8.2 AMSTUD Vocab

Cold War

the power struggle between the Soviet Union and the United States after World War II

Soviet Union

A Communist nation, consisting of Russia and 14 other states, that existed from 1922 to 1991.

Joseph Stalin

Bolshevik revolutionary, head of the Soviet Communists after 1924, and dictator of the Soviet Union from 1928 to 1953. He led the Soviet Union with an iron fist, using Five-Year Plans to increase industrial production and terror to crush opposition. Communist dictator of sovie union.

United Nations

An international organization formed after WWII to promote international peace, security, and cooperation.

Security Council

It has five permanent members (U.S., U.K., France, China, USSR/Russia) with veto power and ten rotating members. It can authorize military action and sanctions.

World Bank

a United Nations agency created to assist developing nations by loans guaranteed by member governments

Satellites

Eastern European countries conquered by the U.S.S.R. during the Cold War.

Winston Churchill

A noted British statesman who led Britain throughout most of World War II and along with Roosevelt planned many allied campaigns. He predicted an iron curtain that would separate Communist Europe from the rest of the West.

Containment Policy

Policy introduced by Harry S. Truman after WWII that said the duty of the U.S. was to stop the spread of Totalitarianism (implying Communism); Defined the foreign policy for the period after WWII until the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989

George Marshall

United States general, who as Secretary of State organized the European Recovery Program. Created the Marshall Plan, which gave billions in aid to rebuild Europe after WWII to prevent the spread of communism

Dean Acheson

U.S. Secretary of State who helped shape Cold War policy, including the Truman Doctrine and NATO. He strongly supported containing communism

George F. Kennan

an American advisor, diplomat, political scientist, and historian, best known as "the father of containment" and as a key figure in the emergence of the Cold War. He later wrote standard histories of the relations between Russia and the Western powers.

Truman Doctrine

President Truman's policy of providing economic and military aid to any country threatened by communism or totalitarian ideology

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.

Berlin Aircraft

joint effort by US and Britain to deliver food and supplies to west berlin

West Germany

British, American and French zone of Germany and was democratic.

East Germany

After WWII, Germany was divided into two countries, this part was communist in government and had a command economy

NATO

an alliance made to defend one another if they were attacked by any other country; US, England, France, Canada, Western European countries

Warsaw Pact

An alliance between the Soviet Union and other Eastern European nations. This was in response to the NATO

National Security Council

a committee in the executive branch of government that advises the president on foreign and military and national security. National Security Act: provided for (1) a centralized Department of Defense (replacing the War Department)to coordinate the operations of the army, navy, and air force; (2) the creationof the National Security Council (NSC) to coordinate the making of foreign policy;

Arms Race

a competition between nations to have the most powerful armaments

NSC-68

pressed for offensive military tactic and a gross increase ($37 bil) in defense spending, determined US foreign policy for the next 20-30 yrs

Cold War in Asia

- In exchange for economic help, US was allowed to keep military supplies in Japan

- Let the US keep a close eye on the Soviets

- US gave lots of money to leaders they supported, allowing them to crush rebellions, etc

- MacArthur saw the US as "a bulwark of Christianity in the Far East"

- US supported Chiang Kai-Shek, who ignored advice to step aside and fought commies

- Mao destroyed the nationalists, and China "fell" to Communists

- Republicans were enraged at Truman for "losing" China

The Cold War moved to Asia because Stalin met a wall in Europe and he could not advance any more. China turning into a Communist state made Stalin look to Asia in order to continue expanding.

Douglas MacArthur

U.S. general who led Allied forces in the Pacific during WWII and oversaw Japan's post-war reconstruction. He led U.N. forces in the Korean War but was fired by Truman for wanting to expand the war into China.

US-Japanese Security Treaty

A bilateral alliance between the United States and Japan, created in 1951 against the potential Soviet threat to Japan. The United States maintains troops in Japan and is committed to defend Japan if attacked, and Japan pays the United States to offset about half the cost of maintaining the troops.

