satellite nations

Nations in which the Soviet Union set up Communist governments after World War II; countries like Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland, and others

- the U.S. plan to stop Communism

- said that we weren't going to go to war to defeat Communism, we were just going to stop it from spreading

Part of our "containment" plan

This was our promise that we would go help any country that didn't want to be Communist

The US effort to give money and aid to any country torn up after World War II

We wanted countries to be strong and happy so that they wouldn't want to become Communist

The Soviets set up a blockade around the American section of Berlin

In the airlift, we used airplanes to take the American part of Berlin all the food and supplies they would need to survive for almost a full year.

House Committe on Un-American Activities

Group that formed to search out Communist spies in the US 

This was the first satellite ever launched into space.

It was created by the Soviets, so America got really freaked out that we were falling behind in science.

When rumors went around that an entertainer was Communist, we say they were put on the "blacklist"

They would lose their job and reputation

What were some of the Soviet actions that made the US scared/angry after World War II?

 - Stalin announced potential for "war" in a speech

- Soviet Union set up satellite nations - forced countries to be Communist!

- Berlin blockade

What was the US plan to stop Communism?  What were some of the actions/ideas that were part of this plan?

containment - we wouldn't fight a war with Soviets to stop Communism, we'd stop it from spreading

- Marshall Plan

- Truman doctrine

- Berlin airlift

- NATO

Describe what led to the Korean War.  Who fought in the Korean War and what was the outcome of the Korean War?

We just saw China go Communist, and we didn't want another Asian country to go Communist.

Kim Il Sung - North

US backed South

After many people died, Korea was split almost exactly where it had been at the beginning.  The war ended in a stalemate.

What two other countries did we fight in besides Korea?  Describe what happened and who fought in those countries.

Vietnam and China.

China - Soviet backed North under leadership of Mao Zedong.  Mao won and China's communist.

Vietnam - Ho Chi Minh fought to make Vietnam Communist.  US helped South, Soviet helped North.  We lost and Vietnam is Communist.

Communism can sound good in theory, but why does it usually turn out so bad in practice?

To force everyone to be equal, Communist governments get very totalitarian.

- Government controls economy, so get strange shopping, very little variety, long lines, and sometimes only one size of everything.

- They go after and punish people who are religious.

Name two famous Soviet spy cases that arose in the US and why they shook Americans up so much.

- Alger Hiss - former Secretary of State - scared America because he was so high in the government.

- Julius and Ethel Rosenberg - scared us because they seemed like "normal" American couple, but were really Soviet spies.

Describe what Senator McCarthy did and why he was able to hurt Americans for so long?

Accused people of being Communist on TV in front of the whole country, usually with no evidence against them

They often lost their jobs, homes, reputation, and friends.

People were too afraid to speak out against him because they didn't want to be accused of being Communist themselves.

America worked to stop Communism in the world, but what are some of the other ways we competed with the Soviet Union throughout the Cold War?

- space race

- arms race

- international competitions like Olympics

- spying and secret information (like with the CIA)