Cold War & 1950's Society Flashcards
(63 cards)
1
Q
Definition/What:
Yalta Conference
A
Summit of Roosevelt, Churchill, Stalin to map post-WWII Europe
Feb 1945
(Division of Germany, free elections pledge, USSR vs Japan, plan for UN)
2
Q
Cause:
Yalta Conference
A
- Allied victory imminent
- Leaders had to settle borders, occupation zones, and Soviet cooperation against Japan
3
Q
Effect:
Yalta Conference
A
- Formalised East/West zones
- Sowed disputes over Eastern Europe
- Became an early fault-line of the Cold War
4
Q
Definition/What:
Truman Doctrine
A
Pledge to aid nations resisting communism
1947
(First used for Greece & Turkey)
5
Q
Cause:
Truman Doctrine
A
- Britain could no longer bankroll anti-communist forces
- U.S. feared Soviet influence in Mediterranean
6
Q
Effect:
Truman Doctrine
A
- Launchpad for containment
- Unlocked billions in aid
- Set a precedent for global U.S. intervention
7
Q
Definition/What:
NATO
A
Collective-security alliance between U.S., Canada, and Western Europe
1949
8
Q
Cause:
NATO
A
- Berlin Blockade
- Fear of Soviet expansion demanded a formal military pact
9
Q
Effect:
NATO
A
- Cemented the Western bloc
- Prompted the Soviets to create the Warsaw Pact
- Deepened the Cold War divide
10
Q
Definition/What:
McCarthyism
A
Campaign by Sen. Joseph McCarthy alleging communist infiltration of U.S. institutions
Early 1950s
11
Q
Cause:
McCarthyism
A
- Second Red Scare fears
- Political gain during an election season
12
Q
Effect:
McCarthyism
A
- Blacklists, loyalty oaths, ruined careers, civil-liberty erosion
- Backlash followed the 1954 Army–McCarthy hearings.
13
Q
Definition/What:
Sputnik
A
First human-made satellite, launched by the USSR
4 Oct 1957
14
Q
Cause:
Sputnik
A
- Soviet ICBM research
- Desire to showcase technological supremacy
15
Q
Effect:
Sputnik
A
- Shocked Americans
- Ignited the Space Race
- Led to NASA (1958) & National Defense Education Act.
16
Q
Definition/What:
Bay of Pigs Invasion
A
Failed CIA-backed landing of Cuban exiles to overthrow Fidel Castro
April 1961
17
Q
Cause:
Bay of Pigs Invasion
A
- U.S. sought to remove a new communist regime 90 miles off Florida after Castro nationalised U.S. assets
18
Q
Effect:
Bay of Pigs Invasion
A
- Humiliated JFK
- Strengthened Castro
- Pushed Cuba toward a tighter Soviet alliance
- Set up the Cuban Missile Crisis
19
Q
Definition/What:
Duck & Cover
A
Civil-defense film/drill teaching citizens to shield themselves from a nuclear blast
20
Q
Cause:
Duck & Cover
A
- Soviets’ 1949 A-bomb
- Public demand for survival guidance
21
Q
Effect:
Duck & Cover
A
- Became a cultural icon of nuclear anxiety
- Normalised the threat in everyday life
22
Q
Definition/What:
Containment
A
U.S. grand strategy to stop the spread of communism anywhere in the world
23
Q
Cause:
Containment
A
- George Kennan’s “Long Telegram” warning about Soviet expansionist intent
24
Q
Effect:
Containment
A
- Drove U.S. commitments from the Truman Doctrine to Korea, Vietnam, and beyond
25
# Definition/What:
Iron Curtain
Churchill’s metaphor (and de-facto border) dividing Soviet-controlled East from democratic West
| 1946
26
# Cause:
Iron Curtain
* USSR installed communist governments across Eastern Europe after WWII
27
# Effect:
Iron Curtain
* Politically and physically isolated the blocs
* Entrenching suspicion and military build-ups
28
# Definition/What:
Warsaw Pact
Soviet-led military alliance of Eastern Bloc nations
| 1955
29
# Cause:
Warsaw Pact
* NATO admitted West Germany
* USSR wanted a counter-alliance and tighter control
30
# Effect:
Warsaw Pact
* Provided legal cover for Soviet interventions
* Dissolved in 1991
## Footnote
(Hungary 1956, Prague 1968)
31
# Definition/What
Brinkmanship
Strategy of pushing hostile relations to the brink of nuclear war to force concessions
32
# Cause:
Brinkmanship
* Eisenhower belief that credible nuclear threats would deter Soviet aggression cheaply
33
# Effect:
Brinkmanship
* Produced high-stakes crises
* Public fear of miscalculation
## Footnote
(e.g., Taiwan Straits, Berlin, Cuba)
34
# Definition/What:
Conformity
Social norm of fitting in—suburbs, consumerism, gender roles, anti-communist loyalty.
