Containment & Policy
Name the 1947 U.S. policy that promised aid to countries resisting communism
The Truman Doctrine
What was the term for the fear and suspicion of communists in the U.S. during the late 1940s–1950s, often associated with Senator Joseph McCarthy?
The Red Scare - McCarthyism
What name describes the large increase in U.S. births between 1945 and 1964?
In which Asian country did the United States fight a major conflict from 1950–1953 to stop the spread of communism?
Korea (the Korean War)
What single word names the competition between the U.S. and the USSR to achieve milestones in spaceflight?
The Space Race
What 1948 program provided large-scale economic aid to help rebuild Western Europe after WWII?
The Marshall Plan (European Recovery Program)
Name the congressional committee that investigated alleged subversive activities and loyalty concerns in Hollywood and government.
The House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC)
What federal law provided returning WWII veterans with benefits like education and home loans, contributing to postwar prosperity?
The GI Bill (Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944).
What was the immediate cause of the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962?
The discovery that the Soviet Union had placed nuclear missiles in Cuba.
What 1969 event is considered a turning point in the U.S.–Soviet space race?
The Apollo 11 lunar landing (Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the Moon).
Which 1948–49 operation flew supplies into West Berlin during a Soviet blockade?
The Berlin Airlift
What 1957 Soviet achievement triggered increased U.S. investment in science and education?
The launch of Sputnik.
Identify one cultural movement or music style from the 1950s that challenged mainstream norms.
The Beat Generation
Rock and Roll Music
What was the result (outcome) of the Korean War in terms of territory or armistice?
An armistice ended active fighting in 1953; Korea remained divided roughly along the 38th parallel, with no formal peace treaty.
Give one example of how Cold War military needs spurred technological innovations on the home front (agriculture, medicine, or consumer tech).
Examples: radar and electronics research became consumer electronics; military research improved medical imaging and vaccines; better fertilizers and machines boosted farm productivity.
What military alliance, formed in 1949, bound the U.S. and Western European nations in collective defense?
NATO — the North Atlantic Treaty Organization
Briefly describe one domestic consequence of the Red Scare on civil liberties or careers.
Examples: Hollywood blacklists; job loss; damaged reputations; reduced freedom of speech and association
Describe two ways consumer innovations in the 1950s improved American daily life.
Examples: home appliances that cut household work (washers, refrigerators); television for news and entertainment; better cars and highways for greater mobility; medical advances (vaccines, antibiotics) that improved
Explain why the United States intervened in Korea using the language of containment.
The U.S. intervened to stop a communist takeover of South Korea under containment policy and supported South Korea with UN-backed military forces.
Explain how the launch of Sputnik changed U.S. education policy or priorities.
Sputnik led the U.S. to increase federal funding for science and math, create the National Defense Education Act, and reform STEM education to train more scientists and engineers.
Explain how the Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan together illustrate the U.S. strategy of containment
The Truman Doctrine gave political and military support to resist communism; the Marshall Plan rebuilt European economies to reduce communism’s appeal. Together they used aid and alliances to contain Soviet influence.
Explain how defense spending influenced U.S. education priorities from the 1950s through the Cold War era.
Increased defense spending boosted science and engineering: more federal research funding (e.g., National Defense Education Act), expanded STEM programs, and university research
Analyze how suburban growth, consumerism, and the GI Bill interconnected to shape the 1950s economy.
The GI Bill let veterans buy homes and attend college, raising demand for housing and education. Suburban mortgages spurred construction, spending, and car use. Higher incomes and credit drove consumerism and economic growth.
Compare U.S. responses to Soviet expansion in Europe (e.g., Marshall Plan, NATO) with its responses to crises in the Western Hemisphere (e.g., Cuba).
In Europe, the U.S. used economic aid and collective security (Marshall Plan, NATO) for long-term stabilization.
In the Western Hemisphere (Cuba), the U.S. used direct, urgent measures (blockade, diplomatic standoff, covert actions).
Both aimed to deter Soviet influence but used different tools: aid and alliances versus confrontation and covert measures.
Evaluate the broader economic and cultural impacts of space technology and defense-driven research on American society in the 1950s–1960s.
Examples - creation of new industries and jobs, and national pride in scientific achievement