Cold War Introduction Flashcards

Grade 8 · Social Studies · Flashcards

Key vocabulary, people, and events for understanding the origins and early phases of the Cold War.

Flashcards

Cold War (1947–1991)

The ideological rivalry between the U.S. (capitalism/democracy) and USSR (communism) fought without direct military conflict.

Containment

U.S. foreign policy of preventing communism from spreading to new countries; guided U.S. strategy throughout the Cold War.

Truman Doctrine (1947)

Pledge by President Truman to support free peoples resisting communist takeover; marked the formal start of containment policy.

Marshall Plan (1948)

U.S. aid program providing $12+ billion to rebuild Western Europe after WWII, preventing communist expansion there.

Iron Curtain

Churchill's 1946 metaphor for the political barrier dividing democratic Western Europe from Soviet-dominated Eastern Europe.

NATO (1949)

North Atlantic Treaty Organization; Western military alliance in which members agreed to defend each other against Soviet attack.

Warsaw Pact (1955)

Soviet-led military alliance of communist Eastern European nations formed in response to NATO.

Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD)

Nuclear deterrence doctrine: both superpowers could destroy each other, making nuclear war suicidal for both sides.

Proxy War

A conflict where superpowers support opposing sides in a smaller country, avoiding direct combat with each other.

Korean War (1950–1953)

First major Cold War proxy conflict; U.S.-led forces defended South Korea from communist North Korea backed by China and the USSR.

George Kennan

U.S. diplomat who articulated the containment strategy in his famous 1946 'Long Telegram' and 1947 'X Article.'

Arms Race

The Cold War competition between the U.S. and USSR to build ever-larger stockpiles of nuclear and conventional weapons.

Space Race

The Cold War competition between the U.S. and USSR to achieve dominance in space exploration, symbolizing technological superiority.

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