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House of Un-American Activities Committee
A committee of U.S house of representatives that was formed in 1930 but played a role in the Cold War, they investigated allegation of communist activity in the U.S during the Cold War. The HUAC's tactics contributed to the fear and distrust that existed during the 1950s -
GI Bill Serviceman Readjustment Act 1944
A bill passed in 1944 after WWII to help veterans adjust to normal life again. It established hospitals, made low interest mortgages and many other things. This bill was re-passed to help veterans of the Vietnam War -
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Iron Curtain
The barrier that separated the Soviet bloc from Western Europe -
Baby Boom Generation
The period after WWII where a record breaking amount of babies were born. Many of the Baby Boom generation served in the Vietnam war when they were 18-25 -
Containment Policy
A Policy that the U.S used to prevent the spread of communism. This was a response to moves made by the Soviet Union to spread communist influence around Eastern Europe, China, Korea, and Vietnam. -
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Cold War
The time period after WWII where allies (Soviet Union and United States) became bitter rivals. They became rivals because of political differences and they were only allies because of a common enemy. This period was characterized by high tension because no actual conflict occurred between the 2 world powers. The Soviets wanted to spread their communist beliefs while the U.S wanted to stop the spread. -
Truman Doctrine
Known as the official declaration of the Cold War. In this speech Truman declared that the U.S will support "Freedom loving peoples" and that we will oppose communism. -
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Rock N' Roll
Rock and roll was banned in the Soviet Union because it gave people the idea to break down communism. Elvis Presley, the world's biggest rock and roll artist, became the United States secret weapon because of this. Other rock bands such as The Beatles and the Plastic People of the Universe sparked the love of rock in Soviets and expressed their words. -
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Berlin Airlift
Russians who wanted Berlin for themselves closed all highways, railroads, and canals from western occupied Germany into western occupied Berlin to cut off all supplies going there in an attempt to drive all Britain, French, and U.S people out of the city. Instead of retreating, the U.S supplied this sector from the air. These care packages lasted for more than a year. The Soviets realized their blockade has not worked and removed it -
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, made up of The United States and 11 western european nations. This organization and the Warsaw Pact was the framework for the military standoff that was known as the Cold War. -
Anti-War Movement
A Social movement in opposition to the U.S' involvement in the Vietnam War. -
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1950s Prosperity
Although the 1950s was an era of great conflict, there was a lot of great things happening in the U.S We were the world's strongest military power, the economy was booming which produced new cars, suburban houses, and other consumer goods were widely available. -
McCarthyism
The practice of making accusations of treason without proper evidence; the practice of making unfair allegations or using unfair investigative techniques -
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Korean War
Began when 75,000 North Korean soldiers invaded South Korea and committed the first military action of the cold war. America joined the fight about a month later on South Korea's behalf because they were fighting against the North's communist beliefs. During the war american officials feared world war 3 would breakout. By the end of the war around 5 million people were killed. -
Rosenberg Trial
Ethel and Julius Rosenberg were being prosecuted on charges of espionage, they were accused of selling nuclear secrets to the Soviets. They could not be tried for treason because we were not at war with the Soviet Union. The trial ended on April 4th, with the Rosenberg's being sentenced to death row. -
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Dwight D Eisenhower
Eisenhower's term as president was mostly define by what he did in the Vietnam War. He signed an armistice to end the Korean War, he authorized the CIA to undertake covert operations against communism, and he sought to improve relations with the Soviet
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Jonas Salk
Dr Jonas Salk announces that he successfully tested a vaccine against polio, a year after there were 58,000 reported polio cases in the United States and more than 3,00 died from the disease. -
Domino Theory
A famous phrase of President Eisenhower that suggest the fall of French Indochina to the communist would create a "domino" effect in Southeast Asia that would spread communist beliefs around that area. -
Ray Kroc
Known as the man who took McDonalds from a local chain and made it into the worldwide restaurant franchise it is now. He became the president of McDonalds in 1955 -
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Vietnam War
