History

Harry S truman

• 33rd president who came up from a modest family

  • He supported the creation of united nations and played a big role in the establishment of post-war international financial system

Election of 1948

• Divided the democratic party

  • more progressive democrats formed Dixiecrats

• Thomas E. Dewey was expected win however, through successful campaigning from Truman he won the election.

HUAC

• A organization that during the early years of the cold war investigated alleged Communists and people who had connections to communists.

• Targeted government officials, entertainment industry(hollywood ten).

second red scare

• A period of time of intense fear and paranoia about the spread of communism in the US

  • The fear was caused by Russias post war actions and the growing amount of communist governments in Eastern Europe

McCarthyism

• Key leader of McCarhyism was senator Joseph McCarthy

  • Basically was a big scare and he tried to investigate government officials for ties to communism

• He used scare tactics that led to widespread public fear.

Korean War

• was a conflict between North Korea and South Korea.

• North Korea was supported by China and Russia

• South Korea was supported by United States

  • North Korean forces invaded South Korea; which under the Truman doctrine made the United States to intervene

• The two forces fought near the 38th parallel

  • The war became a stalemate no actual peace treaty, however a armistice

  • Solidified the division of Korea

Berline Airlift

• Was a response to the Soviet Union blockade of West Berlin

  • The blockade effectively forced out allies from West Berlin

• To respond to that Truman and Britain launched planes to deliver supplies to West Berlin for around 11 months

  • The blockade ended after resulting in a morale win for the capitalist West

Executive Order 9981

• Order that desegregated the military.

• Was significant because it was a step forward for the civil rights activists

Dwight D. Eisenhower

• Took over after Truman

  • had a containment policy to prevent the spread of communism

  • Took significant steps into racial integration

Election of 1952

• Took place during the high tensions of the cold war

• Republican Eisenhower was a war hero and Adlai Stevenson was liberal

• Eisenhower won by a significant margin

Checkers Speech

• Given by Richard Nixon.

• Was running for VP at the time; was accused of financial impropriety

  • He gave a televised speech and denied any wrong doing and stated that the only gift he ever recieved was his dog

Interstate Highway; and Federal-Aid Highway Act

• This system was designed to create a network of high speed highways

• This improved transportation efficiency

• It also improved national security

  • Because it would allow for the fast transport of military supplies

Baby Boom

• The significant increase in birth rates

  • The surge of population led to increase demand for housing, schools, and consumer goods fueling economic growth

Modern Republicanism

• Was shaped by major leaders such as Eisenhower

  • It is the combination of fiscal conservatism, and limited government intervention in economic and personal matters

  • The party also made a strong national defense a major priority

  • Emphasizes individual freedom, personal responsibility and limited government intervention

Expansion of Welfare State

• Preceding WW2 the U.S. saw a significant expansion of welfare state

  • Examples of this are establishment of Medicare and Medicaid

  • The Social Security act was expanded to cover more public housing programs etc.

Native American Policy

• The government pushed a termination policy

  • aimed to assimilate Native Americans into mainstream society by eliminating federal recognition of tribes and encouraging relocation to urban areas.

    • Shifted to a Self-Determination policy which sought to empower Native Americans which allowed them to have more control over their own affairs

1950s toys

• Reflects the post war desire for comfort and entertainment

Beats

• Was a literary movement that rejected mainstream American values, and advocated for individual freedom and self-expression

  • examples include Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg

Levittowns

• Suburban housing that offered affordable homes to veterans

  • Promoted a vision of homeownership and family life.

Sunbelt

• Refers to the region that stretches from Southeast to Southwest

  • Characterized as a place with warmer climates therefore there was an increase in population and a growing economy in this area.

Ho Chi Ming

• Vietnamese leader who played a crucial role fighting for Vietnamese independence.

• It led to the establishment of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam

  • He resisted Japanese and French colonial rule

  • Was the president of North Vietnam and led it in its fight against South Vietnam

Geneva Accords

• A set of agreements that resolved the conflict in Indochina

  • The Accords led to the temporary division of Vietnam

  • Called for elections to reunify the country; however, the elections were never held because the U.S. fears of a communist victory

Open Skies

• Proposed by Eisnehower in 1955 that suggested that both the United States and the Soviet Union allow unarmed aerial flights over eachothers territories to monitor the other countries military actions

  • Soviets rejected this proposal

Domino Theory

• The Domino Theory was a concept that suggested if one country falls to communism then surrounding countries would follow

Hungarian Revolution/East Germany Uprising

• People in East Europe resisted Soviet control

  • The revolution was fueled by demands for political reform and greater freedom

    • Soviet union crushed the rebellion

Conflict with China and Taiwan

• The Us-China conflict played a significant role in convert operations during the cold war

  • With Us recognizing Taiwan as the government of China this led to tensions between China and Us

CIA - Guatemala, Iran, Cuba

• Guatemala- The CIA orchestrated a coup to overthrow the democratically elected government of Jacobo Arbenz after he was seen as a communist leading official

• Iran- CIA helped orchestrate a coup that restored the Shah to power after he was overthrown

  • Cuba- CIA tried to intervene after Fidel Castro’s revolution in 959, leading to the failed BAY of Pigs invasion

Suez War

• The Suez Crisis occured when Egypt nationalized the canel which was controlled France and Britain

  • This led to military intervention by these countries, but since Soviet union and US refused intervention it led to ceasefire

U-2 Incident

• American U-2 plane was caught by Russia

  • They lied initially, but the Soviets knew it was their plane and it was seen as a major embarrassment for the US government

Creation of Isareal and Palenstine

• United Nations passed a Partition plan to Palenstine into Jewish and Arab states

John Foster Dulles

• Secretary of State under Eisenhower

  • A strong advocated of the containment of Communism and believed in the use of force to stop the spread of it

Massive Retaliation

• A cold war strategy proposed by John Foster that called for the use of overwhelming force, including nuclear weapons, in response to any soviet union aggression

Brinkmanship

• A foreign policy used by John Foster Dulles where the U.S. and the Soviet union would push dangerous confrontations to the edge of the water

  • The idea was to threaten all out war so both sides would back down

Mutual Assured Destruction

A doctrine that emerged during the cold war, which stated that both the US and Soviet union had enough nuclear weapons to destroy each other

Both countries couldn’t afford to go into war with each other which ultimately ended the thought of war for both countries

Deterrence

• A Cold War strategy that aimed to prevent the Soviet Union from taking aggressive actions that ensured that nay actions would lead to consequences

Sputnik

• Was official Earth Satellite launched by Soviet union

National Defense Education Act

• In response to Soviet Union launching the Satellite the United States created this program which created better education particularly in stem fields

American Response to fear of Nuclear Attack

During the cold war Americans lived under the threat of nuclear attack