Cold War Concepts Flashcards

Cold War Concepts

• Satellite Nation: Nations aligned with the Soviet Union, including Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, and East Germany, during the Cold War.
• Iron Curtain: A metaphorical barrier that divided the Soviet bloc from the West before the fall of communism in 1989.
• Cold War: Political hostility between the Soviet bloc and Western powers from 1945 to 1990, marked by threats and propaganda rather than direct military conflict.

U.S. Policies and Actions

• Containment: Strategy aimed at preventing the spread of communism by controlling its influence.
• Truman Doctrine: U.S. policy initiated in 1947 providing support to countries threatened by communism, first applied to Greece and Turkey.
• Marshall Plan: U.S. initiative (over $12 billion aid) to help rebuild Western European economies post-World War II, known officially as the European Recovery Program.

Significant Events and Organizations

• Berlin Airlift: Military operation in late 1940s to supply West Berlin by air after East Germany closed supply routes.
• NATO: Intergovernmental military alliance formed on April 4, 1949, aimed at collective defense against communism.
• Warsaw Pact: Military alliance of communist nations created in 1955 in response to NATO, including Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and the Soviet Union.

Domestic U.S. Reactions

• House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC): Investigated disloyalty and subversive activities in the U.S. from 1938 to 1975, particularly targeting suspected communists.
• Hollywood Ten: A group of ten filmmakers who refused to testify before HUAC about their alleged communist ties and were subsequently imprisoned.
• Blacklist: A list of individuals viewed with suspicion, often preventing them from obtaining employment, particularly in the entertainment industry.

Legislative Measures

• McCarran-Walter Act: The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 that restricted immigration to the U.S., codified under Title 8 of the U.S. Code.

International Tensions

• 38th Parallel: Latitude line that acted as the border between North and South Korea before the Korean War.
• Korean War: Conflict from 1950 to 1953 between UN forces (supported by the US) and North Korea, initiated by North Korea's invasion of South Korea.

Military and Political Strategies

• Military-Industrial Complex: Collaboration between a nation's military and industries producing arms, influencing government policy.
• McCarthyism: Practice of making unsubstantiated accusations of subversion or treason, associated with Senator Joseph McCarthy.
• Arms Race: Competition, primarily between the U.S. and Soviet Union, to develop and accumulate superior weaponry during the Cold War.
• Deterrence: Strategy to prevent actions by instilling fear of consequences, particularly regarding nuclear weapons.
• Brinkmanship: Tactic of pushing dangerous policies to the edge of safety, often used during Cold War negotiations.

Technological Developments

• ICBM: Intercontinental ballistic missile with a range of over 5,500 kilometers, designed primarily for delivering nuclear warheads.
• Sputnik: The first artificial satellite launched by the Soviet Union on October 4, 1957, marking a significant achievement in the space race.
• U-2 Incident: The 1960 event in which a U.S. U-2 spy plane was shot down in Soviet airspace, escalating tensions during the Cold War.