APUSH Period 8

Soviet Union

A former federal sovereign state in Eastern Europe and Northern Asia, existing from 1922 to 1991.

Security Council

A body of the United Nations responsible for maintaining international peace and security.

Satellite States

Countries that are officially independent but are heavily influenced by another country.

Iron Curtain

The political and ideological barrier that isolated Soviet-controlled countries from the West.

George F. Kennan

An American diplomat and historian who advocated the policy of containment during the Cold War.

Containment Policy

A U.S. strategy aimed at preventing the spread of communism.

Truman Doctrine

A policy set forth by U.S. President Harry S. Truman to provide military and economic aid to countries resisting communism.

George C. Marshall

An American statesman and military leader known for the Marshall Plan.

Marshall Plan

A U.S. initiative to aid Western Europe by providing economic support to rebuild economies after WWII.

Berlin Airlift

A operation in which the Allied powers supplied West Berlin by air after the Soviet Union blocked ground access.

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

A military alliance formed in 1949 among Western nations for mutual defense.

Warsaw Pact

A military alliance of communist nations in response to NATO, established in 1955.

National Security Act

A 1947 act that reorganized U.S. military and intelligence agencies.

Douglas MacArthur (Japan)

A U.S. general during WWII who oversaw the occupation and reconstruction of Japan.

Mao Zedong

The founding father of the People's Republic of China and its leader from 1949 until his death in 1976.

Korean War

A conflict between North Korea (with the support of China and the Soviet Union) and South Korea (with the support of the United States and other Western nations) from 1950 to 1953.

38th Parallel

The latitude line that divided North and South Korea before and during the Korean War.

Stalemate

A situation in which neither side in a conflict can achieve victory.

Brinkmanship

The practice of pursuing a dangerous policy to the limits of safety before stopping, especially in politics.

Spirit of Geneva

A diplomatic approach characterized by negotiation and peaceful coexistence during the Cold War.

Nikita Khrushchev

The leader of the Soviet Union during part of the Cold War who advocated for peaceful coexistence with the West.

Sputnik

The first artificial Earth satellite, launched by the Soviet Union in 1957.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

The United States government agency responsible for the nation's civilian space program.

U-2 Incident

The 1960 incident in which an American U-2 spy plane was shot down over Soviet airspace.

Cuba

An island nation in the Caribbean, centrally involved in Cold War conflicts, especially with the U.S.

Fidel Castro

The communist revolutionary and leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008.

military-industrial complex

A term that describes the relationship between a country's military and the defense industry that supplies it.

Berlin Wall

A barrier that divided East and West Berlin from 1961 to 1989.

Bay of Pigs

A failed invasion of Cuba by a CIA-sponsored paramilitary group in 1961.

Cuban Missile Crisis

A 13-day confrontation in 1962 between the U.S. and the Soviet Union over Soviet ballistic missiles deployed in Cuba.

Nuclear Test Ban Treaty

An agreement prohibiting all nuclear weapons testing, signed in 1963.

John F Kennedy

The 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963.

Lyndon B. Johnson

The 36th President of the United States, known for domestic policies and escalation of the Vietnam War.

Non-Proliferation Treaty

An international treaty aimed at preventing the spread of nuclear weapons.

Henry Kissinger

An American diplomat and statesman who served as Secretary of State under Presidents Nixon and Ford.

Détente

The easing of strained relations, especially in a political situation, which characterized the Cold War in the 1970s.

Strategic Arms Limitations Talks (SALT I)

Negotiations between the U.S. and the Soviet Union to limit nuclear arms.

Soviet-Afghan War

A conflict in which Soviet troops invaded Afghanistan in 1979, resulting in a prolonged and costly war.

McCarran Internal Security Act

A 1950 law aimed at protecting the U.S. from espionage and sabotage.

House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC)

A congressional committee that investigated suspected subversives and communists.

Alger Hiss

An American lawyer and diplomat accused of being a communist spy and convicted of perjury.

Julius Rosenberg

An American engineer convicted of espionage for allegedly transmitting nuclear secrets to the Soviet Union.

Joseph R. McCarthy

A U.S. senator known for leading anti-communist pursuits and creating a national atmosphere of fear.

McCarthyism

The practice of making accusations of subversion or treason without proper evidence during the Red Scare.

Second Red Scare

A period of heightened fear of communist influence in the U.S. from the late 1940s to the early 1950s.

Servicemen’s Readjustment Act (or GI Bill of Rights)

Legislation that provided various benefits to returning World War II veterans.

Baby Boom

The significant increase in birth rates in the United States and other countries after World War II.

Levittown

A standard suburban development in America built after WWII, symbolizing post-war housing.

Sun Belt

A region of the U.S. mostly in the South and Southwest that has seen substantial population growth.

22nd Amendment

An amendment to the U.S. Constitution that limits presidents to two terms in office.

