Ideology
This U.S. policy aimed to stop communism from spreading without directly attacking the Soviet Union.
What is containment?
This Cold War event involved supplying a city entirely by airplane for nearly a year.
What is the Berlin Airlift?
This doctrine argued nuclear war would destroy both sides completely.
What is MAD (mutually assured destruction)?
This Cold War strategy argued that if one country fell to communism, nearby countries would follow.
What is Domino Theory?
These reforms introduced by Gorbachev increased openness and restructured the Soviet economy.
What are glasnost and perestroika?
Explain why both the United States and Soviet Union believed their system would create a more stable world.
Possible answers: U.S. believed democracy/capitalism protected freedoms and prosperity; USSR believed communism created equality and prevented exploitatio
After WWII, Germany was divided into occupation zones controlled by these four Allied powers.
Who are the United States, Soviet Union, Britain, and France?
Why did nuclear weapons make direct war between the U.S. and USSR less likely?
Possible answers: fear of annihilation, guaranteed retaliation, no true winner.
Why did China enter the Korean War after UN troops moved toward the Chinese border?
Possible answers: feared invasion, wanted protect communist North Korea, feared U.S. troops near border.
How did democratic movements in Eastern Europe weaken Soviet control during the late 1980s?
protests/free elections spread, communist governments collapsed, USSR lost influence/control over Eastern Europe.
How did the Marshall Plan increase Cold War tensions even though it focused on economic aid?
Possible answers: increased U.S. influence in Europe, spread capitalism, USSR viewed it as threat/interference.
What did the Iron Curtain symbolize during the Cold War, and why did it increase tensions between the United States and Soviet Union?
division between communist Eastern Europe and democratic Western Europe, Soviet control over East, ideological conflict, growing mistrust between superpowers.
Explain why Khrushchev believed placing missiles in Cuba made strategic sense for the USSR.
possible answers: protect Cuba, counter U.S. missiles in Turkey, balance power.
Explain one reason guerrilla warfare was difficult for the United States in Vietnam OR the Soviet Union in Afghanistan.
Possible answers: surprise attacks, terrain advantage, hard to identify enemy, long costly war.
How did the fall of the Berlin Wall become a symbol of the end of the Cold War?
collapse of communist control in Eastern Europe, weakening Soviet influence, movement toward democracy and reunification.
Why would the Soviet Union be especially concerned about Western influence in Eastern Europe after WWII?
fear of invasion after WWII losses, wanted buffer zone, wanted communist allies nearby.
How did the Berlin Wall reveal weaknesses in the communist system of East Germany?
Possible answers: citizens fleeing to West, lack of freedom/opportunity, government needed wall to keep people from leaving.
Why was Kennedy’s naval blockade during the Cuban Missile Crisis risky?
Possible answers: could trigger war, Soviet ships might resist, possible escalation into nuclear conflict.
How did Mao use the Cultural Revolution to strengthen his political control in China?
Possible answers: targeted critics/enemies, used Red Guards, increased loyalty to Mao, spread fear.
Explain how Gorbachev’s reforms unintentionally helped cause the collapse of the Soviet Union instead of saving it.
Possible answers: glasnost encouraged criticism/protests, perestroika weakened economy further, reforms reduced communist control, nationalism and independence movements increased.
Explain how fear shaped BOTH United States and Soviet Union actions at the beginning of the Cold War. Use at least two specific examples.
Possible answers: fear of communism led to containment/Marshall Plan/Truman Doctrine; fear of invasion or Western influence led USSR to control Eastern Europe/blockade Berlin/create buffer zone.
How did the division of Germany make Berlin one of the most dangerous hotspots of the Cold War?
Possible answers: city divided between superpowers, symbol of ideological conflict, risk of direct confrontation, blockade/wall/crises increased tensions between U.S. and USSR.
During the Cuban Missile Crisis, both the United States and Soviet Union believed they were acting defensively. Explain how each side justified its actions.
Possible answers: U.S. viewed missiles in Cuba as direct threat close to homeland; USSR viewed missiles as protection for Cuba and response to U.S. missiles in Turkey/nuclear advantage.
To what extent was the Vietnam War a failure of containment policy? Use specific evidence from the war and its outcome in your answer.
Possible answers: U.S. prevented spread temporarily but Vietnam became communist; heavy costs/losses weakened support; debate over whether containment succeeded elsewhere in Asia.
Place these events in the correct order from earliest to latest: