Yalta Conference
February, 1945 - Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin met at Yalta to make final war plans, arrange the post-war fate of Germany, and discuss the proposal for creation of the United Nations as a successor to the League of Nations. They announced the decision t
Containment
a U.S. foreign policy adopted by President Harry Truman in the late 1940s, in which the United States tried to stop the spread of communism by creating alliances and helping weak countries to resist Soviet advances
Satellite nations
Communist nations in Eastern Europe on friendly terms with the USSR and thought of as under the USSR's controlincluding Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, and Poland. Stalin installed communist governments in these countries.
Marshall Plan
1947; massive US assistance in European recovery through $17 billion in aid to Western Europe in order to relieve the economic devastation believed to spawn communism; during the plan, industrial production in Western Europe rose 200% and the region becam
Iron Curtain
A term popularized by British Prime Minister Winston Churchill to describe the Soviet Union's policy of isolation during the Cold War. The Iron Curtain isolated Eastern Europe from the rest of the world. Its most poignant symbol was the Berlin Wall.
North Atlantic Treaty Organization
In 1949, the United States, Canada, and ten European nations formed this military mutual-defense pact. all of whom agreed to combine military forces and to treat a war against one as a war against all.. In 1955, the Soviet Union countered NATO with the fo
Korean War
conflict between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) and the Republic of Korea (South Korea) in which at least 2.5 million persons lost their lives. The war reached international proportions in June 1950 when North Korea, supplied and
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War occurred in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia from 1959 to April 30, 1975. The war was fought between the communist North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of South Vietnam, supported by the United States and other me
Berlin Wall
A fortified wall surrounding West Berlin, Germany, built in 1961 to prevent East German citizens from traveling to the West. Its demolition in 1989 symbolized the end of the Cold War. This wall was both a deterrent to individuals trying to escape and a sy
Cuban Missile Crisis
an international crisis in October 1962, the closest approach to nuclear war at any time between the U.S. and the USSR. When the U.S. discovered Soviet nuclear missiles on Cuba, President John F. Kennedy demanded their removal and announced a naval blocka
Deterrence
the act or process of discouraging actions or preventing occurrences by instilling fear or doubt or anxiety. the policy of making the military power of the US and its allies so strong that no enemy would attack for fear of retaliation
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.led Communist reaction against Gu
Ho Chi Minh
1950s and 60s; communist leader of North Vietnam; used geurilla warfare to fight anti-comunist, American-funded attacks under the Truman Doctrine; brilliant strategy drew out war and made it unwinnable
Indira Gandhi
Came to power in 1966, and a country with a strong democracy embracing a female leader. This was in large part because her father, Nehru was a famous leader. In 1975, she was forced to step down because of dispute. An emergency period was entered in, and
Margaret Thatcher
Leader of conservatives in Britain 1979-1900. Prime minister of Britain; strong relationship with Reagan; supported NATO, allowed US to store missiles in England; one of the first Western leaders to act warmly toward reformer Gorbachev
Mikhail Gorbachev
Became the leader of the USSR in 1985. He proposed major reforms and adopted policies of greater openness (glasnostand perestroika) and allowed Soveit-bloc states greater independence. In 1991, there wa an unsuccessful attemtped overthrow of his governmen
Deng Xiaoping
Led the Anti-Rightist movement of 1957-1958. Later became one of Mao's biggest enemies within the higher ranks of government. Was struggled against, exiled, and sent to a remote village. He came back under Guofeng's rule and led the movement to exonerate
Truman Doctrine
First established in 1947 after Britain no longer could afford to provide anti-communist aid to Greece and Turkey, it pledged to provide U.S. military and economic aid to any nation threatened by communism. Cold War strategy of containment versus the Sovi
Space Race
The informal competition between the United States and the Soviet Union to launch unmanned satellites, send people into space, and land them on the moon.Many scientists and military leaders believed that control of space would be very important. Consequen
Great Leap Forward
China's second five-year plan under the leadership of the impatient Mao, it aimed to speen up economic development while simultaneously developing a completely socialitst society. Combined collective farms into People's Communes, failed because there was
Berlin Airlift
Successful effort by the United States and Britain to ship by air 2.3 million tons of supplies to the residents of the Western-controlled sectors of Berlin from June 1948 to May 1949, in response to a Soviet blockade of all land and canal routes to the di
First World
the relatively wealthy industrialized countries that share a commitment to varying forms of democratic political institutions and developed market economies, including the United States, Japan, the European Union, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand
Second World
during the Cold War, the group of countries, including the Soviet Union, its (then) Eastern European allies, and China, that embraced communism and central planning to propel economic growth
Third World
Also known as developing nations; nations outside the capitalist industrial nations of the first world and the industrialized communist nations of the second world; Generally less economically powerful, but with varied economies.the generally poorer count
Martin Luther King, Jr
U.S. Baptist minister and civil rights leader. A noted orator, he opposed discrimination against blacks by organizing nonviolent resistance and peaceful mass demonstrations. He was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee. Nobel Peace Prize (1964)
Fidel Castro
Cuban revolutionary leader who overthrew the corrupt regime of the dictator Fulgencio Batista in 1959 and soon after established a Communist state. He was prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and has been president of the government and First Secretar
Che Guevara
was an Argentine Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, intellectual, guerrilla leader, diplomat, military theorist, and major figure of the Cuban Revolution. Since his death, his stylized visage has become a ubiquitous counter-cultural symbol.
