APUSH: Period 8 Concepts (Cold War)

Longtime dictator of the Soviet Union. After Lenin’s 1924 death, Stalin consolidated power and eliminated rivals, ruling with an iron fist until his own death on March 5, 1953. Favored centralization and collectivization. Purged millions through man-made famine, imprisonment in gulags, and executions. After his death, Nikita Khrushchev denounced Stalin’s actions and cult of personality, and he undertook steps to reform the Soviet system.

A metaphor for the dividing line between the West and the Soviet Union. Coined by Winston Churchill in a March 1946 speech delivered in Fulton, Missouri

Thirty-third President. Served 1945–1953. Desegregated the U.S. military. Help found the United Nations and pushed for the Marshall Plan. Reformed U.S. foreign policy toward internationalism, with a focus on containment of communism. Oversaw early Cold War conflicts, like the Berlin Airlift and the Korean War. Ordered the use of atomic weapons on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Narrowly won reelection in a 1952 upset.

Former Army Chief of Staff (1939–1945). Secretary of State (1947–1949) and Secretary of Defense (1950–1951) under Truman. A five-star general, he is credited with the Marshall Plan, a foreign aid package that helped Western Europe rebuild after World War II.

 A program proposed by George Marshall in 1947. Supplied $13 billion to Western Europe, enabling its postwar economic boom and ending the threat of mass starvation.

A major crisis in the early Cold War. From June 1948 to May 1949, the Soviet Union blockaded the West’s land access to Berlin. President Truman responded by airlifting in supplies around the clock, putting the onus for starting WWIII on the Soviets.

A military alliance formed by the Western Allies of World War II to deter Soviet aggression. It guarantees collective defense under the rule that an attack on one member is an attack on all members.

A collective defense arrangement similar to NATO, to protect the Eastern bloc from Western aggression. It also served to solidify Soviet control over Eastern Europe. Dissolved in 1991.

A landmark 1947 act that restructured the U.S. government’s military and national security agencies. Established the National Security Council, the Central Intelligence Agency, the Department of Defense, and an independent U.S. Air Force.

Formerly known as the War Department, it was reorganized by the National Security Act of 1947 into the DoD. A cabinet-level office. Military officers are forbidden from serving as the Secretary of Defense until seven years after their retirement, barring a waiver from Congress, in order to ensure civilian control over the military.

It coordinates national security and foreign policy among multiple agencies and departments. It also advises the President. Its membership includes the Secretaries of Defense, Energy, and State; the Joint Chiefs of Staff; and other advisors.

The CIA is a foreign intelligence service founded in 1947. It is the successor of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS). In the mid 1970s, the Church Committee investigated the CIA for a string of abuses; as a result, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence was formed to oversee the CIA.

Chinese communist revolutionary. Founding father of the People’s Republic of China, which he ruled until his death in 1976. Defeated the Nationalists in the Chinese Civil War. His rapid industrialization program, the Great Leap Forward, killed millions from famine. From 1966 to 1976, the Cultural Revolution, which sought to reimpose Maoist ideology on China and purge dissident thought, killed between five and ten million people, causing major social disruption in the process. Achieved détente with Nixon following the Sino-Soviet split.

Nicknamed “the Forgotten War.” De facto ran from June 1950 to July 1953, but the lack of a formal peace treaty means it is still technically ongoing. Principally a war fought between North and South Korea, with the North backed by the People’s Republic of China and the South backed by a U.N. coalition. Despite wild swings in fortune by both sides throughout the war, it ultimately ended in a stalemate. Borders were fixed at the prewar status quo.

An American five-star general. He played a major role in the Pacific front of World War II. Oversaw the occupation of Japan from 1945 to 1951. Led the United Nation forces in the Korean War, most famously at the Inchon Landing. Removed from command by President Truman for insubordination.

Lasted from 1947 to 1956. A period of social anxiety and paranoia concerned with communist infiltration throughout society. Driven by events such as the Rosenbergs’ trial, the Soviet occupation of Eastern Europe, and the victory of Mao’s Communists in the Chinese Civil War.

