APush Chapter 26
Department of Defense
department of the federal executive branch entrusted with formulating military policies and maintaining American military forces. Its top official is the civilian secretary of defense. It is headquartered in the Pentagon
National Security Council (NSC)
executive agency responsible for advising the president about foreign and defense policy and events - wanted US to take stand against communism
Dwight D. Eisenhower
leader of the Allied forces in Europe during WW2--leader of troops in Africa and commander in DDay invasion-elected president-president during integration of Little Rock Central High School 1952, 1956; Republican; Domino Theory established, Cold War deepened, sent US military advisors to Vietnam;and created the Interstate Highway System (for purposes of national defense)
George F. Kennan
American diplomat and expert on the Soviet Union; he developed the U.S. policy of containment to counter Soviet expansion after World War II - "father of containment"
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
An agency created after World War II to coordinate American intelligence activities abroad. It became involved in intrigue, conspiracy, and meddling as well.
World Bank
An agency of the United Nations that offers loans to countries to promote trade and economic development.
Julius and Ethel Rosenburg
Arrested in the Summer of 1950 and executed in 1953, they were convicted of conspiring to commit espionage by passing plans for the atomic bomb to the Soviet Union.
McCarran Internal Security Act
1950 Act passed over President Harry S. Truman's veto which required registration of American Communist party members, denied them passports, and allowed them to be detained as suspected subversives Congressional act enacted in 1950 that said it was a crime to conspire to foster communism in the United States.
Jackie Robinson
1st black baseball player to play in the major leagues. He played for the Brooklyn Dodgers and broke the color barrier in baseball and made way for other changes for equality., The first African American player in the major league of baseball. His actions helped to bring about other opportunities for African Americans.
Adlai Stephenson
American politician, noted for intellectual demeanor, eloquent oratory, and promotion of liberal causes in the Democratic Party. Democratic candidate for President twice against Eisenhower 1950's and third against Kennedy. After his election, President Kennedy appointed Stevenson as the Ambassador to the United Nations.
Berlin Airlift (1949)
American program to deliver food and supplies to the children of the blockaded city of Berlin, Germany during World War II
Richard M. Nixon
37th President of the US (1969-1974) and the only president to resign the office after the Watergate Scandal; he initially escalated the Vietnam War, overseeing secret bombing campaigns, but soon withdrew American troops and successfully negotiated a ceasefire with North Vietnam, effectively ending American involvement in the war (69-74) Republican - reduced troops in Vietnam - normalized relations with China - Watergate
Alger Hiss
A former State Department official who was accused of being a Communist spy and was convicted of perjury. The case was prosecuted by Richard Nixon.
Dixiecrat Party/Strom Thurmond
A short lived southern, segregationist, socially conservative political party. They broke away from the democrats after Truman supported civil rights and nominated their own presidential candidate for the 1948 election. By 1950 they had almost all rejoined the Democratic Party
Mao Zedong
Chinese military and political leader who established the People's Republic of China., (1893-1976) Leader of the Communist Party in China that overthrew Jiang Jieshi and the Nationalists. Established China as the People's Republic of China and ruled from 1949 until 1976.
HUAC (1947)
Committee in the House of Representatives founded on a temporary basis in 1938 to monitor activities of foreign agents. Made a standing committee in 1945. During World War II it investigated pro-fascist groups, but after the war it turned to investigating alleged communists. From 1947-1949, it conducted a series of sensational investigations into supposed communist infiltration of the U.S. government and Hollywood film industry. House Un-American Activities Committee; purpose = root out Communists in America but failed to find real communists rather creating mass fear/lies
Henry A. Wallace
Democratic governor of South Carolina who headed the State's Rights Party (Dixiecrats); he ran for president in 1948 against Truman and his mild civil rights proposals and eventually joined the Republican Party. Secretary of Commerce fired by Truman due to his pro-soviet views, enraged democrats supported him on the progressive ticket in the 1948 election
Election of 1952
Dwight D. Eisenhower (R) with Nixon as his VP (California business scandal) verses Adlai Stevenson (D) (Truman chose not to run again because he was unpopular because of the Korean war)...IKE wins with slogan "I LIKE IKE"
Employment Act of 1946
Enacted by Truman, it committed the federal government to ensuring economic growth and established the Council of Economic Advisors to confer with the president and formulate policies for maintaining employment, production, and purchasing power
Shelley v. Kraemer
Established that the courts cannot be used to enforce private "covenants" banning blacks from certain neighborhoods
Chiang Kai-Shek
General and leader of Nationalist China after 1925. He became a military dictator whose major goal was to crush the communist movement led by Mao Zedong. Defeated by communists. Forced to abandon mainland China in 1949, he set up a separate Nationalist Chinese State in Taiwan.
