APUSH II amsco
People's Republic of China
commonly known as China, is the largest country in East Asia Mao Zedong beat Chiang Kai-shek and gained control of the country he called it the Peoples Republic of China.a socialist republic ruled by the Communist Party of China under a single-party system.
Highway Act (1956) ; interstate highway system
interstate highways linking all the nation' major cities, copied around the world. Create jobs, trucking industry, suburbs. Hurt RR's + environment
States-Rights party (Dixiecrats)
left the Democratic party in response to Truman's support to civil rights. Elected Gov. Thurmond (SC) as their leader
progressive Party
liberal democrats who thought Truman's aggressive foreign policy threatened world peace formed this party and elected former vp Henry Wallace as their leader
Smith Act (1940)
made it illegal to advocate or teach the overthrow of the government by force or to belong to an organization with this objective
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
military alliance for defending all members from outside attack. Soviets created the Warsaw Pact in response
Harry Truman
moderate democrat , president after FDR's death, led w/ basic honesty + unpretentious style that appealed to the average American. Tried his best to continue with the New Deal
Communist satellites
nations effectively run by Soviet Union , used as "buffer states" Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Albania, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia, all of these were satellites, or nations under the control of a great power (the Soviet Union).
Third World
new decolonized nations, lacked stable political + economic institution => needed foreign aid from US or Soviet Union which in turn made them pawns of the Cold War
John Forest Dulles
new look on US foreign policy; challenge Soviet Union + People's Republic of China. Pleased conservatives but frightened other bc he said if US pushed Communist powers to brink of war they would back down bc of our nuclear superiority
early marriages
sign of confidence in post ww2 era resulted in tons of babies
Dennis et al. v. United States
the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the Smith Act of 1940
CIA , covert action
undercover intervention in the internal politics of other nations {cheaper than sending troops} , CIA helped over throw oil-hogging Iranian govt.
Dean Acheson
undersecretary of state who helped formulate Truman's containment policy
Joseph McCarthy
A Republican senator from Wisconsin who used communism in his reelection campaign, charging that 205 Communists were still working for the State Department, causing wide publication and making him one of the most powerful men in America
Soviet Union
A communist nation consisting of Russia and 14 other states, that existed from 1922 to 1991. Led by Joseph Stalin. Allies w/ US
Whittaker Chambers
A confessed Communist who became a star witness for the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1948. His testimony helped lead to the trial of Alger Hiss
containment policy
A policy to try to offset the growing Soviet threat to Eastern Europe. It was directed at stopping the advancement of communism. The policy's included forming alliances and helping weak, countries resist Soviet advances.
Alger Hiss
A prominent official in the State Department who had assisted Roosevelt at the Yalta Conference and denied the accusations that he was a Communist and had given secret documents to Chambers. In 1950 was convicted of perjury and sent to prison.
division of Vietnam
Communist North Vietnam led by Ho Chi Minh v. Anticommunist South Vietnam led by Ngo Dinh Diem. US gave over $1 billion in economic + military aid to stabilize South Vietnam to protect against the spread of communism
Kim II Sung
Communist leader of North Korea
McCarran Internal Security Act (1950)
Congress passed this act over Truman's veto that 1. made it unlawful to advocate or support the establishment of a totalitarian government 2. restricted the employment and travel of those joining Communist-front organizations and 3. authorized the creation of detention camps for subversives
Syngman Rhee
Conservative nationalist leader of South Korea
Dept. of Health, Education and Welfare (HEW)
Created by Republican Congress members under Ms. Oveta Culp Hobby {1st woman in a Republican cabinet} Hobby of Texas. Regulated through committees.
State of Israel (1948)
Created in 1948 under U.N. auspices, after a civil war in the British mandate territory of Palestine left the land divided between the Israelis + the Palestinians. Israel's neighbors had fought unsuccessfully to prevent the Jewish state from being formed
Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (1954)
Dulles plan / pact to prevent South Vietnam, Laos, + Cambodia from "falling" to communism. US , GB, France, Australia, New Zealand, Philippines, Thailand, + Pakistan all agreed to defend one another in case of an attack w/i the region
Suez Canal Crisis (1956)
Egypt's dictator, Abdul Gamal Nasser, a former army officer who had led the coup that overthrew King Farouk, nationalized the Suez Canal in 1956, and was attacked by British, French and Israeli forces. The U.S. intervened on behalf of Egypt. Damaged Britain and France's standing as world powers.
atoms for peace
Eisenhower called for a slowdown in the arms race
West Germany
Federal Republic of Germany = West Germany = US ally
Korean armistice
Finally agreed on July 23, 1953, it set the boundary between N. and S. Korea at about the 38th parallel (where it was pre-war). Also created a panel of neutral nations to administer prisoner of war return. Ended fighting, but didn't solve any of the problems.
