10.1/10.2 cold war

Cold War

A state of tension and hostility between nations aligned with the US on one side versus the Soviet Union; not an armed conflict but involved major rivals.

Yalta Conference

Meeting where Churchill and Roosevelt accepted some of Stalin's demands for Eastern Europe and agreed to occupy Germany.

Stalin's two goals for Eastern Europe

1) Spread communism into the area; 2) Create a buffer zone of friendly governments as defense against Germany.

Red Army

Pushed German forces out of Eastern Europe and left behind occupying forces that helped establish pro-Soviet governments.

Iron Curtain

A symbol of Cold War fear of communism; described the division of Europe into Eastern (Soviet) and Western (democracies like the US).

Winston Churchill

British leader who spoke about how the Soviet Union was "selling off" the countries in Eastern Europe.

President Truman

Saw communism as an evil force threatening countries around the world; created the Truman Doctrine.

Truman Doctrine

Policy made by President Truman for Greece and Turkey; aimed to contain communism to areas already under Soviet control and isolate the Soviet Union.

Containment

A US policy of limiting communism to areas already under Soviet control and preventing its spread.

Marshall Plan

A major US aid package that gave food and economic assistance to Europe to help it recover and reduce communist influence.

Satellites

Dependent states in Eastern Europe under Soviet control.

Stalin's response to the Marshall Plan

He declined US aid and forbade Eastern European satellite states from accepting it.

West Germany

Turned democratic after WWII with US encouragement to rebuild industries using Marshall Plan aid.

East Germany

Had a Soviet-style socialist dictatorship after WWII.

Berlin Airlift (1948)

Western powers mounted round-the-clock cargo planes to supply West Berliners with fuel and food after Stalin sealed off railroads and highways.

NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization)

A military alliance formed by the US, Canada, and ten other countries to help one another if attacked.

Warsaw Pact

A military alliance formed by the Soviet Union with seven satellite states in Eastern Europe to keep them under Soviet control.

Propaganda war

Both sides engaged in this; the US defended capitalism and democracy against totalitarianism and communism; the Soviet Union claimed high morality against western imperialism.

Berlin Wall (1961)

A massive concrete barrier with barbed wire, patrolled by guards, built by East Germany to stop low-paid East Germans from fleeing to West Berlin.

Imre Nagy

A communist reformer who ended one-party rule in Hungary, removed Soviet troops, and withdrew from the Warsaw Pact; was executed after the Soviet Union invaded Hungary.

Prague Spring

A period introduced by Alexander Dubček in Czechoslovakia for greater freedom of expression; was crushed by the Soviet Union.

Alexander Dubček

Leader who introduced the Prague Spring to allow greater freedom of expression in Czechoslovakia.

Arms Race

A competition where each side tried to develop enough weapons to withstand attacks; led to the Soviet Union developing an atomic bomb.

MAD (Mutually Assured Destruction)

A doctrine where both sides possessed so many nuclear weapons that an attack would result in the total destruction of both.

Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (1963)

An agreement between the US and Soviet Union that banned nuclear weapons testing.

SALT (Strategic Arms Limitation Talks)

Talks between the US and Soviet Union to limit the number of nuclear weapons each side had.

START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty)

An agreement between the US and Russia to remove large numbers of nuclear weapons.

Détente

A period of relaxed tensions between the US and Soviet Union, bringing new agreements to reduce nuclear stockpiles and turning to diplomacy.

Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)

An agreement signed by many world leaders to not develop nuclear weapons and cooperate to stop their spread.

SEATO (Southeast Asia Treaty Organization)

A military alliance including the US, Britain, France, Australia, Pakistan, Thailand, New Zealand, and the Philippines; formed to make alliances in Asia.

Fidel Castro

A young lawyer who organized an armed rebellion against the Cuban dictator, led the Cuban Revolution, imposed harsh authoritarian rule, and turned to the Soviet Union for help.

Cuban Revolution

Led by Fidel Castro; resulted in foreign-owned businesses being taken over and Cubans fleeing to the US.

