AP World- Unit 8

Big Three

allies during WWII; Soviet Union - Stalin, United Kingdom - Churchill, United States - Roosevelt/Truman

Tehran Conference

First major meeting between the Big Three (United States, Britain, Russia) at which they planned the 1944 assault on France and agreed to divide Germany into zones of occupation after the war

Yalta Conference

FDR, Churchill and Stalin met at Yalta. Russia agreed to declare war on Japan after the surrender of Germany and in return FDR and Churchill promised the USSR concession in Manchuria and the territories that it had lost in the Russo-Japanese War

Potsdam Conference

The final wartime meeting of the leaders of the United States, Britain, and the Soviet Union was held at Potsdam, outside Berlin, in July, 1945. Truman, Churchill, and Stalin discussed the future of Europe but their failure to reach meaningful agreements soon led to the onset of the Cold War.

Harry Truman (1945-1953)

Became president when FDR died; gave the order to drop the atomic bomb; Korean War during his presidency

Cold War

A conflict that was between the US and the Soviet Union. The nations never directly confronted each other on the battlefield but deadly threats went on for years.

Dwight Eisenhower (1953-1961)

Republican; Ended Korean War; Maintained peaceful coexistence with USSR; Established modern Republicanism; warned against the military-industrial complex

Self-determination

Concept that ethnicities have the right to govern themselves

Anti-colonialism

the movement following World War II in which colonies began to revolt against their captors.

Hydrogen Bomb (H-Bomb)

1,000 times more powerful as an atomic bomb; First tested in 1952 by the U.S.

military-industrial complex

Eisenhower first coined this phrase when he warned American against it in his last State of the Union Address. He feared that the combined lobbying efforts of the armed services and industries that contracted with the military would lead to excessive Congressional spending.

United Nations (UN)

an organization of independent states formed in 1945 to promote international peace and security; successor to the League of Nations which folded after its inability to prevent a second world war

Iron Curtain

Winston Churchill's term for the Cold War division between the Soviet-dominated East and the U.S.-dominated West which formed a political barrier that isolated the peoples of Eastern Europe after WWII, restricting their ability to travel outside the region

Satellite Countries

Countries bordering USSR that Soviets made Communist to have "friendly ring of countries"

World Revolution

Marx believed that communism would come about only through a world wide revolution to end class conflict - a belief that organized workers would overthrow capitalism in all countries

Containment

A U.S. foreign policy adopted by President Harry Truman in the late 1940s, in which the United States tried to stop the spread of communism by creating alliances and helping weak countries to resist Soviet advances

Truman Doctrine

1947, President Truman's policy of providing economic and military aid to any country threatened by communism or totalitarian ideology, mainly helped Greece and Turkey

Non-Aligned Movement

During the cold war, this movement was led by India and Yugoslavia to stand apart from the U.S.-Soviet rivalry. It was undermined by the membership of states such as Cuba that were clearly clients of one of the superpowers.

MAD (Mutually Assured Destruction)

a doctrine of military strategy and national security policy in which a full-scale use of nuclear weapons by two or more opposing sides would cause the complete annihilation of both the attacker and the defender (the situation in the US-Soviet nuclear arms race in which either side could absorb a first-strike and still respond by imposing unacceptable damage on the other side)

Sputnik and the Space Race

First artificial Earth satellite, it was launched by Moscow in 1957 and sparked U.S. fears of Soviet dominance in technology and outer space. It led to the creation of NASA and the space race.

Marshall Plan

a plan for aiding the European nations in economic recovery after World War II in order to stabilize and rebuild their countries and prevent the spread of communism.

COMECON (Council for Mutual Economic Assistance)

USSR's recovery plan for Eastern Europe after World War II which involved financial aid and implementing "Little Stalins" in satellite countries. This also included the Warsaw Pact

Proxy wars (surrogate wars)

a war where two opposing countries support combatants that serve their interests instead of waging war directly. The word surrogate means substitute. Although the United States and the Soviet Union did not fight each other directly, they fought indirectly by backing opposing sides in many smaller conflicts.

