GCSE HISTORY > USA (foreign policy) > Flashcards

USA (foreign policy) Flashcards

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1
Q

What was the political system of the USSR like after the WW2?

A
  • One party communist state
  • No free elections
  • The state owned and controlled the country’s industry and agriculture
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2
Q

Who was Joseph Stalin?

A

A totalitarian dictator of the USSR.

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3
Q

What were the Political systems of the USA and Britain like after WW2?

A
  • Democratic and Capitalist
  • Governments came to power through free elections
  • agriculture and industry were in private ownership and were run for profit
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4
Q

What did the Soviets fear?

A

They believed that the West wanted to destroy communism.

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5
Q

What did the West fear?

A

The spread of communism- fear originated with the Bolshevik revolution (1917).

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6
Q

When did Harry Truman become president and what was he convinced about?

A

1945

He was convinced that the USSR intended to take over the whole of Europe.

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7
Q

Who were the ‘Big Three’?

A

The allies: USSR, USA & Britain

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8
Q

When was the Yalta conference?

A

February 1945

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9
Q

What was the purpose of the Yalta conference?

A

So that the allied leaders (Joseph Stalin, Winston Churchill and FDR) could agree the principles of a peace settlement.

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10
Q

What did they decide at the Yalta Conference?

A
  • Germany was allowed to be divided into four zones. Britain, France, the USA and the USSR would occupy a zone each.
  • As Berlin was in the Soviet zone, it too would be split into four zones.
  • Although Stalin was able to have influence over Eastern Europe the countries there would be able to elect their government in free elections.
  • How much Germany should pay in reparations.
  • Ban Nazi party, Demilitarise Germany’s army,
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11
Q

What were relations like at Yalta.

A

There were tensions, especially between Stalin and Churchill.

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12
Q

When was the Potsdam conference?

A

July 1945

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13
Q

What were relations like between the West and the East after the war?

A

They had cooled.

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14
Q

What was Truman’s attitude towards Stalin?

A

Truman was determined to deal strictly with the Soviets.

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15
Q

What did Clement Attlee (New British Prime minister)think about Stalin?

A

He was deeply suspicious of him.

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16
Q

What was the atmosphere like at Potsdam?

A

Increasingly hostile.

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17
Q

Why was the Truman Doctrine introduced?

A

In order to commit to the US policy of containment.

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18
Q

Why was the Truman doctrine a turning point in US foreign policy?

A

The Truman doctrine made it the policy of the US to help in European affairs.

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19
Q

What were the outcomes of the Truman doctrine?

A
  • Greek Government were able to defeat the communists.
  • The rivalry between the USA and USSR increased.
  • USA became far more involved in European affairs.
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20
Q

What caused the chance for the spread of communism in 1947 and may have been the vital for the initiation of the Truman doctrine?

A

When the British announced that they were no longer able to offer the Greek government military support against communist rebels.

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21
Q

What did Stalin set up in 1947?

A

The communist information Bureau- linked communist parties in common action.

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22
Q

Why was the Marshall plan introduced by General George Marshall?

A

So that Truman could back up his policy of containment with economic aid to Europe.

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23
Q

How much did the Marshall palm fund?

A

$15 billion

Gave it to war time allies like Britain and former enemies like West Germany.

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24
Q

What did Marshall Aid take he form of?

A

Cash, machinery, food and technology.

