8.3 - Effects of the Cold War

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

A 1949 military alliance of the United States, Canada, and Western European nations

Warsaw Pact

A 1955 military alliance of the Soviet Union and its Eastern European satellite states

Communist bloc

The group of communist states aligned politically and militarily with the Soviet Union

Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO)

A U.S.-backed anti-communist alliance formed in 1954 in Southeast Asia

Central Treaty Organization (CENTO)

An anti-Soviet alliance formed in 1955 to contain communism in the Middle East

Antinuclear Weapons Movement

A reaction to the nuclear arms race and nuclear weapon testing from the U.S. and USSR

Nuclear Test Ban Treaty

A 1963 agreement banning nuclear tests in the atmosphere, underwater, and outer space

Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty

A 1968 treaty aimed at preventing the spread of nuclear weapons to additional countries

Proxy War

A conflict in which rival powers back opposing sides without fighting each other directly

Berlin Wall

A barrier built in 1961 to stop East Germans from fleeing to West Berlin

Berlin Airlift

A Western Allied operation that flew supplies into West Berlin during the Soviet blockade

Korean War

A 1950 to 1953 conflict between communist North Korea and U.S.-backed South Korea

Vietnam War

A Cold War conflict in which communist North Vietnam defeated U.S.-backed South Vietnam

Domino theory

The belief that one communist victory would cause nearby countries to become communist too

Bay of Pigs Invasion

A failed 1961 CIA-backed attempt by Cuban exiles to overthrow Fidel Castro

Cuban Missle Crisis

A 1962 standoff over Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba that nearly caused nuclear war

Hot Line

A direct communication link created between Washington and Moscow after the Cuban Missile Crisis

Angolan Civil War

A post-independence civil war in Angola involving Soviet- and U.S.-backed rival factions

Contra War

A Nicaraguan conflict between the socialist Sandinistas and U.S.-backed Contra rebels

Contras

Anti-communist Nicaraguan rebels covertly supported by the United States during the 1980s

Sandistas

A socialist revolutionary movement that overthrew Nicaragua's Somoza dictatorship in 1979

Lyndon Johnson

One of the presidents during the Vietnam War that sent more U.S. troops into Vietnam

John F. Kennedy

President during the Bay of Pigs invasion and Cuban Missile Crisis

Nikita Khrushchev

The Soviet Premier who came into power after Stalin