curtain

Term coined by Churchill to describe the division between democratic Western Europe and communist Eastern Europe.

Truman Doctrine

U.S. policy to support free peoples resisting subjugation by armed minorities or outside pressures.

Marshall Plan

U.S. aid program proposed in June 1947 to help rebuild Western Europe after WWII.

German reunification

The process of combining East and West Germany after the division established at the Yalta Conference.

Berlin Airlift

Operation in June 1948 when the U.S. and allies supplied West Berlin after Stalin closed access.

Big Three

The leaders of the US, USSR, and UK during the Potsdam Conference.

Reparations

Compensation for war damages that the Big Three decided to take only from their own occupation zones in Germany.

Puppet governments

Governments installed by Stalin in Eastern Europe that were loyal to the USSR.

Aid to Greece and Turkey

Between 1947-1950, the U.S. sent $400 million in aid to support these countries against Soviet influence.

Economic chaos in Western Europe

Condition after WWII characterized by bombed factories, refugee camps, and severe winter weather.

$13 billion in aid

Amount provided to 16 countries in Europe by 1952 through the Marshall Plan.

Airlift

Was begun by US and GB to supply West Berlin.

Duration of Airlift

Lasted 327 days—277,000 flights—2.3 million tons of supplies.

US Image

Boosted US image.

USSR Blockade Lift

May 1949, USSR lifted blockade.

NATO Alliance

North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

NATO Formation Date

April 1949.

NATO Original Members

Originally 12 members.

NATO Purpose

Mutual military defense alliance.

First US Military Alliance

First US military alliance during peacetime.

Chinese Nationalist Government

Led by Chiang Kai-shek, supported and given aid by the US.

Chinese Communists

Led by Mao Zedong, supported the peasants who allowed them to gain power.

Chiang Kai-Shek

Leader of the Chinese Nationalist government.

Mao Zedong

Leader of the Chinese Communists.

Civil War in China

Began again after WWII when the occupying Japanese left.

Chiang's Flight to Taiwan

In May 1949, Chiang and supporters fled to Taiwan (island of Formosa).

US Recognition of China

US refused to 'recognize' the new government formed by Communists.

Korean War Start Date

June 25, 1950—North Korea came across the 38th parallel in a surprise attack.

Korean Division

Korea was divided after WWII; Communist North Korea led by Kim Il Sung and Democratic South Korea led by Syngman Rhee.

UN Assistance in Korea

South Korea asked the UN for help; the vote to stop military invasion by North passed.

General Douglas MacArthur

Was put in overall command of United Nations forces.

Inchon Invasion

MacArthur made a brilliant invasion at Inchon which threatened to trap all the North Korean forces fighting near the Pusan perimeter.

38th Parallel

Dividing line between North and South Korea.

Stalemate in Korea

The war in Korea turned into a stalemate resembling World War I trench warfare.

MacArthur's Firing

Truman fired MacArthur in April 1951 due to disagreements over war strategy.

Truman's Second Term

Was dominated by Cold War foreign policy.

Armistice in Korea

Truce talks began in July 1951, but the armistice did not occur until July 1953.

38th parallel

The border between North and South Korea.

DMZ

Demilitarized zone between North and South Korea.

Armistice

An agreement signed on July 27th, 1953, ending the Korean War.

War Costs

54,000 lives and $67 billion spent during the Korean War.

House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC)

Formed in 1938 to investigate alleged communist influences.

Smith Act

Passed in 1940, it prohibited the teaching and advocating of subversive doctrines.

Loyalty Review Board

Created by Truman in 1947 to investigate government employees with subversive ties.

Hollywood Ten

A group of ten Hollywood workers blacklisted for refusing to testify about communist influences.

Alger Hiss

A former State Department official convicted of perjury for denying communist affiliations.

Ethel and Julius Rosenberg

Charged with spying and giving atomic secrets to the USSR; executed in 1953.

