vocab cold war test

cold war

• A continuous state of tension and distrust between the US and the Soviet Union

• Known as “Cold” because no armed battles ever occurred

superpowers

• United States — A capitalist democracy that led the Western bloc and alliances such as North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

• Soviet Union — A communist state that led the Eastern bloc and the Warsaw Pact.

democracy

is a system of government in which political power ultimately comes from the people. Citizens typically participate by voting in elections, choosing representatives, and influencing public policy through various forms of civic engagement.

communism

is a political and economic ideology that advocates for a society in which property and the means of production (such as factories, land, and natural resources) are owned collectively rather than by private individuals. (classless)

iron curtain

was the political, military, and ideological division that separated Western Europe from Eastern Europe during the Cold War.

satellite state

was a country that was formally independent but was heavily influenced, controlled, or dominated by a more powerful country.

Poland

• East Germany

• Hungary

• Czechoslovakia

• Bulgaria

• Romania

containment

was the United States' strategy during the Cold War of preventing the spread of communism to new countries.

truman doctrine

was a U.S. policy announced in 1947 by Harry S. Truman. It stated that the United States would provide economic and military aid to countries threatened by communism.

The doctrine was created because the U.S. feared that communist influence from the Soviet Union would spread into other nations.

marshall plan

was a U.S. program that provided economic aid to help rebuild Western Europe after World War II.

Announced in 1947 by George C. Marshall, the plan gave billions of dollars in financial assistance to European countries whose economies had been devastated by the war.

domino theory

was the idea that if one country became communist, neighboring countries would soon follow, like a row of falling dominoes.

During the Cold War, many leaders in the United States believed that the spread of communism in one nation could trigger the spread of communism throughout an entire region.

berlin airlift

was a major Cold War operation in 1948–1949 in which the United States, United Kingdom, and other Western allies flew supplies into West Berlin after the Soviet Union blocked all land routes to the city

berlin wall

was a heavily guarded concrete barrier built in 1961 that separated East Berlin and West Berlin during the Cold War.

It was constructed by the East Germany, which was supported by the Soviet Union, to stop people from fleeing to the West. At the time, East Germany was losing many citizens who were escaping to democratic West Berlin and then to the United States-aligned West Germany.

NATO

stands for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It was a military alliance formed in 1949 during the Cold War by the United States and several Western European countries.

• Provide collective defense against the Soviet Union and its allies

• Protect member countries from military attack

• Strengthen cooperation between Western democracies

Warsaw pact

was a military alliance created in 1955 by the Soviet Union and several communist countries in Eastern Europe during the Cold War

• Counter the power of the Western alliance North Atlantic Treaty Organization

• Strengthen Soviet control over Eastern Europe

• Coordinate military forces among communist countries

arms race

during the Cold War was a competition between the United States and the Soviet Union to build and develop more powerful and advanced weapons than each other.

• Nuclear weapons (especially atomic and hydrogen bombs)

• Intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) that could strike faraway targets

• Submarines, bombers, and defense systems

• Increasingly advanced military technology and space-based systems

hydrogen bomb

(also called the H-bomb or thermonuclear bomb) was an extremely powerful nuclear weapon developed during the Cold War.

It was an upgrade from the earlier atomic bomb used in Manhattan Project and first tested in the early 1950s by the United States and later the Soviet Union.

massive retaliation

was a Cold War military strategy used by the United States in the 1950s, especially under President Dwight D. Eisenhower and Secretary of State John Foster Dulles.

It stated that if the Soviet Union or its allies launched any major attack—especially with nuclear weapons—the United States would respond with overwhelming nuclear force, not just a limited military response. (even a small attack could trigger a nuclear attack)

mutually assured destruction (mad)

was a Cold War doctrine in which both the United States and the Soviet Union had enough nuclear weapons to completely destroy each other if a war started.

If one side launches nuclear weapons, the other side can retaliate with equal or greater force, leading to total destruction of both.

space race

was a Cold War competition between the United States and the Soviet Union to achieve major milestones in space exploration.

• Their scientific and technological superiority

• Their military capability (since space technology was linked to missiles)

• The strength of their political system

sputnik

was the world’s first artificial satellite, launched by the Soviet Union on October 4, 1957, during the Cold War.

• A small, spherical satellite placed into Earth’s orbit

• Official name: Sputnik 1

• It transmitted radio signals back to Earth that could be detected by scientists

NASA

created by the United States in 1958 during the Cold War.

NASA was formed largely in response to the Soviet Union’s early successes in space, especially the launch of Sputnik 1 by the Soviet Union in 1957. This event shocked the United States and intensified the Space Race.

proxy war

during the Cold War was a conflict where the United States and the Soviet Union supported opposing sides in a war, but did not fight each other directly.

• Funded and supplied weapons to allied countries or groups

• Provided military training and advisors

• Backed different governments or rebel forces

detente

was a period of reduced tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War, mainly in the late 1960s and 1970s.

The word détente is French for “relaxation,” meaning a easing of conflict and hostility.

SALT

a series of negotiations during the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union aimed at limiting the growth of nuclear weapons.

• Slow down the arms race

• Limit the number of nuclear missiles and delivery systems

• Reduce the risk of nuclear war

Glasnost

was a political reform introduced in the Soviet Union in the mid-1980s by Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.

The word glasnost means “openness.”

• Greater freedom of speech

• More openness in government decisions

• Less censorship of media and information

• Public discussion of problems in Soviet society

Gorbachev

was the final leader of the Soviet Union during the last years of the Cold War, serving as General Secretary from 1985 to 1991.

Gorbachev introduced major reforms to try to fix the Soviet system:

• Glasnost — allowed more freedom of speech and openness in government

• Perestroika — restructured the Soviet economy to make it more efficient and less centralized

• Reduced government control and encouraged limited reforms in politics and economics