George C. Marshall
Secretary of State that proposed the Marshall Plan. This plan proposed that the US borrow money from many countries and use it to rebuild Europe.
Nikita Khrushchev
Became the new leader of Russia in 1953 after Stalin died. He worked for Stalin, but seemed to reject his methods after gaining power. He wanted "peaceful coexistence" with the free world. However he returned to Stalin's ways soon.
Marshal Tito
Communist Dictator of Yugoslavia.
Douglas MacArthur
He was the "heroic" general that helped take back South Korea's capitol, Seoul, from North Korea at the Pusan Perimeter. Became Supreme Commander of all United States and United Nations forces.
Fidel Castro
The Communistic leader in Cuba that took the position by force from Fulgencia Batista. He organized the "26th of July Movement" along with other revolts to take over the position.
John F. Kennedy
Became President in 1961 and quickly had to deal with the problems in Cuba. The "Bay of Pigs" revolt was rising and he allowed the revolt to take its course and promised American aid at the most crucial point in the battle. However, when the time came to deploy the troops, Kennedy refused. As a result, the revolt failed and Castro wiped out the remnant of his opposition.
Menachem Begin
He was the Israeli Prime Minister in 1978. He met with the Arabs at Camp David.
Anwar el-Sadat
He was the Egyptian President in 1978. He met with the Jews at Camp David.
Yassir Arafat
He was the leader of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) and his objective was to establish a Palestinian state in Israel through force. His aggressions with Israel caused a war in Lebanon, bankrupting the country.
Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi
He was Iran's ani-Communist ruler. And although the Shah was a loyal friend of the United States, the weak Carter Administration refused to come to his aid for the Communist forces.
Ayatolla Khomeini
On November 3rd, 1979, he along with his Iranian rebels, captured the U.S. embassy in Tehran, the Iranian capital, and took 63 Americans hostage.
Saddam Hussein
Dictator of Iraq and a member of the Sunni Muslim sect. He wanted control of the Persian Gulf and thought that Iran might take it first, so Hussein initiated war on Iran.
Ho Chi Minh
Leader of the Indochinese Communist Party (Vietminh) which attempted to set up a Communist government over all French Indochina.
Henry Kissinger
He was Nixon's assistant for national security affairs and agreed to remove China from the UN. He also went on a "good will tour" to Red China.
Alexander Solzhenitsyn
He was a famous Russian writer who was imprisoned in the Soviet Union for exposing the cruelties of Communism.
Margaret Thatcher
Became Britain's first woman Prime Minister in 1979.
Ronald Reagan
Became President in 1980 and focused on balanced budgets and promoting a market free from government interference.
Mikhail Gorbachev
He became the leader of the Soviet Union in 1985 and immediately decided to meet with President Reagan to discuss a mutual limitation of nuclear arms. Signed the Intermediate Nuclear Forces Treaty.
Boris Yeltsin
He was President of Russian Republic that led a resistance against the coup against Gorbachev's government. He was overcome by the Commonwealth of Independent States group and lost control of Russia.
Cold War
It was a political struggle between communism (Soviet Union) and capitalism (United States) for world influence. The Soviet Union and the United States came to the brink of actual war during the Cuban missile crisis but never attacked one another. It was from 1945 to 1991.
Free World
One side of the fighters in the Cold War, led by the United States for all countries that were fighting for a "free world."
Communist Bloc
Another side of the fighters in the Cold War, led by the Soviet Union for all the countries that were fighting for a "Communistic world."
Third World
Another side of fighters in the Cold War led by emerging nations such as Africa, Asia, and South America and was for all those that did not agree with either a free world or Communistic world.
Iron Curtain
A metaphorical term used to describe the hold of Communistic tyranny over East Europe during the Cold War. (Coined by Winston Churchill in 1946.)
NATO
North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It was an alliance of countries (Denmark, Great Britain, Netherlands, Greece, West Germany, Spain and others) that signed a defense pact called the North Atlantic Treaty against the Communistic expansion of Europe.
Warsaw Pact
A counterattack by Russia against the NATO that included pro-Communistic nations in East Europe.
Berlin Wall
A wall that was built in 1961 by the Communistic East Berlin to keep their people from fleeing to the prosperous West Berlin. It was the first time in history where a wall was built to keep the people inside their own country instead of to keep the enemy out.
Taiwan (Formosa)
A country that Nationalist leader Chiang and his people had to flee to in order to escape Mao and his Communist armies.
Eisenhower Doctrine
It permitted the President to "use armed force to assist any nation in the Middle East requesting assistance against armed aggression from any country controlled by International Communism."
OPEC
Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. It controls the supply and price of oil. This organization has the power to cut off oil supply to any country for political reasons and has done so to the United States.
PLO
Palestinian Liberation Organization. Whose objective was to establish a Palestinian state in Israel through force.
Detente
It is a french word that conveys the idea of reducing tension or hostilities between nations.
SALT Treaties
Treaty #1: Strategic Arms Limitations Talks. This was a treaty between the US and the Soviet Union in which both nations agreed to limit the production of nuclear weapons. Treaty #2: This was a follow up treaty to SALT I and further reduced nuclear weapon stockpiles. The Communists soon broke these treaties.
Reagan Doctrine
It was an offensive military policy that was created to strengthen our military and stop Communism before it struck.
Tiananmen Square
It was the location where a million university students gathered to demonstrate their longing for freedom.
Three Main Divisions of the UN #1
The General Assembly, where international problems are discussed and brought to the rest of the UN.
Division of the UN #2
The Security Council, a group of elected officials from 15 countries that make decisions about the UN's involvement in conflicts.
Division of the UN #3
The Economic and Social Council, which studies the economic and social problems of nations and offers suggestions to the UN on how to handle them.
ESSAY: The Marshall Plan
This was a plan created by Secretary of State George C. Marshall that proposed the US borrow money from many countries and use it to rebuild Europe after World War 2. The United States extended credits of $20 billion of a span of four years with the intention of stopping the Communist expansion in Europe. It was under this plan that American, Great Britain, and France sectioned off West Germany and made a prosperous country.
ESSAY: The Hungarian Revolt
The revolt took place in 1953 and was made up of workers and college students in Hungary that wanted freedom from their oppressive Communistic government. The movement spread throughout the nation and gained the support of the Hungarian army. It didn't take long for Communistic forces to flood the land with troops and machinery to crush the revolt. The revolters appealed to the West for aid, but were refused. By the end of the revolt, over 20,000 Hungarians had been killed and thousands more had been arrested.
ESSAY: Why the Korean War was fought
Near the end of World War 2, Russian troops occupied the region of North Korea and American troops occupied the region of South Korea. Because the war was nearly over, the Soviets and Americans decided to allow Korea to govern themselves by choosing a leader by a democratic, elective process as soon as the war came to a close. Once the war was over, however, the Soviets refused to allow free elections in North Korea and totalitarian leader Kim Il-sung was placed in power. Elections went as planned in South Korea and Syngman Rhee was elected President. Not long after the election, the Soviets in North Korea began to invade the South. South Korea fought back in defense of a free economy.