AMSCO AP US History Chapter 26 Flashcards

Cold War

period of tension after WWII between the US and Soviet Union without direct large scale fighting

Superpowers after WWII

United States and Soviet Union dominated global politics and military power

Truman Doctrine

1947 policy asking Congress for aid to Greece and Turkey to resist communism and totalitarianism

Containment

US foreign policy aimed at stopping the spread of communism

George F Kennan

diplomat who argued patient vigilant containment would weaken Soviet power over time

Bipartisan support

Republicans and Democrats supported early Cold War containment

Rejection of appeasement

Americans wanted to avoid repeating appeasement used against Nazi Germany

NATO

North Atlantic Treaty Organization military alliance of US Canada and Western Europe

Collective security

NATO rule that an attack on one member is an attack on all

Dwight D Eisenhower NATO role

first Supreme Allied Commander of NATO forces

Warsaw Pact

Soviet led military alliance of Eastern European communist nations

Global military buildup

Cold War caused massive arms expansion worldwide

Taft Hartley Act 1947

Law limiting union power passed over Truman’s veto, significantly amended the Wagner act

Right to work laws

allowed workers to avoid joining unions

Cool off period

president could delay strikes threatening national security

Union decline

Taft Hartley marked shift toward pro business policies

Fair Deal

Truman’s domestic reform plan including healthcare education civil rights and housing

Fair Deal opposition

conservative Congress blocked most reforms

Fair Deal successes

minimum wage increase and Social Security expansion

New Deal preservation

Fair Deal maintained core FDR programs

Soviet atomic bomb 1949

ended US nuclear monopoly

Manhattan Project espionage

nuclear secrets leaked to the Soviets

Rosenberg case

Julius and Ethel Rosenberg executed for passing atomic secrets

Anti communist hysteria

fear of communist infiltration in the US

Alger Hiss case

State Department official convicted of perjury over espionage accusations

Whittaker Chambers

former communist who accused Alger Hiss

Richard Nixon role

gained national attention prosecuting Alger Hiss

McCarthyism

use of exaggerated communist accusations for political gain

Joseph McCarthy

senator who claimed communists were in the State Department

Media fueled hysteria

press amplified fear and McCarthy’s power

McCarthy downfall

exposed as dishonest and censured by Senate

Berlin Blockade 1948

Soviets cut off land access to West Berlin

Berlin Airlift

US and allies supplied West Berlin by air

Truman response to blockade

resisted Soviets without starting war

Political impact of airlift

helped Truman win reelection

Two German states

West Germany: US allied, East Germany: Soviet satellite

Candy Bombers

pilots dropped candy to German children

Hydrogen bomb

nuclear weapon far stronger than atomic bomb

US H bomb approval

Truman approved development after Soviet test

NSC 68

secret report calling for massive military expansion

Defense spending increase

quadruple defense to 20 percent of GNP

Global alliances strategy

alliances used to counter communism

Cold War propaganda

government justified arms buildup to public

Korean War start 1950

North Korea invaded South Korea

UN police action

US fought without declaring war

Douglas MacArthur

general leading early UN forces

Inchon landing

surprise amphibious attack reversing early losses

Advance to China border

UN forces pushed North Korea north

Chinese intervention

China entered war pushing UN forces back

38th parallel

dividing line between North and South Korea

Limited war policy

Truman refused to expand war into China

MacArthur dismissal

fired for insubordination

Public reaction to MacArthur

many Americans viewed him as a hero

Korean War stalemate

fighting ended without victory

Armistice 1953

ceasefire signed not a peace treaty

Korean War casualties

over 2.5 million dead including 54000 americans

Ongoing Korean division

war never officially ended

McCarran Internal Security Act

law restricting communist activity

Anti totalitarian provisions

banned advocacy of totalitarian governments

Communist restrictions

limited travel and employment of suspected communists

Detention camps authorization

allowed imprisonment of subversives

Civil liberties tension/Cold War theme

Cold War fear reduced freedoms, national security often overrides civil rights