A | B |
Cold War | The extreme tension between the U.S. and the Soviet Union after WW2 |
Communism | The government/ economic system of the Soviet Union which opposes economic freedom |
Capitalism | The economic system of the U.S. which supports economic freedom |
Partition | To separate |
Berlin | Cold War hot spot which featured a blockade, airlift, and a wall—"free territory" inside a communist nation |
Marshall Plan | American spending to help rebuild Europe after WW2 and prevent spread of communism |
United Nations | It replaced the League of Nations, but was more powerful as the U.S. joined it |
Security Council | The UN body that has power to make sanctions and enforce them |
General Assembly | The UN body that discusses world problems and makes suggestions |
Truman Doctrine | The first American statement that the U.S. should intervene to contain communism |
Containment | Stopping the spread of communism |
Korea | U.S. took part in UN forces to fight communist aggression- it ended in stalemate |
Vietnam | The longest war in our history, U.S. tried to contain communism—we failed |
Cuba | This became the closest communist nation to the U.S. and the source of great agitation |
NATO | This body was designed to stop the spread of communism in Europe by using a defensive alliance |
Totalitarian | Type of government where the all aspects of people’s lives are controlled |
Warsaw Pact | Soviets formed this defensive alliance in response to NATO |
Iron Curtain | Phrase to describe the separation between NATO and Warsaw Pact nations in Europe |
China | This nation turned communist in 1949, considered the greatest loss to America |
Mao Zedong | The communist revolutionary in China |
38th Parallel | The dividing line between North and South Korea |
Vietcong | The communist forces in Vietnam |
Vietnamization | Nixon’s plan to return the fighting of the Vietnam war to the people of Vietnam |
Ho Chi Minh | The Communist revolutionary leader in Vietnam |
Fidel Castro | The communist revolutionary leader in Cuba |
Bay of Pigs | CIA attempt to back Cuban exiles’ attempt to overthrow Communist government in Cuba |
Missile Crisis | U.S. demanded the Soviets withdraw nukes from Cuba- nearly sparked nuclear war |
Domino Theory | The idea that if one nation fell to communism, its neighbors would soon fall |
Alger Hiss | State department Soviet spy- caught and helped fuel Red Scare |
Rosenbergs | Spies found guilty of selling atomic secrets to the Soviet Union |
McCarthyism | Phrase used to describe ruthless accusations of communist sympathizers with no evidence |
Red Scare | The fear of communism in the United States |
HAUC | Committee formed to investigate communists in the United States |
Hampton Roads | Area of Virginia which benefited from Cold War spending on the military |
Truman | President who initiated Cold War policies of containment |
Eisenhower | President who continued containment policies- he sent military advisors to Vietnam |
Kennedy | President associated with Bay of Pigs and the Missile Crisis in Cuba |
Johnson | President associated with escalation in Vietnam |
Nixon | President who ordered withdraw of American Troops in Vietnam and visited China |
Massive Retaliation | The idea to deter Soviet attack by building large arsenals of weapons |
Joe McCarthy | Rose to power saying, "I have a list of known communists…" |
Arms Race | The rapid development of weapons to intimidate |
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution | The law passed by congress to allow Johnson to escalate the war in Vietnam |
Détente | Easing of tensions in the Cold War in the 1970’s |