06.02: The Early Cold War

6.02: The Early Cold War: The Big Ideas
Briefly describe the Nuremberg Trials.
What precedents did the Nuremberg Trials set? (Hint: Think about how war criminals tried to defend their actions.)
How did the relationship between the U.S. and the Soviet Union change after WWII?
Briefly describe the differences between the U.S. and the Soviet Union.
What did the United States do to prevent the spread of communism?
What were the major alliances of the Cold War era?
People
Mary McLeod Bethune (What was she known for?)
President Truman (How did he believe the U.S. should fight communism?) / Events (Describe the event, its causes and effects)
Dumbarton Oaks Conference
Berlin Airlift
Marshall Plan
Vocabulary (fill in effects from the lesson where possible or put the definition in your own words)
Arms race – militarization between the competing superpowers of the United States and Soviet Union during the Cold War
Berlin Airlift – the event that stemmed from the Soviet blockade of roads and railways to West Berlin in 1948, which forced the United States and Britain to use aircraft to supply the city
Big Three – nickname for the leaders of the major Allied powers in WWII – Roosevelt (USA), Churchill (Great Britain), and Stalin (Soviet Union)
Cold War – the state of hostility that arose between the United States and the Soviet Union after World War II
Containment – an act or policy of restricting the territorial growth or influence of another, especially a hostile nation
Dumbarton Oaks Conference – international peace conference in Washington, DC, where the plan was made to create the United Nations
Iron curtain – phrase used by Winston Churchill to describe the imaginary line that separated Western and Eastern powers during the Cold War
Marshall Plan – economic aid sent by the United States to European nations after World War II to help rebuild their economies and win their loyalty
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) – defensive military alliance formed by the United States and its allies in 1949
Nuremberg Trials – trials held after World War II that focused on Nazi leaders and their actions during the Holocaust; trials were held at the International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg, Germany, and were organized by the United States, Great Britain, France, and the Soviet Union
Truman Doctrine – American policy of providing aid to any country whose welfare was deemed essential to the safety of the United States
Universal Declaration of Human Rights – an expression of the rights of all people made by the United Nations
Warsaw Pact – a military alliance between the Soviet Union and seven other communist nations from Eastern Europe during the Cold War