APWORLD UNIT 8 vocab

Big Three

The leaders of the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union during World War II: Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin.

Tehran Conference

A meeting in 1943 between the Big Three to discuss the strategy for defeating Nazi Germany and the post-war order.

Yalta Conference

A 1945 meeting between the Big Three to discuss the reorganization of post-war Europe and the establishment of the United Nations.

Potsdam Conference

The 1945 meeting of the Big Three to negotiate terms for the end of World War II and address issues in post-war Europe.

Franklin Roosevelt

The 32nd President of the United States, who led the country during the Great Depression and most of World War II.

Harry Truman

The 33rd President of the United States who succeeded Franklin Roosevelt and made the decision to use atomic bombs in Japan.

Self-determination

The principle that nations have the right to determine their own political status and govern themselves.

United Nations

An international organization founded in 1945 to promote peace, security, and cooperation among countries.

Cold War

A period of geopolitical tension between the Soviet Union and the United States from the end of World War II until the early 1990s.

Capitalism versus Communism

The ideological conflict during the Cold War between capitalist economies, which emphasize private ownership, and communist economies, which advocate for state ownership.

Democracy versus Authoritarianism

The political struggle between democratic systems, which promote individual freedoms and elections, and authoritarian regimes, which concentrate power and limit freedoms.

Iron Curtain

A term used to describe the division between the Soviet-controlled Eastern Europe and the Western democracies during the Cold War.

Satellite Countries

Nations in Eastern Europe that were aligned with and influenced by the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

Containment

A U.S. foreign policy strategy aimed at preventing the spread of communism during the Cold War.

Truman Doctrine

A U.S. policy established in 1947 to provide political, military, and economic assistance to countries resisting communism.

Marshall Plan

A U.S. program initiated in 1948 to aid Western Europe's economic recovery after World War II.

Space Race

The competition between the United States and the Soviet Union to achieve significant milestones in space exploration during the Cold War.

Sputnik

The first artificial satellite launched by the Soviet Union in 1957, marking the beginning of the Space Race.

Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD)

A military doctrine that posits that full-scale use of nuclear weapons by two or more opposing sides would lead to the complete annihilation of both.

Non-Aligned Movement

A group of states that chose not to formally align with either the United States or the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

Berlin Airlift

A military operation in 1948-1949 in which the U.S. and its allies supplied West Berlin by air after the Soviet Union blocked ground access.

Berlin Wall

A barrier constructed in 1961 that divided East and West Berlin, symbolizing the Cold War division between communism and democracy.

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

A military alliance formed in 1949 between North American and European countries to provide collective defense against aggression.

Warsaw Pact

A military alliance established in 1955 among the Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc countries in response to NATO.

Communist Bloc

The group of socialist states under the influence of the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

Proxy Wars (Korean and Vietnam Wars)

Conflicts during the Cold War where the U.S. and the Soviet Union supported opposing sides, notably in Korea and Vietnam.

Bay of Pigs Crisis

A failed invasion of Cuba in 1961 by Cuban exiles supported by the U.S. government, aimed at overthrowing Fidel Castro.

John F. Kennedy

The 35th President of the United States, known for his leadership during the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Space Race.

Cuban Missile Crisis

A 1962 confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union over Soviet missiles deployed in Cuba.

Hot Line

A direct communication link established between the U.S. and Soviet leaders to prevent nuclear war during the Cold War.

Turmoil in Iran

Refers to the political upheaval in Iran during the late 1970s, leading to the Iranian Revolution and the establishment of a theocracy.

Theocracy

A system of government in which priests or religious leaders control the government, claiming to rule on behalf of a deity.

Ho Chi Minh

The leader of North Vietnam who played a key role in the Vietnam War and the fight for Vietnamese independence.

Viet Cong

A South Vietnamese communist guerrilla group that fought against the U.S. and South Vietnamese governments during the Vietnam War.

Suez Canal Crisis

A diplomatic and military confrontation in 1956 involving Egypt, Israel, France, and the UK over control of the Suez Canal.

Zionist Movement

A nationalist movement advocating for the establishment of a Jewish homeland in Palestine.

Palestinian Liberation Organization

An organization founded in 1964 to create an independent State of Palestine and represent the Palestinian people.

Hamas

A Palestinian Islamic political and militant organization that governs the Gaza Strip and opposes Israel.

Khmer Rouge

A communist regime in Cambodia from 1975 to 1979 known for its brutal policies and genocide.

Partition of India

The division of British India in 1947 into two independent dominions, India and Pakistan, based on religious lines.

Mohandas Gandhi

An Indian leader who advocated for nonviolent resistance and played a key role in India's struggle for independence from British rule.

Martin Luther King Jr.

An American civil rights leader known for his nonviolent activism against racial segregation and his famous 'I Have a Dream' speech.

Nelson Mandela

A South African anti-apartheid revolutionary who became the country's first black president after years of imprisonment.

Apartheid

A system of institutionalized racial segregation and discrimination enforced in South Africa from 1948 to the early 1990s.

Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT)

Negotiations between the U.S. and the Soviet Union aimed at curbing the arms race, resulting in treaties signed in the 1970s.

Ronald Reagan

The 40th President of the United States, known for his conservative policies and efforts to end the Cold War.

Gorbachev

The last leader of the Soviet Union, known for his reforms of glasnost and perestroika that contributed to the end of the Cold War.

Perestroika

A policy initiated by Gorbachev in the 1980s aimed at restructuring the Soviet economy and political system.

Glasnost

A policy introduced by Gorbachev in the 1980s promoting openness and transparency in government and society.