APUSH 8A Terms List 1

JBHS ISAACS 24/25

Cuban Missile Crisis

A 13-day confrontation in October 1962 between the United States and the Soviet Union over Soviet ballistic missiles deployed in Cuba.

Bay of Pigs

A failed invasion of Cuba in April 1961 by Cuban exiles backed by the U.S. government, in an attempt to overthrow Fidel Castro.

Taft-Hartley Act

A 1947 law that restricted the activities and power of labor unions.

United Nations

An international organization founded in 1945 to promote peace, security, and cooperation among countries.

Berlin airlift

The operation in 1948-1949 in which the Allies supplied West Berlin with goods and necessities by air after the Soviet Union blocked ground access.

GI Bill

Legislation in 1944 that provided various benefits to returning World War II veterans, including education and housing assistance.

Iron Curtain

Used to describe the division between the Soviet Communist Eastern Europe and the Western democracies.

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

A military alliance established in 1949 among North American and European countries to provide collective defense against aggression.

Korean War

A conflict between North Korea (Communist) and South Korea (Democratic) from 1950 to 1953, ending with an armstice.

Space Race

The competition between the United States and the Soviet Union for supremacy in space exploration during the Cold War.

Marshall Plan

A US program to provide economic aid to Western Europe after World War II. The plan was a key part of the US Cold War policy to contain the spread of communism. 

House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC)

Created in 1938 to investigate alleged disloyalty and rebel activities on the part of private citizens, public employees and organizations suspected of having Communist ties. Citizens suspected of having ties to the communist party would be tried in a court of law.

Containment

The U.S. policy aimed at preventing the spread of communism beyond its existing borders during the Cold War.

Fair Deal

President Harry S. Truman's domestic program aimed at extending New Deal reforms and improving social welfare. These reforms helped to transform the United States from a wartime economy to a peacetime economy.

Rosenberg case

The trial and execution of a married couple, Julius and Ethel, in 1953 for allegedly spying for the Soviet Union.

Truman Doctrine

A policy introduced by President Truman in 1947 to provide economic and military aid to countries resisting communism.

Levittown

A planned community of mass-produced homes, exemplifying post-war suburban growth in America.

McCarthyism

The practice of making unfounded accusations of subversion or treason, particularly associated with Senator Joseph McCarthy's activities in the 1950s.

Federal Highway Act of 1956

Legislation that allocated funds for the construction of a national interstate highway system in the United States.

National Security Act of 1947

A major restructuring of the U.S. military and intelligence agencies following World War II, creating the National Security Council and the Central Intelligence Agency.