Cold War Flashcards by Ian Clair

A sustained state of military and political tension between the USA and Soviet Union

The Cold War

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Who were the two world superpowers after ww2

USA and Soviet Union

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What kind of society was the USA

Capitalist Democracy

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What kind of society was the USSR

Communist Dictatorship

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Economic system where property and businesses are privately owned. People have freedom to succeed or fail

Capitalism

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Government provides everything for the people. More security but less choice and freedom

Communism

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Winston Churchill (Britain), Franklin D Roosevelt (USA), Joseph Stalin (USSR)

The Big Three

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Conference that met in a Black Sea port to discuss postwar issues after ww2. The Big Three decided that:
The Soviet Union would enter Pacific War in return for territory in Asia.
Soviet Union wanted a buffer between enemies in the West. (US/Britain fear Soviet control of East & spread of communism)
Germany divided- 4 zones (US, Britain, France, Soviet Union)
FDR proposes the United Nations

Yalta

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Ideological boundary dividing Europe into two separate (competing) areas. 1945-1991
Western Bloc- Democracy
Eastern Bloc- Communism

Iron Curtain

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50 nations met in San Francisco to settle disputes and hopefully prevent future wars

United Nations

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Clement Attlee (Britain), Harry S Truman (USA), Joseph Stalin (USSR) meet:
They agree that Germany should stay in it’s occupied zones.
Poland is moved around to suit the Soviets.

Potsdam

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US make take aggressive steps to contain Soviet (communist) expansion. Fighting spread of communism by limiting to countries where already exist.

Containment/ Truman Doctrine

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Us provides economic aid to European countries ($13 billion) so they can rebuild and protect themselves against communism.

Marshall Plan

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1948: US, Britain, France unite their German zones to form West German Republic which includes three Berlin zones. Stalin set up blockade around Berlin

Berlin Blockade

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American and British cargo planes drop food, fuel, and other supplies into West Berlin for 10 months

Berlin Airlift

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1949- US, Canada, and 10 other countries join forces against communism. “An armed attack against one shall be seen as an armed attack against all”

North Atlantic Treaty Organization-NATO

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Soviet Union and surrounding communist countries of Eastern Europe form a military alliance in response to NATO

Warsaw Pact

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Eisenhower’s theory that when one country falls to communism, its neighbor will soon follow, and communism will eventually reach America

Domino Theory

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Hammer and Sickle, tools of the middle class

Symbols of Communism

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Communist who defeated Chiangmai Kai-shek and became leader of China

Mao Zedong

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A climate of fear that descends upon America: Americans worry that communist spies and sympathizers have penetrated all levels of society

The Red Scare Part 2

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Massive hunt to uncover communists who (it was believed) were attempting to weaken the government from the inside:
Truman to lenient
Orders an investigation in the loyalty of all federal employees
Millions investigated by FBI, required all communist to register/provide list of members

“With-Hunts” to find “Reds”

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Congressional committee formed to investigate cases of communist subversion
Launched sensational investigation of the Hollywood film industry

House Un-American Activities Committee

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List of individuals, barred from working in Hollywood

Blacklists

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10 Hollywood actors that were arrested and blacklisted for not cooperating with HUAC’s hearings on anti-communist activity

The Hollywood 10

German born British spy who helped create the A-bomb

Klaus Fuchs

Unfounded accusations against alleged communists

McCarthyism

Wisconsin Senator who gave a speech in West Virginia. Raised a sheet with names of 250 State Dept. employees who were members of communist party

Joseph McCarthy

Summons, bullies federal employees either dismissed or resign

Congressional Subcommittee

1954: McCarthy claims that communists had infiltrated the US military. Two-month, televised hearings expose McCarhty’s sneering, cruel style. Senate formally criticizes (censures) McCarhty for conduct “unbecoming a US Senator” Army attorney, Joseph Welch

Army-McCarthy Hearings

Competition with each other to have the best, most powerful weapons in the world

Arms Race

A situation in which the USA and USSR both were in a stalemate because if either makes a move, it will be met with nuclear attack

Mutually Assured Destruction

Surge in birth rates from 1946-1964

Baby Boomers

Residential area; typically on the fringes (within commuting distance) of major cities 75% of new home construction took place here

Suburbs

Introduced mass-produced housing based on navy model

William Levitt

17,000 identical houses built from premade materials, erected quickly on site

Levittown

Popular TV shows mold desires/expectations of average

The Happy Middle Class

Fast-moving, guitar based music, derived from African-American rhythm & blues

Rock ‘N’ Roll

The King of Rock ‘N’ Roll

Elvis Presley

Middle-class (white) Americans “take-off” to suburbs, leaving behind islands of poverty

White Flight

Neighborhoods inhabited mainly by poor minority groups

Ghettos

Amount of taxable property, asserts, & income goes down when people leave a city

Declining tax-base

Goods produced using mechanical or electronic devices

Automation of industries

Group of writers who were “weary” (beat) with all forms of the modern industrial state

The “Beat Generation”

Betty Friedan’s book describing the frustration and unhappiness of the suburban housewives

The Feminine Mystique

Government provided wide-range of benefits for ww2 vets

G.I Bill

Slogan that helped Republicans win control of both houses of Congress

“Had Enough?”

