Cold War Test Study Guide: Home front-JFK Assassination

Were Americans scared of Communism coming to America? Why?

Yes

- Because communism was spreading through China & East Europe

- There were 100,000 members of the American Communist Party

Why did Truman set up the Loyalty Review Board?

- To investigate government employees

- To dismiss suspected employees

What did the Loyalty Review Board do?

- Investigated 3.2 million employees

- dismissed 212 employees as security risks

- 2,900 resigned to avoid investigations or they thought it was a violation of their constitutional rights

What was the HUAC and what did it do?

- House of Un-American Activities Committee

- They investigated communist influence in the U.S. (particularly Hollywood) and tried to get rid of people with "un-american" views from the entertainment industry

Who were the Hollywood Ten?

Ten people who were sent to prison because they refused to testify (thought it was unconstitutional

What was the Hollywood Blacklist?

HUAC blacklisted the people who were sentenced to have Communist background (actors, writers, directors, producers). Over 500 people had their careers ruined. (Think of the political cartoon with the car and crowd of people)

Who were Ethel and Julius Rosenburg?

- Married couple

- Accused of espionage by Ethel's brother (David Greenglass)

- Members of the American Communist Party

- Both were executed by the electric chair (first U.S. citizens executed for espionage)

Who was Joseph McCarthy and explain what he did/how it ended?

- A Senator

- Made many unsupported accusations about the gov't -all towards the democratic party (became known as McCarthyism)

- Claimed to have 57, 81, and 205 names of Communists within the U.S. government

- Downfall began when he accused the U.S. Army (he was condemned for improper conduct)

- McCarthy's executive secretary later said that he never had any lists of communists in his brief case

Describe the causes and effects of McCarthyism

Causes:

- Soviets spreading communism through East Europe

- Soviets developed atomic bomb

- Korean War ended in standstill

- Republican popularity increased because of claim that Truman + Democrats are too soft on Communism

Effects:

- Americans forced to take loyalty oaths/undergo investigations

- People are scared of being accused of communism, leading to them being too scared to speak out against injustices

- Anti-communism keeps moving U.S. foreign policy

What was the arms race and who was winning?

- competition between U.S. and S.U. to compete for who had the best weapons (competition of military superiority)

- Idk who was winning

What was brinkmanship and who adopted it?

- willingness to go to the brink/edge of war

- Eisenhower

What was the 2nd Red Scare?

perception/fear that communists were infiltrating American society/government

What is NATO?

- North Atlantic Treaty Organization

- Created in 1949 by U.S., Canda, and some Western European Nations to provide security against the Soviet Union

- 1st peacetime military alliance U.S. entered outside of the Western Hemisphere

What was the Warsaw Pact?

- political + military alliance between S.U. and some Eastern European countries

- Created May 14, 1955

- Created to counterbalance NATO

What did the Eisenhower Doctrine do/say?

The U.S. would defend the Middle East against attacks by any communist country

What did the Space/Technology Race between U.S. and S.U. involve?

- 1957: Soviets developed ICBM (intercontinental ballistic missile), U.S. was the first to successfully launch it

- 2 months later: Soviets launched first satellite (Sputnik)

- 1958: U.S. launched their first satellite

Describe the U-2 incident

- U.S. was using U-2 planes to spy on the Soviets

- May 1, 1960: Francis Gary Powers' plane was caught by Soviets

- Eisenhower admitted knowing about the mission

- Powers convicted of Soviet espionage, later exchanged for Soviet spy, returned to U.S. 17 months later

- incident ended up increasing tensions between U.S. & S.U.

What were some unique things about President Kennedy?

- he was the youngest president: 43

- first Roman Catholic president

- very good looking

Describe the election of 1960

Democrat: JFK

Republican: Richard Nixon

JFK won mainly because of these reasons:

- Live debate on television (Nixon looked washed out/old, Kennedy looked good)

- Kennedy (and his brother Robert) helped get MLK out of jail and Kennedy personally called Coretta (MLK's wife). MLK's father then urged all his friends/community members to vote for Kenedy

What were the "Camelot Years"?