Berlin Airlift, 1948

In June 1948, the USSR-who wanted Berlin all for themselves-closed all highways, railroads and canals into Berlin from West Germany. This, they believed, would make it impossible for the people who lived there to get food or any other supplies and would eventually drive Britain, France and the US out of the city for good. However, the US and its allies decided to supply their sectors of the city from the air. The "Berlin Airlift," lasted for more than a year and carried more than 2.3 million tons of cargo in 277,000 flights into West Berlin.

Berlin Wall (1961)

The Soviet Union, under Nikita Khrushchev, erected a wall between East and West Berlin to keep people from fleeing from the East, afterwards Kennedy asked for an increase in defense funds to counter Soviet aggression. Built by the Communists to stop the flow of refugees seeking to gain political asylum in West Berlin from East Berlin. It became the symbol of division between the East and the West.

Korean War (1950-1953)

began as a civil war between North and South Korea (which had been established by the USSR and US respectively), but the conflict soon became international when, under U.S. leadership, the United Nations joined to support South Korea and China entered to aid North Korea. The war left Korea divided along the 38th parallel. The Korean War was an example of the U.S. Cold War policies of containment and militarization, setting the stage for the further enlargement of the U.S. defense perimeter in Asia (Vietnam)

Vietnam War

A prolonged war (1954-1975) between the communist armies of North Vietnam who were supported by the Chinese and the non-communist armies of South Vietnam who were supported by the United States.; US aided the South (non-communist); led to sizeable, passionate, and sometimes violent protests, especially as the war went on

Domino Theory

A theory that if one nation comes under Communist control, then neighboring nations will also come under Communist control.

Bay of Pigs

In April 1961, a group of Cuban exiles organized and supported by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency landed on the southern coast of Cuba in an effort to overthrow Fidel Castro. When the invasion ended in disaster, President Kennedy took full responsibility for the failure.

Cuban Missile Crisis

1962 crisis that arose between the United States and the Soviet Union over a Soviet attempt to deploy nuclear missiles in Cuba

Angola Civil War

Angolan Civil War started when the nation gained independence from Portugal in 1975 Pro- and anti-communist forces in Angola set the stage for a proxy fight between the US/USSR.

Contra War in Nicaragua

-Sandinistas overthrew US ally Somoza and denounced US imperialism

-Sandinistas aided rebels in El Salvador and US charge Nicaragua of being a Soviet client

-the CIA trained and directed 10,000+ counterrevolutionaries (contras) to overthrow the Nicaraguan gov.

-Reagan imposed an economic embargo against them

NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization)

A 1949 defense alliance initiated by the US, Canada, and 10 Western European nations

Warsaw Pact

treaty signed in 1945 that formed an alliance of the Eastern European countries behind the Iron Curtain; USSR, Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, and Romania

Communist Bloc

The group of Eastern European nations that fell under the control of the Soviet Union following World War II.

SEATO (Southeast Asia Treaty Organization)

Organization that formed in 1954. The organization was made up of the United States and many Asian nations like South Korea, Japan, India, and Australia. Its goal was to stop the spread of communism in Southeast Asia.

CENTO (Central Treaty Organization)

Defensive alliance between Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Great Britain, and the US; intended to prevent the Soviet Union from expanding southward.

Nuclear Test Ban Treaty

1963 nuclear-weapons agreement, which banned aboveground nuclear tests

Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty

An international treaty, signed in 1968, that aims to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons.

Hot Line

direct telephone line created by Kennedy (USA) at the White House and Khrushchev (USSR) at the Kremlin to allow leaders to communicate instantly in times of crisis; set up after the Cuban Missile Crisis

Antinuclear Movement

protests in response to the arms race between USA and USSR, promoted a decrease in nuclear energy and weapons

Douglas MacArthur

(1880-1964), U.S. general. Commander of U.S. (later Allied) forces in the southwestern Pacific during World War II, he accepted Japan's surrender in 1945 and administered the ensuing Allied occupation. He was in charge of UN forces in Korea 1950-51, before being forced to relinquish command by President Truman.

Lyndon B. Johnson

Signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 into law and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. His most important legislation was probably Medicare and Medicaid. He also increased US involvement in Vietnam.

John F. Kennedy

president during part of the Cold War and especially during the superpower rivalry and the Cuban Missile Crisis. Other events during his term include the building of the Berlin Wall, the space race, and early events of the Vietnam War.

