Cold War

Question 1

WWII was a victory over ____. Explain

Answer 1

Fascism, not authoritarianism

The Americans and British couldn’t have defeated Hitler without the USSR

Question 2

Balance of power

Answer 2

National security is enhanced when military capabilities are distributed so that no one state is strong enough to dominate all others

Stability in Soviet-American relations was prized above all else

Question 3

Truman Doctrine

Answer 3

American foreign policy to stop Soviet imperialism during the Cold War

Foundation of American foreign policy, led to the formation of NATO

Containment

Question 4

NATO

Answer 4

North Atlantic Treaty Organization, formed to coordinate defense against USSR

America, Belgium, Britain, Canada, Denmark, France, Holland, Italy, Luxembourg, Norway, Portugal

Question 5

Marshall Plan

Answer 5

American initiative to aid Europe

US gave $13 billion in economic support to help rebuild European economies

The goal was to rebuild war-devastated regions, remove trade barriers, modernize industry, make Europe prosperous again, and prevent the spread of communism

Question 6

Iron Curtain

Answer 6

Ideological conflict and physical boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of WWII until 1991

East Germany, Poland, Romania, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria were satellite nations of the Soviet Union

Coined by Winston Churchill

Question 7

Manhattan Project

Answer 7

Most secret wartime project in the US

Scientists worked in isolation in different parts of the US, unaware of the magnitude of the project. It was later centralized and moved to an isolated area. Scientists carried out the first trial of the atomic bomb

Question 8

Soviet Union’s atomic bomb

Answer 8

Stalin authorized no public announcement of the successful test, which happened in the Kazakhstan desert

Question 9

Espionage for the Soviet Union

Answer 9

Helped make it possible for the Soviet Union to succeed so quickly in making its own atomic bomb. Some scientists were spying for Russians while working on the atomic bomb

Question 10

Massive retaliation

Answer 10

US Secretary of State announced that any major Soviet attack would be met with a massive nuclear response

Question 11

Why was it significant when the Soviet Union built an atomic bomb?

Answer 11

The US no longer had an atomic monopoly, so the Truman administration would have to consider upgrading conventional forces, possibly permanently stationing them in Europe

Had to build more atomic bombs to maintain a quantitative and qualitative lead over the USSR

Tested the first hydrogen bomb, over 1000 times more powerful than atomic bombs

Question 12

Yugoslavia and Tito

Answer 12

Not all communists fell within Stalin’s sphere of influence

Yugoslavia had been one of the Soviet Union’s most reliable allies but its leader, Tito, came to power on his own. He didn’t depend on Stalin’s support to remain in power, and openly broke with Moscow

Question 13

Non-alignment

Answer 13

Provided a way in which leaders of third world states could tilt. The idea was to commit to neither side but leave open the possibility of commitment

If pressure from one superpower became too great, a smaller power could defend itself by threatening to align with the other superpower

Question 14

Colonel Gabel Nasser - Egypt

Answer 14

Skillful practitioner of non-alignment

Played all sides

Americans funded the construction of the High Dam, received arms from Czechoslovakia, extended diplomatic recognition to the People’s Republic of China

Question 15

Mao Zedong

Answer 15

Proclaimed information of the People’s Republic of China

Marked the end of the Civil war between the Chinese Nationalists and Chinese Communists

Nationals will be fleeing to Taiwan, Communists would be preparing to govern the most populous nation in the world

Question 16

Sino-Soviet Treaty

Answer 16

Mae Zedong was ready to be the head of the international communist movement. After Stalin’s death, China became more of an opponent than an ally to the USSR

In the early stages of Mao’s reign, Mao went to Moscow to meet with Stalin and work out a common strategy. The visit lasted for two months and produced the Sino-Soviet Treaty. Two communist states pledged to assist each other in case of attack (similar to NATO)

Question 17

Warsaw Pact

Answer 17

Organization of communist states in central and Eastern Europe. Established in response to NATO

Albania (later left)
Bulgaria
Czechoslovakia
Hungary
Poland
Romania
USSR
East Germany

Question 18

Korean War

Answer 18

Began when thousands of soldiers from the North Korean People’s Army poured across the 38th parallel (boundary between the Soviet-supported north and pro-Western south)

First military action of the Cold War

Question 19

Vietnam War

Answer 19

Long, costly armed conflict that pitted the communist regime of the north against south Vietnam and the US. The divisive war ended with the withdrawal of US forces and unification of Vietnam under Communist control

Question 20

U2 Spy plane

Answer 20

American spy plane intended to take pictures to gather intelligence

The Soviets eventually gathered the intelligence to improve their anti-aircraft missile

The first satellite was about to go into orbit, which would make the plane obsolete

Question 21

East German Uprising

Answer 21

Workers in East Berlin rose in protest against government demands to increase productivity

Nearly a million joined the protests and began rioting

Collectivization produced severe food shortages. The communist system violated their basic rights, including freedom of speech and personal legal security

