The Cold War IB HISTORY

Communism

A political and economic system where factors of production are collectively owned and directed by the government.

Democracy

A government controlled by its citizens, either directly or through representatives.

Harry Truman

33rd President of the United States. Became President after the death of FDR. Led the U.S. to victory in WWII making the ultimate decision to use atomic weapons for the first time. Created the policy of containment and Truman Doctrine. Elected again in 1948.

Containment

Policy that allowed communism to exist where it already is but not spread. Did so through economic and humanitarian aid, not military action. Showed that democracy better than communism. (Democracy GIVES. Communism TAKES)

"Iron Curtain"

A term popularized by British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in a speech to describe the Soviet Union's policy of isolation during the Cold War. Calls communism a horrible form of government, which Stalin takes as a direct threat and begins a military build up.

Truman Doctrine

President Truman's policy of providing economic aid to any country threatened by communism. Alternative to war. Specifically helped Greece and Turkey- problem was the law was too specific.

Marshall Plan

Stated ALL European nations resisting effects of "poverty, hunger, desperation and chaos" receive funding from the US. Helps prevent war. Was a success.

Thomas Dewey

The Governor of New York (1943-1955) and the unsuccessful Republican candidate for the U.S. Presidency in 1944 (against Truman) and 1948.

Strom Thurman

Dixiecrat nominee for 1948 election.

Berlin Blockade

Soviet attempt to starve out the allies in Berlin in order to gain supremacy. Shuts off all transportation into western portion of Berlin.

Berlin Airlift

A 327 day military operation in the late 1940s that brought food and other needed goods into West Berlin by air after during the Berlin Blockade.

NATO

North Atlantic Treaty Organization. An attack against one of the member nations would be viewed as an attack against them all. First US peacetime military alliance in history, formal end to US isolationism. Inspired Soviet Union to explode an atomic bomb in 1949.

Warsaw Pact

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

Mao Zedong

Leader of the Communist Party in China that overthrew Jiang Jieshi and the Nationalists. Established China as the People's Republic of China and ruled from 1949 until 1976. Popular among the peasants

Chiang Kai-shek

General and leader of Nationalist China. Government was known to be inefficient and corrupt. Helped the wealthy not the poor.

38th Parallel

Line of latitude that divided Korea. Soviet Union occupied the north and United States occupied the south.

Seoul

Capital of democratic South Korea. Taken by the Soviets twice.

Pyongyang

Capital of communist North Korea.

Douglas MacArthur

Commanded the American occupation of Japan and United Nations troops in the Korean War. Viewed as a hero and possible presidential candidate? Wants to invade and re unify Korea but Truman says no- getting too big for his britches. Wants to use atomic bombs again at China. Fired by Truman for this.

22nd Amendment

Amendment that created a 2 term limit on presidents.

Adlai Stevenson

Democratic nominee in the elections of 1952 and 1956. Both times he was defeated by the republican candidate (Eisenhower). Eventually serves as a UN ambassador. Calms people during the Cold War and after the assignation of JFK.

Dwight D Eisenhower

Republican candidate in the 1952 election. Former WWII general. Vice president was Richard Nixon.

Richard Nixon

Vice president of the US in 1952 under Eisenhower.

President of the United States from 1969 to 1974 who followed a foreign policy marked by détente with the Soviet Union and by the opening of diplomatic relations with China. In the face of likely impeachment for the Watergate scandal, he resigned.

Red Scare

A period during the Cold War where the American public was terrified of Communists and the spread of Communism.

Alger Hiss

A former State Department official who was accused of being a Communist spy and was convicted of perjury. Possibly sent confidential US nuclear information. Says he's innocent at death. KGB have hinted he was their contact.

Loyalty Review Board

Federal board set up by President Truman that investigated federal government employees, and dismissed those found to be "communist sympathizers". Alleviates fear of Americans.

HUAC

House Committee on Un-American Activities was an investigating committee which investigated what it considered un-American propaganda and people disloyal to the government. Looks at communist influence in the movie industry as well.

Hollywood Ten

Actors, writers and producers who had sympathetic communist backgrounds and refused to participate in investigations conducted on them because they said it was against their constitutional rights and were sent to prison. Were blacklisted in the movie industry.

Blacklisting

The practice of keeping a particular type of person from working in media and other industries because they were suspected of being a communist.

McCarthyism

The act of accusing people of disloyalty and communism. Created by Joseph McCarthy.

