Unit 10 - IN CLASS Cold War Beginnings & Impact on Society (1945-1959)

Taft-Hartley Act

(1947) act lashing out against labor Unions was passed over the veto of Harry S. Truman on the 23rd June, 1947. When it was passed by Congress, Truman denounced it as a "slave-labor bill". Declared closed shop illegal; permitted the union shop only after a vote of a majority of the employees; limited strikes; employers were exempt from bargaining w/unions unless they wished to; forbade unions from contributing to political campaigns; required union leaders to affirm they were not supporters of the Communist Party. (this part upheld by Supreme Court.)

Marshall Plan

(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

Korean War

(1950-53) The first proxy war - undeclared and fought by several United Nations - conflict between Communist North and Non-Communist South which began in June 1950 when the North , supplied/advised by the Soviet Union, invaded the South after the U.S. began reducing forces there in favor of keeping Europe secure. The United Nations, with the United States as the principal participant, joined the war on the side of the South , and the People's Republic of China came to North's aid. fighting ended in July 1953 with the two countries still divided into two hostile states at the 38th Parallel. No formal peace treaty was ever signed.

"missile gap"

(1957) - As a result of the USSR launching Sputnik, Americans came to believe and fear that there was a "gap" between the U.S. and USSR in missile technology - the USSR was ahead and the US was behind.. Led to the passage of the National Defense Education Act and N.A.S.A.

Sun Belt

.U.S. region, mostly comprised of southeastern and southwestern states, which has grown most dramatically since World War II and has tended to become dominant in politics.

Mao Zedong

1893-1976. Chinese military and political leader who led the Communist Party of China to victory against the Chinese Nationalists supported by the West in the Chinese Civil War. Leader of the People's Republic of China from establishment in 1949 till death in 1976.

National Serviceman's Readjustment Act

1944 - Nicknamed the "G.I. Bill (Government Issue) helping WW II veterans get adjusted to peacetime life. Provided for college or vocational training for returning veterans as well as one year of unemployment compensation. Also provided for affordable loans veterans to buy homes and start businesses. Helped fuel the US economy into the 50's and 60's

Harry Truman

1945-1953, Democrat, Missouri, Atomic bomb attack on Japan ended WWII. Fair Deal to extend New Deal; Truman Doctrine to contain communisn, Marshall Plan to rebuild economies in Europe, NATO, unexpected election victory in 1948 after campaigning against "do-nothing" Republican Congress, sent troops to Kores

National Security Act

1947 - National Security Act provided for: 1) a centralized Department of Defense to coordinate operations of the Army, Navy & Air Force [in the new Pentagon building built during WWII] 2) the creation of the National Security Council to coordinate the making of foreign policy & military actions in the Cold War 3) the creation of the Central Intelligence Agency.

Federal Employee Loyalty Program

1947 - Truman ordered (Executive Order 8835 - ) investigations into the loyalty of more than 3 million employees by establishing the "Loyalty Review Board" in the of US gov.; many people discharged were thought to be disloyal or subversive although there was little evidence and few were guilty. Investigations and interviews by the board and FBI conducted.

Iron Curtain Speech

1948 - Speech given by former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill at Fulton College, Missouri stating that an _______ ________ has descended upon Europe separating Communist East from the West

Berlin Airlift

1948-49 - Stalin/USSR blocks W. Allies electricity, railway & road access in an attempt to starve them out of the city which is entirely in E. Germany. It was the first international crisis of the Cold War. The US & to fly food & supplies into W Berlin with a plane landing every 30 seconds from May - June; nearly 300,000 flights. A major victory for the West in defense of Commnism!

Warsaw Pact

1952 - An alliance between the USSR and other Eastern European nations countries behind the Iron Curtain; USSR, Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, and Romania. This was in response to the NATO - also a defensive "collective security" alliance.

Rosenberg Spy Case

1952 - Ethel and Julius Rosenberg are convicted of selling US atomic secrets to the Soviets Most famous spy case in U.S, couple accused of taking information about Los Alamos to the Soviets, both executed in 1953. Offered proof to many Americans that Communists had infiltrated society and government.