Question 22

Polish Uprising

Answer 22

Demonstrations by workers demanding better conditions at factories

Met with violent repression

Question 23

Hungarian Uprising

Answer 23

Thousands of protestors wanted a more democratic political system and freedom from Soviet oppression

Hungarian government announced that Hungary was withdrawing from the Warsaw Pact

Soviet tanks rolled in to crush the national uprising

Question 24

Cuban Missile Crisis

Answer 24

Leaders of the US and Soviet Union engaged in a tense, 13-day political and military standoff over the installation of nuclear-armed Soviet missiles in Cuba, extremely close to the US

This would provide the USSR with first strike capability

Question 25

Berlin Wall

Answer 25

Physical division between East and West Berlin to keep East Germans from fleeing to the West

Question 26

Brezhnev Doctrine

Answer 26

Retroactively justified the invasion of Czechoslovakia that ended with the Prague Spring, and earlier military interventions like the invasion of Hungary. The interventions were meant to end liberalization efforts and uprisings that could potentially compromise Soviet hegemony When forces against socialism try to turn a socialist country towards capitalism, it becomes a concern of all socialist countries

Question 27

Prague Spring

Answer 27

Stalinist ruler of Czechoslovakia is succeeded by Alexander Dubcek, a Slovak who supported liberal reforms Dubcek introduced far-reaching political and economic reforms, including freedom of speech. The efforts to establish communism with a human face and brief period of freedom was Prague Spring The Soviet Union answered the reforms with invasion of Czechoslovakia by Warsaw Pact troops

Question 28

Blacklist

Answer 28

In the US, people who were accused of being communists were often blacklisted. The individual was denied work or ostracized from society

Question 29

Space Race

Answer 29

USSR launched the first artificial satellite into orbit and sent the first human into space US felt a loss of prestige and increased funding for space programs and space education Kennedy challenged America to land on the moon and return him safely

Question 30

Detente

Answer 30

Period of improved relations between the US and Soviet Union When President Nixon visited Brezhnev Arms reduction

Question 31

Slow Thaw - Nixon and USSR

Answer 31

Nixon began negotiations with USSR on SALT I, which froze the number of ballistic missile launchers at existing levels First effort to stop increase of nuclear weapons

Question 32

SALT II

Answer 32

Second round of talks which sought to reduce manufacture of nuclear weapons First nuclear treaty seeking real reductions in strategic forces Resulted in an agreement, but the US chose not to sign in response to the Soviet war in Afghanistan. Agreement expired and wasn't renewed

Question 33

Re-escalation of tensions

Answer 33

Soviet invasion of Afghanistan Soviet Union intervened in support of the Afghan communist government in its conflict with anticommunist Muslim guerrillas during the Afghan War Became a long war with no clear victory possible. US supported Afghani rebels and the Soviets eventually withdrew

Question 34

Final Act - Gorbachev

Answer 34

Gorbachev becomes premier and understands that the economy can't compete with the West, partly because of Afghanistan and the costs of keeping up militarily Recognizes there's increasing unrest in the country A nuclear disaster occurred because of an explosion at a nuclear power plant. Gorbachev deemed irresponsible and there would have to be glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restructuring)

Question 35

Rebellion against Soviet influence

Answer 35

Poland's Solidarity movement breaks the Soviet Union's hold Hungary removed border restrictions with Austria Riots and protests break out in East Germany. East Germans storm the wall and border guards don't fight back. Wall is removed

Question 36

Dissolution of the Soviet Union as a functioning state

Answer 36

Gorbachev removed as the president of the USSR, declaring the office extinct The Supreme Soviet recognized the collapse of the Soviet Union and dissolved itself

Question 37

Boris Yelsin

Answer 37

Abolished the Communist party Installed a council of representatives from remaining republics Recognized the independence of the Baltic states, so Ukraine, Armenia, and Kazakhstan proclaimed their independence Dissolved the Soviet Union

Question 38

Spheres of influence

Answer 38

Area of the world in which one superpower was dominant Areas often became battlegrounds where the superpowers competed to expand their own influence or limit that of the other

Question 39

Proxy battles

Answer 39

Smaller battles in other countries Vietnam, Korea, Cambodia, Cuba, Iran, Afghanistan

Question 40

How did the Soviet Union use the Warsaw Pact?

Answer 40

As a buffer zone between itself and Western Europe - the buffer zone was the Iron curtain

Question 41

First use of NATO mutual defense clause

Answer 41

2001, after terrorist attacks on the US

Question 42

Bay of Pigs invasion

Answer 42

Goal was to overthrow Castro and establish a non-communist government friendly to the US CIA-backed, but failed - embarrassment for the US

Question 43

Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty

Answer 43

Only the US, Soviet Union, UK, China, and France were permitted to obtain nuclear weapons

Question 44

Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty

Answer 44

Superpowers couldn't build up defenses against ballistic missiles, which could have upset the balance of power and caused another expensive arms race

Question 45

When did the period of detente end?

Answer 45

With the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979