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25
What did the nations that were supported by Marshall Aid do in return.
Buy US goods, allow US companies to invest capital in their industries. As a result the USA almost encouraging these nations to be capitalist (soft diplomacy)
26
What was the ‘iron curtain’?
A political and economic division between the East and the West.
27
What was Churchill trying to get across in his iron curtain speech?
That the USA should maintain military presence in Europe in order to prevent the spread of communism.
28
How was Berlin divided?
Into four zones of occupation: Britain, USSR, USA, France.
29
How did the zones of Berlin differ?
Western zones received large quantities of Marshall Aid, they set up free elections to establish democracy. This was in contrast to the soviet policies. A western currency was set up.
30
What did Stalin do on the 24th of June 1948?
He cut off road, rail and canal traffic from the western zone of Germany in order to starve the Allies out of west Britain.
31
How did the allies respond to the Blockade?
The allies decided to air lift supplies from their bases in West Germany.
32
What did Stalin do on the 12th May 1949?
Called off the Blockade, he had failed to starve the allies out of Berlin.
33
What was NATO?
NATO was established as although the western states were joined together, they were no match for the USSR.
34
What was the purpose of NATO?
To prevent Soviet expansion.
35
What did Stalin see NATO as?
An aggressive alliance and in 1955 the USSR had set up its own rival organisation known as the Warsaw Pact.
36
What did Krushchev order in 1961?
The construction of the Berlin Wall to separate East and West Berlin.
37
When the Berlin Wall was constructed how many refugees were leaving per month?
20,000 a month.
38
Who was George Kennan and what was the ‘long telegram’?
He was the USA’s deputy chief at US embassy in Moscow 1946. He saw USSR as agressive and advised USA against Soviet expansion in Eastern Europe. His telegram became known as the ‘long telegram’ and influenced Truman’s policies in the Cold War.
39
What happened from 27-28 October?
US and Soviet tanks fully armed, faced each other in a stand off. After 18 hours, Kennedy was forced to back down but was furious with the USSR.
40
Why did Kruschev put missiles on Cuba?
Cubans were viewed as heroes and giving them modern weapons would help them to respond to US agression. So the USSR could have an equal chance of setting missiles on America. Force the USA out of Berlin. USSR wanted communism to spread though Latin America. Equalised balance of power.
41
What was decided about Vietnam in 1954?
That the country should be split into a French and US backed South and a Soviet backed North.
42
What was the Geneva agreement?
Splitting Vietnam. | US were worried that Ho Chi Minh (leader of the north & a communist) would win the election.
43
What was the Vietcong?
Ho Chi Minh began a campaign of terror in the South.
44
What was the overthrow of Diem?
America supported President Diem of the South, he was unpopular and assassinated in 1963.
45
What was the Strategic Hamlet failure?
Kennedy used defended villages or Hamlets to guard peasants from communists, this only angered communists.
46
What was the Gulf of Tonkin?
LBJ used the firing on a US destroyer near Vietnam to persuade Congress to use greater forcer in Vietnam. Troops began to arrive in 1956.
47
What was détente?
A term used to describe the improvement in relations between the USSR and USA. French word for ‘reduction in tension’.
48
Reasons for détente?
Threat of a nuclear war had a sobering effect on all concerned. USA and USSR wanted to reduce their defence spending. If relations improved, Brezhnev might persuade his north Vietnamese ally to end the was- ‘linkage’. Brezhnev was not keen to see a US- China alliance.
49
What does SALT stand for?
Strategic arms limitation treaty.
50
What did SALT 1 involve?
Limit short range missiles. No more IBCs. Submarines would carry nuclear weapons. Agreement would last until 1985.
51
What did SALT 2 involve?
Limit long range missiles. | USSR continued to impression diessendents
52
What 3 things did Helsinki consist of?
Security, human rights & trade cooperation.
53
What was the ping pong diplomacy? 🏓
Began at the world Table Tennis Champs 1971 (in China) Helped Sino-US relations Trade US government lifts trade embargo in 1971
54
What events in 1979 &8 deteriorated relations between USSR and China?
Soviet invasion of Afghanistan (1979)and Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia (1978).
55
Which communist fighters took over Afghanistan and caused thousands of Muslim to join the mujahedeen (guerrilla freedom fighters and declared a holy war) in 1979?
The People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA)
56
Why did the USSR get involved in Afghanistan?
To restore order and help the PDPA.
57
Why was Carter concerned about Afghanistan?
He was concerned about Soviet access to West’s oil supplies.
58
How did President Carter respond to the USSR about Afghanistan?
Firm with the USSR and Boycotted the Moscow Olympics.
59
What were Reagan’s beliefs in terms of the USSR?
He took a tougher line with them than Carter. Had no interest in détente. Prepared to confront the USSR. Reagan called the USSR ‘An evil empire’ to Britain in a speech in 1982. He was determined to win the Cold War.
60
What was SDI?
Strategic defence initiative Became known as ‘Star Wars’. Planned to launch an army of satellites equipped with powerful lasers.
61
What effects did (would) SDI have?
Would take the nuclear arms race to a new level. Proposed a ‘nuclear umbrella’. Would make USSR missiles useless and force them to disarm.
62
What was perestroika?
Gorbachev’s new policy to reconstruct, meant economic reforms designed to make the Soviet economy more efficient.
63
What was ‘glasnost’?
Gorbachev’s new policy of Openness, censorship of the press would be relaxed.
64
What happened during the Geneva Summit (1985)?
Nothing was decided but the Geneva accord was set out which committed the USA and USSR to speed up arms talks.
65
What was the Moscow Summit?
May 1988 Lead to the conventional forces in Europe (CFE) treaty, signed by NATO and the Warsaw Pact representatives in November 1990.
66
What did the (CFE) treaty do?
Reduced number of missiles, tanks and aircraft help by signatory states?
67
What did Gorbachev and Bush announce in 1989?
The Cold War was over in a summit in Malta.
68
How did the superpowers act when Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in 1990?
The acted closely. Gorbachev did not commit any troops to the coalition forces in 1990.
69
What happened at the Washington Summit in 1990?
Discussed Strategic Arms Limitation (START) and finally decided to sign the treaty for the Reduction and limitation of Strategic Arms (START 1).
70
What happened on the 31st of July 1990?
Called for both the USA and USSR to reduce 25 - 35 per cent of all their strategic warheads.
71
When did the Berlin Wall fall?
9th November 1989.
72
When we’re West and East Germany formally reunited?
October 1990.
73
What caused the collapse of the USSR?
In 1990 the Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) declared themselves independent. In 1991 coup d’état (an attempt to take over Russia) failed, Gorbachev resigned and USSR falls apart.
74
What happened to the Shah of Iran in 1979?
He was forced to abdicate m
75
Why were the USA concerned by Iran?
The USA had vital oil interests in the Gulf area, especially Iran.
76
What did Ayatollah want in return for the hostages he held.
For the USA to agree to the extradition of the former Shah.
77
Why did the crisis over the hostages last so long?
The US refused to hand over the Shah and they cut off all oil supplies. The US rescue mission went terribly wrong.
78
How did the crisis in Iran end in 1981?
Negotiations for the release of the hostages resumed after the death of the Shah in 1980. 20 mins after Reagan was sworn into presidency 52 hostages were released.
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