Chapter 18- Cold War Conflicts

McCarran Internal Security Act

1950 act that made it unlawful to plan any action that might lead to the establishment of a totalitarian dictatorship in the United States. Truman vetoed the bill, saying "in a free country, we punish men for crimes they commit, but never for the opinions they have." But congress enacted the law over Truman's veto

Joseph McCarthy

1950s; Wisconsin senator claimed to have list of communists in American goverment, but no credible evidence; took advantage of fears of communism post WWII to become incredibly influential; "McCarthyism" was the fearful accusation of any dissenters of being communists

38th parallel

38 degrees North latitude where the Japanese surrendered to the Soviets

Whittaker Chambers

A former Soviet agent who accused Alger Hiss in 1948 of giving him secret government documents; later become an editor for Time magazine

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

demilitarized zone (a.k.a. DMZ)

A zone from which military forces or operations or installations are prohibited

Paul Robeson

African American concert singer whose passport was revoked and was blacklisted from the stage, screen, radio and television because he refused to sign an affidavit indicating whether he had ever been a member of the communist party

Francis Gary Powers

American pilot that is shot down over the Soviet Union; US had been sending spy planes over Russia for over 3 and a half years; When this plane is shot down Eisenhower denied sending the spies but after investigation the Russians uncover enough photos and evidence to force Eisenhower to take responsibility for his actions; Right before the East-West Summit a meeting in Paris between Eisenhower and Khrushchev; Great embarrassment to US

Capitalist American system

American system, in which private citizens controlled almost all economic activity. In this system, voting by the people elected a president and a congress from competing political parties

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. One of their first covert actions took place in the Middle East when Iran's prime minister nationalized Iran's oil fields. In response, the agency gave millions of dollars to anti-Mossadegh supporters. They wanted the pro-American Shah of Iran back

Gamal Abdel-Nasser

Egypt's head of government who tried to play the Soviets and the Americans against each other, by improving relations with each one in order to get more aid. In 1956, after learning about the deals made with the Soviets, Dulles withdrew his offer of a loan. This angered the government official who responded by nationalizing the Suez Canal

John Foster Dulles

Eisenhower's secretary of state, 1953-1959; moralistic in his belief that Communism was evil and must be confronted with brinkmanship and massive retaliation

free elections

Elections are free and open to all citizens of voting age each individuals vote counts the same. Stalin promised Roosevelt that he would allow these votes by a secret ballot in a multiparty system, however Stalin didn't keep this promise and the Soviets prevented these elections in Poland and banned democratic parties

Federal Republic of Germany

Eventual name of postwar West Germany; created by the merging of the zones of occupation held by France, Britain, and the United States

Yalta Conference

February, 1945 - Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin met at Yalta to make final war plans, arrange the post-war fate of Germany, and discuss the proposal for creation of the United Nations as a successor to the League of Nations. They announced the decision to divide Germany into three post-war zones of occupation, although a fourth zone was later created for France. Russia also agreed to enter the war against Japan, in exchange for the Kuril Islands and half of the Sakhalin Peninsula

sputnik

First artificial Earth satellite, it was launched by Moscow in 1957 and sparked U.S. fears of Soviet dominance in technology and outer space. It led to the creation of NASA

Klaus Fuchs

German born physicist who admitted to giving the Soviet Union information about America's atomic bomb. The information enabled Soviet scientists to develop their own atomic bomb years earlier than they would have otherwise

State Departments

Governmental agencies that generally approve and license health care facilities in their own states.

Clement Attlee

Great Britain's prime minister after Churchill who set out to make modern British welfare state. He was involved in the Potsdam Conference and represented Britain

Hollywood Ten

Group of people in the film industry who were jailed for refusing to answer congressional questions regarding Communist influence in Hollywood

Loyalty Review Board

Group that investigated government employees and dismissed those who were found to be disloyal to the U.S. government. It was set up as a part of the Federal Employee Loyalty Program to combat communism in America

cease-fire

Halt in fighting

German Democratic Republic

In response to the formation of a united West Germany, the Soviets created this territory, also known as East Germany

Seoul

Korea's traditional capital where Syngman Rhee headed the government in South Korea

space race

Many scientists and military leaders believed that control of space would be very important. Consequently, the USA and USSR invested billions of dollars in developing satellites, space stations, rockets, etc. This investment led to great scientific advances, but also caused friction and insecurities

Chiang Kai-shek (a.k.a. Jiang Jieshi)

Nationalist leader in China that headed the government before Zedong took over

Mohammed Mossadegh

Nationalist prime minister of Iran who wished to nationalize the oil in Iran. Because of western cooperation pressure the CIA joined forces with conservative Iranian military leaders to engineer a coup that drove this man from office. They replaced him with Mohammed Reze Pahlevi, the young Shah of Iran. He acted as a pawn for the United States for the next 25 years

conspirator

One who plans with others to commit an illegal act

Winston Churchill

Prime Minister of Great Britain who described the politically divided regions of Europe as an iron curtain

Joseph Stalin

Russian leader who succeeded Lenin as head of the Communist Party and created a totalitarian state by purging all opposition (1879-1953)