A House committee founded in 1938 to root out alleged subversives. Associated with the Hollywood blacklist of the Second Red Scare, as well as Alger Hiss. Disbanded in 1975; its duties are handled by the House Judiciary Committee.

Thirty-seventh President. Served 1969–1974. Vice President under Eisenhower. A noted anticommunist, he narrowly lost the 1960 election to JFK. Domestically, Nixon accepted the Great Society programs. Internationally, he pursued a policy of détente and realpolitik, most famously establishing relations with the People’s Republic of China in order to counterbalance the Soviet Union. He also escalated the Vietnam War, secretly bombed Cambodia, and sponsored a coup in Chile. Only U.S. president to resign, doing so over the Watergate scandal.

A couple executed for espionage. Their 1951 trial was a press spectacle. Declassified Soviet archives later proved the couple had, in fact, been spies.

 Senator from Wisconsin (1947–1957). The face of the Second Red Scare, his baseless accusations and dramatic flare attracted major media attention. After the 1954 Army-McCarthy hearings exposed him doctoring evidence, public opinion swung against him. The Senate censured him. Died in 1957, age 48, from hepatitis exacerbated by alcoholism.

Thirty-fourth President. Served 1953–1961. A former five-star general, Ike acted as Supreme Commander of the Western Allies in Europe. He oversaw the invasion of North Africa and the Normandy landings. A moderate conservative, Ike preserved the New Deal programs and established NASA. His signature achievement is the Interstate Highway System. In terms of foreign policy, he ended the Korean War, began American involvement in Vietnam, and directed the overthrow of democratic governments in Iran and Guatemala.

The practice of achieving a goal by escalating events to one step shy of open conflict in order to force a rival party to knuckle under for fear of catastrophe. A common tactic in the Cold War period. Contrast with détente.

A defense strategy pursued by President Eisenhower for budgetary reasons, due to the financial burden of maintaining conventional forces alongside nuclear arms. Rather than fight a conventional war, the U.S. pledged to use nuclear weapons against any nation that attacked it. Criticized as too aggressive. Abandoned by the Kennedy administration for the policy of flexible response, which resumed investment in conventional forces.

A waterway linking the Mediterranean and Red Seas. A vital economic and military choke point. The British Empire gained control of it in 1882. Egyptian leader Gamal Abdel Nasser nationalized it in 1956. In retaliation, Britain, France, and Israel invaded. However, Eisenhower did not support them, so the alliance was forced to return the canal to Egypt.

 Leader of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964. Domestically, his tenure was marked by an easing of Stalin era political and cultural restrictions. Internationally, his efforts at warming relations with the West often ran afoul of his own flare for drama and a tendency to gamble on long odds. Following his loss of face in the Cuban Missile Crisis, he was removed by conservative elements in the Kremlin and replaced by Leonid Brezhnev.

A May 1960 incident where the Soviet Union shot down a U.S. U-2 spy plane and captured its pilot alive. Resulted in Eisenhower’s public humiliation, ending a tentative thaw between the two superpowers that had been underway.

Cuban revolutionary and First Secretary of Cuba from 1961–2011. He overthrew the Batista regime in 1959 and established a communist state in Cuba. Famously survived hundreds of assassination attempts by the CIA. Died in 2016 at age 90.

Passed in 1956. Established the Interstate Highway System. Advocated by President Eisenhower due to his experiences in the 1919 Transcontinental Motor Convoy and with the German autobahn.

The first manmade satellite. Launched by the Soviet Union in 1957. Sparked the Space Race, as well as a massive investment in the American education system.

A federal agency under the Executive Branch that handles the civilian space program. Founded in 1958.

A geopolitical struggle between rival blocs led by the United States and the Soviet Union. Lasted from 1946 to 1991. While it primarily featured an ongoing arms race and proxy wars, direct nuclear conflict between the two blocs almost occurred on several occasions.

A term coined by President Eisenhower in his farewell address. It refers to the vested interest the American military and arms industry have in influencing public policy, especially as it relates to defense spending and military conflicts. In the original draft of his speech, Eisenhower referred to it as the “military–industrial–congressional complex” but dropped the third term for fear of offending his political contemporaries.

