Cold War and Civil Right Movement (1950's and 1960's America)

Cold War

1945 - 1991 A state of tension between the United States and the Soviet Union without actual fighting.

Berlin Wall

a concrete and wire barrier that separated East and West Berlin from 1961 to 1989. It was built by the government of what was then East Germany to keep East Berliners from defecting to the West.

containment

to restrict expansion of communism

Marshall Plan

A United States program of economic aid for the reconstruction of Europe (1948-1952)

Domino Theory

1950s and 1960s a theory suggested that if one country fell to communism, neighboring countries would also start to fall to communism (imagine falling dominos).

blockade

to seal off a place in order to prevent goods or people from entering or leaving.

Berlin Airlift

airlift in 1948 that supplied food and fuel to citizens of west Berlin when the Russians closed off land access to Berlin

NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization)

Military alliance created in 1949 made up of 12 non-Communist countries including the United States that support each other if attacked.

Warsaw Pact

An alliance between the Soviet Union and other Eastern European nations. This was in response to the NATO.

Iron Curtain

Winston Churchill's term for the Cold War division between the Soviet-dominated East and the U.S.-dominated West. (boundary that separated NATO and Warsaw Pact countries)

space race

competition between the United States and the Soviet Union to be the first to land a man on the moon was a contest to gain technological superiority

Sputnik

The world's first space satellite. This meant the Soviet Union had a missile powerful enough to reach the US.

arms race

a competition between the US and the former Soviet Union during the Cold War in the build up of huge stockpiles of nuclear weapons.

Cuban Missile Crisis

a confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union in 1962 over the presence of missile sites in Cuba; closest to a nuclear war in U.S history

Who was the President during the Cuban Missile Crisis?

John F. Kennedy

Korean War

The conflict between Communist North Korea and Non-Communist South Korea. The United Nations (led by the United States) helped South Korea.

Capitalism

economic system where private individuals own and control means of production with very little government interference

Communism

A theory or system of social organization based on the holding of all property in common, actual ownership being ascribed to the community as a whole or to the state.

Democracy

a system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state, typically through elected representatives.

Dictatorship

A form of government in which the leader has absolute power and authority.

GI Bill

law passed in 1944 to help returning veterans buy homes and pay for higher educations

McCarthyism

The act of accusing people of disloyalty and communism

Red Scare

A period of general fear of communists

consumer goods

Tangible items produced for personal use.

FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation)

an agency of the Justice Department responsible for investigating violations of Federal laws. Focused on domestic issues during the Cold War.

CIA

an independent agency of the United States government responsible for collecting and coordinating intelligence and counterintelligence activities abroad in the national interest

KGB

Soviet secret police agency charged with domestic and foreign intelligence

United Nations

An international organization formed after WWII to promote international peace, security, and cooperation.

George Keenan

Well-known US diplomat with much knowledge of Soviet affairs that wrote the article Foreign Affairs in 1947. Strongly advocated the Containment Doctrine.

Harry Truman (1945-1953)

President during the beginning of the Cold War, Korean War, created the Truman Doctrine and put into effect the Marshall Plan.

Superpowers

nations with enough military, political, and economic strength to influence events worldwide

1st world countries

USA and it's Allies in the Cold War

2nd world countries

USSR and Eastern Europe in the Cold War

3rd world countries

Africa and parts of Asia in the Cold War

Joseph Stalin

Communist dictator of the Soviet Union

NASA

an independent agency of the United States government responsible for aviation and spaceflight

What nations controlled Germany after WWII?

France, Great Britain, United States and Soviet Union

The Federal Republic of Germany

Eventual name of postwar West Germany; created by the merging of the zones of occupation held by France, Britain, and the United States.

John F. Kennedy

President of the US during the Bay of Pigs Invasion and the Cuban Missile Crisis

Dwitght D. Eisenhower

Thirty-fourth President of the United States, 1953-1961 during the Cold War. He created the term Domino Effect.

Truman Doctrine

President Truman's policy of providing economic and military aid to any country threatened by communism

Satelite Nations

nations politically and economically dominated or controlled by another more powerful country

Martin Luther King Jr.

American Baptist minister and activist who became the most visible spokesperson and leader in the civil rights movement from 1954 until his assassination in 1968

Rosa Parks

United States civil rights leader who refused to give up her seat on a bus to a white man in Montgomery (Alabama) and so triggered the national civil rights movement (born in 1913)

Civil Rights Movement

a social movement in the United States during the 1950s and 1960s, in which people organized to demand equal rights for African Americans and other minorities. People worked together to change unfair laws. They gave speeches, marched in the streets, and participated in boycotts.

Korean War (1950-1953)

This "forgotten war" had been fought because of the American policy of containment.

Emmitt Till

14 year old african american who was kidnapped, beaten, and brutally killed in Mississippi for whistling at a white woman

March on Washington (1963)

a large political rally that took place in Washington, D.C. on August 28, 1963. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his historic "I Have a Dream" speech advocating racial harmony at the Lincoln Memorial during the march. Widely credited as helping lead to the Civil Rights Act (1964) and the National Voting Rights Act (1965). 80% of the marchers were black. Organized by union leader A. Philip Randolph.

Duck and Cover

Schoolchildren practiced crawling under their desks and putting their hands over their heads to protect themselves from an atomic bomb attack.

Jackie Robinson

The first African American player in the major league of baseball. His actions helped to bring about other opportunities for African Americans.

Joseph McCarthy

US senator; claimed that their were Soviet spies and Communists within the government but had no evidence; discredited by the US senate