Berlin Airlift
a US-led attempt to supply the city of Berlin by air in 1947-1948 after Soviet forces blockaded access.
Cold War
The term for the post-World War II competition between the U.S. and the USSR for global domination.
Communism
a way of organizing a society in which the government owns the things that are used to make and transport products (such as land, oil, factories, ships, etc.) and there is no privately owned property
containment
A United States policy using numerous strategies to prevent the spread of communism abroad. A component of the Cold War, this policy was a response to a series of moves by the Soviet Union to enlarge communist influence in Eastern Europe, China, Korea, and Vietnam. It represented a middle-ground position between détente and rollback
Division of east/west Germany
originally split between the four victorious Allies after World War II into separate zones of influence, Germany and its capital, Berlin, were physically separated after 1960 between the democratic West and the Soviet-sponsored East.
domino theory
was a theory prominent from the 1950s to the 1980s, that speculated that if one country in a region came under the influence of communism, then the surrounding countries would follow in a domino effect
George Kennan
this State Department employee wrote "The Long Telegram," which described the postwar policy of containment. the "Long Telegram": a document written by George Kennan which described the policy of containment. containment: the policy adopted by the US to present the spread of Soviet-sponsored communism. The US would support other nations militarily and financially to "contain" the USSR until the Soviet system eventually collapsed. domino theory: the popular idea that allowing a nation to surrender to a communist insurgent movement would cause a collapse of neighboring nations, toppling over like a row of dominoes.
Greek Civil War
the struggle between the Greek government and communist rebels which prompted the US to announce military aid in line with the Truman Doctrine/policy of containment.
Iron Curtain
a phrase coined by Winston Churchill, referring to Soviet occupation and domination of Eastern Europe after World War II.
Marshall Plan
a multi-billion dollar plan to rebuild Western Europe after World War II (named for US Secretary of State George Marshall).
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, an international alliance between the US and nations of Western Europe for mutual defense against possible Soviet aggression.
Potsdam conference 1945
held after Germany's surrender in May 1945, this conference between the "Big Three" (the U.S., the USSR, and Great Britain) solidified postwar plans and ensured that the Soviet Union would enter the war against Japan.
satellite states
a political term for a country that is formally independent, but under heavy political and economic influence or control by another country. The term is used mainly to refer to Central and Eastern European countries during the Cold War, who were "satellites" under the hegemony of the Soviet Union.
Soviet Union
formerly known as Russia, the USSR was the world's most powerful communist nation and the U.S.' chief rival after World War II.
Truman Doctrine
the policy of containment, in which the US would lend aid to nations resisting communist insurgencies. In its first form, the doctrine was implemented to support the Greek government in 1947.
Warsaw Pact
A pact (long-term alliance treaty) signed on May 14, 1955 in Warsaw by the Soviet Union and its Communist military allies in Europe; it was comparable and opposed to NATO
arms race
a competition between nations for superiority in the development and accumulation of weapons, especially between the US and the former Soviet Union during the Cold War.
NSC 68 National Security Council Report 68 (NSC-68)
was a 58-page top secret policy paper issued by the United States National Security Council on April 14, 1950, during the presidency of Harry S. Truman. It was one of the most significant statements of American policy in the Cold War. NSC-68 largely shaped U.S. foreign policy in the Cold War for the next 20 years, and involved a decision to make containment of Communist expansion a high priority. The strategy outlined in NSC-68 achieved ultimate victory, according to this view, with the collapse of the Soviet power and the emergence of a "new world order" centered on American liberal-capitalist values. Truman officially signed NSC-68 on September 30, 1950.
Containment
A United States policy using numerous strategies to prevent the spread of communism abroad. A component of the Cold War, this policy was a response to a series of moves by the Soviet Union to enlarge communist influence in Eastern Europe, China, Korea, and Vietnam. It represented a middle-ground position between détente and rollback.
domino theory
the belief that, if a nation fell to internal communist subversion, neighboring nations would become more likely to fall as well, akin to a row of dominoes
George Kennan
(1904 – 2005) an American adviser, diplomat, political scientist and historian, best known as "the father of containment" and as a key figure in the emergence of the Cold War.
Long Telegram
a memo composed by George Kennan which outlined the policy of containment, which became U.S. foreign policy towards the Soviet Union.
proxy war
A war where two powers use third parties as a supplement to, or a substitute for, fighting each other directly.
Army-Mccarthy hearings
Held in 1954, these hearings were a result of McCarthy's assertion that the Army was being infiltrated by communists, and the Army's counterclaim that McCarthy and his chief assistant, Roy Cohn, had attempted to obtain favorable treatment for Cohn's friend, David Schine.