Thirty-fifth President. Served 1961–1963. First Roman Catholic president. Narrowly elected over Richard Nixon, his term in office was dominated by the rising civil rights movement, such as the Freedom Riders, and escalating Cold War tensions. The early months of his presidency were dominated by the Bay of the Pigs and the building of the Berlin Wall. In October 1962, he dealt with the Cuban Missile Crisis. Assassinated on November 22, 1963 in Dallas, Texas by Lee Harvey Oswald.

 A militarized concrete barrier separating East and West Berlin. Existed from 1961 to 1989. Constructed by the Soviets to halt a brain drain of East Germans. Its fall heralded German reunification and the twilight of the Cold War.

A confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union over the placement of Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba. Occurred October 16–28, 1962. Considered one of the Cold War’s tensest events. Resolved diplomatically, it bolstered President Kennedy’s then-shaky reputation but led to the overthrow of Nikita Khrushchev.

Ruler of the Soviet Union, 1964–1982. He favored consensus and rule by committee. Brezhnev reversed the cultural liberalization of the Khrushchev era. Crucially, he attempted no reforms of the Soviet economy. His 18 years in power saw the Soviet Union undergo economic stagnation and national decline. Internationally, he favored détente. He ordered the invasion of Afghanistan to support its communist government.

A series of international treaties and protocols negotiated in the aftermath of World War II which established humanitarian standards for wartime, updating protocols originally agreed to in 1929. Contested in the 2000s with the rise of non-state actors.

Vietnamese communist revolutionary leader. Stepped down from office in 1965 due to health problems. Died in 1969. After the fall of Saigon, it was renamed Ho Chi Minh City

 The idea that political revolutions in one country will cause similar revolutions in neighboring countries, akin to only one domino being necessary to topple over a whole chain of dominos. Typically associated with the spread of communism, although a variant associated with spreading democracy gained currency during the 2003 Iraq War.

Thirty-sixth President. Senate Majority Leader 1955–1961. Vice President 1961–1963. Assumed the presidency upon the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Oversaw the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965, as well as a series of landmark domestic legislation known as the Great Society. Escalated the Vietnam War. Declined to run for reelection in 1968. A domestic policy maestro but a foreign policy.

An August 1964 Congressional resolution authorizing the president to wage war in Vietnam without a formal declaration of war.

 Also called the Second Indochina War. Direct American involvement in Vietnam began in 1955 and ended on April 30, 1975, with the Fall of Saigon. The war polarized American society. It killed more than 58,000 Americans and over 2 million Vietnamese.

A bombing campaign conducted by the U.S. Air Force against North Vietnam. Run from March 1965 to November 1968, and dropped more bombs on North Vietnam than had been used by the United States throughout World War II. Failed to achieve its aims.

Also known as ‘V-C’ or ‘Charlie.’ The Viet Cong were the military wing of the National Liberation Front, a communist nationalist group in South Vietnam.

U.S. name for a logistical network that connected North and South Vietnam through Laos and Cambodia. Supported the Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese Army.

 A surprise January 1968 offensive by the Viet Cong. While U.S. and South Vietnamese forces prevailed, it permanently undermined American public opinion in the war. Contributed to Johnson’s decision to not run for reelection in 1968.

 A spontaneous counter-protest in New York City in 1970. About 200 construction workers attacked 1,000 students protesting the Vietnam War and the Kent State shootings. Embodied a growing social backlash to the 1960s youth culture.

Secret documents regarding the Vietnam War leaked to The New York Times by analyst Daniel Ellsberg. They revealed that Congress had been lied to for many years about the war, and that the United States had acted contrary to its publicly stated goals.

National Security Advisor 1969–1975. Secretary of State 1973–1977. A foreign policy advisor for Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. Advocated détenteand realpolitik, or international relations, based on self-interest rather than ideology or morality.

Passed by Congress after learning of Nixon’s secret bombings of Cambodia, it severely limited the president’s ability to wage war without Congressional approval. However, despite violations over the years, Congress has never taken legal action over the issue, and executive authority to wage war has grown substantially since 2001.

