Chapter 25 History---- Cold War

What was the "Long Telegram" and who sent it?

A lengthy message from U.S. diplomat George Kennan in 1946, denouncing the Soviet Union and arguing for a policy of "containment."

What was the "Iron Curtain" and who coined the term in a 1946 speech?

A term coined by Winston Churchill to describe the ideological and physical division of Europe between the capitalist West and the communist East, controlled by the Soviet Union.

What was the Cold War?

A global political and ideological struggle between the capitalist United States and the communist Soviet Union. It was "cold" because it did not involve direct hot war between the two superpowers.

What were the three main phases of the Cold War timeline?

First Cold War: mid- 1940s to mid-1960s with high tensions

Detente: mid 1960s to 1979 relaxed tensions

Second Cold War: 1979 to 1991 when the USSR collapsed

What postwar conferences between the "Big Three" Allies failed to achieve a durable settlement, leading to increased suspicion?

The Yalta Conference and Postdam Conference

What was the Atlantic Charter?

A joint declaration of goals for postwar peace created by Roosevelt and Churchill on the eve of American involvement in World War II, on August 14, 1941——also set in motion the planning for a reorganized global economy.

The Atlantic Charter was an adaptation of ____

Wilson’s Fourteen Points, and established the United Nations——The Soviet Union was among the fifty charter UN member-states and was given one of five seats—alongside the United States, Britain, France, and China—on the select Security Council.

What were the two main international financial institutions created at the 1944 Bretton Woods Conference?

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), forerunner of the World Bank.

What was the Truman Doctrine?

The 1947 U.S. policy of providing economic and military aid to "free peoples" (like Greece and Turkey) to resist communist subjugation. It became a cornerstone of containment.

How did the U.S. and Soviet Union's alliance during World War II come about, and why was it fragile?

It was an alliance of convenience against a common enemy (Nazi Germany), not based on trust. Decades of mutual suspicions and ideological differences resurfaced after the war

What were the conditions in Europe in 1946-1947 that prompted U.S. action?

A harsh winter caused famine, halted coal production, closed factories, and spiked unemployment, making masses vulnerable to communist propaganda.

What were the two names for the U.S. program that sought to rebuild Western Europe after WWII?

The European Recovery Program (ERP) or the Marshal Plan

What were the three main goals of the Marshall Plan?

1) Rebuild Western Europe

2) Open markets 

3) Win European support for capitalist democracies (promoted americansim)

How did the Soviet Union respond to the Marshall Plan?

They saw it as an anti-communist "Trojan Horse" and created their own rival Molotov Plan for Eastern Europe.

What was the Berlin Blockade of 1948?

A Soviet ground blockade cutting off rail and road access to West Berlin to gain control of the entire city after Western powers introduced a new currency

How did the Western Allies respond to the Berlin Blockade?

They organized a massive airlift that flew essential supplies into West Berlin for eleven months until the Soviets lifted the blockade.

What were the two new countries formed after the Berlin Blockade crisis?

West Germany: The Federal Republic of Germany (FRG).

East Germany: The German Democratic Republic (GDR).

What was NATO, and when was it formed?

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, a mutual defense pact formed in 1949 by the U.S., Canada, and ten Western European nations.

How did the Soviet Union formally respond to NATO?

In 1955, it formed its own collective defense agreement for Eastern Bloc countries called the Warsaw Pact.

What was journalist Walter Lippmann's main criticism of George Kennan's "containment" policy?

He thought it was "fundamentally unsound" because it required unlimited money and military power for open-ended global commitments. He favored a more limited focus on Europe.

What two events in 1949 caused a "sense of panic" in American foreign policy and shifted their focus to Asia?

1) The Communist victory in the Chinese Civil War, creating the People’s Republic of China (PRC)

2) The Soviet Union’s successful test of an atomic bomb

What was NSC-68 and what was its primary goal?

A top-secret 1950 U.S. policy paper that advocated for a massive military build-up and global rollback of communism, arguing the USSR was fanatically driven for world domination.

How did the Korean War begin in June 1950?

North Korean forces (DPRK) launched a surprise attack to invade and liberate the South (ROK), quickly capturing Seoul.

What was the initial result of UN forces (led by General MacArthur) landing at Inchon in September 1950?