Joseph McCarthy

Senator who claimed to have a list of communists in the State Department, leading anti-communist hearings.

McCarthyism

The practice of making accusations of subversion or treason without proper evidence.

Edward R. Murrow

A journalist who exposed McCarthy's tactics on television.

Federal Employee Loyalty Program

Established by Truman to investigate and dismiss disloyal government employees.

Blacklisting

The practice of denying employment to individuals suspected of communist sympathies.

Perjury

The act of lying under oath; used to convict Alger Hiss.

Atomic bomb

A powerful weapon tested by the USSR in September 1949, linked to espionage.

Communist Party Vote

100,000 Americans voted for the Communist Party in the election of 1932.

Spy Cases

High-profile espionage cases that heightened fears of communism in the U.S.

Censured

The formal reprimand of McCarthy by the Senate for his conduct.

Witch hunts

McCarthy's anti-communist hearings characterized by reckless accusations.

Disloyalty

Accusations leading to the dismissal of federal workers during the Red Scare.

Communist sympathies

Suspicions that led to blacklisting in Hollywood.

Ethel and Julius Rosenberg

Found guilty of espionage and sentenced to death in the electric chair in 1953.

Alger Hiss

A former government official accused of being a communist spy.

Senator Joseph McCarthy

Republican from Wisconsin who charged that communists were taking over the government, mainly the State Department and the Army.

McCarthyism

Unsupported attacks on suspected communists in the early 1950s.

McCarthy Hearings

Televised hearings in 1954 where McCarthy made charges against the Army.

Joseph Welch

Army lawyer who confronted McCarthy on live TV, highlighting his cruelty and recklessness.

Brinkmanship

A policy of threatening to use nuclear weapons to prevent the spread of communism.

Hydrogen Bomb

A nuclear weapon developed by the US in November 1952, at least 100 times more powerful than the atomic bombs dropped on Japan in 1945.

John Foster Dulles

Eisenhower's Secretary of State who practiced brinkmanship and argued for a policy of liberation.

Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)

Used spies to gather information abroad and carried out covert operations to weaken or overthrow unfriendly governments.

Warsaw Pact

Military alliance created by the USSR in 1955 linking it with 7 Eastern European nations.

Stalin's Death

Joseph Stalin, the communist dictator of the Soviet Union, died in March 1953, leading to a thaw in US/Soviet relations.

Electric Chair

Method of execution used for Ethel and Julius Rosenberg after being found guilty of espionage.

Espionage

The act of spying or using spies to gather secret information, particularly related to national security.

Korean Peace Negotiations

Took a more positive turn after Stalin's death in March 1953.

McCarthy's Censure

The Senate censured McCarthy for his behavior, leading to his decline in influence.

NATO

North Atlantic Treaty Organization, a military alliance that West Germany joined in 1955.

Cirrhosis of the Liver

The cause of death for Senator Joseph McCarthy three years after being censured.

Anti-immigrant sentiment

A social climate tied to the red scare of the 1920s, as indicated in the context of the Rosenberg case.

Formosa (Taiwan)

The island where Chiang, the former leader of China, fled after being defeated by communist armies.

Herblock Cartoon

A cartoon depicting the 'witch hunt' at the State Department during McCarthyism.

1952 Presidential Election

Dwight D. Eisenhower won the election, leading to a shift in US foreign policy.

Publicity for Re-election

McCarthy needed an issue to gain publicity for his re-election campaign in 1952.

Geneva Summit

US and USSR discuss 'open skies'; USSR rejected, but conference was hailed as a step toward peace.

Suez War

US/GB help Egypt finance construction of Aswan Dam on the Nile River; Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal, leading to conflict.

Eisenhower Doctrine—Jan 1957

US would defend the Middle East against an attack by any communist country.

Hungarian Uprising

1956 revolt against occupation by the Soviets; Soviet tanks rolled in, killing 30,000 Hungarians and causing 200,000 to flee.