DCUSH Study Guide - Unit 5b: World War 2; Cold War; Vietnam

Atomic Bomb

A weapon that uses nuclear reactions to create explosive energy; used by the US against Japan in WWII.

Arguments For the Use of Atomic Bomb

1. Ended WWII quickly. 2. Avoided a deadly U.S. invasion of Japan. 3. Sent a strong warning to the Soviet Union.

Arguments Against the Use of Atomic Bomb

1. Killed many civilians. 2. Caused long-term suffering. 3. Other options might have worked such as a blockade.

Containment

U.S. strategy aimed at preventing the spread of communism after WWII.

Truman Doctrine

U.S. policy to support countries resisting communism, primarily through economic and military assistance.

Domino Theory

The belief that the fall of one country to communism would lead to the fall of neighboring countries.

Pearl Harbor

A surprise military attack by Japan on the US naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941.

Guerrilla Warfare

A form of irregular warfare in which small groups use tactics like ambushes and hit-and-run against larger traditional military.

Neutrality Act of 1935

Legislation aimed at keeping the U.S. out of conflicts by prohibiting arms sales to warring nations.

Neutrality Act of 1939

Modified previous neutrality legislation by allowing 'cash-and-carry' arms sales to warring nations.

Lend-Lease Act

A program under which the U.S. supplied Allied nations with vast amounts of war material.

Axis Powers

The coalition led by Germany, Italy, and Japan during WWII.

Allied Powers

The coalition led by the U.S., the UK, and the Soviet Union against the Axis Powers during WWII.

Manhattan Project

The U.S. research and development project to develop the atomic bomb during WWII.

Winston Churchill

Prime Minister of Great Britain during WWII, known for his leadership and speeches.

Gen Dwight Eisenhower

Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Forces in Europe during WWII.

Battle of El Alamein

A decisive battle in North Africa where Allied forces defeated Axis troops led by Erwin Rommel.

Battle of Stalingrad

A key battle in WWII where the Soviet Union defeated Germany, marking a turning point on the Eastern Front.

Battle of Midway

A pivotal naval battle in which the U.S. decisively defeated an attacking fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy.

D-Day/Battle of Normandy

The largest amphibious invasion in history, leading to the liberation of German-occupied France.

Island Hopping

A military strategy used in WWII to capture specific islands while bypassing others to advance towards Japan.

Kamikazes

Japanese suicide pilots who crashed their aircraft into enemy ships during WWII.

Hiroshima and Nagasaki

The two Japanese cities on which the United States dropped atomic bombs in August 1945.

Holocaust

The systematic extermination of six million Jews and millions of others by Nazi Germany during WWII.

Japanese Internment

The forced relocation and confinement of Japanese Americans during WWII.

Iron Curtain

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

Cold War

The period of geopolitical tension between the Soviet Union and the United States after WWII.

NATO

North Atlantic Treaty Organization, a military alliance established in 1949 for collective defense against aggression.

Marshall Plan

An American initiative to aid Western Europe, providing economic support to rebuild economies after WWII.

Berlin Blockade/Airlift

The Soviet blockade of Berlin in 1948-49 and the subsequent Allied airlift to supply the city.

Korean War

A conflict between North Korea (with the support of China and the Soviet Union) and South Korea (supported by UN forces including the US) from 1950 to 1953.

McCarthyism

The practice of making accusations of subversion or treason without proper regard for evidence, particularly during the Second Red Scare in the U.S.

MAD (Mutually Assured Destruction)

A military doctrine in which a full-scale use of nuclear weapons by two or more opposing sides would cause the complete annihilation of both the attacker and the defender.

Berlin Wall

A concrete barrier that divided East and West Berlin from 1961 to 1989, symbolizing the Cold War.

Cuban Missile Crisis

A 13-day confrontation in 1962 between the U.S. and the Soviet Union over Soviet ballistic missiles deployed in Cuba.

Domino Theory in Vietnam

The belief that the fall of one country in Southeast Asia to communism would lead to others falling as well.

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

A resolution passed by Congress in 1964 that authorized military action in Vietnam.

Viet Cong

A communist-led guerrilla force in South Vietnam that fought against the U.S. and South Vietnamese government.

Attrition in Vietnam War

A strategy focusing on wearing down the enemy through sustained aggressive attacks and high body counts.

Ho Chi Minh Trail

A network of supply routes used by North Vietnam to transport goods and troops to the South.

Peace Movement

A social movement against the Vietnam War, involving diverse groups united by a desire to end the conflict.

Tet Offensive

A major escalation and turning point in the Vietnam War in 1968, featuring a series of surprise attacks by North Vietnamese forces.

My Lai Massacre

The killing of between 347 and 504 South Vietnamese civilians by U.S. Army soldiers during the Vietnam War.

Kent State Shootings

The 1970 incident wherein Ohio National Guardsmen fired on students protesting the U.S. invasion of Cambodia, killing four and wounding nine.

Vietnamization

Nixon's strategy to reduce American involvement in the Vietnam War by transferring combat responsibilities to South Vietnamese forces.

War Powers Resolution

Legislation that limits the President's power to deploy troops without Congressional approval.