It was a successful counter-offensive. UN forces recaptured Seoul and then pushed deep into North Korea, nearly to the Chinese border.

What major event turned the tide of the Korean War again in late 1950?

Hundreds of thousands of Chinese troops entered the war, pushing UN forces back south of the 38th parallel and recapturing Seoul.

Why did President Truman fire General MacArthur in April 1951?

For public insubordination after MacArthur repeatedly challenged Truman's authority and requested authorization to use nuclear weapons against China.

How did the Korean War end?

After two years of peace talks, an armistice was signed in 1953. The war ended in a stalemate, roughly along the original border at the 38th parallel.

What were the two governments that formed on the Korean peninsula after World War II?

North: The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), communist.

South: The Republic of Korean, anti-communist and backed by the UN and US

How did thinkers like George Kennan and Walter Lippmann view the policy of NSC-68?

They argued against it, seeing the "militarization of containment" as a tragic and wrongheaded overreaction.

How did the Korean War end?

An armistice was signed on July 27, 1953, ending the fighting in a stalemate. It was often called America's "forgotten war."

Who was Ho Chi Minh and what did he declare in 1945?

A Vietnamese nationalist leader who declared the independent Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV) after WWII—— quoted the US Declaration of Independence

Why did the United States initially oppose Ho Chi Minh's Democratic Republic of Vietnam?

To support its ally, France, which was trying to reassert its colonial control over Indochina after WWII

What was the result of the 1954 Battle of Dien Bien Phu and the subsequent settlement?

The French were defeated and a temporary settlement partitioned Vietnam into a communist North and an American-backed South

What was the "nuclear arms race"?

The competition between the US and the USSR to develop more advanced atomic weapons and delivery systems after the Soviets tested their first atomic bomb in 1949

What is a hydrogen bomb and how does it differ from the first atomic bombs?

A thermonuclear weapon that uses fusion, making it vastly more powerful than the fission-based atomic bombs dropped on Japan

What was President Eisenhower's policy of "massive retaliation"?

The threat that the US would respond to any Soviet aggression with its entire nuclear arsenal

What is the logic of "Mutually Assured Destruction" (MAD)?

the idea that both superpowers would be deterred from starting a nuclear war because each possessed enough weapons to annihilate the other, even after being attacked first

How did American "atomic culture" in the 1950s reflect fears of nuclear war?

Through media like Godzilla and Dr. Strangelove that explored anxieties about radioactive monsters, accidents, and doomsday, as well as public antinuclear protests. 

What was President Eisenhower's "Atoms for Peace" program?

A proposal to share nuclear knowledge and technology for peaceful purposes, like energy production, leading to the creation of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)

What was the Sputnik crisis?

The Soviet Union’s launch of Sputnik 1 in 1957, the world’s first artificial satellite—-It was a major propaganda victory that shocked the US and sparked the Space Race

How did the United States respond to the Sputnik launch?

It created NASA in 1958 and drastically increased funding for science education and space technology to “catch up”

What were two key Soviet "firsts" in the Space Race that increased American anxiety?

1) Sputnik in 1957

2) Yuri Gagarin in 1961—-first human in orbit

What was the purpose of the "Duck and Cover" drills in American schools?

To instruct children on what to do “in the event of a thermonuclear war,” highlighting the pervasive fear of a nuclear attack

What was the ARPA

The Advanced Research Projects Agency, created in 1958 after the Sputnik launch to fund and develop cutting-edge military technologies and ensure U.S. technological superiority

What groundbreaking technological development did ARPA help pioneer?

the first system of computer networks, which was a precursor to the modern internet

Who was Joseph McCarthy and what was his famous 1950 claim?

A Republican senator from Wisconsin who claimed to have a list of communists working in the US State Department, launching his anti-communist crusade

What was "McCarthyism"?

the practice of making accusations of subversion or treason without proper evidence, exploiting and fueling the anti-communist hysteria of the era

What was President Truman's "loyalty order" (Executive Order 9835)?

An order established in 1947 that created loyalty reviews for federal employees to root out potential security risks and communists from the government.

What were the roles of HUAC and the SPSI?

House of Un-American Activities Committee and Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations——congressional committees that held high-profile hearings on accused communists and their influence in American society

What was the McCarran Act (Internal Security Act) of 1950?

