The Cold War Flashcards

Grade 9 · Social Studies · Flashcards

Essential terms and events for mastering the Cold War era.

Flashcards

Cold War: 1947–1991 rivalry between the US and USSR involving arms races, proxy wars, and ideological competition — but no direct fighting.
Containment: US foreign policy to prevent communism from spreading beyond Soviet-controlled borders.
Truman Doctrine: 1947 US policy pledging support for any nation resisting communist takeover.
Iron Curtain: Churchill's metaphor for the border between communist Eastern Europe and the democratic West.
Marshall Plan: US program providing billions in economic aid to rebuild Western Europe after WWII to prevent communist appeal.
NATO: North Atlantic Treaty Organization — Western military alliance formed in 1949 as a collective defense against Soviet aggression.
Warsaw Pact: Soviet-led military alliance of communist Eastern European nations, formed in 1955 as a counter to NATO.
Proxy war: War where the US and USSR backed opposing sides in another country without fighting each other directly.
Cuban Missile Crisis: 1962 standoff over Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba; the most dangerous moment of the Cold War.
Détente: Period of reduced Cold War tensions in the 1970s, including arms control agreements between the US and USSR.
Glasnost: Soviet leader Gorbachev's policy of political openness in the late 1980s that helped lead to the USSR's collapse.
Space Race: Competition between the US and USSR to achieve space milestones, from Sputnik (1957) to the Moon landing (1969).