Cold War Vocab

Truman Doctrine

1947, President Truman's policy of providing economic and military aid to any country threatened by communism or totalitarian ideology, mainly helped Greece and Turkey

NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization)

1949 military alliance U.S. ,Canada, France, Great Britain, Italy, Netherlands

Korean War

1950-1953 ..., The conflict between Communist North Korea and Non-Communist South Korea. The United Nations (led by the United States) helped South Korea.

Cuban Missile Crisis

1962 crisis that arose between the United States and the Soviet Union over a Soviet attempt to deploy nuclear missiles in Cuba

Marshall Plan

A United States program of economic aid for the reconstruction of Europe (1948-1952)

non-aligned

A _____ nation could also be called Third-World, due to the fact that it is not sufficiently developed enough to be and ally of the US nor USSR

space race

A competition of space exploration between the United States and Soviet Union.

ideology

A consistent set of beliefs by groups/individuals

welfare state

A government that undertakes responsibility for the welfare of its citizens through programs in public health and public housing and pensions and unemployment compensation etc.

Berlin Airlift

A military operation in the late 1940s that brought food and other needed goods into West Berlin by air after the government of East Germany, which at that time surrounded West Berlin (see Berlin wall), had cut off its supply routes.

détente

A policy of reducing Cold War tensions that was adopted by the United States during the presidency of Richard Nixon.

Iron Curtain

A political barrier that isolated the peoples of Eastern Europe after WWII, restricting their ability to travel outside the region

satellite state

A political term that refers to a country which is formally independent, but under heavy influence or control by another country.

Vietnam War

A prolonged war (1954-1975) between the communist armies of North Vietnam who were supported by the Chinese and the non-communist armies of South Vietnam who were supported by the United States.

communism

A theory or system of social organization based on the holding of all property in common, actual ownership being ascribed to the community as a whole or to the state.

domino theory

A theory that if one nation comes under Communist control, then neighboring nations will also come under Communist control.

proxy war

A war instigated by a major power that does not itself participate

containment

American policy of resisting further expansion of communism around the world

Warsaw Pact

An alliance between the Soviet Union and other Eastern European nations. This was in response to the NATO

anti-ballistic

An anti-ballistic missile (ABM) is a surface-to-air missile designed to counter ballistic missiles (see missile defense). Ballistic missiles are used to deliver nuclear, chemical, biological or conventional warheads in a ballistic flight trajectory.

deterrence

An effort to preserve the status quo through the threat of force

United Nations

An international organization formed after WWII to promote international peace, security, and cooperation.

collectivization

Creation of large, state-run farms rather than individual holdings; allowed more efficient control over peasants; part of Stalin's economic and political planning; often adopted in other Communist regimes.

nuclear

Energy stored in the nucleus of an atom

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 and the space race.

Berlin Wall

Fortified concrete and wire barrier that separated East and West Berlin from 1961 to 1989. It was built by the government of what was then East Germany to keep East Berliners from defecting to the West.

mujahedin

Muslim religious warriors

superpowers

Name for the u.S. and Soviet Union after World War II because we were the two strongest countries in the world.

segregation

Separation of alleles during gamete formation

suburbanization

The process of population movement from within towns and cities to the rural-urban fringe.

arms race

a competition between nations for superiority in the development and accumulation of weapons, especially between the US and the former Soviet Union during the Cold War.

demilitarized

elimination or prohibition of weapons, fortifications, and other military installations

guerrillas

small groups of loosely organized soldiers making surprise raids

liberate

to set free

Chinese Civil War

was fought between forces loyal to the Kuomintang (KMT)-led government of the Republic of China, and forces loyal to the Communist Party of China (CPC).

SALT (Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty)

were two rounds of bilateral conferences and corresponding international treaties involving the United States and the Soviet Union—the Cold War superpowers—on the issue of armament control.