Nikita Khrushchev

A Soviet leader during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Also famous for denouncing Stalin and allowed criticism of Stalin within Russia.

Land Reform

the process of breaking up large landholdings to attain a more balanced land distribution among farmers

Commune

a group of people living together and sharing possessions and responsibilities, often a collective farming community

Theocracy

A government controlled by religious leaders

Mao Zedong

(1893-1976) Leader of the Communist Party in China that overthrew Chiang Kai-Shek and the Nationalists. Established China as the People's Republic of China and ruled from 1949 until 1976.

Great Leap Forward (1958)

Mao's attempt to transform China into an economic power (agriculture and industry)

• Mao Zedong launched a program

• urged people to make a superhuman effort to increase farm and industrial output and created communes

• rural communes set up "backyard" industries to produce steel

• program failed b/c "backyards" produced low-quality

• communes had slow food output, bad weather, and a famine

Cultural Revolution

(1966-1976) Political policy in started in China by Mao Zedong to eliminate his rivals and train a new generation in the revolutionary spirit that created communist China. The Cultural Revolution resulted in beatings, terror, mass jailings, and the deaths of thousands. Primarily carried out by the Red Guard

Red Guards

Young Chinese students who carried out the Cultural Revolution; the Radical youth of the Cultural Revolution in China starting in 1966. Often wore red armbands and carried Mao's Little Red Book.Terrorized Chinese citizens and determined who went to camps.

White Revolution

the Shah's attempt to quiet the people from rebelling for economic and and political reform; enacted by Reza Shah, beginning in 1963, to rapidly modernize and Westernize Iran; creates land reform, profit, sharing, literacy corp instead of army and women's right to vote

Muhammad Reza Pahlavi

(1919-1980), Dictator ruler of Iran from 1941 to 1979. He was supported by the United States throughout most of the Cold War due to his anti communist stance. Overthrown during the Iranian Revolution in 1979.

Mohammad Mossadegh and Iran

When Iran's democratically elected nationalist premier, Mohammad Mossadegh, seized British oil properties in 1953, CIA agents helped depose him and installed the young Mohammad Reza Pahlavi as shah of Iran; Iranian resentment of the coup, followed by twenty-five years of U.S. support for the shah, eventually led to the 1979 Iranian Revolution

Haile Salassie

Emperor of Ethiopia, symbol of African independence; fought Italian invasion, regained throne during WWII

Mengistu Haile Mariam

Ethiopian military leader who helped depose Haile Salassie in 1974. Took power and declared Ethiopia socialist, taking aid from the Soviet Union. Resigned and fled to Zimbabwe by 1991

Kwame Nkrumah (Ghana)

Formerly the Gold Coast; March 6, 1957, Kwame Nkrumah proclaimed Ghana's independence. Also led the organization of African Unity, which was meant to unite Africa and develop it.

Charles de Gaulle

French general and statesman who became very popular during World War II as the leader of the Free French forces in exile (1890-1970); founded the French Fifth Republic in 1958 and served as its first President from 1959 to 1969

Ho Chi Minh

Vietnam Independence leader and pro-communist - fought the French in 1950s and the Americans and South Vietnam in 1960s/1970s; communist leader of North Vietnam; used guerrilla warfare to fight anti-communist, American-funded attacks under the Truman Doctrine; brilliant strategy drew out war and made it unwinnable

Gamal Abdel Nasser

Arab leader, set out to modernize Egypt and end western domination, nationalized the Suez Canal, led two wars against the Israel, remained a symbol of independence and pride, returned to socialism, nationalized banks and businesses, limited economic policies

one-party state

a political system in which one party controls the government and actively seeks to prevent other parties from contesting for power

Algerian War for Independence

Began in 1954 with Algerians campaigning for independence from France., very violent, many French Algerians fled Algeria

Algerian Civil War

1954-1962: France tried to keep colony; brutal conflict and ultimate failure

Suez Crisis (1956)

military attack on Egypt by Britain, France, and Israel beginning on 29 October 1956. The attack followed Egypt's decision of 26 July 1956 to nationalize the Suez Canal; international crisis launched when Egyptian President Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal, which had been owned mostly by French and British stockholders. This crisis failed without aid from the United States and marked an important turning point in the post-colonial Middle East and highlighted the rising importance of oil in world affairs

