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The Iron Curtain
The boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1991. -
The Truman Doctrine
An American foreign policy whose stated purpose was to counter Soviet geopolitical expansion during the Cold War. President Harry S. Truman established that the United States would provide political, military and economic assistance to all democratic nations under threat from external or internal authoritarian forces. -
The Containment Policy
An American policy using numerous strategies to prevent the spread of communism abroad. -
The Cold War
The open yet restricted rivalry that developed after World War II between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies. The Cold War was waged on political, economic, and propaganda fronts and had only limited use of weapons. -
The Marshall Plan
An American initiative to aid Western Europe, in which the United States gave over $13 billion in economic assistance to help rebuild Western European economies after the end of World War II. -
The Berlin Airlift
In response to the Soviet blockade of Berlin, the Western Allies organized the Berlin airlift (26 June 1948–30 September 1949) to carry supplies to the people of West Berlin, a difficult feat given the size of the city's population -
North Atlantic Treaty Organization
NATO is an international alliance that consists of 29 member states from North America and Europe. It was established at the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty on 4 April 1949. -
The Domino Theory
A Cold War policy that suggested a communist government in one nation would quickly lead to communist takeovers in neighboring states, each falling like a row of dominos. -
"McCarthyism"
A campaign against alleged communists in the US government and other institutions carried out under Senator Joseph McCarthy. Many of the accused were blacklisted or lost their jobs, although most did not belong to the Communist Party. -
The Korean War
The Korean War was a war between North Korea and South Korea. The war began on June 25, 1950 when North Korea invaded South Korea following a series of clashes along the border. The United Nations, with the United States as the principal force, came to the aid of South Korea. China came to the aid of North Korea, and the Soviet Union also gave some assistance to the North. -
The Rosenberg Trial
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were American citizens who spied for the Soviet Union and were tried, convicted and executed by the United States government. -
Dwight D. Eisenhower
An American army general and statesman who served as the 34th President of the United States from 1953 to 1961. -
Ray Kroc
Ray Kroc was an American entrepreneur best known for expanding McDonald’s from a local chain to the world’s most profitable restaurant franchise operation. -
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a long, costly and divisive conflict that pitted the communist government of North Vietnam against South Vietnam and its ally, the United States. Opposition to the war in the United States greatly divided Americans, even after President Nixon ordered the withdrawal of U.S. forces in 1973. Communist forces ended the war by seizing control of South Vietnam in 1975, and the country was unified as the Socialist Republic of Vietnam the following year. -
Jonas Salk
American scientist who developed a successful vaccine for the Polio virus. -
The Interstate Highway Act
Law that authorized the construction of a 41,000-mile network of interstate highways that would span the nation. -
The Space Race
Beginning in the late 1950s, the US and the Soviet Union sought to prove the superiority of their technology, their military firepower and their political-economic systems. On October 4, 1957, a Soviet missile launched Sputnik, the world’s first artificial satellite and the first man-made object to be placed into the Earth’s orbit. On July 16, 1969, U.S. astronauts Neil Armstrong, Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin and Michael Collins set off on the Apollo 11 space mission, the first lunar landing. -
Gary Powers
An American pilot whose Central Intelligence Agency U-2 spy plane was shot down while flying a reconnaissance mission in Soviet Union airspace. -
John F. Kennedy
An American politician who served as the 35th President of the United States during the height of the Cold War from January 1961 until his assassination in November 1963. -
The Bay of Pigs
A failed military invasion of Cuba undertaken by a counter-revolutionary military group, trained and funded by the CIA, that was intended to overthrow the increasingly communist government of Fidel Castro. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
A 13-day confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union concerning American ballistic missile deployment in Italy and Turkey with consequent Soviet ballistic missile deployment in Cuba. The confrontation is often considered the closest the Cold War came to escalating into a full-scale nuclear war -
Lyndon B. Johnson
He was the 36th president of the United States. Upon taking office, Johnson launched an ambitious set of progressive reforms aimed at creating a “Great Society” for all Americans. -
Betty Friedan
An American writer, activist, and feminist. A leading figure in the women's movement in the United States, her book, The Feminine Mystique, is often credited with sparking the second wave of American feminism in the 20th century. -
The "Great Society"
An ambitious series of policy initiatives, legislation and programs spearheaded by President Lyndon B. Johnson with the main goals of ending poverty, reducing crime, abolishing inequality and improving the environment. -
The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
Authorized President Lyndon Johnson to “take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the forces of the United States and to prevent further aggression” by the communist government of North Vietnam. -
The Anti-War Movement
The movement against U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War began among peace activists and leftist intellectuals on college campuses, but gained national prominence in 1965, after the United States began bombing North Vietnam. Anti-war marches and other protests, such as ones organized by Students for a Democratic Society, attracted a widening base of support over the next three years, peaking in 1968 after the Tet Offensive proved that war’s end was nowhere in sight. -
Miranda v. Arizona
A significant Supreme Court case that ruled that a defendant's statements to authorities are invalid in court unless the defendant has been informed of their right to have an attorney present during questioning and an understanding that anything they say will be held against them. -
Roy Benavidez
Master Sergeant Roy P. Benavidez was a member of the United States Army Special Forces and retired United States Army master sergeant who received the Medal of Honor for his valorous actions in combat near Loc Ninh, South Vietnam on May 2, 1968. -
The Tet Offensive
A coordinated series of North Vietnamese attacks on more than 100 cities and outposts in South Vietnam, the offensive was an attempt to instigate rebellion among the South Vietnamese population and encourage the United States to scale back its involvement in the Vietnam War. -
Richard Nixon
37th President of the United States. After successfully ending American fighting in Vietnam and improving international relations with the U.S.S.R. and China, he became the only President to ever resign from office. -
Vietnamization
A strategy that aimed to reduce American involvement in the Vietnam War by transferring all military responsibilities to South Vietnam. -
Abbie Hoffman
An American political and social activist, anarchist, and revolutionary who co-founded the Youth International Party. -
The 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.
