Module 28: The Cold War

A comprehensive set of vocabulary flashcards covering the key terms, people, and events of the Cold War era and postwar America as detailed in Module 28.

Yalta Conference

A February 1945 meeting between Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin to discuss plans for peace and the future of European governments.

Nuremberg trials

The 1945 trials of high-ranking Nazi officials for war crimes and "crimes against humanity" conducted by the International Military Tribunal.

United Nations (UN)

An organization founded in 1945 that is dedicated to resolving international conflicts and maintaining international peace and security.

Superpowers

Powerful countries that influence events in their regions of the world, specifically the United States and the Soviet Union after World War II.

Cold War

The term used to describe the struggle for global power between the United States and the Soviet Union.

Iron curtain

A term popularized by Winston Churchill to describe the division between Soviet-controlled Eastern Europe and the Western world.

Containment

A U.S. foreign policy goal of preventing the Soviet Union from expanding its influence around the world.

Truman Doctrine

The policy of providing aid to help foreign countries fight communism, first used to support Greece and Turkey.

Marshall Plan

A recovery program through which Western Europe received more than $13\,\text{billion}$ in U.S. loans and grants for economic recovery between 1948 and 1952.

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

An alliance formed in 1949 by the United States, Canada, Iceland, and nine Western European nations who promised to defend each other if attacked.

Warsaw Pact

A 1955 military alliance providing a unified system of command between the Soviet Union and its Eastern European satellite countries.

GI Bill of Rights

Also known as the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act, it offered veterans money for school and loans for houses, farms, and businesses.

Taft-Hartley Act

A 1947 law that outlawed closed shops and allowed the president to order an 80-day "cooling-off" period before a strike.

Fair Deal

President Truman’s domestic program that included a higher minimum wage, a national health insurance plan, and expanded Social Security benefits.

Mao Zedong

The leader of the Communist Party who officially established the People’s Republic of China on October 1, 1949.

38th parallel

The line of latitude that divided Korea into a Soviet-controlled northern zone and a U.S.-occupied southern zone after World War II.

House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC)

A congressional committee that investigated Communist influence in America, including the Hollywood movie industry.

McCarthyism

The method of making aggressive accusations of Communist activity without providing concrete proof, named after Senator Joseph McCarthy.

Hydrogen bomb

A nuclear weapon far more powerful than the atomic bombs used in World War II, first tested by the United States in 1952.

Arms race

A competition between the United States and the Soviet Union to build more and more nuclear weapons.

Sputnik

The world’s first artificial satellite, launched into orbit by the Soviet Union in October 1957.

Brinkmanship

A foreign policy strategy of being willing to go to the verge of war to oppose communism.

Baby boom

A significant increase in the number of babies born during the prosperous years following World War II.

Sun Belt

Southern and western states that experienced high population growth due to warm climates and low tax rates.

Urban renewal

A federal government program aimed at improving city services and housing in decaying urban areas.

Beats

Also known as beatniks, these were young people and writers who criticized 1950s society through unusual writing styles and rebellious behavior.