The Rosenbergs

Husband and wife who were accused of spying for the Soviets and giving them plans for the atomic bomb. Countered the accusation on the grounds that their Jewish background and leftist beliefs made them easy targets for persecution. In a trial closely followed by the American public they were convicted and sentenced to death.

Hydrogen Bomb

A nuclear weapon that gets its power from the fusing together of hydrogen atoms. One thousand more times more powerful than the atomic bomb. Truman ordered the development of it to outpace the Soviets. Also known as the H-Bomb.

Brinkmanship

Term used by Secretary of State John Dulles to describe a policy of risking war in order to protect national interests. Go to the edge of all out nuclear war in order to keep the peace.

John Foster Dulles

Secretary of state under Eisenhower. Staunch anti-communist, believes "compromise is immoral" with the communists.

Arms Race

Competition between the U.S. and Soviet Union to build up their respective armed forces and weapons. Beefed up the air forces and increase supply of nuclear weapons. Soviet Union wins.

Nikita Khrushchev

Leader of the Soviet Union after Stalin. He led the Soviet Union during the U2 Incident, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the construction of the Berlin Wall.

Pan Mun Jon

Where the armistice was signed. Ends Korean war!! Made the ceasefire line at the 38th parallel and created a DMZ (demilitarized zone) at each edge.

Dien Bien Phu

In 1954, Vietminh rebels besieged a French garrison at ______, deep in the interior of northern Vietnam. In May, after the United States refused to intervene, ______ fell to the communists.

Geneva Accords 1954

Peace agreement that divided Vietnam into Communist-controlled North Vietnam and non Communist South Vietnam until unification elections could be held in 1956

17th Parallel

Line of latitude that separated North and South Vietnam.

Ngo Dinh Diem

South Vietnamese president that was catholic and strongly opposed communism. Poor leadership and corrupt government.

Suez Crisis

Nasser took over the Suez Canal to show separation of Egypt from the West, but Israel, the British, Iraq, and France were all against Nasser's action. The U.S. stepped in before too much serious fighting began.

Gamal Abdul Nasser

Nationalist leader in Egypt who wants US to help build Aswan Dam while he's also buying weapons from Soviets.

Eisenhower Doctrine

Policy of the US that it would defend the Middle East against attack by any Communist country. (Basically if anyone attacks Israel)

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.

ICBM

Inter-Continental Ballistic Missiles, long-range nuclear missiles capable of being fired at targets on the other side of the globe. The reason behind the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Fidel Castro

Cuban revolutionary who overthrew Batista dictatorship in 1958 and assumed control country. Connections with the Soviet Union led to a cessation of diplomatic relations with the United States in such internationl affairs as the Bay of Pigs invasion and the Cuban Missile Crisis. Oversaw his country through the end of the Cold War and through nearly a half-century of trade embargo with the US

Cuban Revolution

A political revolution that removed the United States supported Fugencio Batista from power. The revolution was led by Fidel Castro who became the new leader of Cuba as a communist dictator.

U-2 Spy Plane Incident

Soviets shot down a U-2 Spy Plane (US) and blamed America for spying on them. USSR/US initiate a trade between the spies.

Francis Gary Powers

American pilot spying almost close to space. Shot down by USSR. Captured and put in Soviet prison.

Flexible Response

A policy, developed during the Kennedy administration, that involved preparing for a variety of military responses to international crises rather than focusing on the use of nuclear weapons.

Bay of Pigs Invasion

Failed attempt of Cuban exiles backed by the U.S. to overthrow the Cuban socialist government of Fidel Castro. Embarrassment to Kennedy.

Cuban Missile Crisis

The closest approach to nuclear war at any time between the U.S. and the USSR. When the U.S. discovered Soviet nuclear missiles on Cuba, President John F. Kennedy demanded their removal and announced a naval blockade of the island. The Soviet leader Khrushchev acceded to the U.S. demands a week later, on condition that US doesn't invade Cuba and removes missiles in Turkey.

Berlin Wall

A fortified wall surrounding West Berlin, Germany, built in 1961 to prevent East German citizens from traveling to the West. Its demolition in 1989 symbolized the end of the Cold War.

Hot Line

Direct telephone link created by Kennedy and Khrushchev to allow leaders to communicate instantly in times of crisis.

Limited Test Ban Treaty

Prohibits nuclear weapons tests "or any other nuclear explosion" in the atmosphere, in outer space, and under water