Harry Truman’s domestic reforms policy aimed at solving the nation’s economic problems. Congress blocks it

Fair Deal

Restricted the activities/power of labor unions 1. Outlawed the closed-shop (workplace that hires only union members) 2. Allowed the government to stop strikes that endangered public health

Taft-Hartley Bill

1. Greatest upset in election history 2. Truman (D) defeats NY governor Thomas Dewey (R) 3. Dixiecrats Storm Thurmond 4. Progressive Party’s Henry Wallace

Election of 1948

Truman travels 30,000 miles by train and delivers 250 speeches to American people

“Whistle-Stop” Tour

Desegregated the armed forces enforce existing Civil Rights laws

A Fair Deal (Again)

Landslide victory for Eisenhower (R) (442-89) over Adlai Stevenson (D) First republican to win since 1928 (Hoover)

Election of 1952

1. Conservative when it comes to money & liberal when it comes to human rights 2. Moderate “Middle of the road” republican 3. Federal government “smaller rather than bigger” 4. Removed Truman’s wage & price controls 5. Budget surplus: $300 million

Eisenhower’s domestic policy

40,00 miles of highway that tied the nation together Largest public works program in the nation’s history Improved military mobility in case of attack

Eisenhower Interstate System

1. Policy that promised US nuclear attacks in answer to Soviet expansion 2. Coined by Secretary of State, John Foster Dulles 3. Condemned Containment

Massive Retaliation

The idea that we had to push the Soviets to the brink of war to get results

Brinkmanship

1. The race to make nuclear weapons (More bang for your buck) 2. Hydrogen Bombs replace atom bombs 3. Intermediate-Range Ballistic Missiles (IRBMs) 4. Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs)

US-Soviet Arms Race

Educated the public on how to prepare for nuclear attack

Civil Defense Administration

1957: World’s first artificial satellite launched into space by Soviets

Sputnik

America answers the Sputnik with their own satellite aka the flopnik (it exploded a couple feet in the air)

Vanguard

Administration that aimed to put an astronaut in space

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Period of eased tension between US and Soviets after death of Stalin (1953)

Cold War Thaw

Leader of Soviets in 1955 after Stalin died

Nikita Khrushchev

May 1, 1960: Soviets shot down U-2 (spy) plane and captured American pilot Gary Powers

U-2 Incident

1. President from 1960-1963 2. One of 9 kids 3. Wrote Why England Slept 4. Potsdam Conference 5. House, Senate, and President

JFK

1. First time in history, radio and television played a factor in who wins 2. JFK: promises new programs to get country moving again 3. Nixon: pledged to continue the policies of Eisenhower

Election of 1960

1. More federal funds for education 2. Eradicate poverty 3. Civil rights legislation 4. Landing a man on the moon

The New Frontier

1. November 22, 1963: JFK killed in Dallas while traveling in his car on a campaign 2. Lee Harvey Oswald arrested for killing Kennedy 3. Jack Ruby kills Oswald 4. Did Oswald really kill JFK?

JFK assassination conspiracy

This president introduced a set of ambitious programs called the “Great Society”

LBJ

Kennedy’s plan to send special forces abroad (Green Berets) trained to fight guerrilla wars

Flexible response

Kennedy’s 10 year development plan To assist free leaders and free governments in casting off the chains of poverty because communism was an attractive option to impoverished countries

Alliance for progress

1. 1961: America’s plan to overthrow Castro using 1,500 CIA-trained Cuban refugees 2. Cuban forces crushed the exiles

Bay of Pigs

1. Wall of concrete blocks and barbed wire built by East Germany government w/ Soviet support 2. Cut off communism & travel between East and West Germany

Berlin Wall

1. October, 1962: American spy plane makes unsettling discovery while flying over Cuba 2. Soviets building nuclear missile launch sites in Cuba 3. Sites near completion 4. Kennedy ordered a naval blockade of Cuba

Cuban Missile Crisis

1. July 20, 1969: Neil Armstrong & Buzz Aldrin become first humans to walk on the moon

One Giant Leap for Mankind

NASA program aimed to land a man on the moon

Apollo Project

A war in a Cold War that is not fought between the two Cold War powers but is instigated by those two and fought between two or more smaller countries

Proxy War

A political system that promotes nationalism, militarism, and the supremacy

Fascism

Cold War Flashcards

(79 cards)