11.9 Cold War

What was the Truman Doctrine (1947) and what was its purpose?

A U.S. foreign policy aimed at containing the spread of Soviet influence by providing economic and military aid to countries threatened by communism

What was the Marshall Plan (1948)?

An economic aid program to help rebuild Western European economies after WW2, designed to prevent the spread of communism through economic stability

What international organization was formed in 1948 as part of containment policy?

NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization), a military alliance between North American and Western European nations

What was McCarthyism?

A period of intense anti - communist suspicion in the 1950s led by Senator Joseph McCarthy, characterized by investigations and accusations of communist sympathy

What significant even in 1949 accelerated the nuclear arms race?

The Soviet Union’s successful detonation of their first atomic bomb

What was the Cuban Missile Crisis and what was its outcome?

A 1962 confrontation when the USSR placed missiles in Cuba; resulted in Soviet removal of missiles and led to the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty

What was detente?

A policy of reduced tensions between the U.S. and Soviet Union that helped limit the nuclear arms race

How did the War Powers Act affect presidential power?

It limited presidential power by requiring the president to consult Congress when sending armed forces into potential conflicts

What was the Camp David Accords?

A significant U.S. - mediated Middle East peace agreement between Israel and Egypt

What factors contributed to the end of the Cold War?

Combination of American policies, Soviet economic problems, Soviet reform efforts (under Gorbachev), and loss of Soviet control over Eastern Europe

What symbolic event marked the end of the Cold War?

The fall of the Berlin Wall, which represented the end of Soviet control over Eastern Europe

How did the Space Race relate to Cold War tensions?

The Space Race, triggered by Soviet launch of Sputnik (1957), became a competition for technological and ideological superiority between the U.S. and USSR