Cold War Vocabulary

Superpower

A nation with the ability to project its influence and power globally, often through military and economic means.

Cold War

A period of political tension and military rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union from roughly 1947 to 1991, marked by ideological conflict.

Yalta Conference

A meeting in February 1945 where Allied leaders (Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin) discussed post-war reorganization and plans for the United Nations.

Potsdam

The summer 1945 conference where leaders (including Truman, Stalin, and Churchill) finalized post-war plans and discussed how to handle Germany and Eastern Europe.

Iron Curtain

A term describing the ideological boundary dividing Europe into the Soviet-controlled Eastern bloc and the Western democracies during the Cold War.

Truman Doctrine

A U.S. policy announced in 1947 to provide military and economic support to countries resisting communism.

Marshall Plan

A U.S. initiative launched in 1948 to aid Western Europe's economic recovery after WWII by providing financial assistance.

Berlin Blockade

A Soviet attempt to cut off all ground access to West Berlin from June 1948 to May 1949, prompting the Allied Berlin Airlift.

NATO

North Atlantic Treaty Organization, a military alliance established in 1949 among the U.S., Canada, and several Western European nations for mutual defense.

Warsaw Pact

A military alliance formed in 1955 among the Soviet Union and Eastern bloc countries as a response to NATO.

Korean War

A conflict from 1950 to 1953 between North Korea (with the support of China and the Soviet Union) and South Korea (backed by UN forces led by the U.S.).

Demilitarized Zone

A buffer zone separating North and South Korea, established after the Korean War to prevent military conflict.

Nuclear Proliferation

The spread of nuclear weapons and associated technology to states or non-state actors not recognized as nuclear-weapon states.

Arms Race

A competition between nations for superiority in the development and accumulation of weapons, particularly during the Cold War.

Red Scare (after WWII)

A period of intense fear of communism in the U.S., characterized by anti-communist sentiment and repression from the late 1940s to the mid-1950s.

Loyalty Review Program

A U.S. government initiative, started in 1947, aimed at identifying and investigating potential disloyalty among government employees.

McCarthyism

The practice of making aggressive accusations of subversion or treason, notably by U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy in the early 1950s, during a campaign against alleged communists.

Cuban Missile Crisis

A 1962 confrontation between the U.S. and the Soviet Union over Soviet missiles in Cuba, bringing the two superpowers close to nuclear war.

Loyalty Review Board

An entity established to review the loyalty of government employees, often associated with the Red Scare and 1950s.