Unit 6: The Cold War

Berlin Airlift

airlift in 1948 that supplied food and fuel to citizens of west Berlin when the Russians closed off land access to Berlin

How did president eisenhower increase cold war tensions?

he uses the threat of a nuclear attack

What was the berlin blockade a reaction to?

in response to the refusal of American and British officials to allow Russia more say in the economic future of Germany.

Why did the US spend lots of money on weapons and technology during the cold war?

it was a response to the fear of destroying one another

DMZ

the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea.

nuclear deterrence

the military doctrine that an enemy will be deterred from using nuclear weapons as long as he can be destroyed as a consequence

Mutually Assured Destruction

(MAD) if either US or the USSR was hit with a nuclear weapons they would respond with the same

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

UN Security Council

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

Nikita Khrushchev

A Soviet leader during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Also famous for denouncing Stalin and allowed criticism of Stalin within Russia.

Marshall Plan

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

What is a "hot" war?

A conflict in which actual fighting takes place

Berlin Wall

A fortified wall surrounding West Berlin, Germany, built in 1961 to prevent East German citizens from traveling to the West. Its demolition in 1989 symbolized the end of the Cold War. This wall was both a deterrent to individuals trying to escape and a symbol of repression to the free world.

Red Scare

A period of general fear of communists

Democracy

A political system in which the supreme power lies in a body of citizens who can elect people to represent them

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.

How did the Rosenberg Trail affect Americans?

Americans were very paranoid that anyone they knew might be a Russian Spy.

Warsaw Pact

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

United Nations

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

Bay of Pigs

An unsuccessful invasion of Cuba in 1961, which was sponsored by the United States. Its purpose was to overthrow Cuban dictator Fidel Castro.

Why did N. Korea invade S. Korea?

Because they wanted to make one large communist korea

Arms Race

Cold war competition between the U.S. and Soviet Union to build up their respective armed forces and weapons

Why are americans afraid of communism?

Communism took away rights and freedoms. Communism was also very violent.

During the Bay of Pigs, who was sent over to overthrow FIdel Castro?

Cuban exiles

Fidel Castro

Cuban socialist leader who overthrew a dictator in 1959 and established a Marxist socialist state in Cuba (born in 1927)

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.

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.

Yuri Gagarin

First man in space

Hollywood Ten

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

HUAC

House Un-American Activities Committee- accused people of being communists and "blacklisted" them.

NATO

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

Cuban Missile Crisis

The 1962 confrontation between the US and the Soviet Union over Soviet missiles in Cuba.

McCarthyism

The act of accusing people of disloyalty and communism

Berlin Blockade

The blockade was a Soviet attempt to starve out the allies in Berlin in order to gain supremacy. The blockade was a high point in the Cold War, and it led to the Berlin Airlift.

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

Why didn't the US or the Soviet Union use military force against each other during the berlin blockade and airlift?

They didn't want to start a war

Why was Hollywood being investigated by HUAC?

They had the potential to spread communism through the movies.

How did Americans prepare for Nuclear War

They learned about ducking and covering. They also made fallout shelters to protect themselves from the fallout.

Containment Policy

US policy to stop expansion of Soviet Union and Communism

Cold War

a state of political hostility between countries characterized by threats, propaganda, and other measures short of open warfare, in particular.