Cold War
What is NATO?
North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It is a military alliance of democratic countries, which would make it so an attack on one of the countries involved would be an attack on all NATO countries.
Who do Koreans believe started the war?
The Americans. In the documentary multiple Korean people of various ages stated they believe that unifying the north and south of Korea was important, and that Americans declared war on Korea to kill them.
Who was the leader of Cuba that asked for insurance from the Soviets?
After the bay of pigs Fidel Castro wanted extra insurance against the Americans.
On what holiday did a famous sneak attack occur, and how did it happen?
During the holiday of Tet, a sneak attack occurred. The US and their allies in Vietnam did not expect it because they assumed it would be a day of cease fire.
What were the three main reasons the United States joined World War 2, and what event swayed the US into officially joining WW2?
The three main reasons were imperialism, national security, and global power. The bombing of Pearl Harbor tipped America over the edge and swayed president Franklin D. Roosevelt into declaring war.
Why did the Soviet Union want to expand?
The Soviet Union wanted to spread its communist beliefs, as they believed that communism should be accepted by the entire world.
What is the belief of most North Koreans on Kim Jong Un?
They think he is their savior and that he is their sacred leader who came down from the heavens. They believe that his love supplies all of them with life.
What did the Soviets send Cuba to ensure their safety?
They sent nukes with the potential to destroy nearly any city in America.
The US wanted to maintain a good relation with the non-communist Vietnamese. What did they do to do this, and what was the effect?
The US sent hundreds of thousands of troops to Vietnam to train the Vietnamese soldiers, however the military tactics suffered between the two nations so much that it ended in a lot of confusion.
What was the “race” for during WWII? To what extent did this race have on the outcome of the war?
The race was for the first nuclear bomb. Not only would the first to create the bomb be the victor of the war, but the first country would also achieve a lot of global power and national security. The United States won this race and effectively ended the war by dropping two nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
What is MAD? How was this an issue of national security?
MAD stands for mutually assured destruction, where if one nation fires a nuke at another, the other will fire one back. It effectively kills both countries and is therefore mutually destructive. This kept both the Soviets and the US in check, as neither could afford to fire a nuke upon another.
Why did Truman try and help South Korea?
He believed that because China had fallen to communism recently that if the US didn’t intervene, then South Korea would fall too.
What was the agreement that ended the crisis?
The Soviets removed its missiles from Cuba. This also protected Cuba from the US and let it continue to be communist. The US promised to remove nukes from Turkey, but they had to do it in secret to keep their relationship with Turkey.
What is the domino effect, and who’s opinion was it that it would happen?
President Eisenhower believed that if one new Asian country joined the communist regime that it would cause a chain reaction to where a bunch of others would join along with them.
A group of allied nations joined together, what did they name themselves? This group aimed to stop Germany from commencing any more attacks after World War I. To what effect did this limitation work during the events leading up to WWII?
The League of Nations limitations did not work in the slightest. The League was too soft and Hitler took advantage of that when he began WWII by invading Poland.
In response to the US gaining new allies, what did the Soviet Union do?
The Soviets attempted to get new allies of their own, and they collaborated especially with neighboring countries to spread communist beliefs. This is what gave them the name “Soviet Union”, as they were a union of communist countries.
MacArthur wanted to nuke North Korea and ensure victory for South Korea. Why didn’t Truman agree with this standpoint?
He had the Soviets in mind. He knew that if the US started nuking allies and other communist nations that the Soviets would retaliate in some fashion and the US would suffer because of it.
What was JFK’s viewpoint on the crisis?
He believed that avoiding conflict at all costs was important to ensuring the safety of all Americas. He did everything in secret in order to make the best decisions for America.
What did Barry Goldwater say to inspire the commercial that allowed Johnson to win the presidential election?
He said that he wouldn’t mind nuking the Vietnamese, which Johnson used to create the famous Daisy Girl advertisement.
What economic period of time occured before WWII, and how did that event sway American efforts both before and during the war?
The Great Depression had a large impact on United States involvement. Due to the heavy economic hardships that the US was enduring, many believed war was a strong way to rebuild. The relationship with Great Britain also swayed US involvement as the US had billions of dollars of trade value with them.
What was the name of the plan to stop communist expansion, and how did it work?
The Marshall plan was one idea to stop communist expansion. The US assisted neighboring countries to their allies in Western Europe. The goal was to help them rebuild and assure that they could defend against Russia.
Did the conflict ever really end?
The war never ended on the legal side of things. However due to casualties both sides backed away from the conflict. Today there are still hostilities between North and South Korea, from unresolved conflict among other things.
What happened to the relation between the soviet union and America after JFK was assassinated?
The relationship deteriorated as the next president had a much more violent approach. The attempt of peaceful resolution was thrown at the window.
Did the domino effect end up happening as a result of the war?
No, communist takeover did not happen and the domino theory was proven false.
How were the leaders of each axis power similar to later communist leaders, and what were each of the leaders’ names?
Mussolini of Italy, Hirohito of Japan, and Hitler of Germany are similar to other communist leaders because they too aimed to spread their beliefs across a multitude of countries. Both communist powers and these three nations used extreme force to take over other countries and threaten their people into having their same beliefs.