Cold War Vocabulary
capitalism
Economic system based on private ownership and the free market
communism
Economic system based on government ownership and control of resources
Marxism
Economic and political philosophy based on the writings of Karl Marx Basis of many communist governments
McCarthy-ism
Red Scare Witch hunts accusations of disloyalty without evidence Senator McCarthy made accusations of people being communists and traitors during the Cold War.
appeasement
Giving in to avoid conflict
isolationist
Containment
Stop Soviet communist expansion
Arms Race
A competition between the United States and the Soviet Union to make the most nuclear and the best weapons.
Arms Race 1949 Soviet Union tested its own atom bomb 1952 U.S. tested the first hydrogen bomb 1953 Soviet Union tested its own hydrogen bomb
Space Race
Competition between the US and the USSR to explore space Russia put up the first satellite and sent the first man into space US landed the first man on the moon
Apollo 11 The Moon Landing 1969
Iron Curtain
A metaphor for the division between the communist and democratic countries of Europe
Truman Doctrine
We will stop Communism. We will help any country that is threatened by Communists We will stop Communism. We will help any country that is threatened by Communists
the United States would provide foreign aid to any country threatened by communist expansion Truman Doctrine
OAS 1948
Organization of American States To promote peace, economic development, and democracy in the U.S., Central and South America 1948
NATO 1949
North Atlantic Treaty Organization Alliance between the U.S., Canada, and 10 Western European Nations To provide mutual defense and peacekeeping 1949
Warsaw Pact 1955
Formed in response to NATO Soviet Union and 7 Eastern European nations To provide mutual defense 1955
SEATO 1955
Southeast Asia Treaty Organization To prevent the spread of communism in Southeast Asia 1955
Proxy War
USSR (Russia) didn’t want to fight US US didn’t want to fight USSR (Russia)
Proxy War Two sides that don’t want to fight each other directly use a third parties to fight for them The Korea war is an example
Red Scare
A time of extreme anti-communism in the United States People were scared that communists had infiltrated the government