cold war vocab

iron curtain

used to describe the soviet-controlled sectors of europe

berlin wall

built by the soviet’s between soviet controlled east and allied controlled west

warsaw pact

made up of eastern european countries led by the soviet union

north atlantic treaty organization (NATO)

made up of anti-communist governments in western europe led by the US

truman doctrine

US policy that promised military and economic aid to contain communism

mccarthyism

intense ant-communist suspicion and paranoia in the US where high profile americans were accused of having communist ties

38th parallel

division between north and south korea

sputnik

soviet satellite launched into space

brinkmanship

policy where nations are on the verge of war

tet offensive

suprise offensive led by NVA forces during the vietnam war

kim il sung

leader of north korea

mao zedong

leader of the chinese communist party

syngman rhee

leader of south korea

SALT agreement

limited the nuclear arms between america and the soviets

Apollo 11

american manned-space mission which put americans on the moon

vietnamization

american policy of withdrawing from vietnam

HUAC

(house upon the un-american activities committee)

put americans on trial who were suspected of communist ties

Marshall plan

have european nations millions of dollars after WWII ended to rebuild

communism

no private ownership - workers own the means of production

capitalism

private ownership - a competitive market

william westmoreland

led american ground troops during the vietnam war

ho chi minh

leader of north vietnam

ho chi minh trail

helped supply thousands of viet cong fighters in south vietnam

viet cong

north vietnamese guerilla force - aided the communist north

2nd red scare

period of immense communist fear from 1945 to mid- 1950’s driven by fears of soviet infiltration into america

containment

american policy to slow the spread of communism through military advances, economic aid, and diplomacy

detente

easing of tensions

perestroika

political restructuring in the soviet union - more openness