Bay of Pigs
The Bay of Pigs was an American attempt to overthrow the newly established communist government in Cuba by training and sending Cuban rebels. The coup ended up in a disaster due to the lack of support by the Americans. The incident was an embarrassment fo
Nikita Khrushchev
Stalin's successor, wanted peaceful coexistence with the U.S. Eisenhower agreed to a summit conference with Khrushchev, France and Great Britain in Geneva, Switzerland in July, 1955 to discuss how peaceful coexistence could be achieved.Criticized his pred
MADD
Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) is a non-profit organization that seeks to stop drunk driving, support those affected by drunk driving, prevent underage drinking, and overall push for stricter alcohol policy. The Irving, Texas-based organization was
ICBMs
Inter Continental Ballistic Missile. They have the power to shoot a missile from one country to another. This makes it easier to attack a country without getting to close to them. Developed in the Cold War,capable of delivering a nuclear attack from any p
James Bond
popular book series due to its attention from President Kennedy as well as the emergence of spies in pop culture thanks to the cold war
Video games
Entertainment products powered by computer chips and displayed on monitors that require users to experience and interact with challenges in a series of tasks.
Olympics
the greatest national festival of the ancient greeks; modern revival of the games held every 4 years uniting the worlds athletes
Non-aligned movement
During the cold war, this movement was led by India and Yugoslavia to stand apart from the U.S.-Soviet rivalry. It was undermined by the membership of states such as Cuba that were clearly clients of one of the superpowers.
Prague Spring
In 1968, Czechoslovakia, under Alexander Dubcek, began a program of reform. Dubcek promised civil liberties, democratic political reforms, and a more independent political system. The Soviet Union invaded the country and put down the short-lived period of
Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries
An economic organization consisting primarily of Arab nations that controls the price of oil and the amount of oil its members produce and sell to other nations. In response to the large amount of aid the western world, including the US, gave to Israel af
Lech Walesa
A Polish politician, a former trade union and human rights activist, and also a former electrician. He co-founded Solidarity, the Soviet bloc's first independent trade union, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1983, and served as President of Poland from 1990 t
Perestroika
Gorbachev's policy of "restructuring" which included reducing the direct involvement of the Commuist Party leadership in the day to day governing of the nation. It ws a decentralization of economic planning and controls opening it up to more free enterpri
Boris Yeltsin
Was the first President of the Russian Federation from 1991 to 1999. The Yeltsin era was a traumatic period in Russian history�a period marked by widespread corruption, economic collapse, and enormous political and social problems. In June 1991 Yeltsin ca
Tiananmen Square
In the spring of 1989, hundreds of thousands of pro-democracy demonstrators occupied Tiananmen Square, Beijing's central gathering place. They demanded an end to corruption in the ruling party, more participation in the government, and better conditions a
Military-industrial complex
The close association of the federal government, the military, and defense industries. Eisenhower first coined this phrase when he warned American against it in his last State of the Union Address. He feared that the combined lobbying efforts of the armed