Key Cold War Policies and Events: US and USSR Relations

Appeasement

A policy of giving concessions to aggressive powers to avoid conflict, especially used before WWII

Sanctions

Economic penalties used to pressure a country to change its behavior without military action

Fascism

A political system with authoritarian leadership, strong nationalism, and limited individual freedoms

Isolationism

A policy of avoiding involvement in foreign affairs or conflicts

Interventionism

A policy of actively engaging in foreign affairs including military involvement

Internment

The forced relocation and confinement of a group of people such as Japanese Americans during WWII

Dawes Plan

A 1924 plan that helped Germany repay WWI reparations through US loans and economic restructuring

Cash and Carry Policy

A policy allowing nations to buy arms if they paid cash and transported them themselves

Lend-Lease Act

A 1941 program where the US supplied Allied nations with war materials without immediate payment

Pearl Harbor

A 1941 Japanese attack on a US naval base that led to US entry into WWII

Double V Campaign

A movement by African Americans for victory against fascism abroad and racism at home

Contributions of Native Americans

Served as soldiers including Code Talkers and supported the war effort through labor

Contributions of African Americans

Served in segregated units, worked in defense industries and pushed for civil rights

Tehran Conference

A 1943 meeting where Allied leaders planned the invasion of Western Europe

Yalta Conference

A 1945 meeting to discuss postwar Europe including dividing Germany

Potsdam Conference

A 1945 meeting addressing postwar order and rising tensions between the US and USSR

D-Day

The Allied invasion of Normandy in 1944 marking a turning point in the war in Europe

Battle of the Bulge

Germany's final major offensive in Western Europe which ultimately failed

Island-hopping

A US strategy of capturing key Pacific islands while bypassing others

Battle of the Coral Sea

A 1942 battle that stopped Japanese expansion toward Australia

Battle of Midway

A 1942 battle where the US defeated Japan turning the tide in the Pacific

Okinawa and Iwo Jima

Major Pacific battles with heavy casualties that influenced the decision to use atomic bombs

Manhattan Project

A secret US program that developed the atomic bomb

Truman's decision to use the atomic bombs

The choice to bomb Japan to force surrender and quickly end WWII

Post-WWII economy

A period of economic growth increased consumer demand and expansion of the middle class

Containment

A US policy aimed at stopping the spread of communism

Marshall Plan

A US program providing economic aid to rebuild Western Europe and prevent communism

Truman Doctrine

A policy of giving aid to countries resisting communism

NATO

A military alliance between the US and Western European nations for mutual defense

Warsaw Pact

A military alliance of the Soviet Union and Eastern European countries

Brinksmanship

Pushing dangerous situations to the edge of conflict to gain advantage

Mutually Assured Destruction

A situation where both sides can destroy each other with nuclear weapons

The Long Telegram

A message by George Kennan explaining the need to contain Soviet expansion

The Second Red Scare

A period of fear of communism in the US during the late 1940s and 1950s

McCarthyism

Accusing people of being communists often without evidence

Berlin Airlift

A US and Allied effort to supply West Berlin during a Soviet blockade

Redlining

A discriminatory practice denying loans to certain neighborhoods often affecting minorities

Eisenhower's foreign policy

A strategy focused on nuclear deterrence and containing communism

Beat Movement

A cultural movement rejecting traditional values and promoting nonconformity

Bay of Pigs

A failed US backed invasion of Cuba in 1961

Cuban Missile Crisis

A 1962 confrontation over Soviet missiles in Cuba that nearly led to nuclear war

Space Race

A competition between the US and Soviet Union for dominance in science and technology