| A | B |
|---|
| Cold War | conflict between the US and the Soviet Union dating from the late 1940s to the late 1980s |
| Marshall Plan | US sends money to help re-build Western Europe and stop the spread of communism |
| NATO | organization set up to stop the spread of communism |
| Warsaw Pact | anti-Western military alliance |
| space race | competition between USSR and US regarding advancements in the space program |
| capitalism | economic system that allows private ownership and open competition of businesses |
| Cuban Missle Crisis | Fidel Castro allowed the Soviet Union to build nuclear missle bases in Cuba |
| perestroika | Russian policy that loosened government controls and permitted its economy towards capitalism |
| Glasnost | Russian policy of "openness," which allowed citizens to criticize the government without fear of punishment |
| airlift | system of carrying supplies by aircraft |
| Berlin Wall | built in 1961 to divide Soviet controlled East Berlin from democratic West Berlin |
| Mikhail Gorbachev | Soviet leader from 1985-91; contributed to the downfall of communism |
| Sputnik I | Soviet satellite put into orbit in 1957 (1st spacecraft to orbit the Earth) |
| communism | economic, social, and political system based on the teachings of Karl Marx |
| Satellite nation | nation politically and economically dominated or controlled by another more powerful nation |
| Truman Doctrine | US policy that offered military aid to countries that were engaged in fighting communism |
| deterrence | maintenance of military power for the purpose of discouraging an attack |
| nuclear weapons | weapons whose distructive power comes from an uncontrolled nuclear reaction |
| blockade | to forcibly prevent entry to an area |
