Chapter 23: The Cold War

Question 1

Containment

Answer 1

When Nazism died, the US began to quarrel with the Soviet Union on ideological differences.

Truman used “containment” to block out the Soviet expansion, and started with the Truman doctrine, and ended with the fall of the USSR in 1991.

Question 2

Truman Doctrine

Answer 2

Goal was to block the expansion of Soviet influence over Greece and Turkey. Pledge from Truman that the US would support any group that are rejecting the fascist and totalitarian governments.

Question 3

The Marshall Plan

Answer 3

American program of providing financial aid to war-torn countries in Western Europe. Greatly increased American influence in Western and Southern Europe.

Question 4

The NATO Alliance

Answer 4

An alliance made between the United States, Canada, and 10 Western Europe countries to form a defensive military alliance. America would permanently station troops in Western Europe, and ended America’s long time streak of isolationism.

Question 5

The Warsaw Pact

Answer 5

The USSR’s response to the creation of the NATO Alliance. Included East Germany, Bulgaria, Czechoslovaki, Romania, Hungary, Albania, and Poland. The cold war was now between the divided Europe of the Warsaw Pact and the NATO Alliance.

Question 6

The Berlin Airlift

Answer 6

The Soviet Union cut off Western Germany, and the United States staged an airlift to transfer food, fuel, etc to the people of West Berlin. Marked a crucial and successful test of containment.

Question 7

European Coal and Steel Community

Answer 7

Called for tariff-free trade of coal and steel among France, West Germany, Belgium, Italy, Netherlands, and Luxembourg.

Question 8

The European Economic Community

Answer 8

Also known as the Common Market. Eliminated trade barriers among its members, which was the driving force of the economic integration in Western Europe. Created by the Treaty of Rome.

Question 9

Treaty of Maastricht

Answer 9

Transformed the EEC into the European Union.

Question 10

The Economic Miracle

Answer 10

With the Marshall Plan and the EEC, Europe entered a period of rapid economic growth (West Germany dominated on top).

Question 11

The Welfare State

Answer 11

Post WWII nations providing welfare to their citizens, such as health care, unemployment, disability, and old age insurance.

Question 12

Charles de Gaulle

Answer 12

Established the 5th French Republic, and followed an independent course that opposed close ties with America. Some of his policies include:

• Granting full independence to Algeria.
• Withdrawing from NATO and groups of the like.
• Developing French nuclear weapons.
• Opposing Great Britain’s entry into the EEC.

Question 13

New Imperialism

Answer 13

The desire of European nations to extend direct control over other nations, namely in Africa and Asia. Motivations for new imperialism include civilization duty, new sources of raw materials, potential foreign markets.

Question 14

Decolonization

Answer 14

The process by which colonies gained independence from the imperial powers after World War II.

Reasons for the rapid decolonization include WWII undermining European self confidence and moral justification for imperialism, Europeans barely able to control their own empires let alone overseas ones, and increase in national self-determination in Asia and Africa.

Question 15

British Decolonization

Answer 15

Britain negotiated an end to Indian imperialism, with the colony being decided into a Hindu India and Muslim Pakistan. Israel then engaged in a war with its neighboring states for independence.

This moved onto sub Saharan Africa, first when Ghana was freed with little to no violence.

Question 16

French Decolonization

Answer 16

France resisted decolonization, unlike Great Britain. Started with the French wanting to reassert control over Indochina, but were defeated by the resisting force of Ho Chi Minh. With Charles de Gaulle, Algeria gained full independence.

Question 17

The End of Stalin

Answer 17

After WWII, Stalin started another series of new 5 year plans that involved rapid industrialization. He lead another reign of terror that involved absolute obedience, and ended with his sudden death.

Stalin’s legacy includes industrialization, expansion into E. Europe, victory in WWII, USSR into a nuclear superpower, at the price of many lives, Gulags, and totalitarian state.

Nikita Khrushchev then took over the USSR.

Question 18

Nikita Khrushchev

Answer 18

The next ruler of the USSR after Stalin’s death. He denounced Stalin’s reign of terror in a “secret speech.”

Took part in a series of programs that would de-Stalinize Russia.

