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Cold War
Cold War
Period of conflict, tension
and competition between the
United States and the Soviet
Union and their respective
allies from the mid-1940s
until the early 1990s.
NATO
North Atlantic Treaty
Organization; military alliance
established by the signing of
the North Atlantic Treaty on 4
April 1949. System of collective
defense whereby its member
states agree to mutual defense
in response to an attack by any
external party.
Containment
Foreign policy strategy of the
United States in the early years
of the Cold War. Its aim was to
stop what is called the ‘domino
effect’ of nations moving
politically towards Soviet
Union-based communism,
rather than EuropeanAmerican-based capitalism.
Truman Doctrine
Proclamation by U.S.
President Harry S. Truman
on March 12, 1947. It stated
that the U.S. would support
Greece and Turkey
economically and militarily
to prevent their falling under
Soviet control.
Marshall Plan
Primary plan of the United
States for rebuilding and
creating a stronger foundation
for the allied countries of
Europe, and repelling
communism after World War II.
The initiative was named for
Secretary of State George
Marshall.
United Nations
International organization
whose stated aims are to
facilitate cooperation in
international law, international
security, economic
development, social progress
and human rights issues. The
UN was founded in 1945 to
replace the League of Nations.
Berlin Blockade and Airlift
First major crises of the new Cold War.
Soviets blocked railroad and street
access by the three Western powers to
the Western-occupied sectors of Berlin.
The crisis abated after the Western
powers bypassed the blockade by
establishing the Berlin Airlift,
demonstrating both their dedication to
the cause of supplying their zones, as
well as the industrial might of the West
and its air force's capabilities.
Bay of Pigs Invasion
Unsuccessful attempted
invasion by armed Cuban
exiles in southwest Cuba,
planned and funded by the
United States, in an attempt to
overthrow the government of
Fidel Castro, shortly after John
F. Kennedy assumed the
presidency in the U.S.
Iron Curtain
Symbolic, ideological, and
physical boundary dividing
Europe into two separate
areas (Communist and nonCommunist) from the end of
World War II, until the end of
the Cold War, roughly 1945
to 1991.
Berlin Wall
Barrier separating West Berlin
from East Berlin and the rest of
East Germany. The longer
'inner German border'
demarcated the remainder of
the East-West German border
between the two states. Both
borders were part of the Iron
Curtain.
Cuban Missile Crisis
Confrontation between the
United States, the Soviet
Union, and Cuba during the
Cold War (1962). Regarded
as the moment in which the
Cold War came closest to
escalating into a nuclear
war.
Limited War
A war whose objective is less than
the unconditional defeat of the
enemy. Descriptive of proxy wars
(wars in which powerful countries
fight each other through weaker,
third-party countries), guerrilla
warfare and counter-insurgency
campaigns. A primary method of
armed struggle employed by the
super-power nations of the Cold
War.
Space Race
Competition of space
exploration between Soviet
Union and the United States,
which lasted roughly from 1957
to 1975. It involved the efforts
to explore outer space with
artificial satellites, to send
humans into space, and to land
people on the Moon.
SALT I
Strategic Arms Limitation
Treaties refers to two rounds of
bilateral talks and
corresponding international
treaties between the Soviet
Union and the United States—
the Cold War superpowers—on
the issue of armament control.
Mutually Assured Destruction
Military strategy in which full-scale
use of nuclear weapons by
opposing sides would effectively
result in the destruction of both the
attacker and defender. Theory of
deterrence, in which both sides
attempt to avoid the worst possible
outcome of fighting each other —
nuclear annihilation.