Suez Canal Crisis

1956 - Ike prevents war between Egypt, Israel and Britain over the nationalizing of this thing by condemning his allies for the use of force and not following UN protocol. Led to Eisenhower issuing his "Eisenhower Doctrine - similar to Truman Doctrine" - protect oil access in Middle East.

Interstate Highway Act

1956 act created the nation's interstate freeway system; meant to provide for quick evacuation of cities, emergency landing of planes, transport of missiles in the event of nuclear war. The 42000 miles of road served to feed the postwar economy and assist in the development of the suburbs.

Brinkmanship

1956 foreign policy term which was used by the Eisenhower administration to "roll back" communism. Pushing a highly violate situation to the edge of war; used by Secretary of State John Dulles to describe a policy of risking nuclear war in order to protect national interests - in particular from threats or aggression from the Chinese or Soviets.

Sputnik

1957 - 1st artificial satellite launched into space by the USSR which caused hysteria in the U.S. and led to the National Education Defense Act (1958) increasing efforts to improve instruction in math and science; also spurred the formation of NASA., The world's first space satellite. This meant the Soviet Union had a missile powerful enough to reach the US. with a missile launched into space.

National Defense Education Act (NDEA)

1958 federal law that appropriated money to improve education in science, math and foreign languages in colleges & schools; IN RESPONSE to Soviet launch of Sputnik to catch up with the USSR - close the "missile gap"; beginnings of AP & STEM programs in defense of Communism!

armistice

A temporary suspension of hostilities by agreement of the warring parties; truce. In the Korean War, an armistice is still what keeps the two sides from fighting as no formal peace treaty has been signed since the armistice was declared in 1953.

Domino Theory

A theory first promoted by President Eisenhower to explain sending advisors to Vietnam that if one nation comes under Communist control, then neighboring nations will also come under Communist control.

limited war

A war in which the weapons used, the nations or territory involved, or the objectives pursued are restricted in some way, in particular one in which the use of nuclear weapons is avoided. In the Korean War, Truman wanted to avoid it growing into another world war and expanding into the use of nuclear weapons.

National Aeronautics and Space Adminstration

Also a response by the Eisenhower administration to the launching of Sputnik in 1957; NASA was created to compete with the Soviet Unions space program. This program would have a major impact on the population and economy of Florida with the establishment of the Launch Operations Center established in Central Florida in 1962 after JFK announced plans to go to the moon. In 1968 it was renamed Kennedy Space center.

Demilitarized Zone (DMZ)

An agreed upon area between two opposing sides in which the territory is not occupied by either side but is heavily defended. This is the case with the 38th parallel which still divides North and South Korea after and armistice but no peace agreement. The U.S. heavily defends this zone with the South Koreans.

House Un-American Activities Committee

Created in 1938 to investigate alleged disloyalty and subversive activities on the part of private citizens, public employees, and those organizations suspected of having Communist ties it was especially active during the Truman administration in the early Cold War during the Second Red Scare - Acronym - HUAC; Famous for the Alger Hiss Trial and the interrogation of the Hollywood Ten.

Truman Doctrine

Doctrine which establishes the policy of "containment" during the Cold War in 1947 after BR no longer could afford to provide anti-communist aid to Greece & Turkey, it pledged to provide U.S. military and economic aid to any nation threatened by communism anywhere in the world - making the U.S. the defender of democracy worldwide.

military industrial complex

Eisenhower first coined this phrase when he warned American against it in his last State of the Union Address. He feared that the combined lobbying efforts of the armed services and industries that contracted with the military would lead to excessive Congressional spending.

Containment Policy

Established by the Truman administration in 1947 to contain Soviet influence to what it was at the end of World War II.,In February 1946, George F. Kennan, an American diplomat in Moscow, proposed a policy of containment - an effort to block the Soviets' attempts to spread their influence by creating alliances and supporting weaker countries. This policy became to guide the Truman administration's foreign policy.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Established in 1958 under President Eisenhower as a response to the USSR launching Sputinik in 1957 to close the "missile gap; s the United States government agency responsible for the civilian space program as well as aeronautics and aerospace research.

Operation Wetback

Federal program during the Eisenhower administration to round up Mexican Bracero's who were illegally in the US beyond their work permits issued in WWII.