Biafran Civil War

1967-1970; a movement by the Igbo to fight for their independence from the new country of Nigeria; created more violence and ethnic-based conflict

Quiet Revolution

A period of intense social, political, and economic change in Quebec. During this period, which lasted from about 1960 to 1966, Quebecois began to assert their rights and affirm and promote their language and culture. Led to a failed attempt at succession from Canada

Muslim League

an organization formed in 1906 to protect the interests of India's Muslims, which later proposed that India be divided into separate Muslim and Hindu nations

Organization of African Unity (OAU)

group founded in 1963 by Kwame Nkrumah to promote Pan-Africanism and the end of colonialism in Africa

Viet Cong (VC)

A Communist-led army and guerrilla force in South Vietnam that fought its government and was supported by North Vietnam.

Six Day War (1967)

Military conflict between Israel and its Arab neighbors, including Syria, Egypt, and Jordan. The war ended with an Israeli victory and territorial expansion into the Sinai Peninsula, the Golan Heights, the Gaza Strip, and the West Bank. The 1967 war was a humiliation for several Arab states, and the territorial disputes it created formed the basis for continued conflict in the region.

Yom Kippur War (1973)

Frustrated by their losses in the Six-Days War, Egypt and Syria launched a surprise attack on Israel during the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur on October 6, 1973. Israel counterattacked, won a decisive victory, and had even occupied portions of northern Egypt.

Camp David Accords (1978)

Peace treaty between Egypt and Israel; hosted by US President Jimmy Carter; caused Egypt to be expelled from the Arab League; first treaty of its kind between Israel and an Arab state

Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)

Created in 1964, a loose union of Palestinian refugee groups opposed to Israel and united in the goal of gaining Palestinian home rule.

Fatah

a Palestinian political and military organization founded by Yasser Arafat in 1958 to work toward the creation of a Palestinian state

Hamas

a militant Islamic fundamentalist political movement that opposes peace with Israel and uses terrorism as a weapon

Khmer Rouge

A group of Communist rebels who seized power in Cambodia in 1975 and imposed a reign of terror on Cambodian citizens

Kashmir

A region in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent; India and Pakistan dispute control of it.

Sirimavo Bandaranaike

Sirima Ratwatte Dias Bandaranaike, commonly known as Sirimavo Bandaranaike, was a Sri Lankan stateswoman and politician and the modern world's first female head of government

Indira Gandhi

Daughter of Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first prime minister. She was also prime minister of India from 1966 to 1977. Assassinated in 1984.

Benazir Bhutto

Twice prime minister of Pakistan in the 1980s and 1990s; first ran for office to avenge her father's execution by the military clique then in power. Assassinated in 2007

Julius Nyerere

The first president of Tanzania. He stated only hard work will end poverty. He tried to help the economy in Tanzania by advocating for an African form of socialism

Metropole

the parent state of a colony/ a large city of a former colonial ruler

ex. London or Paris

Wladyslaw Gomulka

Communist leader who attempted to make Poland less dependent on the Soviet Union

Imre Nagy

Hungarian Communist Party leader who attempted to end association with the USSR which lead to the 1956 Hungarian revolt.

Prague Spring (1968)

Reformist Alexander Dubcek was elected and attempted to expand civil rights to the people of Czechoslovakia. The members of the Warsaw Pact invaded with tanks and occupied the country until 1990.

Alexander Dubcek

The First Secretary of the Czechoslovak Communist Party, who tried to lessen the Soviet Union's control over Czechoslovak. His attempts led to the "Prague Spring." He was later replaced when the Soviet Union sent troops to force a return of Communist control.

Brezhnev Doctrine

Policy proclaimed in 1968 and declaring that the Soviet Union had the right to intervene in any Socialist country whenever it determined there was a need.

Irish Republican Army (IRA)

a militant organization of Irish nationalists who used terrorism and guerrilla warfare in an effort to drive British forces from Northern Ireland and achieve a united independent Ireland

Ulster Defence Association (UDA)

is the largest Ulster loyalist paramilitary and vigilante group in Northern Ireland.

Basque Homeland and Freedom (ETA)

A revolutionary group of northern Spain who used terrorist attacks to force the government to grant territorial independence.