Fair Deal

President Truman's proposal for national health insurance, expansion of Social Security benefits, and other reforms.

Dwight D. Eisenhower

The 34th President of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961.

Interstate Highway Act

A law enacted in 1956 that funded the construction of the U.S. Interstate Highway System.

New Frontier

President Kennedy's program aimed at improving education, healthcare, and civil rights.

Great Society

A set of domestic programs launched by President Lyndon B. Johnson to eliminate poverty and racial injustice.

New Federalism

A political philosophy that aims to shift certain powers from the federal government to the states.

Richard Nixon

The 37th President of the United States, known for his foreign policy and eventual resignation amid the Watergate scandal.

Stagflation

An economic situation characterized by stagnant economic growth, high unemployment, and high inflation.

Rock and roll

A genre of popular music that originated in the United States in the late 1940s.

Beatniks

A social and literary movement in the 1950s associated with a group of American writers who rejected conventional society.

Kennedy Assassination

The assassination of President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963.

Warren Commission

The commission established to investigate the assassination of President Kennedy.

Committee on Civil Rights

A U.S. government body created to address issues related to civil rights, especially in the 1960s.

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)

A civil rights organization founded in 1909 aimed at fighting discrimination.

Jackie Robinson

The first African American to play in Major League Baseball, breaking the color barrier.

Brown v. Board of Education

A landmark 1954 Supreme Court case that declared racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional.

Thurgood Marshall

The first African American Supreme Court Justice who argued the Brown case.

Earl Warren

Chief Justice of the United States from 1953 to 1969, known for his court's activism on civil rights.

desegregation

The process of ending the separation of two groups, often referring to racial segregation.

Little Rock Nine

A group of nine African American students who integrated Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1957.

Rosa Parks

An activist in the civil rights movement known for her pivotal role in the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

Montgomery Bus Boycott

A civil rights protest against racial segregation on the public transit system in Montgomery, Alabama.

Emmitt Till

A young African American who was lynched in Mississippi in 1955, which galvanized the Civil Rights Movement.

Martin Luther King Jr.

A civil rights leader known for his nonviolent protests and famous for his 'I Have a Dream' speech.

Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC)

An African American civil rights organization formed in 1957 led by Martin Luther King Jr.

Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC)

A civil rights group formed in 1960 to give younger Blacks more of a voice in the civil rights movement.

Covert action

Secret operations by a government to influence political outcomes in other countries.

Suez Canal

A man-made waterway connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea, crucial for international trade.

Eisenhower Doctrine

A U.S. policy aimed at containing communism in the Middle East.

Organization of Petroleum Exporting (OPEC)

A group of oil-producing countries that coordinate their oil production and prices.

Yom Kippur War

A conflict in 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by Egypt and Syria.

Oil Embargo

An act of refusing to sell oil to a nation during a conflict, notably by OPEC in 1973.

Camp David Accords

Peace agreements in 1978 between Israel and Egypt, brokered by President Carter.

Iran Hostage Crisis

A diplomatic crisis from 1979 to 1981 in which 52 American diplomats were held hostage in Iran.

The Peace Corps

A volunteer program run by the U.S. government to provide assistance in developing countries.

Panama Canal

A man-made waterway that connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, opened in 1914.

Vietnam War

A prolonged conflict from 1955 to 1975 in which the U.S. intervened to prevent the spread of communism in Vietnam.

Domino theory

The belief that a political event in one country will cause similar events in neighboring countries.

Tonkin Gulf Resolution

A 1964 congressional resolution that authorized military action in Vietnam.

Credibility gap

The term used to describe the public's skepticism about the truth of government statements, particularly regarding the Vietnam War.

Hawks vs Doves

Refers to the debate over U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War, where Hawks favored military action and Doves favored peace.

Tet Offensive

A major offensive launched by North Vietnamese forces in January 1968 during the Vietnam War.

Vietnamization

Nixon's strategy of increasing South Vietnamese involvement in the Vietnam War while reducing American troops.

Kent State Massacre

The shooting of students by Ohio National Guardsmen on May 4, 1970, during a protest against the Vietnam War.

My Lai Massacre

The mass killing of between 347 and 504 unarmed South Vietnamese civilians by U.S. Army soldiers during the Vietnam War.

Pentagon Papers

A classified report that revealed the U.S. government's misleading information related to the Vietnam War.

Paris Accords

Agreement signed in 1973 that intended to establish peace in Vietnam and end the Vietnam War.

War Powers Act

A 1973 U.S. law that restricted the president's ability to send U.S. forces into combat without congressional approval.

Fall of Saigon

The capture of Saigon by North Vietnamese forces in 1975, marking the end of the Vietnam War.

Ho Chi Minh

The leader of North Vietnam and key figure in the Vietnamese independence movement.