George Marshall

Secretary of State during the Cold War. He proposed that the United States provide aid to all European nations that need it, saying that this move was directed "not against any country of doctrine but against hunger, poverty, desperation, and chaos"

Big Three

Soviet Union- Stalin Britain- Clement Attlee United States- Truman

Berlin Blockade

Stalin blockaded Berlin completely in the hopes that the West would give the entire city to the Soviets to administer. To bring in food and supplies, the U.S. and Great Britain mounted air lifts which became so intense that, at their height, an airplane was landing in West Berlin every few minutes. West Germany was a republic under France, the U.S. and Great Britain. Berlin was located entirely within Soviet-controlled East Germany

Nikita Khrushchev

Stalin's successor who, like Stalin, believed that communism would take over the world, but thought it could triumph peacefully. He favored a policy of peaceful coexistence in which two powers would compete economically and scientifically

Berlin Airlift

Successful effort by the United States and Britain to ship by air 2.3 million tons of supplies to the residents of the Western-controlled sectors of Berlin from June 1948 to May 1949, in response to a Soviet blockade of all land and canal routes to the divided city

Warsaw Pact

The 1955 treaty binding the Soviet Union and countries of eastern Europe in an alliance against the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Was formed when West Germany was allowed to rearm and join NATO, out of Soviet fear

Harry S. Truman

The 33rd U.S. president, who succeeded Franklin D. Roosevelt upon Roosevelt's death in April 1945. Truman, who led the country through the last few months of World War II, is best known for making the controversial decision to use two atomic bombs against Japan in August 1945. After the war, Truman was crucial in the implementation of the Marshall Plan, which greatly accelerated Western Europe's economic recovery

Potsdam Conference

The final wartime meeting of the leaders of the United States, Britain, and the Soviet Union was held at Potsdamn, outside Berlin, in July, 1945. Truman, Churchill, and Stalin discussed the future of Europe but their failure to reach meaningful agreements soon led to the onset of the Cold War

Secretary of State

The head of the Department of State and traditionally a key adviser to the president on foreign policy. During the Cold War George Marshall held this position

U-2 incident

The incident when an American U-2 spy plane was shot down over the Soviet Union. The U.S. denied the true purpose of the plane at first, but was forced to when the U.S.S.R. produced the living pilot and the largely intact plane to validate their claim of being spied on aerially. The incident worsened East-West relations during the Cold War and was a great embarrassment for the United States

commander-in-chief

The role of the president as supreme commander of the military forces of the United States and of the state National Guard units when they are called into federal service

Federal Employee Loyalty Program

United States Executive Order 9835 that was signed March 21, 1947 by U.S. President Harry S. Truman. The order established the first general loyalty program in the United States, which was designed to root out communist influence within the various departments of the U.S. federal government. It also included the Loyalty Review Board

Ethel and Julius Rosenberg

Were American communists who were executed after having been found guilty of conspiracy to commit espionage. The charges were in relation to the passing of information about the atomic bomb to the Soviet Union. Theirs was the first execution of civilians for espionage in United States history

UN Security Council

a 15-member panel which bears the UN's major responsibility for keeping international peace.

Eisenhower Doctrine

a U.S. commitment to defend the Middle East against attack by any communist country, announced by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1957

Truman Doctrine

a U.S. policy, announced by President Harry S. Truman in 1947, of providing economic and military aid to free nations threatened by internal or external opponents

Yalu River

a battle in the Korean War (November 1950), Where MaCarthur drives communists back to the river that borders China, China wants them to pull back to 38th parallel

House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC)

a congressional committee that investigated Communist influence inside and outside the U.S. government in the years following WWII. The committee first made headlines when it began to investigate communist influence in the movie industry because they believed that communists were sneaking propaganda into films. The committee pointed to the pro-Soviet Union films made during WWII when the Soviet Union had been a United States ally

satellite nations

a country that is dominated politically and economically by another nation. Stalin installed communist governments in the nations of Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, and Poland. He declared that communism and capitalism were incompatible

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

a defensive military alliance formed in 1949 by ten Western European countries, the United States, and Canada

Taiwan (a.k.a. Formosa)

a government on the island of Taiwan established in 1949 by Chiang Kai-shek after the conquest of mainland China by the communists led by Mao Zedong

blacklist

a list of 500 actors, writers; producers; and directors who were not allowed to work on Hollywood flims b/c of the alleged Communist connections

subversive

a radical supporter of political or social revolution. The U.S. attorney general drew up a list of 91 such organizations whose membership in any of these groups was grounds for suspicion of communism

buffer state

a small country between two larger, more powerful countries

armistice

a state of peace agreed to between opponents so they can discuss peace terms

George F. Kennan

an American adviser, diplomat, political scientist, and historian, best known as "the father of containment" and as a key figure in the emergence of the Cold War. He proposed the policy of containment. In addition, he later wrote standard histories of the relations between Russia and the Western powers.

amphibious assault

an amphibious operation attacking a land base that is carried out by troops that are landed by naval ships, combined forces did this when they were behind in the Korean War

United Nations (UN)

an international peacekeeping organization to which most nations in the world belong, founded in 1945 to promote world peace, security, and economic development

Nationalists

believe in uniting people who share a common history and culture

subjugation

bringing under control

Dwight D. Eisenhower

candidate for U.S. president for the Republicans, WWII hero

Pyongyang

capital of North Korea and an industrial center

General Omar N. Bradley

chairman of the joint chiefs of staff that said that a war with China would be at the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong enemy

Mao Zedong

communist leader in China that gained strength throughout the country to win peasant support

Democratic People's Republic of Korea (a.k.a. North Korea)

communist part of Korea created in the north

Joint Chiefs of Staff

high-ranking military officers who represent the Navy, Army, Air Force and Marines. They assist the civilian leaders of the Department of Defense-advise the president on security matters.