Chiang Kai-shek

Nationalist Chinese leader

Mao Zedong

Communist Chinese leader

Taiwan

The Nationalists (Kuomintang/KMT) fled here, claiming to be the legitimate Chinese government

People's Republic of China

led by the Communist Party under Mao Zedong, controlled mainland China

38th parallel

Dividing line between North and South Korea

Kim II Sung

created the Communist government of North Korea . dictator

Syngman Rhee

noncommunist dictatorial leader of South Korea who was backed by the United States

Korean War

The conflict between Communist North Korea and Non-Communist South Korea. The United Nations (led by the United States) helped South Korea.

John Foster Dulles

Eisenhower's Secretary of State and a strong anti-communist. He promoted brinkmanship (pushing conflicts to the edge of war) and massive retaliation (threatening nuclear strikes to deter Soviet aggression). He also helped create SEATO to contain communism in Asia

Brinkmanship

A policy of threatening to go to war in response to any enemy aggression.

Massive Retalliation

this was used to threaten the use of nuclear weapons on any communist states that tried to gain territory.

Korean Armistice

South Korea became an independent nation while north Korea became a communist nation. Both the north and south claimed the right to rule all of Korea. The war started when north Korea invaded south Korea. July 27th, 1953 - divided Korea into two nations at the 38th parallel

Atoms for Peace

Proposal by Eisenhower to hand over nuclear materials to a peaceful UN body, rejected by Stalin.

Open-skies policy

A policy proposed by Eisenhower saying that each country could fly over the other to inspect the nuclear weapons; Russia refuses and turns down the policy.

Sprit of Geneva

refers to the brief Cold War thaw after the 1955 Geneva Summit, where the U.S. and USSR discussed reducing tensions. Though no agreements were made, it showed a willingness to negotiate and eased fears of nuclear war.

Nikita Khrushchev

Aggressive Soviet leader whose failed gamble of putting missiles in Cuba cost him his job

Peaceful Coexistence

Term used by Khrushchev in 1963 to describe a situation in which the United States and Soviet Union would continue to compete economically and politically without launching a thermonuclear war.

Hungarian Revolt

When the Hungarians tried to win their freedom from the Communist regime in 1956, they were crushed down by Soviet tanks. There was killing and slaughtering of the rebels going on by military forces.

Sputnik

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.

NASA

the United States government agency responsible for the civilian space program as well as aeronautics and aerospace research.

U-2 Incident

The incident when an American U-2 spy plane was shot down over the Soviet Union. The U.S. denied the true purpose of the plane at first, but was forced to when the U.S.S.R. produced the living pilot and the largely intact plane to validate their claim of being spied on aerially. The incident worsened East-West relations during the Cold War and was a great embarrassment for the United States.

Cuba

had cuban revolution, became communist

Fidel Castro

Communist leader of Cuba

military-industrial complex

The close association of the federal government, the military, and defense industries. an alleged alliance between military leaders and corporate leaders

Bay of Pigs

An unsuccessful invasion of Cuba in 1961, which was sponsored by the United States. Its purpose was to overthrow Cuban dictator Fidel Castro.

Berlin Wall

A wall separating East and West Berlin built by East Germany in 1961 to keep citizens from escaping to the West

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

Flexible Response Policy

JFK's defense strategy to fight a non-nuclear war through increasing defense spending on traditional military forces (non-nuclear forces) - army and navy

Non-proliferation treaty

A treaty that created a framework for controlling the spread of nuclear materials and expertise. international agreement to stop the spread of nuclear weapons. Countries without nukes agreed not to develop them, while nuclear countries (U.S., USSR, etc.) agreed to limit their arsenals and promote peaceful nuclear energy

Henry Kissinger

Awarded 1973 Nobel Peace Prize for helping to end Vietnam War and withdrawing American forces. Heavily involved in South American politics as National Security Advisor and Secretary of State. Condoned covert tactics to prevent communism and facism from spreading throughout South America.

Detente

the easing of hostility or strained relations, especially between countries.

Anti-ballistic missiles

Missiles that can shoot down other missiles

Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT)

Two sets of agreements reached during the 1970s between the United States and the Soviet Union that established limits on strategic nuclear delivery systems.