The Cold War-1980s Flashcards
(45 cards)
What is NATO?
a military alliance against USSR
What did the USSR create after NATO was created?
The Warsaw Pact
Who led the Communists in the Chinese Revolution?
Mao Zedong
Who led the Nationalists in the Chinese Revolution?
Chiang Kai-Shek
When the Communists captured Beijing, what did the Nationalists do?
They fled to Taiwan
What was the Chinese Revolution’s effect on US history?
The US lost China as an Asian ally
They wanted Japan as a replacement; they started supporting rapid recovery of japanese economy
What was the New Red Scare?
The Manhattan Project was infiltrated by Soviet spies
Using US work stolen by these spies, Soviets quickly developed atomic weapons
US found out too late
In 1947, the CIA was created; the House of Un-American Activities-Committee held public investigations
The dramatic spy trials began in 1950
What was McCarthyism?
Joseph McCarthy = Senator
1950, McCarthy expanded the Red Scare
He accused 100s of prominent citizens of being communists
the accusations were usually untrue
destroyed many reputations
Korean War
US deployed troops to prevent Communist takeover of South Korea
Who was president from 1953-1961?
Dwight. D. Eisenhower
Eisenhower’s beliefs
Cut spending for large army
For containment, used CIA covert ops, focused on building large nuclear arsenal
Used nukes for Brinkmanship
Warned against military-industrial complex gaining too much political power
What is Brinkmanship?
going to the very edge of the war to make the opponent retreat
1950s domestic life: gloom
bomb drills in school
people built nuclear-apocalypse shelters under houses
1950s Domestic Life: Boom
Federal interstate Highway System enabled widespread internal tourism
American consumers exploded into a shopping frenzy
science fiction became the defining entertainment of the decade
2 popular music genres dominated the decade
Doo-wop evolved from pop songs of 1930s/40s
Rock and Roll was the most popular music genre by the end of the decade. Later splintered into numerous subgenres
Bay of Pigs
1959 – Fidel Castro led a revolution in Cuba, creating a communist government
1961- Kennedy allowed a CIA-planned attack by exiled Cubans to launch (Failed)
Made the US look weak
When did Fidel Castro lead a revolution in Cuba?
1959
When did Kennedy allow the CIA-planned attack
1961
The Berlin Wall
People escaping East Germany through Berlin
Khruschev built the Berlin Wall across the East-West city boundary
heavily guarded
Symbol of Cold War divisions
When was the Cuban Missile Crisis
Summer 1962
What was the Cuban Missile Crisis?
The US discovered Soviet medium-range nuclear missles in Cuba
Kennedy demanded that missiles be removed, Soviets refused
Secret negotiations
Neither side wanted nuclear war
Results of the Cuban Missile Crisis
The treaty that banned atmospheric testing of nuclear weapons in 1963
Tensions increased – major arms buildup on both sides
When was Kennedy’s assassination?
November 1963
Who became president after Kennedy’s assassination?
Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson
The Space Race
USSR 1st into space 1957 – sputnik
Kennedy declared the US would put man on the moon by the end of the decade
1969 - Apollo 11 landed on the moon