Fourteenth Chief Justice. Served 1953–1969. Threw his support behind Eisenhower at the 1952 GOP convention in exchange for the first open Supreme Court seat. The Warren Court is noted for its liberal rulings, which include outlawing segregation in education, ending school prayer, establishing “one man-one vote” apportionment for election districts, and creating the Miranda warning. Warren was replaced in 1969 by Warren Burger.

The first African-American Justice of the Supreme Court. Appointed by Lyndon Johnson in 1967, he was regarded as a liberal judicial activist, favoring rulings that protected individual rights. Retired in 1991 and was replaced by Clarence Thomas.

A landmark Supreme Court case that held segregation of public schools was unconstitutional. Overturned Plessy v. Ferguson in the context of education.

A group of nine African American students who had gained entry into the previously segregated public high school of Little Rock, Arkansas in 1957.

Activist in the Civil Rights Movement. Famous for refusing to give up her seat to a white person in defiance of segregation; her arrest sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

Laws that enforced segregation, primarily but not exclusively in the South. The name references a famous nineteenth century blackface act called Jump Jim Crow.

Noted leader in the Civil Rights Movement. A Baptist minister, he advocated for non-violent resistance to racism. Leader of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Winner of the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize. Initially allied with President Johnson, he fell out with him over Vietnam. Assassinated in April 1963 in Memphis, Tennessee.

 A 1961 effort by the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) to register African-American voters throughout the South. The violent backlash the activists encountered forced President Kennedy to take a stronger public stance on civil rights.

An open letter written by Martin Luther King Jr. in 1963, defending the strategy of nonviolent resistance.

Often considered the greatest American speech of the twentieth century, it was given by Martin Luther King Jr. on August 28, 1963 at the Lincoln Memorial.

A landmark civil rights law that outlawed discrimination on the basis of race, color, nationality, religion, and sex. It prohibited racial segregation.

 Made literacy tests illegal and prohibited states from denying any U.S. citizen the right to vote on the basis of race. The Selma to Montgomery marches contributed to its passage.

Born Malcolm Little, he converted to Islam and took the name Malcolm X. Initially associated with the Nation of Islam, he broke with it in 1964. Assassinated in 1965 by three members of the Nation of Islam. Best remembered for his emphasis on black self-determination and self-defense.

A 1964 speech given by Malcolm X. It stated that whites must either allow African Americans freedom at the ballot box or face an armed revolution later.

A socialist, black nationalist organization founded in 1966. Famous for their uniforms and for openly carrying firearms. They organized a social safety net for impoverished African-Americans in Oakland. Succumbed to ideological schisms, government harassment, as well as the arrests and deaths of their major leaders by the mid-1970s.

A commission established by President Johnson to study the 1967 race riots. Concluded the riots had been caused by frustration among African-Americans due to lack of economic opportunity. Their report was ignored by Johnson.

A counterculture movement in the 1950s and early 1960s emphasizing art, philosophy, and social criticism. Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg were notable members.

 A 1962 political manifesto by the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS); called for an expansion of democratic participation. Noted as the start of the New Left, a liberal movement concerned with civil rights, gender roles, and other issues of identity rather than the “Old Left” Marxist focus on class struggle.

A large-scale student protest that took place during the 1964–1965 academic year at the University of California, Berkeley. The students demanded that the administration acknowledge the students’ free speech rights. Backlash to the Free Speech Movement aided in Ronald Reagan’s victory in the 1966 California gubernatorial election.

A three-day concert in rural New York during 1969. Typified 1960s youth culture.

Founded in 1966, NOW is an American feminist advocacy group. Among its co-founders was Betty Friedan. Supported the Equal Rights Amendment.

Also known as the ERA. A proposed amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would have guaranteed equal rights regardless of sex. By 1977, it had been ratified by 35 of the 38 states necessary, but faced a backlash from the growing conservative movement. It failed to be ratified by a sufficient number of states by its 1982 deadline.

A slate of liberal policy proposals by John F. Kennedy. Few were adopted in his lifetime due to obstructionism by Republicans and conservative Democrats. Reworked and expanded under President Johnson into the Great Society.

A special commission appointed by Lyndon Johnson to investigate the assassination of President Kennedy. Headed by Chief Justice Earl Warren, it concluded that Lee Harvey Oswald had acted alone.

