APUSH Chapter 29 Terms, APUSH Chapter 30, 31, 32 Terms (Cold War and Vietnam)

Sources of Soviet-American Tensions

Envisioned the postwar world differently, U.S. wanted nations to govern relations democratically and through self-determination. Soviets were uneasy with this idea; wanted postwar structure where great powers would control areas of strategic interest to t

Teheran

At the Teheran Conference, Roosevelt and Churchill met for the first time with Stalin. Roosevelt's most effective bargaining tool (Stalin's need for American assistance against Germany), was largely removed. However, Roosevelt and Stalin established a cor

Poland

Roosevelt and Churchill supported claims of the Polish government in exile that had been functioning in London since 1940; Stalin wished to install another, pro-communist exiled government that had spent the war in Lublin, in the Soviet Union.

Yalta

Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin met in Soviet City Yalta. Stalin renewed his promise to enter the Pacific war, in return, Roosevelt agreed that the Soviet Union should receive some territory they had lost to Japan. Agreed to the United Nations. Still dis

Potsdam

Truman recognized the Warsaw government, but refused to permit the Russians to claim any reparations from the American, French, and British zones of Germany. This stance effectively confirmed that Germany would remain divided.

China

Chiang Kai-shek was generally friendly to the U.S., but his government was corrupt and incompetent. He was unwilling to face the problems that were threatening to engulf him. Bitter rival, leader of the communist armies Mao Zedong. Truman decided he had n

Vyacheslav Molotov

Soviet Foreign Minister.

Iron Curtain

Winston Churchill's term for the Cold War division between the Soviet-dominated East and the U.S.-dominated West.

Totalitarian

Referring to a form of government in which one person or party holds absolute control

Containment Policy

Policy introduced by Harry S. Truman after WWII that said the duty of the U.S. was to stop the spread of Totalitarianism (implying Communism); Defined the foreign policy for the period after WWII until the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989

Truman Doctrine

The policy of the United States to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or outside pressure. The American commitment ultimately helped ease Soviet pressure on Turkey and helped the Greek government defeat the co

Marshall Plan

Secretary of State George C. Marshall announced a plan to provide economic assistance to all European nations (including the Soviet Union) that would join in drafting a program for recovery. 16 Western European nations eagerly participated. Channeled over

National Security Act of 1947

Reshaped the nation's major military and diplomatic institutions. A new Department of Defense would oversee all branches of the armed services, combining functions previously preformed separately by the War and Navy departments. Also established the Natio

Berlin Airlift

Stalin imposed a tight blockade around the western sectors of Berlin. Truman, unwilling to risk war through a military challenge to the blockade, he ordered a massive airlift to supply the city with food, fuel, and other needed goods Continued for 10 mont

NATO

Twelve nations signed an agreement establishing the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and declared that an armed attack against one member would be considered an attack against all.

Election of 1948

Truman was very unpopular. Two factions of the Democratic Party left it all together. Southern conservatives formed the States' Rights Party. Some of the party's left wing joined the new Progressive Party. Truman only nominated after Eisenhower refused th

China 1949

Communist gained control of China. Exiled Nationalists to Taiwan.

NSC-68

National Security Council report which outlined a shift in American position. Argued that the U.S. could no longer rely on other nations to take the initiative in resisting communism. It must itself establish firm and active leadership of the noncommunist

Korean War

When WWII ended both Soviets and U.S. had troops in Korea fighting Japanese. They divided the nation (temporarily) along the 38th parallel. The Russians departed, leaving a communist govt. with a strong, Soviet-equipped army. The Americans left a pro-West

Douglas MacArthur

General Truman appointed to command UN operations in Korea. At a surprise American invasion at Inchon, MacArthur sent North Korean forces fleeing back across 38th parallel. Truman then gave MacArthur permission to pursue the communists into their own terr

End of the War

By March 1951, UN armies had managed to regain much of the territory they had lost, taking back Seoul and pushing the communists north of the 38th parallel for the second time. With that the war degenerated into a protracted stalemate.

Limited Mobilization

Korea only produced limited American military commitment, created limited economic mobilization at home. Government tried to control the wartime economy in several important ways. Truman set up the Office of Defense Mobilization to fight inflation by hold

HUAC

Beginning in 1947, the House Un-American Activities Committee held widely publicized investigations to prove that, under Democratic rule, the government had tolerated communist subversion.

Alger Hiss/Whittaker Chambers

HUAC launched investigation of former high-ranking member of the State Department, Alger Hiss. Whittaker Chambers, former communist agent, and conservative editor at Time magazine, told the committee that Hiss had passed him classified documents. Hiss sue

Richard Nixon

A freshman Republican congressman from CA and a member of HUAC. It was largely his efforts that got Hiss convicted of perjury. The Hiss case not only discredited a prominent young diplomat; it increased public suspicion.

