Allinson Ch. 32 Vocab

Yalta Conference

Meeting of Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin in February 1945 at an old tsarist resort on the Black Sea, where the Big Three leaders laid the foundations for the postwar division of power in Europe, including a divided Germany and territorial concessions to the Soviet Union.

Cold War

The forty-five-year-long diplomatic tension between the United States and the Soviet Union that divided much of the world into polarized camps, capitalist against communist. Most of the international conflicts during that period, particularly in the developing world, can be traced to the competition between the United States and the Soviet Union.

Bretton Woods Conference

Meeting of Western allies to establish a postwar international economic order to avoid crises like the one that spawned World War II. Led to the creation of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, designed to regulate currency levels and provide aid to underdeveloped countries.

United Nations

International body formed in 1945 to bring nations into dialogue in hopes of preventing further world wars. Much like the former League of Nations in ambition, this body was more realistic in recognizing the authority of the Big Five powers in keeping peace in the world. Thus, it guaranteed veto power to all permanent members of its Security Council—Britain, China, France, the Soviet Union, and the United States.

Nuremberg War Crimes Trial

Highly publicized proceedings against former Nazi leaders for war crimes and crimes against humanity in postwar Germany. The trials led to several executions and long prison sentences.

Berlin Airlift

Year-long mission of flying food and supplies to blockaded West Berliners, whom the Soviet Union cut off from access to the West in the first major crisis of the Cold War.

Containment Doctrine

America’s strategy against the Soviet Union based on ideas of George Kennan. The doctrine declared that the Soviet Union and communism were inherently expansionist and had to be stopped from spreading through both military and political pressure. Containment guided American foreign policy throughout most of the Cold War.

Truman Doctrine

President Truman’s universal pledge of support for any people fighting any communist or communist-inspired threat. Truman presented the doctrine to Congress in 1947 in support of his request for $400 million to defend Greece and Turkey against Soviet-backed insurgencies.

Marshall Plan

Massive transfer of aid money to help rebuild postwar Western Europe, intended to bolster capitalist and democratic governments and prevent domestic communist groups from riding poverty and misery to power. The plan was first announced by Secretary of State George Marshall at Harvard’s commencement in June 1947.

North Atlantic Treaty Organization

Military alliance of western European powers and the United States and Canada established in 1949 to defend against the common threat from the Soviet Union, marking a giant stride forward for European unity and American internationalism.

National Security Council Memorandum Number 68 (NSC-68)

This organization recommendation to quadruple defense spending and rapidly expand peacetime armed forces to address Cold War tensions. It reflected a new militarization of American foreign policy, but the huge costs of rearmament were not expected to interfere with what seemed like the limitless possibilities of postwar prosperity.

Korean War

First “hot war” of the Cold War. It began when the Soviet-backed North Koreans invaded South Korea and U.N. forces, dominated by the United States, launched a counteroffensive. The war ended in stalemate in 1953.

House Un-American Activities Committee

Investigatory body established in 1938 to root out “subversion.” Sought to expose communist influence in American government and society, in particular through the trial of Alger Hiss.

McCarthyism

A brand of vitriolic, fear-mongering anti-communism associated with the career of Senator Joseph McCarthy. In the early 1950s, Senator McCarthy used his position in Congress to baselessly accuse high-ranking government officials and other Americans of conspiracy with communism. The term named after him refers to the dangerous forces of unfairness and fear wrought by anticommunist paranoia.

Army-McCarthy Hearings

Congressional hearings called by this senator to accuse members of the army of communist ties. In this widely televised spectacle, he finally went too far for public approval. The hearings exposed the senator’s extremism and led to his eventual disgrace.

Executive Order 9981

Order issued by President Truman to desegregate the armed forces. The president’s action resulted from a combination of pressure from civil rights advocates, election-year political calculations, and the new geopolitical context of the Cold War.

Taft-Hartley Act

Republican-promoted, antiunion legislation passed over President Truman’s vigorous veto that weakened many of labor’s New Deal gains by banning the closed shop and other strategies that helped unions organize. It also required union leaders to take a noncommunist oath, which purged the union movement of many of its most committed and active organizers.

