cold war all

Winston Churchill

British leader who spoke about the Soviet Union "selling off" Eastern European countries and popularized the term "Iron Curtain."

President Harry Truman

Saw communism as an evil force; created the Truman Doctrine and sent aid to Greece and Turkey to withstand communist threats.

Joseph Stalin

Soviet leader who wanted to spread communism into Eastern Europe and create a buffer zone of friendly governments against Germany; tried to force Western Allies out of Berlin with a blockade.

Nikita Khrushchev

Soviet leader after Stalin who publicly exposed Stalin's abuse of power.

Leonid Brezhnev

Soviet leader who had dissidents (people who criticized the government) arrested and imprisoned.

Andrei Sakharov

Soviet physicist who spoke out against human rights abuses and was exiled to a remote city.

Imre Nagy

Hungarian communist reformer who ended one-party rule, removed Soviet troops, and withdrew from the Warsaw Pact; was executed after the Soviet Union invaded Hungary.

Alexander Dubček

Leader who introduced the Prague Spring to allow greater freedom of expression in Czechoslovakia.

Fidel Castro

Young lawyer who led the Cuban Revolution, imposed authoritarian rule, took over foreign-owned businesses, and turned to the Soviet Union for help.

President John F. Kennedy

Launched the poorly planned Bay of Pigs invasion and created a naval blockade of Cuba, demanding the Soviet Union remove its nuclear missiles.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Leader of the Civil Rights Movement who organized peaceful protests to end segregation in the US and gave the "I Have a Dream" speech.

President Lyndon Johnson

Created Medicare under the Great Society program, which also included job training and low-cost housing for the poor.

President Ronald Reagan

Called for cutbacks in government spending on social programs and welfare, and invested more in military spending.

Margaret Thatcher

Britain's Conservative Party leader who reduced the size of government bureaucracy and cut back welfare services.

Konrad Adenauer

Leader who led West Germans to rebuild cities, factories, and trade, creating a booming industrial economy.

Truman Doctrine

US policy for Greece and Turkey that aimed to contain communism to areas already under Soviet control and isolate the Soviet Union.

Containment

US strategy of limiting communism to areas already under Soviet control and preventing its spread to other countries.

Marshall Plan

Major US aid package that gave food and economic assistance to Europe to help it recover and reduce communist influence; Stalin forbade Eastern European satellites from accepting it.

Detente

Period of relaxed tensions between the US and Soviet Union, bringing agreements to reduce nuclear stockpiles and turning to diplomacy; ended in 1979 when the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan.

Great Society

President Lyndon Johnson's program expanding social programs, including Medicare, job training, and low-cost housing for the poor.

Welfare State

Government that provides national healthcare, unemployment insurance, old-age pensions, and support for students (e.g., West Germany and Britain's Labour Party).

Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)

Agreement signed by many world leaders to not develop nuclear weapons and cooperate to stop their spread.

House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC)

US committee that led a campaign to identify communist sympathizers and charge them, ruining thousands of American careers.

NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization)

Military alliance formed by the US, Canada, and ten other countries to help one another if attacked.

Warsaw Pact

Military alliance formed by the Soviet Union with seven satellite states in Eastern Europe to keep them under Soviet control.

Berlin Airlift (1948)

Western powers mounted round-the-clock cargo planes to supply West Berliners with fuel and food after Stalin sealed off railroads and highways; a Cold War victory for the West.

Berlin Wall (1961)

Massive concrete barrier with barbed wire, patrolled by guards, built by East Germany to stop low-paid East Germans from fleeing to West Berlin.

Iron Curtain

Symbol of Cold War fear of communism; described the division of Europe into Eastern (Soviet-controlled) and Western (democratic) sides.

Prague Spring

Period introduced by Alexander Dubček in Czechoslovakia for greater freedom of expression; crushed by the Soviet Union.

SEATO (Southeast Asia Treaty Organization)

Military alliance including the US, Britain, France, Australia, Pakistan, Thailand, New Zealand, and the Philippines to make alliances in Asia and encircle the Soviet Union.

Arms Race

Competition where each side tried to develop enough weapons to withstand attacks; led to the Soviet Union developing an atomic bomb.

MAD (Mutually Assured Destruction)

Doctrine that both sides possessed so many nuclear weapons that an attack would result in the total destruction of both.

Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (1963)

Agreement between the US and Soviet Union that banned nuclear weapons testing.

SALT (Strategic Arms Limitation Talks)

Talks between the US and Soviet Union to limit the number of nuclear weapons each side had.

START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty)

Agreement between the US and Russia to remove large numbers of nuclear weapons.

Suburbanization

Movement of communities out of the urban core; families lived in single-family houses with lawns and commuted by car on highways.

Interdependence

Mutual dependence of countries on goods, resources, and knowledge from other parts of the world; led to global oil shortages from Middle East crises.

Recession

Period of economic downturn.

GDP (Gross Domestic Product)

Total value of all goods and services produced by a nation in a particular year.

Fallout shelters

Structures built by American families to hide from nuclear explosions due to fear of nuclear war.

Air-raid drills

School drills where children ducked under desks to prepare for a potential nuclear attack.

Japan's economic strategy after WWII

Japan spent little on its military (relying on the US for defense), allowing it to spend more on manufacturing textiles, steel, machinery, cars, electronics, and cameras; created a trade surplus for Japan.

US two main goals for occupying Japan after WWII

1) Destroy Japanese militarism; 2) Ensure a democratic government.

Shooting wars of the Cold War

The wars in Korea and Vietnam, where the US and Soviet Union provided weapons and training without directly fighting each other.

Bay of Pigs invasion

Poorly planned invasion by President Kennedy using anti-Castro exiles to try to overthrow Fidel Castro; hurt US reputation.

Cuban Missile Crisis

President Kennedy made a naval blockade of Cuba and demanded the Soviet Union remove its nuclear missiles from the island.

Domino Theory

Belief that a communist victory in South Vietnam would cause non-communist governments across Southeast Asia to fall to communism like dominos.

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

Congressional approval giving President Lyndon Johnson the power to bomb targets in North Vietnam after an alleged attack.

Tet Offensive

Series of surprise attacks by the Viet Cong on cities across South Vietnam during the Vietnamese New Year.

Cold War

State of tension and hostility between nations aligned with the US on one side versus the Soviet Union; not an armed conflict but involved major rivals.

Yalta Conference

Meeting where Churchill and Roosevelt accepted some of Stalin's demands for Eastern Europe and agreed to occupy Germany.

Buffer zone

Stalin wanted friendly governments in Eastern Europe as defense against possible future German aggression.

Satellites

Dependent states in Eastern Europe under Soviet control.

Dissidents

People who criticized the Soviet government and faced arrest and imprisonment.

Red Army

Pushed German forces out of Eastern Europe and left behind occupying forces that helped establish pro-Soviet governments.

Free market

Economic system where prices are based on supply and demand; property is privately owned; producers offer best products for lowest prices.

Command economy

Economic system of the communist world, contrasted with democratic capitalist countries.

Civil rights movement

Efforts led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to end racial injustice through peaceful protests; inspired Indians and Latinos to campaign for equality.

Medicare

Program created by President Lyndon Johnson under the Great Society that ensured healthcare for the elderly.

German reunification (1990)

The Berlin Wall was torn down, and Germany was reunited after communism declined in the Soviet Union and East Germany.

European Coal and Steel Community

Organization formed by West Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, and Italy to trade coal and steel to help economic growth.

European Union (EU)

Organization that expanded to 28 nations including Britain, using a common trading currency called the euro.

US-Japan peace treaty (1952)

The treaty that ended the US occupation of Japan.