Cold War Foundations
Question: This term describes the political and ideological conflict between the United States and Soviet Union without direct fighting between them.
Answer: What is the Cold War?
Question: This U.S. policy aimed to stop the spread of communism without starting a direct war with the Soviet Union.
Answer: What is containment?
Question: This competition involved the United States and Soviet Union building more powerful nuclear weapons.
Answer: What is the arms race?
Question: This type of war happens when powerful countries support opposing sides instead of fighting each other directly.
Answer: What is a proxy war?
Question: This term means the process by which colonies gained independence from European imperial powers after WWII.
Answer: What is decolonization?
Question: The United States supported this economic system based on private ownership, free markets, and profit.
Answer: What is capitalism?
Question: This U.S. plan sent economic aid to Western Europe to rebuild after WWII and prevent communism from spreading.
Answer: What is the Marshall Plan?
Question: This Cold War competition focused on satellites, astronauts, and reaching the Moon.
Answer: What is the Space Race?
Question: In this war, the United States backed South Korea while the Soviet Union and China backed North Korea.
Answer: What is the Korean War?
Question: This term means the right of a people to choose their own government and political future.
Answer: What is self-determination?
Question: The Soviet Union supported this system where the government controlled the economy and aimed for equal distribution of wealth.
Answer: What is communism?
Question: This U.S.-led military alliance was created to protect Western democracies from Soviet expansion.
Answer: What is NATO?
Question: This idea meant that if one side launched nuclear weapons, both sides would be destroyed.
Answer: What is M.A.D., or Mutually Assured Destruction?
Question: In this conflict, the United States backed South Vietnam while communist North Vietnam received support from communist powers.
Answer: What is the Vietnam War?
Question: This term means strong pride in one’s nation or ethnic group and helped drive independence movements.
Answer: What is nationalism?
Question: This “curtain” symbolized the political division between communist Eastern Europe and democratic Western Europe.
Answer: What is the Iron Curtain?
Question: This Soviet-led alliance included communist Eastern European nations and served as a response to NATO.
Answer: What is the Warsaw Pact?
Question: This 13-day crisis occurred when the Soviet Union placed nuclear missiles in Cuba, close to the United States.
Answer: What is the Cuban Missile Crisis?
Question: This country became communist under Fidel Castro and became a major Cold War concern because it was only 90 miles from Florida.
Answer: What is Cuba?
Question: This movement included countries that refused to officially side with either the United States or Soviet Union during the Cold War.
Answer: What is the Non-Aligned Movement?
Question: Explain why the United States and Soviet Union became rivals after WWII even though they had been allies during the war.
Answer: What are ideological differences, competing goals, distrust, and fear that the other side would spread its system?
Question: Why did the Marshall Plan support containment?
Answer: What is rebuilding Western Europe so poor and desperate countries would be less likely to turn communist?
Question: Why did M.A.D. help prevent direct war between the United States and Soviet Union?
Answer: What is both sides knew that nuclear war would destroy both countries, so neither side wanted to fire first?
Question: Explain how proxy wars allowed the Cold War to “go hot” without the United States and Soviet Union fighting directly.
Answer: What is the superpowers gave weapons, money, troops, or support to opposing sides in other countries while avoiding direct nuclear war?
Question: Explain how decolonization and the Cold War became connected after WWII.
Answer: What is newly independent nations often needed aid and support, so the United States and Soviet Union competed to influence them through money, weapons, alliances, and proxy conflicts?