"Hollywood Ten"
Group of people in the film industry who were jailed for refusing to answer congressional questions regarding Communist influence in Hollywood
Election of 1948
Harry Truman (Dem) v. John Dewey (Rep) v. Strom Thurmond (States' Rights Democrat -Dixiecrat) v. Henry Wallace (Progressive); The Democratic party was torn apart by the dispute between the liberal civil rights platform of the majority and the conservative, states' rights views of the southern membership, and the Progressive party pulled away liberal votes as well. Although everyone expected Dewey to win, Truman managed a surprise victory
38th Parallel
Line that divided Korea - Soviet Union occupied the north and United States occupied the south, during the Cold War
Iron-Curtain Speech
March 1946 Winston Churchill at Fulton College Missouri; said an "iron curtain" had fallen across the Continent; talks about the dangers of communism
Checkers Speech
Nationally televised address by vice-presidential candidate Richard Nixon. Using the new mass medium of television shortly before the 1952 election, the vice presidential candidate saved his place on the ticket by defending himself against accusations of corruption Given by Richard Nixon on September 23, 1952, when he was the Republican candidate for the Vice Presidency. Said to have saved his career from a campaign contributions scandal. Showed powers of television.
NATO (1949)
North Atlantic Treaty Organization; an alliance made to defend one another if they were attacked by any other country; US, England, France, Canada, Western European countries. "An armed attack against one or more of them . . . shall be considered an attack against them all."
Truman Doctrine
Policy designed to contain Communism by giving economic and military aid to Greece and Turkey in an effort to prevent those nations from falling under Soviet orbit; (As this satirical view of the Truman Doctrine shows, not all Americans were sure where the country's new foreign policy was taking them), 1947 - Stated that the U.S. would support any nation threatened by Communism.
Containment policy
Policy uniting military, economic, and diplomatic strategies to "contain" any further Soviet communist expansion and to enhance America's security and influence abroad., A policy to try to offset the growing Soviet threat to Eastern Europe. It was directed at stopping the advancement of communism. The polices included forming alliances and helping weak, countries resist Soviet advances.
President's Committee on Civil Right
President Truman created this in response to the pressure brought by local black protest movements and that white racism damaged U.S. relations with much of the world.
Federal Employee Loyalty Program
President Truman had FBI screen federal employees to see if they had any communist ties in 1947; 3,000 employees were either fired or resigned, 1947. To work for the government, one must swear an oath of loyalty to the US and an oath never to join the communist party
Executive Order 9981 (1948)
President Truman issued it. Ended Segregation in the armed forces.
The Fair Deal
President Truman's extensive social program introduced in his 1949 message to Congress. Republicans and Southern Democrats kept much of his vision from being enacted, except for raising the minimum wage, providing for more public housing, and extending old-age insurance to many more beneficiaries under the Social Security Act
Harry Truman
President of the US after Roosevelt's death; approved the use of the atomic bomb against Japan
Thomas Dewey
Republican and NY governor who ran against Roosevelt and lost in the 1944 election.
Fair Employment Practices Committee
Roosevelt created this committee in 1941 to enforce the policy of prohibiting employment-related discrimination practices by federal agencies, unions, and companies involved in war-related work for the purpose of enforcing an Executive Order and made possible the employment of 2 million African Americans
Dennis v. U.S.
