Chapter 29: The Cold War

GI Bill of Rights / Servicemen's Readjustment Act

Also known as the GI Bill, it made provisions for sending former soldiers to school. In enabled 8 million veterans to advance their education in $14.5 billion in expense.

George Marshall

American military leader, Secretary of State, and the third Secretary of Defense. Once noted as the "organizer of victory" by Winston Churchill for his leadership of the Allied victory in World War II, he supervised the U.S. Army during the war and was the chief military advisor to President Franklin D. Roosevelt. As Secretary of State he gave his name to the American post-war reconstruction effort in Europe; he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for the plan.

George Kennan

An American advisor, 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 later wrote standard histories of the relations between Russia and the Western powers.

Office of Defense Mobilization

Established by Truman to combat inflation; it seized the railroads in response to a 1951 strike.

Douglas MacArthur

(1880-1964), U.S. general. Commander of U.S. (later Allied) forces in the southwestern Pacific during World War II, he accepted Japan's; surrender in 1945 and administered the ensuing Allied occupation. He was in charge of UN forces in Korea 1950-51, before being forced to relinquish command by President Truman.

Atlantic Charter

1941-Pledge signed by US president FDR and British prime minister Winston Churchill not to acquire new territory as a result of WWII amd to work for peace after the war.

National Security Act

1947; enacted to back up the Truman Doctrine; established the National Security Council to advise the president, established the Central Intelligence Agency to gather information abroad and engage in covert activities in support of the nation's security, began the processes of transforming the old War and Navy Depts into the Department of Defense, and combined the leadership of the army,navy, and air force under the Joint Chiefs of Staff; showed Truman's and Americans' fears of communist invasion after WWII.

Joseph McCarthy / McCarthyism

1950s; Wisconsin senator claimed to have list of communists in American gov't, 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.

United Mine Workers

A 1902 coal worker's strike called for an eight-hour work day and higher wages. Theodore Roosevelt stepped in and threatened the use of troops to settle the strike. It was the first time the government stepped in a labor dispute, but the result was improved conditions for the mine workers.

National Security Council / NSC 68

A National Security Council document, approved by President Truman in 1950, developed in response to the Soviet Union's growing influence and nuclear capability; it called for an increase in the US conventional and nuclear forces to carry out the policy of containment

Containment

A U.S. foreign policy adopted by President Harry Truman in the late 1940s, in which the United States tried to stop the spread of communism by creating alliances and helping weak countries to resist Soviet advances

Henry Wallace

A former Democratic who ran on the New Progressive Party due to his disagreement on Truman's policy with the Soviets. He caused the Democratic party to split even more during the election season.

Progressive Party

Also known as the "Bull Moose Party", this political party was formed by Theodore Roosevelt in an attempt to advance progressive ideas and unseat President William Howard Taft in the election of 1912. After Taft won the Republican Party's nomination, Roosevelt ran on the Progressive party ticket.

Fair Deal

An economic extension of the New Deal proposed by Harry Truman that called for higher minimum wage, housing and full employment. It led only to the Housing Act of 1949 and the Social Security Act of 1950 due to opposition in congress.

House Un-American Activities Committee

An investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives. In 1969, the House changed the committee's name to "House Committee on Internal Security".When the House abolished the committee in 1975, its functions were transferred to the House Judiciary Committee.

Berlin Blockade

April 1, 1948 - Russia under 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 Franc, the U.S. and Great Britain. Berlin was located entirely within Soviet-controlled East Germany.

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. (FDR) 1945, want quick end to war "The Big Three" FDR, Churchill and Stalin met at Yalta. Russia agreed to declare war on Japan after the surrender of Germany and in return FDR and Churchill promised the USSR concession in Manchuria and the territories that it had lost in the Russo-Japanese War, Stalin broke promise on free elections and representative govt.

North Atlantic Treaty Organization

In 1949, the United States, Canada, and ten European nations formed this military mutual-defense pact. In 1955, the Soviet Union countered NATO with the formation of the Warsaw Pact, a military alliance among those nations within its own sphere of influence.

Teheran Conference

In December 1943, FDR, Churchill and Stalin (for first time) met in the first of two meetings to discuss postwar occupation and demilitarization of Germany, plan postwar international organization and debate war strategy. FDR wanted to postpone postwar political/territorial decisions but Churchill more apprehensive about Russians - recognized Soviet dominance over Eastern Europe and concerned by impact on Balance of Power. Being European, likely that he was simply more sensitive to BoP politics than FDR. Churchill had wanted an invasion through the Mediterranean, FDR said it should be cross-Channel and Stalin promised to pursue and Eastern front simultaneously. THUS SOVIETS HAD AN "IN."; repeated the pledge made in the earlier Moscow Conference to create the United Nations after the war's conclusion to help ensure international peace. Teheran (Iran's capital) in 1943. The most important achievement was agreement on broad plans, especially those for launching Soviet attacks in Germany from the east simultaneously while the Allies attacked from the West. Also, plans regarding a cross-invasion of France was a BIG deal, which would lead to the plan of the invasion of Normandy lead by General Eisenhower. (pp. 866-867)

Richard Nixon

President of the United States from 1969 to 1974 who followed a foreign policy marked by détente with the Soviet Union and by the opening of diplomatic relations with China. In the face of likely impeachment for the Watergate scandal, he resigned.

Yalta

Site of a meeting between the Big Three-Roosevelt, Stalin, Churchill; decided that Eastern European countries could have freely elected governments, but these governments had to be friendly towards Russia; this agreement was impossible in places such as Poland; also decided that Germany would be divided into four occupational zones.

Dixiecrat

Southern Democrats who broke from the party in 1948 over the issue of civil rights and ran a presidential ticket as the States' Rights Democrats.