Security Council
Five major allies of wartime [US, Great Britain, France, China, + Soviet Union] granted permanent seats + veto power on this UN council
Geneva Conference (1954)
France agreed to give up Indochina, which was then divided into the independent nations of Cambodia, Laos, + Vietnam
Indochina
French tried to retake it after ww2, + tried to convince Eisenhower to support their claims to the lands, he refused
Servicemen's Readjustment Act (GI Bill, 1944)
Signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on June 22, 1944, provided veterans of WWII funds for college education, unemployment insurance, and housing.
decolonization
The collapse of colonial empires. After ww2 Between 1947 and 1962, practically all former colonies in Asia and Africa gained independence.
Fair Deal
Truman's extension of the New Deal that increased min wage, expanded Social Security, and constructed low-income housing. Most was defeated by congress bc of 1) his political conflicts w/ congress and 2) pressing foreign policy concerns of the cold war
Dwight Eisenhower
US General + 34th President .Conservative about federal spending, liberal about personal freedoms. Believed in a balanced budget and lower taxes, but not in getting rid of existing social and economic legislation.
World Bank
US invited the Soviets to participate in this also know as International Bank for Reconstruction + Development, purpose was to fund the rebuilding of a war-torn world. Soviets declined to join bc they saw the bank as an instrument of capitalism
open-skies
US proposal @ meeting w/ Soviets in Geneva: open sky policy over each other's country to allow aerial photography by the opposing nation in order to eliminate the chance of a surprise nuclear attack. Soviet's rejected the idea
"Spirit of Geneva"
USSR and US conferring on peace in 1955, couldn't agree on demilitarization or Open Skies but suspended nuclear tests. 1st thaw in the Cold War
Chinese civil war
War between communist Mao Zedong and nationalist Chaing-Kai Shek. The communists took over and forced the nationalists to retreat to Taiwan. US gave $400 million in aid to protect Shek , but 80% of it landed in communist hands bc of corruption
U.S. - Japanese Security Treaty
-Japan surrendered its claims to Korea + islands in the Pacific => US ended formal occupation in Japan -US troops remained on military bases in Japan to protect it from Communist influence
baby boom
50 million babies between 1945 - 1960 , forced women to once again focus on the home + the upbringing of children
Iranian overthrow
1953 CIA helped overthrow govt in Iran that had tried to nationalize the holding of foreign oil companies. The returned shah of Iran hooked the West up w/ favorable oil prices + bought tonsssss
elections of 1952, 1956
1st Republican victory in over 20 yrs, almost was ruined w/ rumors about his running mate Nixon stealing campaign funds. Issues were conservatism and containment of Communism. Republicans won by a landslide.Eisenhower wins over Adlai. The election of 1956 was a replay of the 1952 w/ Eisenhower pitted against Adlai Stevenson; Eisenhower won a victory but still lost both houses of Congress
National Security Act (1947)
Act that provided for 1) a centralized Department of Defense to coordinate the operations of the army, navy, + air force; 2) creation of the National Security Council [NSC] to coordinate the making of foreign policy in the Cold War; 3) creation of the Central Intelligence Agency [CIA] to employ spies to gather info on foreign govts
Hollywood blacklists
Actors, directors, and writers who were called before the Committee to testify and refused were either tried for contempt of Congress or blacklisted from the industry.
38th parallel
After the defeat of Japan, its former colony Korea was divided along this line by the victors.
Sunbelt
An area of states that many people inhabited following WWII in order to establish a new life. Florida, Texas, California, and Virginia. The population there doubled that of the Northeast states. Migration caused the U.S. economy and political power to grow in the West and South.