A series of domestic programs proposed by Lyndon Johnson, expanding on Kennedy’s stalled New Frontier proposals. Aimed to expand civil rights and eliminate poverty.

A federal health insurance for Americans 65 or older, along with some younger people with disabilities.

A social safety net program that provides healthcare for low-income Americans.

Repealed the discriminatory practices of the Quota Acts of the 1920s and allowed millions of previously excluded peoples to immigrate to the United States.

Oversaw the creation of the Job Corps, a program that provided career training to inner-city and rural citizens. Part of the Great Society.

Commonly known as HUD, it is a cabinet-level office created in 1965 as part of Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society program. Oversees the housing market, with an emphasis on creating and sustaining affordable housing.

 In the 1968 election, the AIP functioned as a pro-segregationist breakaway from the Democratic Party. Its nominees were George Wallace and Curtis LeMay. Wallace aimed to throw the election into the House of Representatives and play kingmaker.

Created in 1973, the DEA is a federal law enforcement agency operating under the Department of Justice. It enforces the Controlled Substances Act.

The act of easing hostility between two or more parties through diplomacy. Advocated during the Cold War by Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. Contrast with brinksmanship.

The first round of arms control talks. Negotiations took place under the Johnson and Nixon administrations. The treaty was ratified in 1972.

An organization of oil-producing states, especially ones in the Middle East. In retaliation for U.S. support for Israel in the Yom Kippur War, OPEC targeted the United States and some of its Western allies for an oil embargo. This led to the 1973 oil crisis.

 A 1973 war between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by Syria and Egypt, after the latter attacked Israel on the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur. Richard Nixon supplied Israel with vital military aid.

 A political scandal sparked by Nixon operatives burglarizing the Democratic Party National Headquarters at the Watergate Hotel on June 17, 1972. The burglars were arrested, and an ensuing investigation by Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein revealed a vast web of crimes and political corruption. With impeachment over the Watergate scandal certain, President Nixon resigned on August 9, 1974.

Thirty-ninth President. Served from August 8, 1974 to January 20, 1977. The only person to serve as president not elected as president or vice president. He ended American involvement in Vietnam by allowing the conquest of South Vietnam by the North. Continued the policy of détente. Initially popular, his approval ratings sank after issuing an unconditional pardon of Richard Nixon. Narrowly lost “reelection” to Jimmy Carter.

Thirty-ninth President. Served 1977–1981. The former governor of Georgia, he ran as an outsider in the 1976 presidential election. Served one term. Carter pardoned Vietnam War draft dodgers, established the Departments of Energy and Education, and returned the Panama Canal to Panama. Internationally, he oversaw the Camp David Accords, ended détente in response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, and was dogged by the Iranian Hostage Crisis.

Third President of Egypt. Ruled 1970–1981. Alongside Israeli Prime Minister Begin he signed the Camp David Accords, for which both men shared the 1978 Nobel Peace Prize. He was assassinated in 1981 by the group Egyptian Islamic Jihad.

 Sixth Prime Minister of Israel. Signed the Camp David Accords with Anwar Sadat in 1979, for which both men won the Nobel Peace Prize. As part of that agreement, he withdrew Israeli forces from the Sinai Peninsula.

A 1979 peace agreement reached between Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, following 12 days of secret negotiations at Camp David. Settled several outstanding Israeli-Egyptian disputes. Widely considered Jimmy Carter’s crowning foreign policy achievement.

Founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran and its leader from 1979 to 1989. Gained infamy in the United States for supporting the taking of American diplomats as hostages. Dubbed the United States the “Great Satan.” Died in June 1989.

The second round of the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks. Negotiations took place under the Nixon and Ford administrations. In response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the final 1979 agreement was not ratified by the Senate.

A cabinet-level office created in 1979 by Jimmy Carter. As the U.S. education system is decentralized, it has historically had little influence over curricula. It mainly collects data, coordinates federal assistance to schools, and helps enforce civil rights laws.

A cabinet-level office created in 1977 by Jimmy Carter largely in response to the 1973 Oil Crisis. Oversees energy-related research and domestic energy production. It also safeguards nuclear material, including nuclear weapons.