Kim Il Sung

leader of the North Korean government

clemency

leniency and compassion shown toward offenders by a person or agency charged with administering justice. People from all over the world appealed for this for the Rosenbergs. Many considered the evidence and the testimony too weak to warrant the death sentence. The case was appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, but the Court refused to overturn the conviction

Pusan

northern location in Korea where half of the combined forces landed

Inchon

other location where the combined forces landed to attack the Koreans

Republic of Korea (a.k.a. South Korea)

part of korea that was established in the zone previously occupied by the United States,

General Douglas MacArthur

person that commanded the combined forces of the US during the Korean War

Syngman Rhee

person who led the government of South Korea (Republic of Korea)

nationalized

placed under government control. Iran's prime minister, Mohammed Mossadegh did this with Iran's oil fields

Imre Nagy

popular and liberal Hungarian Communist leader, formed a new government. He promised free elections, denounced the Warsaw Pact, and demanded that all Soviet troops leave Hungary. Lead to a swift and brutal Soviet response

Dwight D. Eisenhower

president during the Cold War who issued a warning that said the United States would defend the Middle East against an attack by any communist country. In addition, he proposed the idea of "open skies" at the Geneva conference

open skies proposal

proposal Eisenhower had at the Geneva convention. He proposed that the United States and Soviet Union allow flights over each other's territory to guard against surprise nuclear attacks. Although the Soviet Union rejected this proposal, the world hailed the "sprit of Geneva" as a step toward peace

covert

secret or hidden. The when Iran's prime minister nationalized oil fields the CIA's involvement was one of the first actions of this such

iron curtain

term coined by Winston Churchill in 1946 to describe an imaginary line dividing Communist countries in the Soviet bloc from countries in Western Europe during the Cold War

Shah of Iran

the CIA funded money to anti-Mossadegh supporters in hopes this man, who was forced to flee the country would return to power. When he did he turned over control of Iranian oil fields to Western compaines

Soviet communism

the Soviet Union's economic system based on one party rule, government ownership of the means of production, and decision making by centralized authorities

occupation zone

the Soviets, British, Americans, and French agreed they would take reparations from these, their own division in Germany

German reunification

the United States and the Soviet Union clashed over this issue. At the end of WWII, Germany was divided into four zones occupied by the United States, Great Britain, and France in the west and the Soviet Union in the east. Goal was to unify these zones, however Stalin took control of Berlin and made this goal difficult to achieve

infiltration

the act of penetrating a group or organization without being noticed for purposes such as spying

McCarthyism

the attacks, often unsubstantiated, by Senator Joseph McCarthy and the people suspected of being communist in the early 1950s

containment

the blocking of another nation's attempts to spread its influence- especially the efforts of the United States to block the spread of Soviet influence during the late 1940s and early 1950s

Red Army

the communist army created by Mao Zedong

self- determination

the freedom of a people to decide under what form of government they wish to live

People's Republic of China

the government that the Chinese communists established that the United States refused to accept as its true government

anti-communist hysteria

the growing concern about the security of the United States. The Soviet domination of Eastern Europe and the Communist takeover of China shocked the American public, fueling a fear that communism would spread around the world. In addition, 100,000 Americans claimed membership in the Communist party after WWII, resulting in the public's fear that these peoples' first loyalty was to the Soviet Union

brinkmanship

the practice of threatening an enemy with massive military retaliation for any aggression. under this policy the United States trimmed its army and navy and expanded its air fore and its buildup of nuclear weapons

Marshall Plan

the program, proposed by Secretary of State George Marshall in 1947, under which the United States supplied economic aid to European nations to help them rebuild after WWII. The program also benefited the United States. To supply Europe with goods, American farms and factories raised production levels. As a result, the American economy continued its wartime boom

Korean War (a.k.a. "The Forgotten War")

the war that resulted when north korean forces swept across the 38th parallel in a surprise attack on South Korea

hydrogen bomb (H-bomb)

thermonuclear weapon that is more destructive than the atomic bomb. The United States and Soviet Union entered a deadly race to see which country would produce the first. On November 1, 1952 the United States won the race when they exploded the first. However, the American advantage lasted less than a year. In August 1953, the Soviets exploded their own thermonuclear weapon

U-2

type of planes used in secret CIA flights over Soviet territory. The plane could fly at high altitudes without detection. As they passed over the Soviet Union, its infrared cameras took detailed photographs of troop movement and missile sites