A war between the communist North Vietnam versus South Vietnam and the United States. This war was a "hot" war that took place during the time period of the cold war. More than 3 million people died in the Vietnam War and over half of those number were Vietnamese civilians. The war ended with communist North Vietnam seizing control of South Vietnam -
Interstate Highway Act
This bill was signed by President Eisenhower and it created the 41,000 mile long national system of interstate highways that would eliminate unsafe roads, inefficient routes, traffic jams, and any other things that got in the way of a speedy and safe travel. In addition to the benefits listed above, highway advocated thought that in case of an atomic attack, this system would get people out of the target area much quicker, so that made it even more essential. -
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Space Race
The competition between the United States and the Soviet Union to prove superiority in ones technology and military firepower. Defined by things such as the Soviets Sputnik and the U.S Apollo 11 -
Sputnik
The world's first artificial satellite launched by the Soviet Union. This kicked off the space race -
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John F Kennedy
JFK was 35th president of the United States. He was known for his efforts during the Cold War, Cuban Missile crisis, Vietnam, and Civil rights movement. -
Bay of Pigs Invasion
Also known as the CIA perfect failure, the Bay of Pigs invasion was a CIA launched attack on Cuba in an attempt to overthrow Fidel Castro. 1,400 American trained Cubans attempted to overthrow Castro but their sloppy execution, Castro's knowledge of the planned strike and their outnumbering contributed to the troops surrendering in less than 24 hours. -
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Cuban Missile Crisis
An American U-2 spy plane passing over Cuba photographed Soviet SS-4 medium range ballistic missiles being assembled. This gave Soviet first strike ability on the U.S We began a sea blockade to inspect ships coming in and out of Cuba. The crisis ended in an agreement that the Soviets remove the missiles in Cuba in exchange for America's promise that they would not invade Cuba and they would remove their missiles in Turkey. -
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Great Society
A set of programs launched by President Lyndon B Johnson with the goal of eliminating poverty and racial injustice -
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
A resolution in response to the Gulf of Tonkin Incident that approved the expansion of the Vietnam -
Betty Friedan
in 1966 Betty Friedan co-founded the National Organization for Women (NOW) and served as its first president. -
Tet Offensive 1968
The series of surprise attacks from the North Vietnamese on the South on more than 100 south Vietnamese cities. These attacks took place on the holiday of Tet, the celebration of the new lunar year and it previously served as a informal truce between the north and south for a day. These attacks aimed to convince American leaders to give up their defense of the South, which they succeeded as these attacks began the slow withdrawal of American forces -
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Richard Nixon
Nixon took office during a time of change in the U.S, people were divided over the Vietnam war overseas. Nixon declared his "peace with honor" mindset for Vietnam and he introduced the strategy known as Vietnamization. In 1973 he reached a peace agreement with North Vietnam. He also reduced tensions between Soviets and U.S -
Apollo 11
American astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin became the first humans to land on the moon, Armstrong was the first person to walk on the moon. -
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Vietnamization
A strategy implemented by President Nixon that was aimed at ending American involvement in the Vietnam War by transferring all military responsibilities to South Vietnam. Nixon believed that this strategy, which built up South Vietnam's military strength in order to set up gradual withdrawal of U.S troops would prepare the South Vietnamese to take responsibility for their own self defense against communist takeover. -
26th Amendment
The 26th amendment changed the voting age from 21 to 18. -
War Powers Act
A federal law intended to check the president's power to commit the United States to an armed conflict without the consent of the U.S. Congress. This act was passed by the House of Representatives and the House of Senate but was vetoed by President Nixon. The veto was then overrode by a two-thirds vote in each house. -
Marshall Plan
Also known as the European Recovery Program, gave over 13 billion dollars to finance economic recovery of Europe after WWII. This plan affected the Cold War because it reduced the influence and power of communist in Western Europe, which angered the Soviets and was seen as an anti-communist move by the U.S -
Rust Belt vs Sun Belt
The Rust Belt is parts of the northeastern and midwestern U.S that are characterized by declining industry and falling population, cities like Pennsylvania and Ohio are at its center.
The Sun Belt is the region that stretches from California to Florida that is characterized by resort areas, fast movement of business, and high populations