GI Bill

Known officially as the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act and more informally as this term, this law helped returning World War II soldiers reintegrate into civilian life by securing loans to buy homes and farms and set up small businesses. It also made tuition and stipends available for them to attend college, as well as job training programs. The act was intended to cushion the blow of 15 million returning servicemen on the employment market and to nurture the postwar economy.

Fair Deal

President Truman’s extensive social program introduced in his 1949 message to Congress. Republicans and Southern Democrats kept much of his vision from being enacted, except for raising the minimum wage, providing for more public housing, and extending old-age insurance to many more beneficiaries under the Social Security Act.

Sunbelt

The fifteen-state crescent through the American South and Southwest that experienced terrific population and productivity expansion during World War II and particularly in the decades after the war, eclipsing the old industrial Northeast (the “Frostbelt”).

Levittown

Suburban communities with mass-produced tract houses built in the New York and Philadelphia metropolitan areas in the 1950s by William __ and Sons. Typically inhabited by white middle-class people who fled the cities in search of homes to buy for their growing families.

Redlining

Refers to the practice of classifying neighborhoods based on their perceived risk to lenders. (“Red” indicated the highest-risk areas.) While ostensibly based strictly on financial considerations, redlining served as a covert form of racial discrimination that worsened segregation and widened the racial wealth gap during the postwar period

Baby Boom

Demographic explosion from births to returning soldiers and others who had put off starting families during the war. This large generation of new Americans forced the expansion of many institutions such as schools and universities.

Joseph Stalin/Stalin

The authoritarian leader of the Soviet Union who emerged from World War II determined to secure Soviet influence in Eastern Europe as a buffer against future invasions. He established communist governments across the region, deepening tensions with the United States and contributing to the division of Europe into opposing ideological blocs. His actions during the early Cold War, including resisting free elections in Eastern Europe and supporting communist movements abroad, intensified the policy of containment and fueled American fears of global communist expansion.

Jian Jieshi/Jieshi

The Nationalist leader of China who fought both Japanese invaders and Chinese communists during World War II and its aftermath. Despite receiving significant American aid, his government was weakened by corruption, inflation, and lack of popular support, leading to defeat by communist forces. His retreat to Taiwan marked a major Cold War setback for the United States and contributed to debates over who “lost” China.

Alger Hiss/Hiss

A former State Department official accused of passing classified information to Soviet agents during the 1930s. His highly publicized trial and conviction for perjury intensified fears of communist infiltration within the U.S. government. The case strengthened anti-communist sentiment and contributed to the atmosphere of suspicion that defined early Cold War politics.

George F. Kennan/Kennan

An American diplomat who articulated the strategy of containment, arguing that the Soviet Union was inherently expansionist but could be restrained through firm, patient resistance. His analysis shaped U.S. foreign policy by promoting long-term opposition to communist expansion rather than direct military confrontation. Containment became the foundation of American Cold War strategy.

George C. Marshall/Marshall

As secretary of state, proposed a massive economic aid program to rebuild war-torn Europe and prevent the spread of communism by restoring stability and prosperity. The plan provided billions of dollars in assistance to Western European nations, strengthening political and economic ties with the United States. It became a central element of containment and deepened the division between Western Europe and the Soviet bloc.

Joseph McCarthy/McCarthy

A senator who claimed that communists had infiltrated the U.S. government, launching aggressive investigations and accusations during the early 1950s. His tactics relied on fear and often lacked credible evidence, yet they gained widespread attention and political influence. His eventual censure by the Senate marked a backlash against the excesses of anti-communist hysteria known as something.

Julius & Ethel Rosenberg/Rosenburgs

A married couple convicted of passing atomic secrets to the Soviet Union during the early Cold War. Their trial and execution heightened public anxiety about espionage and nuclear security. The case became a symbol of Cold War tensions, fueling debates over justice, loyalty, and the severity of anti-communist measures in the United States.