The Cold War
What two countries were involved in the Cold War?
The United States and the Soviet Union
What does decolonization mean?
A country becomes independent and free after being controlled and governed by another country.
What was the Marshall Plan?
The largest foreign aid program in history. It gave money to countries to rebuild after WW2.
Who was Josephy McCarthy?
Joseph McCarthy was a politician who was not well known but gained power and notoriety when he began to accuse other politicians of being communist.
What is the doomsday clock?
It's a symbolic clock that shows how close the world is to midnight which means total destruction.
Why did the Cold War begin?
After WW2, the U.S. and Soviet Union were stronger than many other countries. They began to compete against each other for influence over other countries.
Why did decolonization happen after WW2?
Major, powerful countries such as England, were badly damaged after WW2 and did not have the money or resources to control their colonies anymore.
How much money did the plan give to countries after WW2?
The plan gave over 13 billion dollars in air to countries around the world.
What was the secret list that McCarthy said he had?
It was a list of politicians who supposedly were also communists and were going to take over the U.S. government and eventually the entire United States.
What were some reasons that both the U.S. and Soviet Union wanted to influence decolonized countries?
They both wanted the natural resources from those countries. They were both willing to give money, weapons, and offer political support to countries that were loyal back to them.
Both countries were mostly undamaged after WW2, especially compared to Europe and Japan. The U.S. and Soviet Union didn't have to rebuild their economies or infrastructure which meant they can invest their money in technology and into other countries.
Why did decolonized countries push for independence after WW2?
Many had helped fight in WW@ and wanted to be rewarded with becoming independent and free.
What did the U.S. want from other countries in return for aid from the Marshall Plan?
The U.S. wanted natural resources and loyalty from other countries in return for aid, money, and other resources.
What was the Red Menace?
McCarthy believed that the Soviet Union had sent over communists to take over every aspect of U.S. society: government, schools, businesses, and whole communities.
What does the acronym MAD stand for?
Mutually Assured Destruction
Why is it called the Cold War?
The U.S. and Soviet Union mostly avoided direct, physical conflict with each other. Instead, they got other countries to fight for them.
Besides independence, why else did decolonized countries want independence?
They wanted to have their own governments and make their own laws. They also wanted to celebrate religions and cultures and the people that were original to those regions.
Why did the U.S. want loyalty from other countries?
The U.S. wanted to stop the spread of communism.
What does it mean to be Black listed?
If you were Blacklisted, it meant that someone had accused you of being communist. Once you were Blacklisted you couldn't get hired for jobs, political office, acting roles, and you could get fired from any job or position based on those accusations.
Why did the U.S. adopt the MAD policy?
It was a guarantee that if one country was going to bomb another with nuclear missiles, then that other country would also be blown up. A crazy policy that essentially said, "If you blow us up, we'll blow you up too."
What is the definition of a proxy war?
A proxy war is when major countries get small countries or governments to fight on their behalf.
Why did the powerful countries that controlled the colonies not want to lose their power over them?
They wanted the natural resources from those colonies. They also exploited the people in those countries and forced them to do labor and mine for natural resources.
Why did some countries not take aid from the Marshall Plan?
The Soviet Union said that they would give those countries money and aid, but only if they didn't accept the Marshall Plan from the U.S.
Why was it called the Red Scare?
The red was symbolic of communism. McCarthy wanted to scare Americans about communists.
Name a country supported by the Marshall Plan?
Japan, England, Ireland, Netherlands, West Germany, Austria, Spain, Belgium, and more