Early Cold War Vocabulary

Cold War

• the power struggle between the Soviet Union and the U.S. after World War Two

• a policy in which the U.S. and Soviet Union hoped to deter nuclear war by building up enough weapons to destroy each other

• a policy of threatening to go to war in response to any enemy aggression in order to gain an advantage in negotiations

• intense fear of communism and other politically radical ideas

Joseph Stalin

• leader of Germany after WW2

• communist dictator of the Soviet Union during and after WW2

• prime minister of Great Britain in the early Cold War period

• commander of NATO

Harry Truman

• Prime Minister of Great Britain in the early Cold War period

• Dictator of Italy during WW2

• President of the U.S. during the early Cold War period; containment policy

• U.S. Secretary of Defense during 1950s; oversaw the end of the Korean War

Democracy

• an economic system based on private property and free enterprise

• a political system in which the people elect their government officials

• a political system in which the government has total control over the lives of individual citizens

• an economic system based on the holding of all property in common with actually ownership belonging to the state

Capitalism

• Political system in which the government controls everything

• Economic system in which private citizens can own property/ business, make their own economic choices

• Economic system in which the government controls the economy

• Political system in which religion is the rule of law

Communism

• A political system in which the government has total control over the lives of individual citizens

• An economic system based on private property and free enterprise

• An economic system based on the holding of all property in common; the government controls all economic decisions and distribution of property

• A political system in which the people elect their government officials

Iron Curtain

• The boundary between North and South Korea

• The theory that if one nation comes under Communist control, then neighboring nations will also come under Communist control

• A area in which military forces or operations or installations are prohibited such as along the 38th Parallel in Korea

• Winston Churchill's term for the Cold War division between the Soviet-dominated East and the U.S.-dominated West

Containment Policy

• US policy stating it would defend the Middle East against attack by any Communist country

• US policy intended to stop the spread of Communism and prevent a domino effect around the world

• The theory that if one nation comes under Communist control, then neighboring nations will also come under Communist control

• A policy of threatening to go to war in response to any enemy aggression in order to gain an advantage in negotiations

Truman Doctrine

• US policy of providing military & economic aid to stop spread of communism; started with Turkey & Greece and expanded to any country fighting communism

• A policy of threatening to go to war in response to any enemy aggression in order to gain an advantage in negotiations

• US policy stating it would defend the Middle East against attack by any Communist country

• The theory that if one nation comes under Communist control, then neighboring nations will also come under Communist control

Marshall Plan

• Joint effort by the US and Britain to fly food and supplies into West Berlin after the Soviet blocked off all ground routes into the city

• The theory that if one nation comes under Communist control, then neighboring nations will also come under Communist control

• Policy in which the United States and the Soviet Union hoped to deter nuclear war by building up enough weapons to destroy one another

• A United States program of economic aid for the reconstruction of Europe after World War II; only to countries who remained non-communist