APUSH Cold War

What were the causes of the post-WWII economic boom?

Pent-up consumer demand after WWII rationing, GI Bill benefits, huge wartime savings, and intact US infrastructure (compared to devastated Europe).

What were the consequences of the post-WWII economic boom?

Expansion of the middle class, transition to a consumer-driven economy, rapid suburbanization, and the Baby Boom.

What drove migration to the Sunbelt?

Millions moved to the South and Southwest seeking warmer climates, lower taxes, and defense industry jobs. This shifted political and economic power away from the Northeast.

What caused the suburban boom?

Severe housing shortages in cities, GI Bill mortgages making homes affordable, and new highway construction (e.g., Levittown model).

What were the main causes of the emerging US-Soviet Cold War?

Deep ideological divide (Capitalism/Democracy vs. Communism/Totalitarianism), Stalin's broken promises at Yalta (no free elections in Poland), the US monopoly on the atomic bomb, and the Soviet desire for a buffer zone.

Describe early Cold War conflicts over Germany and Eastern Europe.

Germany and Berlin were divided into occupation zones; Soviets blockaded West Berlin (leading to the Berlin Airlift) and established communist "satellite states" in Eastern Europe.

Why was the UN largely ineffectual in addressing these early conflicts?

The UN Security Council gave veto power to five permanent members. The US and USSR constantly vetoed each other's proposals, paralyzing action.

What is the American theory of containment?

Formulated by George Kennan, it argued the US should focus on stopping the spread of communism globally rather than attacking it where it already existed.

How did the Truman Doctrine put containment into practice?

It pledged military and economic aid to any free nation threatened by internal or external communist forces (initially applied to Greece and Turkey).

How did the Marshall Plan put containment into practice?

It provided massive financial aid to rebuild Western Europe's economy, based on the belief that prosperous, stable nations wouldn't fall to communism.

GI Bill

Paid for veterans' college education and provided low-interest loans for homes and businesses, fueling the middle class.

Post war boom

A prolonged period of massive economic growth, rising wages, and high consumer spending from 1945 into the 1970s.

Baby boom

The huge demographic spike in US birth rates between 1946 and 1964 as veterans returned home.

Suburban boom

Rapid expansion of housing developments outside major cities, heavily reliant on the automobile.

Sunbelt (growth of...)

The southern and southwestern states that experienced massive population and economic growth post-WWII.

Civil rights under Truman

Truman used executive orders to desegregate the federal workforce and the US military in 1948 after Congress blocked his civil rights bills.

Fair Deal

Truman's domestic agenda aimed at expanding the New Deal; he succeeded in raising the minimum wage and expanding Social Security, but failed to pass national healthcare.

22nd Amendment

Passed in 1951, it legally limited the US president to serving a maximum of two elected terms.

Cold War

An era of intense political and military rivalry between the US and USSR (1945-1991) that stopped short of direct armed conflict.

Satellite states

Eastern European nations that were technically independent but heavily controlled politically and economically by the Soviet Union.

“Iron curtain” metaphor

Coined by Winston Churchill to describe the ideological and physical dividing line separating Western democracies from the Soviet communist bloc.

Kennan’s Long Telegram

A 1946 diplomatic cable arguing that the Soviets were inherently expansionist and advising the US to adopt a policy of "containment."

Containment policy

The overarching US Cold War strategy aimed at preventing the global spread of communism.

Truman Doctrine

1947 policy promising US aid to nations (like Greece and Turkey) fighting against communist uprisings.

Marshal Plan

Billions in US aid given to rebuild Western Europe's infrastructure and economy to prevent communist takeovers.

Post-war Germany

Divided into four allied occupation zones. The West became capitalist West Germany; the Soviet zone became communist East Germany. Berlin was also divided.