A law that required all “communist organizations” to register with the government and gave the government increased powers to investigate sedition

How did the Red Scare affect American society beyond the federal government?

Led to state-level investigations, including reviewing procedures in schools and universities, with teachers and professors needing tot take a loyalty oath such as the University of California

What three major world events in 1949-1950 fueled the American anti-communist hysteria?

1) the Soviet Union tested an atomic bomb

2) China fell to communism

3) The Korean War began

Who were Julius and Ethel Rosenberg and what was their fate?

A couple accused of passing atomic bomb secrets to the Soviet Unio—-they were convicted of espionage and executed in 1953

Who was Alger Hiss and why was his case significant?

A high-ranking US State Department official accused of Soviet espionage by Whittaker Chambers—-His perjury convictions in 1950 became a major symbol of communist infiltration for conservatives

Alger Hiss and Rosenbergs anticommunists_____

such as Joseph McCarthy the evidence they needed to allege a vast Soviet conspiracy to infiltrate and subvert the U.S. government and justify the smearing of all left-liberals

What followed McCarthy’s February 1950 speech in Wheeling?

McCarthy faced controversy for his charges, and President Truman was forced to respond with a partisan congressional investigation, the Tydings Committee.

What was the outcome of the Tydings Committee investigation into Joseph McCarthy's claims?

The committee found McCarthy’s charges to be a “fraud and a hoax,” but this did little to stop his influence at the time

How did The Nation editor Freda Kirchwey characterize "McCarthyism"?

As a political "witch hunt" where men "disguised as hunters of subversion" were actually subverting justice for their own political gain.

What was the CPUSA and when was it formed?

The Communist Party of the United States of America, formed in the aftermath of the 1917 Russian Revolution

When did the CPUSA gain its greatest influence in American life, and how?

During the 1930s through the Popular Front, when it allied with liberals and reformers during the Great Depression, working within unions and civil rights groups

What event in 1939 caused many intellectuals and supporters to leave the CPUSA?

The Hitler-Stalin nonaggression pact, which made many feel betrayed by the Soviet Union

Despite its influence, how large was the CPUSA's actual membership at its peak?

It was relatively small, with only about 80,000 “card-carrying members”

What was the Hollywood Blacklist and how was it created?

A list of film artists barred from work for suspected communist ties, created after the Hollywood Ten were held in contempt of Congress for refusing to testify before HUAC

What was the common and intimidating question HUAC asked Hollywood witnesses?

“Are you now, or have you ever been, a member of the Communist Party?”

What was the role of the FBI under J. Edgar Hoover in the domestic Cold War?

It actively incited panic by assisting with propagandistic films and TV shows and investigating suspected subversives

What was "Cold War liberalism" as exemplified by the Americans for Democratic Action (ADA)?

A political stance that combined support for social and economic reforms with staunch (in a loyal or committed manor) anticommunism

How did Arthur Miller's play The Crucible critique the Red Scare?

It compared the anti-communist hysteria of the 1950s to the Salem Witch Trials, showing how political opposition was unfairly equated with moral evil

What was the "lavender scare"?

The persecution of gay Americans during the Cold War, driven by fears that their “deviant” behavior and personal secrets made them vulnerable to blackmail and subversion

How did the Taft-Hartley Act (1947) help purge communists?

It required union officials to sign affidavits (an official statement confirmed by oath) that were not communists, which gave them the initiative to purge communists from the labor movement

What social messages did American society promote in the name of anticommunist conformity?

It urged middle-class women to return to homemaking, black soldiers to accept racial segregation, and everyone to avoid “deviant” behavior like homosexuality

How was religion used as a weapon in the Cold War?

American leaders framed teh conflict as a battle between “godless communism” and “God-fearing Americanism,” making religious faith a sign of patriotism

What are two examples of how religious symbols were incorporated into U.S. government and culture in the 1950s?

1) Adding “under God” to the Pledge of Allegiance in 1954

2) Adopting “In God We Trust” as the national motto in 1956

What did President Eisenhower mean when he said, "our form of government makes no sense unless it is founded in a deeply-felt religious faith, and I don't care what it is"?

He was promoting the idea of a Judeo-Christian heritage where believing in almost any religion was seen as better than atheism, which was associated with communism

Who was one of the most prominent evangelical leaders who allied with anti-communist politicians like McCarthy?