Censure
an official reprimand for un-senatorial behavior. McCarthy was censured by the Senate in late 1954 for his behavior, and died shortly thereafter.
Dwight Eisenhower
34th President of the U.S. from 1952-1960, Eisenhower disapproved of McCarthy but did not challenge his behavior until the senator accused the U.S. Army of communist infiltration.
Harry Truman
33rd President of the U.S. from 1945 to 1952, Truman opposed Mccarthy's tactics but supported several restrictive federal acts regarding personally-held political beliefs.
Joseph McCarthy
the junior Republican senator from Wisconsin in the early 1950s, McCarthy used unsubstantiated accusations of Communist subversion throughout the U.S. to inflate his reputation and achieve immense, though short-lived, political power and influence.
Joseph Welch
the chief attorney for the U.S. Army during the Senate hearing of 1954, Welch's disdainful replies to McCarthy's attempt to smear a colleague of Welch's effectively ended the senator's period of influence.
McCarthyism
The intense opposition, countering, fear and/or suspicion of Communism, particularly in the United States during the 1950s led by Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin.
Roy Cohn
McCarthy's chief assistant and legal counsel.
Second Red Scare
occurred after World War II (1939–45), and was popularly known as "McCarthyism" after its most famous supporter and namesake, Senator Joseph McCarthy. McCarthyism coincided with increased popular fear of communist espionage consequent to a Soviet Eastern Europe, the Berlin Blockade (1948–49), the Chinese Civil War, the confessions of spying for the Soviet Union given by several high-ranking U.S. government officials, and the Korean War.
Wheeling, West Virginia speech
In this speech to a women's group in 1950, McCarthy claimed he had a list of known Communists in the U.S. State Department, beginning his ascent to power.
Armistice
a cessation of hostilities. In this case, it refers to the halting of the conflict on the Korean Peninsula, which did not end with a treaty or official end of the war.
Communism
a revolutionary socialist movement to create a classless, moneyless, and stateless social order structured upon common ownership of the means of production, as well as a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of this social order. This movement, in its Marxist-Leninist interpretations, significantly influenced the history of the 20th century, which saw intense rivalry between the "socialist world" (socialist states ruled by communist parties) and the "western world" (countries with capitalist economies). containment A United States policy using numerous strategies to prevent the spread of communism abroad. A component of the Cold War, this policy was a response to a series of moves by the Soviet Union to enlarge communist influence in Eastern Europe, China, Korea, and Vietnam. It represented a middle-ground position between détente and rollback.
Demilitarized zone
the neutral territory established along the 38th Parallel and between North and South Korea.
General Douglas MacArthur
An American general who was Chief of Staff of the United States Army during the 1930s and played a prominent role in the Pacific theater during World War II. He led the United Nations command in the Korean War until he was removed from command by President Harry S. Truman on 11 April 1951.
Inchon
a city on the western coast of the Korean Peninsula that was the site of an amphibious landing by US forces in 1950 that allowed the US to advance the war into North Korean territory.
John Foster Dulles
(February 25, 1888-May 24, 1959) served as US Secretary of State under President Dwight D. Eisenhower from 1953 to 1959. He was a significant figure in the early Cold war era, advocating an aggressive stance against communism throughout the world.
Joseph Stalin
the dictator of the Soviet Union. 38th parallel: the dividing line between North and South Korea.
Kim Il Sung
the first communist leader and dictator of North Korea.
Mao Zedong
(December 26, 1893 - September 9, 1976), was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, guerrilla warfare strategist, anti-imperialist political philosopher, and leader of the Chinese Revolution. He was the architect and founding father of the People's Republic of China (PRC) from its establishment in 1949, and held authoritarian control over the nation until his death in 1976. His theoretical contribution to Marxism-Leninism, along with his military strategies and brand of policies, are collectively known as Maoism.
North Korea
this nation, under the sponsorship of communist China, was established as a communist state in 1948 under Kim il-Sung.
proxy war
A war where two powers use third parties as a supplement to, or a substitute for, fighting each other directly.
rollback
The strategy of forcing change in the major policies of a state, usually by replacing its ruling regime. It contrasts with containment, which means preventing the expansion of that state; and with détente, which means a working relationship with that state. Most of the discussions of rollback in the scholarly literature deal with United States foreign policy toward Communist countries during the Cold War. The rollback strategy was tried, and failed, in Korea in 1950, and in Cuba in 1961.
South Korea
sponsored and supplied by the US, South Korea was a democratic ally in Asia and the chief antagonist of North Korea.
stalemate
The state in which combatants cannot adavnce, resulting in a draw.
United Nations
this international organization approved a multinational effort to resist North Korean aggression towards its southern neighbor in 1950.