Casablanca

Strategic port during the Second World War in which Churchill and Roosevelt discussed the progress of the war. It was the site of a large American air base, which was the staging area for all American aircraft for the European Theater of Operations during World War II.

Warsaw Pact

The 1955 treaty binding the Soviet Union and countries of eastern Europe in an alliance against the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

"Cooling off period"

The period in a new stock issue beginning with the filing date of the registration statement and ending on the effective date. According to federal regulations, it must be a minimum of twenty days. During the cooling-off period, the issuing corporation and underwriters will prepare and distribute a preliminary prospectus, blue-sky the issue, hold a due diligence meeting, and prepare the final prospectus

United Nations

an organization of independent states formed in 1945 to promote international peace and security An international organization whose stated aims are to facilitate co-operation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress and human rights issues. It was founded in 1945 at the signing of the United Nations Charter by 50 countries, replacing the League of Nations, founded in 1919.

National self-determination

the view that a people with a common identity have the right to be independent from outside control, as in establishing a state

Thomas Dewey

He was the Governor of New York (1943-1955) and the unsuccessful Republican candidate for the U.S. Presidency in 1944 and 1948. As a leader of the liberal faction of the Republican party he fought the conservative faction led by Senator Robert A. Taft, and played a major role in nominating Dwight D. Eisenhower for the presidency in 1952.

Julius and Ethel Rosenburg

They were convicted in 1951 of giving atomic bomb data found by American scientists to the Soviet Union. They are the only Americans ever executed during peacetime for espionage.

McCarran Internal Security Act

A 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.

Right-to-work Laws

A state law forbidding requirements that workers must join a union to hold their jobs. State right-to-work laws were specifically permitted by the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947.

Taft-Hartley Bill

Congress introduced this bill in the spring of 1947; it limited the actions workers could take against their employers, outlawed the closed shop, and allowed the givernment to temporarily stop any strike that endangered public health or safety; aka "slave labor bill".

Adlai Stevenson

Democratic nominee in the elections of 1952 and 1956. Both times he was defeated by the republican candidate (Eisenhower). During the campaigns, Stevenson criticised McCarthy and other republicans calling them "Fear mongers".

Fair Employment Practices Commission

FDR issued this committee in 1941 to enforce the policy of prohibiting employment-related discrimination practices by federal agencies, unions, and companies involved in war-related work It guaranteed the employment of 2 million black workers in the war factories.

Central Intelligence Agency

Formed in 1947 as a replacement for the Office of Strategic Services. It was originally designed to coordinate covert operations in foreign countries for the interests of the US.

Chiang Kai-shek

General and leader of Nationalist China after 1925. Although he succeeded Sun Yat-sen as head of the Guomindang, he became a military dictator whose major goal was to crush the communist movement led by Mao Zedong.

Dwight D. Eisenhower

He was the U. S. general who led the attack in North Africa in Nov. of 1942.He was the master organizer of the D-Day invasion in Europe (June 6, 1944). He ran for the Republican ticket in the 1952 and the1956 elections and won. He was very well liked by the public.

Marshall Plan

Introduced by Secretary of State George G. Marshall in 1947, he proposed massive and systematic American economic aid to Europe to revitalize the European economies after WWII and help prevent the spread of Communism.

National Housing Act

June 28, 1934- It created the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation. It was designed to stop the tide of bank foreclosures on family homes.

John L. Lewis

President of the United Mine Workers, combined with seven other American Federation of Labor organizations to form the Committee for Industrial Organization. Wanted to bring together all of the unskilled workers together to mass-production industries.

Mao Zedong

This man became the leader of the Chinese Communist Party and remained its leader until his death. He declared the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949 and supported the Chinese peasantry throughout his life.

Election of 1948

The U.S. presidential election of 1948 is considered by most historians as the greatest election upset in American history. Virtually every prediction (with or without public opinion polls) indicated that incumbent President Harry S. Truman would be defeated by Republican Thomas Dewey. Truman won, overcoming a three-way split in his own party. Truman's surprise victory was the fifth consecutive win for the Democratic Party in a presidential election. Truman's election confirmed the Democratic Party's status as the nation's majority party, a status they would retain until the 1980's.

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. July 26, 1945 - Allied leaders Truman, Stalin and Churchill met in Germany to set up zones of control and to inform the Japanese that if they refused to surrender at once, they would face total destruction. The July-August 1945 meeting of Truman, Stalin, and Clement Atlee of Great Britain, at which disagreements arose over the permanent borders of Germany and free elections in East European countries. Stalin refused to hold free elections, in fear of anti-Soviet governments.

Selective Service System

The system used in the United States to draft young people into armed service. Though the United States at present has no draft, young men are required by law to register with the Selective Service when they reach the age of eighteen.

Alger Hiss Trial

U.S. State Department official involved in the establishment of the United Nations. He was accused of being a Soviet spy in 1948 and convicted of perjury in connection with this charge in 1950. Although new evidence has added a variety of information to the case, his guilt or innocence remains controversial.

Closed Shop

Union security arrangement under which a person must be a union member before being hired; illegal for those covered by the National Labor Relations Act.

Korean War 1950-1953

conflict between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) and the Republic of Korea (South Korea) in which at least 2.5 million persons lost their lives. The war reached international proportions in June 1950 when North Korea, supplied and advised by the Soviet Union, invaded the South. The United Nations, with the United States as the principal participant, joined the war on the side of the South Koreans, and the People's Republic of China came to North Korea's aid. After more than a million combat casualties had been suffered on both sides, the fighting ended in July 1953 with Korea still divided into two hostile states. Negotiations in 1954 produced no further agreement, and the front line has been accepted ever since as the de facto boundary between North and South Korea.