APUSH Unit 8

  • Cold War – A period of tension (1945–1991) between the U.S. and the Soviet Union without direct fighting.

  • Soviet Union (USSR) – Communist nation led by Russia that was the U.S.'s main rival during the Cold War.

  • Joseph Stalin – Leader of the Soviet Union (1924–1953) who expanded communism in Eastern Europe.

  • United Nations (UN) – International peacekeeping organization founded after WWII.

  • Satellites – Eastern European countries controlled by the Soviet Union.

  • Winston Churchill – British Prime Minister during WWII who warned of the "Iron Curtain."

  • Iron Curtain – The symbolic divide between communist Eastern Europe and democratic Western Europe.

  • Containment Policy – U.S. strategy to stop the spread of communism.

  • George Marshall – U.S. general and Secretary of State who created the Marshall Plan.

  • Truman Doctrine – U.S. policy to give military and economic aid to countries fighting communism.

  • Marshall Plan – U.S. program that provided economic aid to rebuild Europe and prevent communism.

  • Berlin Airlift – U.S. and allies sent supplies to West Berlin after the Soviet blockade in 1948.

  • West Germany – Democratic side of Germany controlled by the U.S. and its allies.

  • East Germany – Communist side of Germany controlled by the Soviet Union.

  • NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) – Military alliance of the U.S. and democratic countries to defend against the USSR.

  • Warsaw Pact – Military alliance of communist countries led by the USSR.

  • National Security Act – 1947 law that created the CIA, National Security Council (NSC), and reorganized the military.

  • Arms Race – Competition between the U.S. and USSR to build more nuclear weapons.

  • Douglas MacArthur – U.S. general in WWII and the Korean War who was fired for challenging Truman.

  • Mao Zedong – Communist leader of China who won the Chinese Civil War in 1949.

  • People’s Republic of China – Communist China established in 1949.

  • 38th Parallel – The dividing line between North and South Korea.

  • Korean War – 1950–1953 war between communist North Korea (backed by China & USSR) and South Korea (backed by the U.S.).

  • John Foster Dulles – Eisenhower’s Secretary of State who promoted aggressive anti-communism.

  • Brinkmanship – A Cold War strategy of pushing dangerous situations to the edge of war.

  • Massive Retaliation – Eisenhower's policy of threatening nuclear war to deter Soviet aggression.

  • Korean Armistice – 1953 ceasefire that ended the Korean War but did not reunite Korea.

  • Nikita Khrushchev – Soviet leader after Stalin who was involved in the Cuban Missile Crisis.

  • Sputnik – The first satellite launched by the USSR in 1957, starting the Space Race.

  • NASA – U.S. space agency created in response to Sputnik.

  • U-2 Incident – 1960 event where the USSR shot down a U.S. spy plane, worsening tensions.

  • Fidel Castro – Communist leader of Cuba who took power in 1959.

  • Military-Industrial Complex – Eisenhower's warning that the arms industry had too much influence on U.S. policy.

  • Bay of Pigs – Failed U.S.-backed invasion of Cuba in 1961 to overthrow Castro.

  • Berlin Wall – A wall built in 1961 by the USSR to separate communist East Berlin from democratic West Berlin.

  • Cuban Missile Crisis – 1962 standoff between the U.S. and USSR over Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba.

  • Nuclear Test Ban Treaty – 1963 agreement to stop nuclear tests in the atmosphere.

  • Flexible Response – Kennedy’s policy of using different military options instead of just nuclear weapons.

  • Non-Proliferation Treaty – 1968 agreement to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons.

  • Henry Kissinger – Nixon’s top foreign policy advisor who helped ease Cold War tensions.

  • Détente – The easing of Cold War tensions between the U.S. and USSR.

  • Anti-Ballistic Missiles (ABMs) – Missiles designed to shoot down nuclear weapons.

  • SALT (Strategic Arms Limitation Talks) – Treaties that limited nuclear weapons between the U.S. and USSR.