Chapter 18 US History The Cold War – Flashcards
Unlock all answers in this set
Unlock answersquestion
United Nations (UN)
answer
An international peacekeeping organization to which most nations in the world belong, founded in 1945 to promote world peace, security, and economic development
question
Satellite nation
answer
A country that is dominated politically and economically by another nation
question
Containment
answer
The blocking of another nation's attempts to spread its influence - especially the efforts of the United States to block the spread of Soviet influence during the late 1940's and early 1950's
question
Iron Curtain
answer
A phrase used by Winston Churchill in 1946 to describe an imaginary line that separated Communist countries in the Soviet bloc of Eastern Europe from countries in Western Europe
question
Cold War
answer
The state of hostility, without direct military conflict, that developed between the United States and the Soviet Union after World War II
question
Truman Doctrine
answer
A U.S. policy, announced by President Harry S. Truman in 1947, of providing economic and military aid to free nations threatened by internal or external opponents
question
Marshall Plan
answer
The program, proposed by Secretary of State George Marshall in 1947, under which the United States supplied economic aid to European nations to help them rebuild after world War II
question
Berlin Airlift
answer
A 327-day operation in which U.S. and British planes flew food and supplies into West Berlin after the Soviets blockaded the city in 1948
question
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
answer
A defensive military alliance formed in 1949 by ten Western European countries, the United States, and Canada
question
Chiang Kai-shek
answer
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
question
Mao Zedong
answer
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.
question
Taiwan
answer
a government on the island of Taiwan established in 1949 by Chiang Kai-shek after the conquest of mainland China by the communists led by Mao Zedong
question
38th Parallel
answer
The line of latitude at which Korea is separated into Communist north and Republic south
question
Korean War
answer
A conflict between North Korea and South Korea, lasting from 1950 to 1953, in which the United States, along with other UN countries, fought on the side of the South Koreans and China fought on the side of the North Koreans
question
House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC)
answer
A congressional committee that investigated Communist influence inside and outside the U.S. government in the years following World War II
question
Hollywood Ten
answer
Ten witnesses from the film industry who refused to cooperate with the HUAC's investigation of Communist influence in Hollywood
question
Blacklist
answer
A list of about 500 actors, writers, producers, and firectors who were not allowed to work on Hollywood films because of their alleged Communist connections
question
Alger Hiss
answer
A former State Department official who was accused of being a Communist spy and was convicted of perjury. The case was prosecuted by Richard Nixon.
question
Ethel and Julius Rosenberg
answer
American communists who were executed after having been found guilty of conspiracy to commit espionage. The charges were in relation to the passing of information about the atomic bomb to the Soviet Union. Theirs was the first execution of civilians for espionage in United States history
question
Joseph McCarthy
answer
1950s Wisconsin senator claimed to have list of communists in American governmentt, but no credible evidence; took advantage of fears of communism post WWII to become incredibly influential
question
McCarthyism
answer
The attacks, often unsubstantiated, by Senator Joseph McCarthy and others on people suspected of being Communists in the early 1950's
question
H-bomb
answer
The Hydrogen Bomb - a thermonuclear weapon much more powerful than the atomic bomb
question
Dwight D. Eisenhower
answer
leader of the Allied forces in Europe during WW2--leader of troops in Africa and commander in DDay invasion-elected president-president during integration of Little Rock Central High School
question
John Foster Dulles
answer
United States diplomat who (as Secretary of State) pursued a policy of opposition to the USSR by providing aid to American allies (1888-1959)
question
Brinkmanship
answer
The practice of threatening an enemy with massive military retaliation for any aggression
question
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
answer
A U.S. agency created to gather secret information about foreign governments
question
Warsaw Pact
answer
A military alliance formed in 1955 by the Soviet Union and its Eastern European satellites
question
Eisenhower Doctrine
answer
A U.S. commitment to defend the Middle East against attack by any communist country, announced by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1957
question
Nikita Khrushchev
answer
ruled the USSR from 1958-1964; lessened government control of soviet citizens; seeked peaceful coexistence with the West instead of confrontation
question
Francis Gary Powers
answer
a U-2 pilot who's plane was shot down by a Soviet pilot. Sentenced to ten years in prison
question
U-2 incident
answer
The downing of a U.S. spy plane and capture of its pilot by the Soviet Union in 1960
