Cold War Vocabulary

Superpower: A nation with the ability to project its influence and power globally, often through military and economic means.

Cold War: A period of political tension and military rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union from roughly 1947 to 1991, marked by ideological conflict.

Yalta Conference: A meeting in February 1945 where Allied leaders (Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin) discussed post-war reorganization and plans for the United Nations.

Potsdam: The summer 1945 conference where leaders (including Truman, Stalin, and Churchill) finalized post-war plans and discussed how to handle Germany and Eastern Europe.

Iron Curtain: A term describing the ideological boundary dividing Europe into the Soviet-controlled Eastern bloc and the Western democracies during the Cold War.

Truman Doctrine: A U.S. policy announced in 1947 to provide military and economic support to countries resisting communism.

Marshall Plan: A U.S. initiative launched in 1948 to aid Western Europe's economic recovery after WWII by providing financial assistance.

Berlin Blockade: A Soviet attempt to cut off all ground access to West Berlin from June 1948 to May 1949, prompting the Allied Berlin Airlift.

NATO: North Atlantic Treaty Organization, a military alliance established in 1949 among the U.S., Canada, and several Western European nations for mutual defense.

Warsaw Pact: A military alliance formed in 1955 among the Soviet Union and Eastern bloc countries as a response to NATO.

Korean War: A conflict from 1950 to 1953 between North Korea (with the support of China and the Soviet Union) and South Korea (backed by UN forces led by the U.S.).

Demilitarized Zone: A buffer zone separating North and South Korea, established after the Korean War to prevent military conflict.

Nuclear Proliferation: The spread of nuclear weapons and associated technology to states or non-state actors not recognized as nuclear-weapon states.

Arms Race: A competition between nations for superiority in the development and accumulation of weapons, particularly during the Cold War.

Red Scare (after WWII): A period of intense fear of communism in the U.S., characterized by anti-communist sentiment and repression from the late 1940s to the mid-1950s.

Loyalty Review Program: A U.S. government initiative, started in 1947, aimed at identifying and investigating potential disloyalty among government employees.

McCarthyism: The practice of making aggressive accusations of subversion or treason, notably by U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy in the early 1950s, during a campaign against alleged communists.

Cuban Missile Crisis: A 1962 confrontation between the U.S. and the Soviet Union over Soviet missiles in Cuba, bringing the two superpowers close to nuclear war.

Loyalty Review Board: An entity established to review the loyalty of government employees, often associated with the Red Scare and 1950s