Question 19

Khrushchev’s De-Stalinization

Answer 19

1. Increasing production of consumer goods.
2. Decreasing power of the Gulags (secret police)
3. Increasing the freedom of writers and intellectuals (lead to the publishing of “One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich” and “Doctor Zhivago”).

Question 20

Sputnik

Answer 20

Khrushchev of the USSR announced they had successfully launched the Sputnik to circle the Earth. The Sputnik soon became a symbol of the USSR’s technological prowess. It also played a major driving force in the space race between the USSR and the United States.

Question 21

Berlin Wall

Answer 21

In the mid 20th century, many East Germans were fleeing to West Germany, so Khrushchev started to build this wall. While it stopped the refugees from fleeing, it became a symbol of Communist oppression.

Question 22

The Cuban Missile Crisis

Answer 22

The USSR were constructing nuclear weapons in Cuba, and the United States got the USSR to withdraw their weapons as long as the US did not attack Fidel Castro. This really undermined Khrushchev’s credibility and lead to his abdication of power.

Question 23

Brezhnev

Answer 23

The leader that replaced Khrushchev after his removal from power in 1964. Known for his hard-line policies that caused a period of political repression and economic stagnation.

Question 24

Brezhnev and Czechoslovakia

Answer 24

There was a new communist leader in Czechoslovakia, Dubcek, initiating a series of democratic reforms. Brezhnev got pissed and invaded Czechoslovakia with the other Warsaw Pact countries.

He justified this act with the Brezhnev Doctrine.

Question 25

Brezhnev Doctrine

Answer 25

Stated that USSR could intervene on the domestic affairs of other Communist nations.

Question 26

Détente

Answer 26

A policy to reduce tensions with the USSR. These two superpowers agreed to limit nuclear arms and expand trade.

Question 27

Renewed Cold War Tensions

Answer 27

Brezhnev sent a military army into Afghanistan to save an unpopular Marxist regime. This renewed the previous Cold War tensions before the détente.

The Reagan Administration of the US then increased military spending for their armed forces, which caused the USSR to do the same, leading to more economic problems.

Question 28

Post-Brezhnev Problems

Answer 28

After Brezhnev died, the USSR faced problems:

1. Economic stagnation
2. Political corruption
3. Economic mistakes
4. War with Afghanistan

Question 29

Mikhail Gorbechev

Answer 29

Replaced Brezhnev as the Soviet Union leader. He inherited many bad problems from Khrushchev’s leadership. He then started a series of unprecedented reforms: the Glasnost, Perestroika, and Democratization.

Question 30

Glasnost

Answer 30

Allowed the soviet citizens to suggest ways to reform their societies.

Question 31

Perestroika

Answer 31

Allowed citizens to complain about their economic problems publicly. Lead to the elimination of bureaucracy control over businesses, and incentives for greater productivity.

Question 32

Democratization

Answer 32

Called for a new election of the legislature.

Question 33

Solidarity

Answer 33

Poland was the first to test Gorbachev’s new forms. Solidarity was a democratic trade union of Polish workers.

The Polish people then rejected the Communist party in favor for the Solidarity candidates. This was the first time a Communist party was ousted from popularity.

Question 34

Fall of the Berlin Wall

Answer 34

After the Poland events, a new East German leader broke the Berlin Wall in 1989, in which the reunification of Germany occurs just one year later.

Question 35

Czechoslovakia’s Velvet Revolution

Answer 35

The fall of the Berlin Wall prompted reformers in Czechoslovakia to break away from the Communist Regime. Lead by Havel, the Communist Regime collapsed.

However, the ethnic differences prevented the Slavs and Czechs from creating a unified state, so the Czech Republic and Slovakia were peacefully created.

Question 36

Collapse of the Soviet Union

Answer 36

Gorbachev’s reforms turned out to be pretty radical, and played a direct role in the fall of the Soviet Union. The Communist Party tried one last ditch effort to save the Soviet Union by overthrowing Gorbachev with a military coup.

However, this failed, because the people (now boosted by Gorbachev’s freeing reforms) were no longer scared of the Soviets and were willing to defend their freedom.

Question 37

Boris Yeltson

Answer 37

President of the Russian Republic thwarted the group of military people.

Question 38

The End of Gorbachev

Answer 38

Gorbachev resigned in 1991 to a country that no longer existed. The Soviet Union then disbanded into 15 separate republics.