Vocab
The practice of taking sides during the Cold War, primarily with the Western or Eastern Bloc
Alignment
This international organization was formed in 1949 to provide protection and mutual military support for member countries.
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
Made Cuba a one-party communist state
Sided with USSR
Helped cause the Cuban Missile Crisis
Fidel Castro
Two major proxy wars that were caused by the Cold War:
Vietnam War, Korean War
Churchill’s term for the physical and ideological boundary between east and west Europe after WWII
Iron Curtain
Explain the idea of detente and how it relates to the Cold War.
Period of 'thaw' or ease in tensions and attempt to improve relationships between the US and USSR. Took place during the 1970s.
This event in 1962 was the closest the world has come to full-out nuclear war.
Cuban Missile Crisis
List two influential people in the space race, and what they are known for.
Yuri Gagarin - 1st person in space (USSR)
Neil Armstrong - 1st person on the moon (US)
What was the Bay of Pigs? What role did it play in the Cold War?
1961 US backed invasion of Cuba by Cuban revolutionaries
Attempt to overthrow Fidel Castro
Failed and led to worse problems
Castro turned to the USSR
Increased Cold War tension - led to Cuban Missile Crisis
Explain the Velvet Revolution and Velvet Divorce, and where they took place.
Velvet Revolution - 1989 - Czechoslovakia’s peaceful protests that led to removal of communist control
Velvet Divorce - 1992 - Czechoslovakia split peacefully
Czech Republic (Czechia)
Slovak Republic (Slovakia)
Explain the connection between the domino theory and containment.
The domino theory was the fear that a successful communist takeover in one country would lead to other countries following suit. This led to many US containment policies throughout the Cold War (attempts to prevent communism from spreading by preventing Soviet influence in other parts of the world).
Which early Cold War proxy war lasted from 1950-1953?
Korean War
Who were Ho Chi Minh and Mao Zedong and what were they known for?
Ho Chi Minh - 1945-1969 - leader of communist North Vietnam
Vietnamese independence, Vietnam War
Mao Zedong - 1949-1976 - leader of People's Republic of China (PRC)
Built communist China, Great Leap Forward, Cultural Revolution
What was McCarthyism, and what did it lead to?
McCarthyism - A period of investigations in the 1950s to expose communists in the US government
Political repression/persecution of leftist politicians and others
Led by Senator McCarthy
Red Scare - Fear of communists taking over from within the country that resembled something of a witchhunt for communists
To which bloc did each of the following countries belong?
Hungary, Austria, Italy, Albania, Poland, Romania
Explain the policiy of deterrence during the Cold War using (and explaining) the terms 'brinkmanship' and MAD.
The policy of deterrence was an attempt on both sides to prevent the other from attacking by threatening strong military retaliation.
To do this, they both amassed an increasing number of deadly weapons to insure that if one side struck first, the other side would retaliate just as strongly, and in the end, both sides would be completely wiped out. This was called Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD).
Each side used political manipulation to push the other side right up to the edge in a dangerous conflict in order to get something from them (brinkmanship).
Which two events marked the beginning and end of the space race in 1957 and 1969.
1957 - Sputnik launched by USSR
1969 - First man on the moon - US
List three influential presidents of the US during the Cold War, and something that they were known for.
Harry Truman - 1945-1953 - Hiroshima/Nagasaki, Truman Doctrine, Marshall Plan, NATO
John F. Kennedy - 1961-1963 - Cuban Missile Crisis, increased involvement in Vietnam
Richard Nixon - 1969-1974 - Detente, visit to China, Vietnamization, SALT I
Ronald Reagan - 1981-1989 - Increased arms race, Strategic Defense Initiative, “Evil empire” speech
Describe four important Cold War events that happened in Berlin, and why these events were significant.
Berlin Blockade - 1948 Stalin blockaded western access to Berlin (road, rail, water); attempt to force western powers out of west Berlin
Berlin Airlift - The west responded with a 15-month airlift: bring in supplies, take out exports to support the economy
Construction of Berlin Wall - Built by East Germany in 1961, surrounded West Berlin; prevented east Germans from fleeing through West Berlin
Fall of Berlin Wall - Demolished in 1989 and the two sides of Berlin were reunited
List two important lines of latitude in the Cold War and why each was important.
38th parallel - the line that split Korea into occupation zones after WWII and became the line that split N. and S. Korea after the Korean War.
17th parallel - the line that split north and south Vietnam after the war for independence from the French. The north was run by a communist government and supported by China and the USSR; the south was run by a democratic government and supported by the US. Led to a proxy war. After the Vietnam War ended the country was reunited under the northern government.
Contrast the Cold War period with current times using the terms 'new cold war' and 'multipolar world.' Where does Ukraine fit?
We have moved from a bipolar world, where countries aligned with either the US (west) or USSR (east), to a multipolar world, where multiple nations have influence over other nations and regions (34 nations have influence over at least 5 other countries). This is creating a 'new cold war' that currently has three major players (US, China, russia), and is much more complex and unclear. Ukraine is caught in the middle of this new cold war in a form of proxy war.
How did the USSR invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 affect the Cold War?
It ended the period of detente in the 70s and heated up tension again between the two sides.
List the four main leaders of the USSR in order, and something that each was known for.
Joseph Stalin - 1924 -1953 - Communist totalitarian regime, Stalinism, Eastern Bloc, Berlin Blockade, Cominform, Comecon
Nikita Khrushchev - 1953-1964 - Destalinization, Berlin Wall, Cuban Missile Crisis
Leonid Brezhnev - 1964-1982 - Brezhnev Doctrine, detente, SALT I, Helsinki Accords, Soviet-Afghan War
Mikhail Gorbachev - 1985-1991 - Glasnost, perestroika, fall of the Soviet Union
List and describe at least three important developments of the arms race.
Atomic bombs
Hydrogen bombs
Intercontinental ballistic missiles
Nuclear submarines/missiles