Cold War, Hot Mess
What kind of war was the Cold War?
A conflict without direct fighting between the US and USSR (political/ideological rivalry).
Wars fought indirectly between superpowers are called this
Proxy wars
The competition to build powerful weapons.
Arms race
When colonies gain independence.
Decolonization
What does “superpower” mean?
A nation with major global influence.
The two superpowers of the Cold War.
United States and Soviet Union.
Which side won the Vietnam War?
Communist North Vietnam.
Explain why nuclear weapons prevented war
Mutual Assured Destruction
Continent where most decolonization occurred after WWII.
Africa
The fall of what symbolized the Cold War’s end.
Berlin Wall
This alliance was created by the USSR and Eastern Europe
Warsaw Pact.
The Warsaw Pact, established on May 14, 1955, was a Soviet-led collective defense treaty and military alliance between eight Eastern Bloc socialist republics, including the USSR, Poland, and East Germany. It was formed as a Cold War counterweight to NATO and dissolved on July 1, 1991, following the collapse of Communist governments in Eastern Europe
This line still divides North and South Korea.
The 38th parallel.
Crisis involving missiles in Cuba
Cuban Missile Crisis
This system separated people by race in South Africa.
Apartheid
Year the Berlin Wall fell.
1989
Compare the economic systems of the USSR and USA during the Cold War
During the Cold War, the US and USSR operated on diametrically opposed systems: American capitalism prioritized private ownership, market competition, and high-quality consumer goods, while the Soviet command economy focused on state ownership, centralized planning, and heavy industrial output. The US maintained a higher GDP and better standard of living, whereas the USSR focused resources on military strength
Why did the US fear the “domino theory”?
One country turning communist could cause others to follow.
Explain why the Space Race mattered politically
Showed technological and ideological superiority
Explain why new nations struggled after independence.
Poverty, conflict, weak governments.
Explain how the Cold War still affects the world today.
Alliances, nuclear weapons, global tensions remain.
Explain why the US wanted to stop the spread of communism.
The US feared the spread of communism because it presented an existential threat to American capitalist democracy, aimed to overthrow established social orders, and threatened global economic interests.
(They feared loss of allies, markets, and democracy)
Explain why the Vietnam War was unpopular in the US.
The Vietnam War became deeply unpopular in the United States due to high casualties, the televised brutality of the conflict, the mandatory military draft, and a growing lack of trust in government reporting. Opposition was driven by the perception that it was a civil war without clear military goals, causing many to view the sacrifice of American lives as pointless
Compare MAD and traditional warfare strategies
Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD) is a nuclear doctrine where total annihilation of both attacker and defender prevents war, while traditional warfare focuses on winning through kinetic military superiority and territorial gain. MAD acts as a deterrent against large-scale conflict, whereas traditional war assumes a winnable battle
Why AND How did Cold War powers influence new nations?
To gain allies and spread ideology. Economic/military aid
Explain why the Soviet Union collapsed.
Economic problems, reforms, loss of control.