India, Pakistan, Indonesia
Became new nations in 1947
Eisenhower Doctrine
Eisenhower proposed and obtained a joint resolution from Congress authorizing the use of U.S. military forces to intervene in any country that appeared likely to fall to communism. Used in the Middle East.
modern Republicanism
Eisenhower's method Conservative about federal spending, liberal about personal freedoms. Believed in a balanced budget and lower taxes, but not in getting rid of existing social and economic legislation.
Adlai Stevenson
Eisenhower's opponent in the elections of 1952 + 1956, Democratic ticket, his methods of confronting McCarthyism appealed to liberals
Richard Nixon
Eisenhower's running mate. In the Election of 1952 he was accused of stealing campaign funds, but he salvaged his political career with his Checker's speech about his dog which played at the people's hearts. Would later become President + Watergate scandal
domino theory
Eisenhower's theory to justify the aid sent to South Vietnam, if South Vietnam fell under Communist control, one nation after another in Southeast Asia would also fall, until Australia + New Zealand were in dire danger
J. Storm Thurmond
Elected leader of States-Rights party/Dixiecrats
Henry Wallace
Elected leader of the progressive party
Employment Act of 1946
Enacted by Truman, it committed the federal government to ensuring economic growth and established the Council of Economic Advisors
Council of Economic Advisers
Established by Truman's Employment Act of 1946, counseled the president + congress on promoting national economic welfare
Thomas Dewey
Expected winner of the 1948 election. He was the Republican Nominee. Truman campaigned cause everyone thought he would lose, and pulled enough votes to win the election
East Germany
German Democratic Republic = East Germany = Soviet satellite
Occupation zones
Germany split into four between the USSR, the U.S., Britain, and France; Berlin split into four as well, with the USSR controlling the Eastern half and the remaining half split between the remaining three nations
George Kennan
Helped formulate Truman's containment policy. Expert on Soviet Affairs, in an influential article he wrote that only "a long-term, patient but firm and vigilant containment of Russian expansive tendencies" would eventually cause the Soviets to back off their Communist idealogy of world domination + live in peace w/ other nations
historians : traditionalists vs. revisionists
Historians argue if Churchill's speech anticipated the Cold War or helped cause it
United Nations
Hopeful sign for the future , peace keeping organization of all nations
Levittown
In 1947, William Levitt mass-produced inexpensive homes in Long Island, NY to help relieve the postwar housing shortage. Became a symbol of the movement to the suburbs in the years after WWII.
Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)
In 1960, the Arab nations of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, + Iran joined Venezuela in this. Oil was a critical foreign policy issue + it cause conflicts
Rosenberg case
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were found guilty of admitting A-bomb secrets to the Russians and executed in 1953. Civil Rights grups charged that anticommunist hysteria was responsible for the conviction and punishment of the Rosenbergs.
Cold War
Late 1940's - 1991. Communist empire of the Soviet Union vs Western Democracy of the United States. Fought mainly through diplomacy rather than armed conflict, but brought the world dangerously close to a nuclear war
Joseph Stalin
Leader of SU. Mad bc they bore the brunt of the fighting against the nazi's
Ho Chi Mihn
Leader of the Communist party in Indochina after WWII; led Vietnamese against the French, then North Vietnamese against the US in the Vietnam War
Mao Zedong
Leader of the People's Republic of China [communist] + overthrew Chiang Kai-shek + the nationalists
suburban growth
Low interest rates on mortgages that were government-insured and tax duductible made the move from the city to the suburb affordable for almost any family, and most middle-class Americans took the opportunity.
McCarthyism
McCarthy's use of Communist fear by pointing fingers at people in the government to keep the media focused on him and to discredit the Truman administration
Chiang Kai-shek
Nationalist leader of China, forced out by Communists [retreated to Taiwan where US continued to support Chiang] He claimed to be the legitimate govt. for all of China while he was in Taiwan
Nikita Khrushchev
New Soviet premier after Stalin's death. He denounced the crimes of Stalin + supported "peaceful coexistence" with the West
Douglas MacArthur
Popular general who aggressively directed American forces during the Korean War and clashed with President Truman, who removed him from command in 1951.
