Milestones of the Past Century

Vocabulary flashcards focused on key terms and concepts from the lecture on significant historical events of the past century.

Cold War

A prolonged political and military tension between the United States and the Soviet Union, characterized by ideological conflict.

Marshall Plan

An American initiative passed in 1948 to aid Western Europe, in which the United States gave over $12 billion in economic support for the reconstruction of Western European economies after World War II.

NATO

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, a military alliance established in 1949 for mutual defense against aggression.

Warsaw Pact

A collective defense treaty signed in 1955 among the Soviet Union and seven other Eastern Bloc socialist republics.

Great Leap Forward

An economic and social campaign initiated in 1958 by the Communist Party of China, led by Mao Zedong, aimed at rapidly transforming the country into a socialist society through rapid industrialization and collectivization.

Cultural Revolution

A sociopolitical movement initiated in China from 1966 until 1976, led by Mao Zedong, aimed at preserving Chinese communism by purging remnants of capitalist and traditional elements from Chinese society.

Decolonization

The process by which colonies gained independence from colonial powers, notably occurring in Africa and Asia during the mid-20th century.

Indian National Congress

A political party in India founded in 1885 that played a crucial role in the independence movement against British rule.

Partition

The division of British India into two independent dominion states, India and Pakistan, in 1947, leading to widespread communal violence and mass migrations.

Deng Xiaoping

A Chinese revolutionary and politician who was the paramount leader of China from the late 1970s until his retirement in the early 1990s, known for his economic reforms.

Gorbachev

The last General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, whose policies of glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restructuring) contributed to the end of the Soviet Union.

Tiananmen Square Massacre

A crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Beijing, China, that took place in June 1989, which resulted in thousands of deaths.

Globalization of Democracy

The spread and adoption of democratic ideals and practices around the world, particularly after the end of the Cold War.

Syrian Civil War

An ongoing multi-sided armed conflict in Syria that began in 2011, characterized by the uprising against the Bashar al-Assad government.

Refugee Crisis

A situation in which large numbers of people are forced to flee their homes due to conflict, persecution, or violence, notably seen in the context of the Syrian Civil War.