Cold War vocabulary Flashcards
(25 cards)
Proxy Wars
The rivalry between the two superpowers led to many proxy (indirect) wars.
Communist
“An economic system in which all means of production are owned by the people
Democracy
America is a democracy that has a capitalist economic system, free elections, & competing political parties
Truman Doctrine
Truman began a policy of containment—blocking the Soviets from spreading communism. Under the Truman Doctrine, the United States helped nations that were threatened by communism.
Reparations
Stalin wanted huge reparations from Germany, and a ‘buffer’ of friendly states to protect the USSR from being invaded again.
Marshall Plan
The United States also adopted the Marshall Plan in 1947. This plan gave food and other aid to European countries to help them recover from the war.
Berlin Wall
The Berlin wall was built because Communist government of East Germany wanted to stop people from fleeing to Western Germany
Containment
Truman began a policy of containment—blocking the Soviets from spreading communism.
Berlin Airlift
The United States and Britain responded with the Berlin airlift. On June 24, the Soviet Union made a bid for control of Berlin by blockading all land access to the city.
Warsaw Pact
The Soviets and the countries of Eastern Europe made a similar agreement. It was called the Warsaw Pact.
NATO
NATO was a military alliance. Each nation promised to defend any other member that was attacked.
Brinkmanship
Both superpowers had an even more deadly weapon—the hydrogen bomb. Soon both nations were involved in an arms race. They produced more and more nuclear weapons and developed new ways to deliver them. Both sides were willing to go to the brink, or edge, of war. This became known as brinkmanship.
Sputnik
The Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the world’s first human-made satellite.
Arms Race
Both superpowers had an even more deadly weapon—the hydrogen bomb. Soon both nations were involved in an arms race.
Domino Theory’
The Domino theory was a cold war policy that suggested a communist government in one nation would quickly lead to communism takeovers in neighboring states, each falling like a perfect row of Dominos.
Iron Curtain
This divided Europe between East and West. Winston Churchill called this symbolic division the “iron curtain.”
Totalitarianism
Under Stalin the Soviet Union took control of all aspects of both public and private life
Capitalism
An economic system in which money is invested with the goal of making more money (profit)
Space Race
This era of scientific competition was known as the Space Race. The U-2 incident brought more tension. The United States sent planes, called U-2 planes, to spy over Soviet territory. One was shot down in 1960.
In 1949 the United States and European countries worked together to form an alliance for protection against Communist aggression called N.A.T.O. What does N.A.T.O stand for?
North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
Who was the dictator that controlled the Soviet Union?
Joseph Stallin
Which event signaled the end of the Cold War?
The fall of the Berlin Wall
A system where the government owns the factories and other natural resources AND controls the production of goods is known as _____________________.
Capitalism
The Allied victory in World War II led to the emergence of TWO global superpowers. What were those TWO superpowers?
The Soviet Union and the United States
