Post-WWII Cold War and Domestic Policies in the US

Yalta Conference

Churchill, Roosevelt, & Stalin in Feb 1945 in a resort on the Black Sea.

Cold War

The US & Soviet Union were the two superpowers after WWII. They were ideologically opposed and competed for influence around the world.

Bretton Woods Conference

Meeting of Western allies to establish a postwar international economic order to avoid crises like the one that spawned WWII. Led to the creation of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank. Designed to regulate currency levels and provide aid to developing countries.

United Nations

International body formed in 1945 to bring nations into dialogue in hopes of preventing further world wars. Much like the League of Nations in ambition, the UN was more realistic in recognizing the authority of the Big Five powers in keeping peace in the world.

Nuremberg Trials

Proceedings against former Nazi leaders for war crimes, crimes against humanity, & launch Germany.

Berlin Airlift

The mission of flying food and supplies to blockaded West Berlin.

Iron Curtain Speech

Churchill 1946 address that defined the post-WWII division of europe into western democratic and Eastern Soviet controlled blocks

Containment Doctrine

America's strategy against the Soviet Union was based on the ideas of George Kennan. The doctrine declared that the Soviet Union and communism were inherently expansionist and had to be stopped from spreading through both military and political pressure.

George Kennan

American diplomat who defined the core U.S. Cold War strategy of containment through his influential 'long telegram' and articles.

Truman Doctrine

President Truman's universal pledge of support for any people fighting any communist or communist-inspired threat.

Marshall Plan

Massive transfer of aid money to help rebuild postwar Western Europe, intended to bolster capitalist and democratic governments and prevent domestic communist groups from riding poverty and misery to power.

Palestine

Conflict between Israelis and Palestinians was influenced by the support of the US and Soviet Union, who promoted the interest of their respective sides.

National Security Act

Landmark legislation that reshaped the United States' military and diplomatic institutions to respond effectively to Cold War threats.

Central Intelligence Agency

U.S. federal agency responsible for collecting, evaluating, and disseminating security intelligence and counterintelligence to safeguard national security.

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

Military alliance of Western European powers and the US and Canada established in 1949.

Mao Zedong

Chinese communist revolutionary, political theorist, and founding father of the People's Republic of China.

National Security Council Memorandum Number 68 (NSC-68)

A secret document that outlined US national security strategy and military spending in response to Soviet threats during the cold war.

Korean War

First 'hot' war of the cold war.

House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC)

Investigatory body established in 1938 to root out 'subversion'.

McCarthyism

Fear-mongering Anti-communism associated with Senator Joseph McCarthy. Used his position in Congress to baselessly accuse high-ranking government officials and other Americans of with communism.

Army-McCarthy Hearings

Televised congressional hearings called by Senator Joseph McCarthy to accuse members of the army of communist ties.

Executive Order 9981

Order issued by Truman to desegregate the armed forces.

Taft-Hartley Act

Republican-sponsored anti-union legislation passed over President Truman's veto that weakened many of labor's New Deal gains by banning the closed shops and other strategies that helped unions organize.

Operation Dixie

A government program to round up and deport as many as 1 million illegal Mexican migrant workers in the U.S.

Employment Act of 1946

Legislation declared that the government's econ. policy should aim to promote max employment, protection, and purchasing power as well as to keep inflation low.

GI Bill

Provided veterans with benefits such as ren. homes, small business loans, education, and job training.

Dixiecrats

Southern Democrats who broke away from the states' rights Democratic Party.

Fair Deal

President Truman's extensive social program introduced in his message to Congress in 1949.

Sunbelt

Experienced terrific population and productivity expansion during WWII and particularly in the decades after the war, eclipsing the old industrial Northeast (Frostbelt).

Levittown

Suburban communities with mass-produced tract houses built in the New York and Philadelphia metropolitan areas in the 1950s by William Levitt and Sons.

Baby Boom

Demographic explosion from births to returning soldiers and others who had put off starting families during the war.