United Nations (UN)
An international peacekeeping organization to which most nations in the world belong, founded in 1945 to promote world peace, security, and economic development
Satellite nation
A country that is dominated politically and economically by another nation
Containment
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
Iron Curtain
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
Cold War
The state of hostility, without direct military conflict, that developed between the United States and the Soviet Union after World War II
Truman Doctrine
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
Marshall Plan
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
Berlin Airlift
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
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
A defensive military alliance formed in 1949 by ten Western European countries, the United States, and Canada
Chiang Kai-shek
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
Mao Zedong
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.
Taiwan
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
38th Parallel
The line of latitude at which Korea is separated into Communist north and Republic south
Korean War
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
House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC)
A congressional committee that investigated Communist influence inside and outside the U.S. government in the years following World War II
Hollywood Ten
Ten witnesses from the film industry who refused to cooperate with the HUAC's investigation of Communist influence in Hollywood
Blacklist
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
Alger Hiss
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.
Ethel and Julius Rosenberg
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
Joseph McCarthy
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
McCarthyism
The attacks, often unsubstantiated, by Senator Joseph McCarthy and others on people suspected of being Communists in the early 1950's
H-bomb
The Hydrogen Bomb - a thermonuclear weapon much more powerful than the atomic bomb
Dwight D. Eisenhower
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
John Foster Dulles
United States diplomat who (as Secretary of State) pursued a policy of opposition to the USSR by providing aid to American allies (1888-1959)
Brinkmanship
The practice of threatening an enemy with massive military retaliation for any aggression
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
A U.S. agency created to gather secret information about foreign governments
Warsaw Pact
A military alliance formed in 1955 by the Soviet Union and its Eastern European satellites
Eisenhower Doctrine
A U.S. commitment to defend the Middle East against attack by any communist country, announced by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1957
Nikita Khrushchev
ruled the USSR from 1958-1964; lessened government control of soviet citizens; seeked peaceful coexistence with the West instead of confrontation
Francis Gary Powers
a U-2 pilot who's plane was shot down by a Soviet pilot. Sentenced to ten years in prison
U-2 incident
The downing of a U.S. spy plane and capture of its pilot by the Soviet Union in 1960