Billy Graham, who sermonized that communism aimed to destroy the American home and cause moral deterioration

What ultimately led to Joseph McCarthy's downfall and loss of public credibility?

His increasingly reckless actions, particularly his investigation of the US army, which was a bridge too far——he was seen as abrasive and a bully

How did journalist Edward R. Murrow contribute to McCarthy's downfall?

In a famous 1954 television broadcast, Murrow publicly denounced McCarthy’s methods, arguing that the senator exploited the nation’s fear and that the fault for his rise lay with the American people themselves

What event and famous quote marked the decisive turning point in Joseph McCarthy's downfall?

During the Army-McCarthy hearings in 1954, Army counsel Joseph Welch rebuked McCarthy stating “Have you no sense of decency, sir? At long last, have you left no sense of decency?”

What was the final political action taken against McCarthy by the U.S. Senate?

On December 2, 1954, the Senate voted 67–22 to condemn him, formally censuring his actions and ending his power.

How did the "Red Scare" outlast Joseph McCarthy himself?

The tactic of "red-baiting" (smearing opponents by linking them to communism) continued and was used against civil rights activists, liberals, and social justice movements for years to come.

Which two future U.S. Presidents used anti-communism early in their careers to build their public profiles?

Richard Nixon (via the Hiss case on HUAC) and Ronald Reagan (via his testimony in Hollywood and work for GE).

What was the concept of the "American Century" outlined by Henry Luce?

The vision of the United States as the dynamic leader of world trade and the principal guarantor of global freedom after World War II.

What was the "Third World" in the context of the Cold War?

The newly independent nations in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East that became a battleground for influence between the U.S. and Soviet Union after the collapse of European empires.

According to the "domino theory" logic of U.S. policy, why were interventions in places like Korea and Vietnam seen as necessary?

It was believed that if one country fell to communism, it would cause a chain reaction, with neighboring countries falling one after another like dominoes.

What was the "Domino Theory"?

The Cold War belief that if one nation fell to communism, neighboring countries would follow in a chain reaction, like a row of falling dominoes. This justified U.S. interventions worldwide.

What is the "permanent war economy" or "military-industrial complex"?

The powerful, self-perpetuating alliance between a nation's military establishment, arms industry, and government, which has a vested interest in high defense spending.

Who famously warned the American public about the "military-industrial complex"?

President Dwight D. Eisenhower in his 1961 farewell address. He cautioned that its "total influence" could threaten democratic processes.

How did the Cold War change the U.S. military after World War II?

It led to a new, permanent defense establishment and a "standing army," a major shift from the country's tradition of demobilizing after a war.

What was the U.S.'s "complicated and often contradictory" role in the post-WWII era of decolonization?

While the U.S. voiced support for independence from colonial rule, it often opposed independence movements if they were seen as linked to or potentially sympathetic to communism and the Soviet Union.

According to critics like C. Wright Mills, what was a danger of the "power elite" in the permanent war economy?

That the ruling class could be corrupted and have an incentive to take the country into war for the sake of corporate profits.

What was the U.S. strategy toward decolonizing nations in the Third World?

To develop an informal "hegemony" (power based on consent) by promoting democracy and capitalism, rather than a formal empire, to win them over from the Soviet model.

Why did the U.S. often support European colonial regimes over independence movements, despite its anti-colonial rhetoric?

Because American officials feared that anticolonial resistance would breed revolution and push nationalist leaders into the Soviet sphere of influence.

What was the purpose of the 1948 Smith-Mundt Act?

To use cultural exchanges and propaganda to "promote a better understanding of the United States in other countries" and win the "war for hearts and minds."

How did the Soviet Union use American domestic issues as a propaganda tool?

They highlighted racial segregation and violence in the American South to expose U.S. hypocrisy in claiming to be the "leader of the free world."

How was the American Black freedom struggle connected to the global Cold War?

Prominent Black radicals like Malcolm X and W.E.B. Du Bois linked the fight for civil rights to the global anticolonial movement, arguing the U.S. had inherited a racist imperial tradition.

What event in 1989 symbolized the imminent end of the Cold War?

The fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989, which led to German reunification and the collapse of Soviet control over Eastern Europe.

When did the Cold War officially end?

It effectively ended with the dissolution of the Soviet Union on December 25, 1991.