Peacefull co-existence

Foreign policy persued by Nikita Kruschev of the USSR to normalize relations with the U.S. - until the U2 spyplane incident occurred in 1960

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

Formed in 1949 as a response to the Berlin Airlift, China and Soviet Atomic Bomb Explosion; it is an alliance made to defend one another if they were attacked by any other country (focus is on communism) "collective security" (really formed against Communist threat); US, England, France, Canada, Western European countries

Peoples Republic of China

Formed in 1949 when the Chinese Nationalists were defeated by the Communists in a civil war lead by Mao Zedong. The Nationalists fled to the island of Formosa which is today Taiwan. With the beginning of the Korean War, the Communist People's Republic of China came to North's aid in the war, crossing into North Korea when U.S. forces advanced to close to its border with North Korea.

Hollywood Ten

Group of people in the film industry in the 1950's who were jailed for refusing to answer congressional questions regarding communist influence in Hollywood

Taiwan / Formosa

In 1949, Chinese (led by Chiang Kai Shek) nationalists were forced to flee from the Chinese mainland and the attacking Communists (Ma Zedong) forming the island nation of _________________.

McCarthyism

In 1950, Senator Joseph R. McCarthy began a sensational campaign against communists in government that led to more than four years of charges and countercharges, ending when the Senate censured him in 1954. McCarthyism became the contemporary name for the red scare of the 1950's.

NSC - 68

National Securtiy Council memo A (the abrev.) document that pushed for a large build up of U.S military. Allowed U.S to quickly build up military for the Korean conflict & massive increase in defense spending (funding for H-Bomb), and increased military aid to allies; determined US foreign policy for the next 20-30 years.

"New Look" military

Part of Eisenhower's foreign policy that emphasized reliance on strategic nuclear weapons to deter potential threats from the Eastern Bloc of Communist nations headed by the Soviet Union. Was to provide more "bang for the buck" and be more effective at preventin Communist agression than spending money on conventional weapons like tanks and machine guns and a large standing army of men.

Smith Act

Passed in 1940, this act of Congress made it a criminal offense to promote the violent overthrow of the government or be a part of an organization that promoted it. Was passed to target socialist organizations or those associated with communism.

Alger Hiss

Prominent ex-New Dealer and a distinguished member of the "eastern establishment"; accused of being a Communist; convicted for perjury while testifying before HUAC and sent to prison.

South East Treaty Organization (SEATO)

Similar to NATO - the ________ _______ _______ ________ was a group of nations that agreed to work together to resist Communist aggression in Asia- particulary formed in 1954 after the beginning of Civil war in Vietnam due to Communist supporters in Vietnam.

38th Parallel

The dividing line between North and South Korea, across which the fighting between communists and United Nations forces ebbed and flowed during the Korean War

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.

Executive Order 9981

This served to establish the first act of federal desegregation in the US as stated in Harry Truman's _________ ________9981. "It is hereby declared to be the policy of the President that there shall be equality of treatment and opportunity for all persons in the armed services without regard to race, color, religion or national origin. This policy shall be put into effect as rapidly as possible, having due regard to the time required to effectuate any necessary changes without impairing efficiency or morale."

McCarran Internal Security Act (1950)

United States federal law that required the registration of Communist organizations with the Attorney General in the United States and established the Subversive Activities Control Board to investigate persons thought to be engaged in "un-American" activities, including homosexuals

Mutually Assured Destruction

a doctrine of military strategy and national security policy in which a full-scale use of nuclear weapons by two opposing sides would cause the complete annihilation of both the attacker and the defender. - thus deterring nuclear war

satellite nations

nations of Eastern Europe which fell under Soviet control during WWII and were never allowed to have free elections; instead Communist governments were established funded and controlled by Stalin and the USSR

Eisenhower Doctrine

the US would intervene in the Middle East if any gov. threatened by a communist takeover asked for help; issued in an effort to improve the deteriorating Western position in the Middle East

Brinksmanship

the practice of pushing dangerous events to the brink of disaster in order to achieve the most advantageous outcome - foreign policy used by Eisenhower and Dulles to take on or "roll back" communism. Also a part of Ronald Reagan's policy in the 1980's