Cold War Competitions

These flashcards cover key vocabulary and concepts from the lecture on Cold War competitions, focusing on athletes, ideologies, and significant events.

Jackie Robinson

The first African American to play in Major League Baseball in the modern era and a key figure in challenging racial segregation in sports.

Paul Robeson

• An American singer, actor, and civil rights activist known for his advocacy for racial equality and his conflict with the U.S. government regarding his views on the Soviet Union.

• football and baseball

• soon forgotten after comparing the US negatively to the Soviet Union

• Supported the US during WW2 but as he traveled the states during the war, he was segregated and heard about the race riots so he spoke out

Kitchen Debate

A 1959 debate between U.S. Vice President Nixon and Soviet Premier Khrushchev regarding the merits of capitalism versus communism.

• Consumer goods that make our life easier make our ways of life better

• Counterargument: They make Americans weak

Presidential Fitness Test

• A program initiated to encourage fitness among American youth, first established in 1956 and reinstated in 2025.

• “Children need to get in shape in order to fight for the United States

Cold War Olympics

• games were between the Soviet Union and the United States

Doris Duke

• An American philanthropist who donated funds for the development of women's sports, particularly during the Cold War era.

Wilma Rudolph

An American Olympic sprinter who became the first American woman to win three gold medals in a single Olympics in 1960.

Black female athletes

• Women of African descent who excelled in sports, especially during and after the Cold War, often overcoming racial and gender discrimination.

• the cold war took black female athletes out of the shame and said they were cold warriers

• track and field dominated

National Scientific Research Institute for Sports Culture

• A Soviet institution that focused on developing athletic talent through rigorous training and state support.

• Made young talent leave their homes and go to Moscow

Tennessee State University

A historically black university known for its strong track and field program, producing prominent athletes like Wilma Rudolph.

Cold Warriors

• Set the stage for Americans to start caring for the black female athletes

• The press tried to emphasize the grace and beauty of these athletes