Hollywood 10

The committee first turned to the movie industry, arguing that communists had infiltrated Hollywood and tainted American films with propaganda. The Hollywood Ten refused to answer questions about their own political beliefs and those of their colleagues,

Loyalty Program

Truman initiated partly to protect his administration from Republican attacks, and partly to encourage support for his foreign policy initiatives. Widely publicized program to review the "loyalty" of federal employees. Became a signal throughout the execu

FBI

FBI Director, J. Edgar Hoover, investigated and harassed alleged radicals.

McCarran Security Act

Among other restrictions on "subversive" activity, it required that all communist organizations register with the government and publish their records. Truman vetoed the bill. Congress easily overrode it.

Rosenbergs

Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, members of the Communist Party, The government claimed that they had received secret information and passed it to the Soviet Union. Convicted and sentenced to death. Died in the electric chair.

McCarthyism

McCarthy emerged as nation's most prominent leader against domestic subversion. He conducted highly publicized investigations of alleged subversion in many areas of the government. Never produced conclusive evidence, but his growing constituency adored hi

Election of 1952

Governor Adlai Stevenson of Illinois; Stevenson had gained a reputation in Illinois as an intellectual and eloquent orator. The Republican Party countered with popular war hero General Dwight D. Eisenhower and won in a landslide, ending 20 consecutive yea

Army-McCarthy Hearings

During the Eisenhower administration, McCarthy overreached himself, attacking Secretary of the Army Robert Stevens and the armed services in general. The administration and influential members of Congress organized a special investigation of the charges.

John Foster Dulles

An aristocratic corporate lawyer with a stern moral revulsion to communism, chosen as Eisenhower's secretary of state. He denounced containment policies of the Truman years as excessively passive, arguing that the U.S. should pursue an active program of l

Massive Retaliation

Dulles policy. The United States would respond to communist threats to its allies not by using conventional forces in local conflicts but by relying on the deterrent of massive retaliatory power (nuclear weapons).

Brinksmanship

Dulles's policy. Pushing the Soviet Union to the brink of war in order to exact concessions.

Indochina

Since 1945, France had been attempting to restore authority over Vietnam, its one-time colony, which it had been forced to abandoned to the Japanese at the end of WWII. Opposed by powerful nationalist Ho Chi Minh.

Ho Chi Minh

Leader of powerful nationalist forces in Vietnam who opposed the French. Determined to win independence for their nation. Hoped for American support, but Truman ignored him and supported the French.

Dien Bien Phu

12,000 French troops became surrounded in a disastrous siege in the village of Dien Bien Phu. Only American intervention could prevent total collapse of the French military effort. Yet, despite urgings from Dulles, and his VP Richard Nixon, Eisenhower ref

Domino Theory

The political theory that if one nation comes under Communist control then neighboring nations will also come under Communist control

17th Parallel

The Geneva accords established a temporary division of Vietnam at the 17th parallel. The north would be governed by Ho Chi Minh, the south by pro-Western regime.

Israel

1948, Israel declared its independence. Truman recognized it. Palestinian Arabs, unwilling to accept being displaced from what they considered their own country, joined with Israel's Arab neighbors and fought against the new state. American government was

Egypt

American policy was less effective in dealing with the nationalist government of Egypt, under the leadership of General Gamal Abdel Nasser, which began to develop a trade relationship with the Soviet Union.

Suez Crisis

In 1956, to punish Nasser for his friendliness toward the communists, Dulles withdrew American offers to assit in building the great Aswan Dam across the Nile. A week later, Nasser retaliated by seizing control of the Suez Canal. Israeli forces attacked E

Guatemala

In 1954, the Eisenhower administration ordered the CIA to help topple the new leftist government of Jacobo Arbenz Guzman in Guatemala, a regime that Dulles argued was potentially communist.

Cuba

Leader, Fulgencio Batista, had ruled as a military dictator since 1952, with American assistance he had toppled a more moderate government. A popular movement of resistance to the regime gathered strength under the leadership of Fidel Castro. On Jan 1, 19

Hungary

Relations between the Soviet Union and the West soured further in 1956 with the Hungarian Revolution. Hungarian dissidents launched a popular uprising in November to demand democratic reforms. Soviet tanks and troops entered Budapest to crush the uprising

U-2 Crisis

The Soviet Union announced that it had shot down a American U-2, a high-altitude spy plane, over Russian territory. Its pilot was in captivity. Khrushchev lashed out angrily at the American incursion into Soviet air space, breaking up the Paris summit alm

AID

Kennedy inaugurated the Agency for International Development to coordinate foreign aid

Bay of Pigs

By the time Kennedy took office, the CIA had been working for months to train a small army of anti-Castro Cuban exiles in Central America. On April 17, 1961, with Kennedy's approval, 2,000 armed exiles landed at the Bay of Pigs in Cuba, expecting American

Berlin Wall

Khrushchev unhappy with mass exodus of residents of East Germany to West. August 13, 1961 East German govt constructed a wall between East and West Berlin. Guards fired on those who continued to escape. For thirty years, the Berlin Wall served as the most

