World Studies Chapter 23 BJU 5th ed

iron curtain

The political and military boundary that divided communist Eastern Europe from democratic Western Europe after World War II.

Cold War

A long period of political tension and competition between the United States and the Soviet Union from about 1945 to 1991 without direct large-scale war between them.

Truman Doctrine

A United States policy announced in 1947 that promised support to countries resisting communism.

containment

The American policy of stopping the spread of communism to other nations.

Marshall Plan

A United States program that provided economic aid to help rebuild Western Europe after World War II.

NATO

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, a military alliance formed in 1949 by the United States, Canada, and Western European nations for mutual defense.

Warsaw Pact

A military alliance formed in 1955 between the Soviet Union and communist countries in Eastern Europe.

arms race

A competition between nations to build larger and more powerful military weapons, especially nuclear weapons.

civil rights movement

A movement in the United States during the 1950s and 1960s that sought equal rights for African Americans.

Martin Luther King Jr.

An American civil rights leader who promoted nonviolent protest and helped lead the fight against racial segregation.

Ronald Reagan

The president of the United States from 1981 to 1989 who strongly opposed communism and increased pressure on the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

Charles de Gaulle

A French military leader and president who helped rebuild France after World War II and strengthened French independence.

limited wars

Wars fought to achieve specific goals without using all available military force or causing total destruction.

Cultural Revolution

A movement begun by Mao Zedong in China in 1966 to enforce communist ideas and remove opponents, causing widespread chaos and suffering.

Tiananmen Square

A large public square in Beijing where Chinese troops violently ended pro-democracy protests in 1989.

Korean War

A war fought from 1950 to 1953 between communist North Korea and democratic South Korea, involving United Nations and Chinese forces.

Douglas MacArthur

An American general who commanded United Nations forces during the Korean War.

38th parallel

The line of latitude that divided North Korea and South Korea after World War II.

Ho Chi Minh

The communist leader of North Vietnam who fought to unite Vietnam under communist rule.

Viet Cong

Communist guerrilla fighters in South Vietnam who supported North Vietnam during the Vietnam War.

SEATO

The Southeast Asia Treaty Organization, an alliance formed to resist the spread of communism in Southeast Asia.

domino theory

The belief that if one nation fell to communism, nearby nations would also fall.

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

A 1964 resolution that gave President Lyndon Johnson authority to increase American military involvement in Vietnam.

Tet offensive

A major surprise attack by North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces in 1968 during the Vietnam War.

Vietnamization

A United States policy that gradually transferred responsibility for fighting the Vietnam War to South Vietnamese forces.

PLO

The Palestine Liberation Organization, a group formed to represent Palestinian Arabs and seek an independent Palestinian state.

intifada

An uprising or protest movement by Palestinians against Israeli control.

Hamas

A Palestinian Islamic organization that combines political activity with militant actions against Israel.

Fidel Castro

The communist ruler of Cuba who came to power in 1959 and allied Cuba with the Soviet Union.

Bay of Pigs

A failed 1961 invasion of Cuba by Cuban exiles supported by the United States.

Nikita Khrushchev

The leader of the Soviet Union during part of the Cold War who was involved in the Cuban missile crisis.

peaceful coexistence

A Soviet policy that accepted competition with capitalist countries without direct war.

Sputnik

The first artificial satellite launched into space by the Soviet Union in 1957.

U-2 incident

A 1960 event in which the Soviet Union shot down an American spy plane, increasing Cold War tensions.

Berlin Wall

A wall built by East Germany in 1961 to prevent people from escaping to West Berlin.

Cuban missile crisis

A 1962 confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union over Soviet missiles placed in Cuba.

détente

A period of reduced tension and improved relations between the United States and the Soviet Union during the 1970s.

SDI

The Strategic Defense Initiative, a missile defense program proposed by President Ronald Reagan.

Mikhail Gorbachev

The last leader of the Soviet Union who introduced reforms that helped end the Cold War.

perestroika

A Soviet policy of economic restructuring introduced by Mikhail Gorbachev.

glasnost

A Soviet policy introduced by Mikhail Gorbachev that allowed more openness and freedom of information.

Lech Walesa

A Polish labor leader who helped lead the Solidarity movement against communist rule in Poland.