- referred to a Broadway show in 1960

- Referred to the Kennedys because they were young and beautiful (fascinated the people)

Who was Kennedy's team of advisors? (idk if we have to know this so I put it in just in case)

Attorney General - Robert Kennedy

Secretary of State - Dean Rusk

National Security Advisor - McGeorge Bundy

Secretary of Defense - Robert McNamara

Describe what Kennedy did at first in terms of the Cold War

- Criticized Eisenhower/Republicans' role in stopping spread of communism

- took a hard stance against Soviets

- Wanted to reevaluate America's nuclear strategy

- Build up more military instead of nuclear weapons: Established Special Forces (Green Berets), Established military bases in 65 countries, and significantly increased U.S. military while president

Who was Fidel Castro and describe what he did

- He was a Cuban nationalist and young lawyer

- 1953: attempted to overthrow gov

- 1956-1959: successfully defeated Cuban gov and leader Batista

- U.S. recognized Castro and new gov, then U.S. and Cuba's relationship worsened

- 1960: Cuba received aid from Soviets

- Many Cubans fled to Florida

- Castro: Angry mix of communism and nationalism

Describe the Bay of Pigs invasion

- 1960: Eisenhower and CIA secretly trained Cuban exiles to figth against Castro

- Plan was to have exiles and U.S. air support overthrow Castro

- April 15, 1961: disguised U.S. planes bombed Cuban military bases, then Cuban exile ground troops invaded, but Castro responded and defeated the ground troops

- This invasion was a disaster and became an embarrassment to Kennedy Administration

Describe the causes and effects of the Bay of Pigs Invasion

Causes: Castro was angry mix of communism and nationalism, Cubans were unhappy with their leader, Castro was receiving aid from S.U., Cuban exiles needed U.S. support

Effects: Invasion failed, Cuban exiles = defeated, embarrassed JFK/U.S., Castro shut doors to travel in/out of the country, U.S. and Cuba & S.U. relations worsened

Describe the Cuban Missile Crisis

- October 14, 1962: U-2 plane detected Soviet nuclear missile base in Cuba

- Kennedy and his administration debated resolution for 13 days (think of the movie)

- JFK called for blockade of Cuba (stop Soviets from bringing more weapons in)

- Result: Soviets removed missiles from Cuba in return for the U.S. promising to not invade Cuba + remove missiles they had in Turkey

Describe the causes and effects of the Cuban Missile Crisis

Causes: Soviets putting missiles in Cuba to point at U.S. cities, Soviets were protecting Cuba (their ally), Soviets knew about our missiles in Turkey, U.S. used U-2 planes to find missile construction

Effects: U.S/JFK used blockade to stop flow of missiles into Cuba, U.S. promised to not invade Cuba again + remove missiles in Turkey, Soviet/U.S. tension remained but they had to work together to stop this from escalating to a nuclear war

Describe the causes and effects of the construction of the Berlin Wall

Causes: Soviet/U.S. tension in Germany/Berlin, East Berliners feeling to West Berlin/West Germany, West Germany/West Berlin was a model of democracy

Effects: Families separated, stopped East Berliners from escaping to West Berlin/West Germany, tension increased between U.S/West Europe and S.U./Eastern Europe, became ugly symbol of communist oppression

Describe the beginning of the day JFK was assassinated

- 11:58: JFK and his wife arrive in Dallas Texas

- Vice President Johnson insisted Kennedys go through downtown Dallas to show their support

- JFK, Jackie Kennedy, Governor Connally, his wife, and secret service men were riding in an open-air limo

Describe the actual incident of JFK's death

- 12:30: witnesses heard shots come from the School Book Depository & grassy knoll

- 3 shots within 6.5 seconds

- Car speeds off

- 1:00pm: Kennedy pronounced dead upon hospital arrival

Describe what happened after Kennedy's death

- 1:30pm: News of Kennedy's death released

- 2:30pm: VP Johnson sworn in as 36th president on Air Force One

- Showed the strength of our country because the transition from one president to another was smooth

Why were Americans glued to their TVs the day Kennedy was shot (what events took place)?

- Lyndon B Johnson sworn in on plane

- Jackie Kennedy: First Lady whose husband died

- Lee Harvey Oswald charged by Dallas Police for murder of JFK

Who was Lee Harvey Oswald?

- 24 years old

- Former Marine - dishonorably discharged

- Lived in S.U. briefly

- Supporter of Castro

- Working in School Book Depository the day JFK was shot

Who killed Lee Harvey Oswald?

Jack Ruby (shot him while he was being transferred between jails)

Describe Kennedy's fueral

- Nation was morning his death

- Arlington National Cemetery

- Replicated Abraham Lincoln's funeral

- Event was confusing & bizarre to Americans

What was the Warren Commission?

- Johnson created this group to investigate the assassination of Kennedy

- Wrote 26 volumes, 17,000 pages, and 10 million words

- Criticism/conspiracies created years after the volumes were released

What were the 3 bullets the Warren Commission said were shot at Kennedy?

1. Miracle Bullet

2. Second bullet missed the car completely and grazed a bystander

3. Last bullet hit Kennedy directly in the head

(Abraham Zapruder's film contradicted the Warren Commission's theory and the idea of only one shooter)