MXMS U.S. History

​The Cold War: a state of military and political tension following World War II. 

Ho Chi Minh: Communist leader of North Vietnam.

John F. Kennedy: President of the United States from 1961-1963; assassinated in Dallas, Texas in November 1963.

Nikita Khrushchev: the head of the Soviet Communist Party and leader of the Soviet Union from 1958 to 1962. 

Gamal Abdel Nasser: president of Egypt who seized the British-controlled Suez Canal in 1956. 

Harry S. Truman: Vice President of the United States under Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR); became President of the United States upon Roosevelt's death in 1945. 

Bay of Pigs Invasion: failed U.S. invasion of Cuba and effort to assassinate Cuban leader Fidel Castro in 1961. 

Cuban Missile Crisis: the crisis that occurred when Cuban leader Fidel Castro sought economic and military assistance from the Soviet Union after the Bay of Pigs Invasion. 

Policy of Containment: U.S. foreign policy doctrine that argued that Communism should be contained to prevent its spread throughout the world. 

Domino Theory: the belief that if one country fell to Communism, others were sure to follow. 

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO): an organization formed in 1949 that bound the United States, Canada, most of Western Europe, Greece and Turkey against the Soviet Union and the Eastern bloc countries of Europe. 

Space Race: the Cold War competition between the United States and Soviet Union for supremacy in the exploration of outer space. 

Suez Crisis: the crisis that erupted after Egypt seized control of the Suez Canal from Great Britain in 1956. 

Warsaw Pact: the agreement signed by the Soviet Union and Eastern bloc countries of Europe pledging mutual defense against NATO countries. 

38th Parallel: divided the Korean peninsula after World War II; North was communist and led by Kim Il Sung; South was democratic and led by Syngman Rhee.

William Calley: the U.S. army lieutenant and leader of the forces who carried out the My Lai Massacre in 1968.

Lyndon B. Johnson (LBJ): President of the United States during the first part of the Vietnam War; authorized a Policy of Escalation and Operation Rolling Thunder. 

Robert S. McNamara: the Secretary of Defense under U.S. Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. 

Ngo Dinh Diem: leader of the South Vietnamese Republic of Vietnam from 1955 to 1963.

Richard M. Nixon: President of the United States during the second part of the Vietnam War; authorized a Policy of Withdrawal of U.S. military forces from Vietnam.

17th Parallel: the dividing line between North Vietnam and South Vietnam.

Agent Orange: the chemical herbicide and defoliant that U.S. forces sprayed extensively in order to kill vegetation in the Vietnamese jungles and expose enemy hideouts. 

Demilitarized Zone (DMZ): the no-man's land surrounding the border of the 17th Parallel between North Vietnam and South Vietnam.

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution: the 1964 legislation passed by Congress that allowed President Lyndon B. Johnson to escalate the war in Vietnam.

Napalm: a flammable, sprayable, gasoline-based gel used by the U.S. as a weapon throughout the Vietnam War. 

Search and Destroy: a U.S. military strategy designed to send U.S. troops out into the field and jungles of Vietnam to proactively locate and kill enemy forces.

Tet Offensive: a massive offensive launched by Viet Cong guerrilla fighters on January 30, 1968. 

Viet Cong (VC): the large guerrilla fighters hidden among South Vietnam's population who were extremely difficult to target and find; enemies of the United States. 

North Vietnamese Army (NVA): the regular army of North Vietnam; enemies of the United States. 

My Lai Massacre: a tragic event in 1968 in which U.S. forces, under the command of William Calley, slaughtered innocent civilians in a small Vietnamese village.