"brinksmanship"
Pushing Communist powers to the brink of war, they would back down bc of American nuclear superiority
inflation and labor unions
Republicans wanted to relax controls of the Office of Price Administration , led to inflation rate of about 25% during the first year. Laborers wanted money that they had missed out on after years of wage controls, and over 4.5 million went on strike
22nd Amendment
Response to FDR's many terms in office [3 full, elected for 4th but died] Made it a constitutional amendment to limit a president to a maximum of two full terms in office
NSC-68
Secret report that the National Security Council had made outlining was what necessary for fighting the Cold War 1) quadruple US govt. defense spending to 20% of GNP 2) form alliances w/ non-communist countries 3) convince Americans that costly arms build up was necessary for US defense
Nuclear arms race
Soviet + American scientists in the US were in an arms race to develop superior weapons systems. For four yrs the US were the only country to have A-bombs, after Soviets did the same Truman approved the development of the H-bomb [1,000 times more powerful than A-Bomb] to be added to secret US arsenal
Berlin airlift
Soviets cut off all access by land to Berlin , US flew planes in with supplies to help the people + Truman also sent 60 bombers capable of carrying atomic bombs to bases in England. Stalin chose not to challenge the airlift = war did not break out [Resulted in creation of East + West Germany]
Korean War
Started when Korea was split along the 38th parallel and North Korea invaded South Korea. At first North Korea was winning, but then MacArthur turned it around at Inchon. November 1950, Chinese troops crossed the Korean border and gave the UN one of their worst defeats in US military history, driving them out of Korea.
Committee on Civil Rights
Truman wanted to challenge racial discrimination, so he used his executive powers to establish this organization (1946)
massive retaliation
The "new look" defense policy of the Eisenhower administration of the 1950's was to threaten "massive retaliation" with nuclear weapons in response to any act of aggression by a potential enemy. Backfired bc when US developed the H-bomb the Soviets followed suit so it was just an awkward standstill. Basically a policy for mutual extinction
freedom of expression in arts
The Second Red Scare led to attacks on creators of the arts as anti-American. Their work was criticized by southern politicians as communistic assaults, loyalty oaths were required, etc.
Loyalty Review Board
The Truman administration, under pressure from Republican critics, set up this to investigate the background of over 3 million federal employees, leading to thousands losing their jobs or resigning in a probe that lasted 4 years.
U.N. police action
Truman's act of sending help to the South Korean army to defend against the North (led by General Douglas MacArthur). Congress supported this use of US troops but did not declare war.
Iron Curtain
Truman said "I'm tired of babying the Soviets" , encouraged a get-tough policy in Washington A term popularized by British Prime Minister Winston Churchill to describe the Soviet Union's policy of isolation during the Cold War. The barrier isolated Eastern Europe from the rest of the world.
"soft on communism"
The stalemate in Korea and loss of China led Republicans to characterize Truman and the Democrats as this.
Taft-Hartley Act (1947)
Truman didn't like it, called it "slave labor," Congress overrode his veto . A Republican-sponsored law that established limits on unions.
racial integration of military
Truman ordered the end of racial discrimination throughout the federal government. and armed forces.
Taiwan
after the communists took control of China, the nationalists led by Chiang Kai-shek were forced to retreat to the island of Taiwan
Arab nationalism
belief that all Arabs should ban together and form one large Arab country. Nasser [leader of Egypt at the time] was major component and leader of this new Arab country. power struggles soon began between countries.
Marshall Plan
extensive outline of US economic aid to help European nations revive their economies + strengthen democratic govts. This plan offered $12 billion in aid to western and Southern Europe. Soviet Union refused to take any of the $ in fear of dependence on US [Deepened the rift between non-Communist West + Communist East]
Winston Churchill
former British prime minister, "An iron curtain has been descended across the continent" , was later used to refer to the Soviet Satellite states of eastern Europe. He called for a partnership between Western democracies to halt the expansion of communism
House Un-American Activities Committee
originally established in 1939 to seek out Nazis and reactivated in the postwar years to find Communists. Investigated government officials and looked for Communist influence in organizations like the Boy Scouts and Hollywood film industry
soil-bank program
reduce farm production + thereby increase farm income
Truman Doctrine
response to two threats (1. a communist-led uprising against the govt. in Greece + 2. Soviet Demands for some control of a water route in Turkey) Truman asked Congress in 1947 for $400 million in economic + military aids to assist the "free people" of Greece + Turkey against "totalitarian" regimes