A state of geopolitical tension after WW II between powers in the Eastern Bloc and powers in the Western Bloc
Containment Policy
operating on the principle that communists governments will eventually fall apart as long as they are prevented from expanding their influence.
Truman Doctrine
The principle that the U.S. should give support to countries of people threatened by Soviet forces or communist insurrection.
Marshall Plan
An American initiative to aid Western Europe in which the U.S. gave over $12B in economic support to help rebuild Western European economies after the end of WW II
Berlin Airlift
a military operation in the late 1940s that brought food and other needed goods into West Berlin by air after the government of East Germany which at the time surrounded West Berlin and cut off its supply routes.
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
intergovernmental military alliance based on the North Atlantic Treaty which was signed on April 4, 1949.
National Security Act
A major restructuring of the U.S. government's military and intelligence agencies following WW II
Arms Race
the competition between nations for superiority in the development and accumulation of weapons especially between the U.S. and the former Soviet Union during the Cold War.
N5C-68
A 58-page top secret policy paper by the U.S. National Security Council, it was one of the most important statements of the American Policy that launched the cold war.
38th Parallel
A circle of latitude that is north of the earth's equatorial plane, it formed the border between North & South Korea prior to the Korean War.
Taft-Hartley Act
A U.S. federal law that restricts the activities and power of labor unions.
States Rights Party
A short lived segregationist political party. It did not run local or state candidates and after the election of 1948 the leaders returned to the Democratic Party.
Fair Deal
An ambitious set of proposals put forward by Harry Truman to Congress in his January 1949 State of the Union Address
House Un-American Activities Committee
created to investigate disloyalty and subversive organizations.
Joseph McCarthy
An American Politian who was a U.S. Senator from the state of Wisconsin from 1947 until his death in 1957.
G I Bill
a law passed in 1944 that provided educational and other benefits for people who had served in the armed forces in WW II
Baby Boom
a temporarily marked increase in birth rate, especially the one following WW II.
Suburban Growth
facilitated by the development of zoning laws, redlining and numerous innovations in transport.
Sunbelt
A strip of territory receiving a high amount of sunshine. It is the southern part of the country from southern California to Florida.
Alger Hiss
An American government official who was accused of being a soviet spy in 1948 and convicted of perjury in connection with this charge in 1950.
Rosenberg Case
He and his wife were convicted on a vague charge: "conspiracy to commit espionage." Both were executed.