period 8 vocabulary

Yalta Conference (Pg. 568) – February 1945 meeting of FDR, Churchill, and Stalin to plan post-war Europe.

• Potsdam Conference (Pg. 569) – July 1945 meeting where Truman, Stalin, and Churchill/Attlee discussed Japan’s surrender and division of Germany.

• Cold War (Pg. 581) – Political and ideological conflict between the US and USSR from 1945–1991.

• United Nations (Pg. 582) – International organization founded in 1945 to promote peace and cooperation.

• Satellite States (Pg. 582) – Eastern European countries under Soviet control during the Cold War.

• Iron Curtain (Pg. 583) – Metaphor for the division between democratic Western Europe and communist Eastern Europe.

US Foreign Policy & Containment of Communism

• Containment Policy (Pg. 583) – US strategy to prevent the spread of communism.

• Truman Doctrine (Pg. 584) – US pledged to support nations resisting communism (Greece & Turkey).

• Marshall Plan (Pg. 584) – US economic aid program to rebuild Europe after WWII.

• Berlin Airlift (Pg. 584) – US response to the Soviet blockade of West Berlin (1948-49).

• NATO (Pg. 585) – Military alliance of Western countries against Soviet threats.

• Warsaw Pact (Pg. 585) – Soviet-led military alliance in response to NATO.

• Arms Race (Pg. 586) – US and USSR competition for nuclear superiority.

• 38th Parallel (Pg. 588) – Division line between North and South Korea.

• Brinkmanship (Pg. 590) – Policy of pushing conflicts to the edge of war to deter opponents.

• U-2 Incident (Pg. 592) – 1960 US spy plane shot down over Soviet territory.

McCarthyism & Red Scare

• Loyalty Review Board (Pg. 600) – Investigated federal employees for communist ties.

• House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) (Pg. 600) – Investigated suspected communists in the US, especially in Hollywood.

• Alger Hiss (Pg. 601) – US official accused of being a Soviet spy.

• Julius and Ethel Rosenberg (Pg. 601) – American couple executed for allegedly spying for the USSR.

• McCarthyism (Pg. 602) – Senator Joseph McCarthy’s anti-communist campaign based on accusations with little evidence.

Domestic Policy & Social Changes

• Servicemen’s Readjustment Act (Pg. 606) – GI Bill that provided education and housing benefits for WWII veterans.

• Baby Boom (Pg. 606) – Post-WWII population explosion.

• Levittown (Pg. 606) – First mass-produced suburban community in the US.

• Sun Belt (Pg. 607) – Southern and western US states that experienced growth due to warm climate and job opportunities.

• 22nd Amendment (Pg. 607) – Limited US presidents to two terms.

• Highway Act (Pg. 609) – Funded the creation of the Interstate Highway System in 1956.

1950s Culture & Counterculture

• 1950s Culture (Characteristics) – Conformity, consumerism, suburbanization, and rise of TV.

• Beatniks (Pg. 617) – Countercultural writers and artists who rejected mainstream 1950s values.

Cold War Crises & Foreign Affairs

• Bay of Pigs (Pg. 593) – Failed US-backed invasion of Cuba to overthrow Fidel Castro (1961).

• Berlin Wall (Pg. 593) – Barrier built by East Germany (1961) to stop East Berliners from escaping to the West.

• Cuban Missile Crisis (Pg. 593) – 1962 confrontation over Soviet missiles in Cuba; nearly led to nuclear war.

• Détente (Pg. 595) – Easing of US-Soviet tensions in the 1970s.

• SALT I (Pg. 595) – Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty between the US and USSR to limit nuclear weapons.

Domestic Policies & Reforms

• New Frontier (Pg. 610) – JFK’s domestic policies focusing on education, civil rights, and space exploration.

• Stagflation (Pg. 611) – Economic situation of high inflation and unemployment in the 1970s.

• The Great Society (Pg. 646) – LBJ’s programs to eliminate poverty and racial injustice (Medicare, Medicaid).

• Barry Goldwater (Pg. 647) – Conservative Republican presidential candidate in 1964.

• Silent Spring (Pg. 647) – Rachel Carson’s book that exposed the dangers of pesticides, leading to environmental regulations.

• Immigration Act of 1965 (Pg. 648) – Abolished quotas based on nationality, leading to increased immigration from Asia and Latin America.