Cold War Vocabulary

Truman Doctrine

pledged that the United States would provide economic and military aid to any nation threatened by communism or authoritarianism.

Marshall Plan

Major US initiative providing over $13 Billion in economic aid to rebuild western Europe over WWII.

NATO

1949 - established intergovernmental military and political alliance.

Berlin Airlift

Massive allied humanitarian mission that supplied over 2.3 million tons of food, fuel, and medicine to west Berliners by air.

McCarthyism

Practice of making reckless, unsubstantiated accusations of disloyalty or subversion, specifically targeting alleged communists in the us during the 1950's.

HUAC

U.S. House of Representatives committee created and investigated alleged disloyalty and subversive activities.

Venona Papers

3000 top secret, encrypted telegraphic cables sent between Soviet Intelligent Agents and Moscow.

Korean War

Major cold war proxy conflict initiated when communist North Korea invaded South Korea to unify the peninsula.

Containment

Restricting, controlling, or curbing the spread of something dangerous, influential, or expansive within set boundaries.

Defense Spending

Budgeting resources allocated by the government for military related operations.

Douglas MacArthur

U.S. Army General in WWII and Korea, best known for his "old soldiers never die" farewell.

Harry Truman

Leader believing in active leadership to shape history.

Cuban Missile Crisis

A 13 day standoff in 1962 between the US and USSR over Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba.

Arms Race

A competition between the US and USSR to develop and stockpile nuclear and conventional weapons.

Space Race

A technological rivalry to achieve milestones in space exploration ( like the moon landing ), viewed as a way to prove ideological and military superiority.

Domino Theory

The belief that if one nation in Southeast Asia fell to communism, neighboring countries would follow like a row of dominoes.

Vietnam War

A long divisive conflict ( 1955 - 1975 ) pitting the communist government of North Vietnam and its allies against South Vietnam and its principal ally, the US.

Tet Offensive

1968 surprise attack by North Vietnamese forces during Lunar New Year, while a defeat for the North, it turned US public opinion sharply against the war.

Vietnamization

President Nixon's policy of gradually withdrawing US troops and shifting war responsibility to South Vietnam.

Fall of Saigon

1975 capture of South Vietnam capital by North Vietnamese troops, ending the war with the reunification of Vietnam under communist rule.

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

1964 congressional act to commit troops to combat without congressional approval, essentially a check on the power granted by the resolution.

War Powers Act

1973 law passed to limit the presidents ability to commit troops without congressional approval.

Draft

A system of mandatory recruitment for military service, which became a point of protest during the Vietnam War.

26th Amendment

Lowered legal voting from age 21 to 18, fueled by arguing that those old enough to be drafted should vote.

Tinker v. Des Moines

Supreme court case ruling that students do not shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech.

Credibility Gap

Growing public skepticism towards US government reports of Vietnam wars showing harsher reality on TV.

Silent Majority

Term used by Nixon to describe the large group of Americans who supported his policies but did not protest.

Anti-War Movement

Massive social movement that used protests, marches, and civil obedience to oppose US involvement in Vietnam.

Roy Benavidez

US Army Special Forces officer who received the medal of honor for saving at least eight soldiers during a battle in Vietnam in 1968.