| 1950s
35
# Cause:
Conformity
* Postwar prosperity
* Red Scare pressures for unity
* Mass media reinforcement
36
# Effect:
Conformity
* Cultural homogeny and stability
* The seeds of Beat & later counterculture rebellions
37
# Definition/What:
Domino Theory
Idea that a communist victory in one nation triggers a chain reaction in its neighbors
38
# Cause:
Domino Theory
* Observed communist gains in China 1949 & Korea 1950
* Cold War zero-sum mindset
39
# Effect:
Domino Theory
* Justified interventions in Vietnam, Southeast Asia, and covert actions elsewhere
40
# Definition/What:
Marshall Plan
U.S. European Recovery Program offering $13 billion to rebuild Western Europe
| 1948
41
# Cause:
Marshall Plan
* War-ravaged economies risked communist appeal
* U.S. wanted stable markets and allies
42
# Effect:
Marshall Plan
* Rapid economic revival
* Stronger U.S.–Europe ties
* Deeper East-West split as USSR rejected aid
43
# Definition/What:
Berlin Wall
Concrete barrier sealing East from West Berlin
| Aug 1961
44
# Cause:
Berlin Wall
* East Germany’s “brain drain” to the West
* Khrushchev’s demand to stop it
45
# Effect:
Berlin Wall
* Starkest symbol of the Cold War
* Families divided until its fall
| 1989
46
# Definition/What:
Korean War
Conflict after North Korea invaded South; U.N./U.S. backed South, China backed North.
| 1950-53
47
# Cause:
Korean War
* Post-WWII division at 38th parallel
* Containment doctrine
48
# Effect:
Korean War
* Armistice left Korea split
* Spurred U.S. military build-up
* Set template for limited Cold War wars
49
# Definition/What:
Cuban Missile Crisis
13-day U.S.–USSR standoff over Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba
| Oct 1962
50
# Cause:
Cuban Missle Crisis
* USSR sought to protect Cuba & offset U.S. Jupiter missiles in Turkey after Bay of Pigs
51
# Effect:
Cuban Missile Crisis
* World’s closest brush with nuclear war
* Yielded a test-ban treaty
* Moscow-Washington hotline
52
# Definition/What:
Fidel Castro
Leader of 1959 Cuban Revolution; governed Cuba 1959-2008 as a Marxist-Leninist state
53
# Cause:
Fidel Castro
* Opposition to Batista dictatorship
* Nationalism
* Support from peasants and urban workers
54
# Effect:
Fidel Castro
* Aligned Cuba with USSR
* Prompted Bay of Pigs, Missile Crisis, and decades of U.S. embargo
55
# Definition/What:
Red Scare
Era of intense anti-communist suspicion
| Late 1940s-1950s
56
# Cause:
Red Scare
* Soviet A-bomb
* China’s “loss”
* Spy cases (Hiss, Rosenbergs)
* Partisan politics
57
# Effect:
Red Scare
* Loyalty programs
* HUAC hearings
* Cultural blacklists
* Limits on dissent
* Left a legacy of political caution
58
# Big-Picture:
U.S. vs Soviet Systems
* U.S.: democratic, capitalist, private property, multiparty elections
* USSR: one-party communist, command economy, state ownership
* Ideological clash over freedom vs. equality fueled global rivalry
59
# Big-Picture:
How did Korean War & Berlin Airlift show containment?
* Airlift (1948-49) kept West Berlin free despite blockade
* Korean War (1950-53) stopped communist takeover of the South
* Both illustrate willingness to commit resources—short of nukes—to halt expansion
60
# Big-Picture
Nuclear Weapons & 1950s Life
* Arms race shaped policy (brinkmanship), civil-defense drills, home bomb shelters, and STEM education push
* Created pervasive anxiety
* Spurred technological advances
61
# Big-Picture
Domestic Impact of the Red Scare/McCarthyism
* Fear drove loyalty oaths, blacklists, FBI surveillance
* Dissent equated with disloyalty until televised hearings discredited excesses in 1954.
62
# Big-Picture:
Conformitiy in 1950s Society
* Prosperity + fear of standing out fostered suburban living, consumerism, strict gender roles
* Seeds of later youth & civil-rights challenges grew in reaction
63
# Big-Picture:
Domino Theory's Grip on Policy
* Idea of cascading communist victories justified aid, coups, and military action from Southeast Asia to Latin America, locking the U.S. into protracted conflicts (Vietnam)