Ruled that "clear and present danger" justified restrictions on freedom of speech and it is a crime to advocate the overthrow of the gov. by force court was upholding the Smith Act- a law that made it a crime to support a communist organization
NSC-68 (1950)
Secret report completed by the National Security Council, emphasizing the Soviet Union's military strength and aggressive intentions
The G.I. Bill of Rights
Servicemen's Readjustment Act, which offered veterans education benefits and loans for houses, farms , and businesses Bill of rights that guaranteed veterans to four years of education and job training, guidance and unemployment benefits, as well as establishing veterans' hospitals and provided low-interest home and farm loans.
Warsaw Pact (1955)
Soviet Union formed this in 1955. It included the Soviet Union and seven of its satellites (countries alligned with them) in Eastern Europe. This was also a defensive alliance, promising mutual military cooperation.
Morgan v. Virginia
The Court ruled that segregation on interstate buses was unconstiutional.
Marshall Plan
The Truman administration's proposal for massive U.S. assistance for European recorvery in 1947. (1948) massive transfer of aid money to help rebuild postwar Western Europe; was intended to bolster capitalist and democratic governments and prevent domestic communist groups from riding poverty and misery to power; the plan was first announced by Secretary of State George Marshall at Harvard's commencement in June 1947
Douglas MacArthur
U.S. general. Commander of U.S. (later Allied) forces in the southwestern Pacific during World War II, he accepted Japans surrender in 1945 and administered the ensuing Allied occupation. He was in charge of UN forces in Korea 1950-51, before being forced to relinquish command by President Truman.
Hydrogen Bomb (1952)
US explodes the first hydrogen bomb at a test site in Marshall Island (pacific); approx. 1 yr. later USSR tests their bomb; fall out shelters built in both countries
Taft-Hartley Act (1947)
Vetoed by Truman. Called the "slave labor act" by liberal Democrats and Union leaders. Union leaders were angered that this law outlawed the Closed Shop and also required unions to obey a 60-day "cooling off rule" (unions had to announce a strike 60 days in advance to legally strike- they couldn't just walk off the job anymore). Republicans who sponsored the law argued it was necessary to control union powers after so many the post-war strikes. Included loyalty oaths.
The Korean War (1950-1953)
War between North Korea and South Korea with heavy U.S. and Soviet involvement and each seeking to undermine the other with economic pressure and military raids.
Atomic Energy Commission
a former executive agency (from 1946 to 1974) that was responsible for research into atomic energy and its peacetime uses in the United States
"Duck and Cover"
a suggested method of personal protection against the effects of a nuclear weapon which the United States government taught to generations of United States school children from the early 1950s into the 1980s, Schoolchildren practiced crawling under their desks and putting their hands over their heads to protect themselves from an atomic bomb attack.
Immigration and Nationality Act
abolished the quotas from the 1920s that only a certain amount of immigrants could come from certain countries, which discriminated against southern and eastern Europe, people that America in the 1920's did not want entering the countries in the huge numbers that they were coming it. It instead placed hemispherical ceilings, and every country would be capped at 20,000. This greatly increased the hispanic population in America, (1965) This law made it easier for entire families to migrate and established "special categories" for political refugees. This act increased the amount of immigration.
Joseph McCarthy/McCarthyism
led the search for communists in America during the early 1950s through his leadership in the House Un-American Activities Committee. 1950s; Wisconsin senator claimed to have list of communists in American gov't, but no credible evidence; took advantage of fears of communism post WWII to become incredibly influential; --- the fearful accusation of any dissenters of being communists
Potsdam Conference (1945)
meeting between the leaders of the United States, Britain, and the Soviet Union in 1945; the allies accepted Soviet control of eastern Europe; Germany and Austria were divided among the victors Meeting of Stalin, Churchill (later Attlee), and Truman. This gathering was to decide how to deliver punishment to Germany, the establishment of post-war order, peace treaty issues, and countering the effects of the war. Conference in Berlin where Stalin, Truman, and British leaders issued an ultimatum to the Japanese to either surrender or be destroyed
International Monetary Fund (IMF)
organization established in 1947 to promote trade among member nations by eliminating trade barriers and fostering financial cooperation