Cuban Missile Crisis

Aerial reconnaissance photos showed Soviets were constructing nuclear launch sites in Cuba. JFK ordered a naval and air blockade around Cuba. Preparations were made for an American air attack. Then JFK received a message from Khrushchev implying that the

Dominican Republic

A 1961 assassination had toppled the repressive dictatorship of General Rafael Trujillo and for the next four years various factions in the country struggled for dominance. Nationalist Juan Bosch was gaining power, and Johnson argued that he planned to es

Trung Sisters

Two Vietnamese sisters who launched a major revolt against the Chinese presence in Vietnam in 39 CE; the rebellion was crushed and the sisters committed suicide, but they remained symbols of Vietnamese resistance to China for centuries

Ngo Dinh Diem

New leader of South Vietnam, who the U.S. through their support behind. An aristocratic Catholic from central Vietnam and a nationalist.

Peace Corps

One of Kennedy's most popular innovations. Sent young American volunteers abroad to work in developing areas.

NLF

National Liberation Front. In 1959, the Vietminh cadres in the south created NLF, known to many Americans as the Viet Cong- an organization closely allied with the North Vietnamese government.

Kennedy's Policy

Pressured Diem to reform his government, but gave no significant concessions. Gave his tacit approval to a plot by a group of South Vietnamese generals to topple Diem. The generals staged a coup and assassinated Diem and his brother.

Buddhist Monks

Showed their opposition to the Diem government through protests, which often became violent and set themselves on fire.

Gulf of Tonkin

Early in August 1964, Johnson announced that American destroyers on patrol in international waters had been attacked by North Vietnamese torpedo boats. Congress passed with large margins the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, which authorized the president to tak

Attrition

Strategy ventral to the American war effort. Premised on the the belief that the United States could inflict more damage on the enemy than the enemy could absorb. Strategy failed because North Vietnamese were willing to commit many more soldiers and resou

Ho Chi Minh Trail

Strategic target in North Vietnam as well as jungle areas in Cambodia and Laos, by which Hanoi sent troops and supplies into the south.

Pacification

Another important part of the American strategy. Purpose was to push the Viet Cong from particular regions and then "pacify" those regions by winning the "hearts and minds" of the people.

Anti-War Movement

As the war dragged on inconclusively, political support for it began to erode. Students were in particular a significant political force. Senator J. William Fulbright of Arkansas, chairman of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee turned against

Tet Offensive

On January 31, 1968, the first day of the Vietnamese New Year (Tet) communist forces launched an enormous concerted attack on American strongholds throughout South Vietnam. A few cities, most notably Hue, fell temporarily to the communists. Others suffere

1968

Dissident democrats tried to mobilize support behind an antiwar candidate who would challenge Johnson in the 1968 primaries. When Robert Kennedy turned them down, they recruited Senator Eugene McCarthy of Minnesota. McCarthy nearly defeated the president.

Election of 1968

Robert Kennedy quickly established himself as champion of Democratic primaries. In the meantime, Johnson's VP Herbert Humphrey entered the race and began to attract support of party leaders. Kennedy was assassinated at the California primary. Therefore, H

Vietnamization

Policy of limiting domestic opposition to the war by 'Vietnamizing" the conflict- training and equipping South Vietnamese military to assume the burden of combat in place of American forces. Did help quiet domestic opposition for a time, but did nothing t

Henry Kissinger

A Harvard profesor whom Nixon appointed as his special assistant for national security affairs. Kissinger quickly established dominance over Secretary of State William Rogers and Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird, who were both more experienced in public

Cambodia

Nixon ordered the air force to begin bombing Cambodian and Laotian territory to destroy the enemy sanctuaries. He kept raids secret from the Congress and the public. In the spring, conservative military leaders overthrew the neutral government of Cambodia

Pentagon Papers

Secret government documents published In 1971; revealed that the u.s. government had misled americans about the vietnam war.

My Lai

A massacre of hundreds of unarmed Vietnamese civilians by American soldiers during the Vietnam War

SDS

Students for a Democratic Society. Gathered in Michigan. Their Port Huron Statement, expressed their disillusionment with the society they had inherited and their determination to build a new politics. Became the leading organization of student radicalism

Conscientious Objectors

Those who opposed participating in military service because of religious,philosophical,or political belief.

Peace with Honor

A phrase U.S. President Richard M. Nixon used in a speech , to describe the Paris Peace Accord to end the Vietnam War. Perserving the nation's dignity while getting out of Vietnam.

Paris Accords

1973 peace agreement. Terms: immediate cease-fire, North Vietnamese would release several hundred American prisoners of war, whose fate had become an emotional issue within the U.S. The Thieu regime survived for a moment, but the North Vietnamese forces a

End of the War

American forces were hardly out of Indochina before the Paris accords began to collapse. Thieu was refused assistance from Congress. Communist forces occupied the capital, and began reuniting Vietnam under harsh rule of Hanoi. Cambodian rule also fell. 1.