Bay of Pigs invasion (1961)

A poorly planned invasion by President John F. Kennedy using anti-Castro exiles to try to overthrow Castro; it hurt US reputation.

President John F. Kennedy

Made anti-Castro exiles invade Cuba (Bay of Pigs) and later made a naval blockade on Cuba demanding the Soviet Union remove its nuclear missiles.

Cuban Missile Crisis

President Kennedy made a naval blockade on Cuba and demanded the Soviet Union remove its nuclear missiles from Cuba.

Nikita Khrushchev

The new Soviet leader after Stalin who publicly exposed Stalin's abuse of power.

Leonid Brezhnev

Soviet leader who had dissidents (people who criticized the government) arrested and imprisoned.

Andrei Sakharov

A physicist who spoke out against human rights abuses in the Soviet Union and was exiled to a remote city.

Dissidents

People who criticized the Soviet government and faced arrest and imprisonment.

HUAC (House Un-American Activities Committee)

A US committee that led a campaign to identify communist sympathizers and charge them, ruining thousands of American careers.

Fallout shelters

Structures built by American families to hide from nuclear explosions due to fear of nuclear war.

Air-raid drills

School drills where children ducked under desks to prepare for a potential nuclear attack.

Suburbanization

The movement of communities out of the urban core; families lived in single-family houses with lawns and commuted by car on highways.

Interdependence

Mutual dependence of countries on goods, resources, and knowledge from other parts of the world; led to global oil shortages from Middle East crises.

Recession

Periods of economic downturn.

Segregation

Denied equality for education, housing, jobs, and voting to African Americans for decades.

Civil rights movement

Efforts led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to end racial injustice through peaceful protests; inspired Indians and Latinos to campaign for equality.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

A leader of the civil rights movement who organized peaceful protests to end segregation in the US; gave the "I Have a Dream" speech.

President Lyndon Johnson

Created Medicare under the Great Society.

Medicare

A program created by President Lyndon Johnson under the Great Society that ensured healthcare for the elderly.

Great Society

President Lyndon Johnson's program that expanded social programs including Medicare, job training, and low-cost housing for the poor.

President Ronald Reagan

Called for cutbacks in government spending on social programs; cut back on welfare programs and invested more in military spending.

Konrad Adenauer

Leader who led West Germans to rebuild cities, factories, and trade, creating a booming industrial economy.

West German welfare state

Government-provided national healthcare, unemployment insurance, old-age pensions, and support for students attending college.

German reunification (1990)

The Berlin Wall was torn down, and Germany was reunited after communism declined in the Soviet Union and East Germany.

Labour Party (Britain)

Built a welfare state and built housing for the poor, causing taxes to rise.

Margaret Thatcher

Britain's conservative party leader who reduced the size of government bureaucracy and cut back welfare services.

European Coal and Steel Community

An organization formed by West Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, and Italy to trade coal and steel to help economic growth.

European Union (EU)

An organization that expanded to 28 nations including Britain, using a common trading currency called the euro.

US-Japan peace treaty (1952)

The treaty that ended the US occupation of Japan.

GDP (Gross Domestic Product)

The total value of all goods and services produced by a nation in a particular year.

Japan's economic strategy after WWII

Japan spent little on military, allowing it to spend more on manufacturing textiles, steel, machinery, cars, electronics, and cameras.

Shooting wars of the Cold War

Korea and Vietnam; the US and Soviet Union provided weapons and training without directly fighting each other.

Buffer zone

Stalin wanted friendly governments in Eastern Europe as defense against possible future German aggression.

Free market

Prices based on supply and demand; property privately owned; producers offer best products for lowest prices.

Free enterprise system

Producers who win consumer business make profits and grow.

Command economy

The economic system of the communist world, contrasted with democratic capitalist countries.

Joseph Stalin

Soviet leader who wanted to spread communism and create a buffer zone in Eastern Europe; tried to force Western Allies out of Berlin; died and was later exposed by Khrushchev.