U.S. In The World
Good Neighbor Policy
The Good Neighbor Policy, initiated by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933, was a U.S. foreign policy shift toward Latin America emphasizing non-intervention, non-interference, and mutual respect. It aimed to improve relations, foster hemispheric solidarity against Axis powers, and boost trade, reversing decades of military interventionism.
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor was a surprise Japanese military strike on the U.S. naval base in Hawaii on December 7, 1941, intended to destroy the Pacific Fleet.
Nuclear Race
The Nuclear Arms Race was a tense Cold War competition between the United States and the Soviet Union (roughly 1945–1991) to develop, stockpile, and improve nuclear weapons for military and political superiority.
Truman Doctrine/Marshall Plan
The Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan (1947–1948) were cornerstone U.S. Cold War policies designed to contain Soviet expansion and communism by offering military aid and massive economic assistance to rebuild war-torn Europe.
Korean War
a conflict between North Korea (supported by China and the Soviet Union) and South Korea (supported by the UN/US). Begun by a Northern invasion to unify the peninsula, it became a major Cold War proxy fight, resulting in over 2.5 million deaths and creating the 38th parallel demilitarized zone (DMZ).
U.S.S Maine
exploded and sank in Havana Harbor on February 15, 1898.
League Of Nations
The League of Nations was an international organization established in 1920, following World War I, to maintain world peace and resolve international disputes through diplomacy and collective security.
Sputnik/Space Race
The Space Race was a 20th-century (roughly 1957–1975) Cold War competition between the US and USSR for superiority in space exploration and technology. It began when the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite, on October 4, 1957.
Second Red Scare
The Second Red Scare (late 1940s–1950s) was a period of intense anti-communist paranoia in the US, driven by Cold War fears of Soviet expansion, the fall of China to communism, and publicized spy cases.
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a 13-day standoff (October 1962) between the US and the Soviet Union, triggered by the discovery of Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba. It was the closest the Cold War came to nuclear war, resolved when Khrushchev removed the missiles in exchange for a U.S. promise not to invade Cuba and a secret agreement to remove U.S. missiles from Turkey.
Big Stick Policy
Big Stick diplomacy is President Theodore Roosevelt's foreign policy of negotiating peacefully with other nations while simultaneously threatening them with the "big stick" of a powerful military. It means speaking softly (diplomacy) but being prepared to use force to uphold U.S. interests, particularly in Latin America.
Neutrality Act
The Neutrality Acts were a series of U.S. Congressional acts passed between 1935 and 1939 designed to keep the United States out of foreign conflicts by prohibiting arms sales, loans, and travel on belligerent ships.
Containment
Containment was a United States foreign policy strategy adopted after World War II (roughly 1947) to prevent the spread of communism and Soviet influence abroad.
HUAC
The House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) was a U.S. House of Representatives committee (1938–1975) created to investigate alleged disloyalty, subversive organizations, and Communist infiltration, particularly during the Cold War.
Domino Theory
The domino theory was a U.S. foreign policy doctrine during the Cold War (1950s–1980s) suggesting that if one country in a region fell to communism, neighboring countries would inevitably follow, like a row of dominoes.
Spanish-American War
a conflict between the United States and Spain that ended Spain's colonial empire in the Western Hemisphere and established the U.S. as a global power.
Treaty Of Versailles
the primary treaty ending World War I, signed between the Allied Powers and Germany on June 28, 1919, in France.
Iron Curtain
The Iron Curtain was the ideological, political, and physical boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas—Soviet-dominated communist Eastern Europe and democratic Western Europe—from the end of World War II (1945) until the end of the Cold War (1991).
Blacklisting
Blacklisting is the act of compiling a list of people, organizations, or entities (like IP addresses) considered untrustworthy, unacceptable, or suspicious, resulting in their exclusion from employment, services, or access.
Vietnam
Vietnam was a Southeast Asian nation that became the focal point of a major 20th-century Cold War conflict, the Vietnam War (1954–1975). It was split into a communist North and a non-communist South, resulting in a long battle against French colonial rule and later a conflict where the U.S. intervened to prevent communist expansion, ultimately uniting as a communist state in 1975.
Panama Canal
an 82-kilometer (51-mile) artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
Isolationism/Interventionism
Isolationism is a foreign policy of avoiding alliances and entanglements in foreign affairs to focus on domestic issues. Conversely, interventionism is an active policy of involving a nation in foreign affairs, often militarily or economically, to influence global events, protect interests, or promote values.
Berlin Wall/Airlift
The Berlin Airlift (1948–1949) was a massive Allied mission that flew over 2.3 million tons of food, fuel, and supplies into West Berlin after the Soviet Union blocked all land/water access to the city.
McCarthyism
McCarthyism is the practice of making reckless, unsubstantiated accusations of subversion or treason, specifically targeting alleged communist infiltration in the U.S. during the 1950s.
26th Amendment
The 26th Amendment to the United States Constitution, ratified in July 1971, lowered the legal voting age from 21 to 18 years old for all federal, state, and local elections. Prompted by the Vietnam War and the "old enough to fight, old enough to vote" movement, it prevented states from denying the vote to citizens 18 or older based on age.