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Early Cold War Test Review:

The test will cover the early Cold War from the Yalta Conference and Post WWII through the conflicts in Europe and Asia. This includes History Alive ch.’s 37, 38, and 39. Study those chapters of the textbook to prepare for the test.

Terms:

  • Communism: system in which all people share everything with one another in order to achieve equality.

Significance: USSR emerged from WWII as one of the two superpowers. USSR was a communist nation and began trying to spread communism throughout the world to weaken democracy and protect themselves.

  • Capitalism: system in which all industries and goods are privately owned and sold. Aka free-enterprise system.

Significance: U.S. was the other superpower who practiced democracy and capitalism. Capitalism vs. Communism would become one of the centers of this ideological war.

  • Yalta/Potsdam Conferences: Close to the end of WWII these two conferences set up the plans for the post-war world. Agreed on division of Germany, formation of UN and free elections across Eastern Europe. USSR did not fulfill their promise of allowing free elections in Poland which led to conflict at Potsdam Conference.
  • United Nations: Formed after WWII to provide security for human rights around the world and allow international cooperation towards keeping peace.
  • USSR’s Eastern Bloc/Sphere of influence: Soviet Union claimed Eastern Europe as a sphere of influence. They said that they needed to create a pro-communist buffer zone between themselves and democratic Western Europe.
  • Containment: Became U.S. policy towards communism during Cold War. Stop communism from spreading into any other nation and creating a domino effect.
  • Long Telegram: U.S. diplomat wrote back to the U.S. after listening to Stalin’s speech where he called to destroy the U.S. system and way of life. The diplomat called for the U.S. to implement the containment policy.
  • Iron Curtain: Winston Churchill’s speech made in America that stated that the USSR was drawing an Iron Curtain between Western and Eastern Europe. Came to symbolize the division between the two superpowers
  • Division of Germany: Divided Germany into 4 military zones. 3 for the democratic allies and one for the USSR. Berlin was divided as well into 4 zones but the capitol was in the Soviet Zone.
  • Truman Doctrine: Truman’s promise to aid free countries from communism by providing aid. He gave $400 million to Turkey and Greece to help them fight communism
  • Marshall Plan: Fearing a situation similar to Turkey and Greece around Europe, the U.S. Congress passed the Marshall Plan which made aid available to all rebuilding countries as long as they rebuilt with American goods.
  • Molotov Plan: USSR did not allow Eastern Europe to accept Marshall Plan aid. They created the Molotov Plan which is essentially a Soviet version of the Marshall Plan.
  • NATO: North Atlantic Treaty Organization which was created to provide collective security for all democratic Western countries. An attack on one would be seen as an attack on all.
  • Warsaw Pact: Alliance system set up by the USSR which was created to provide collective security for all Soviet members.
  • Berlin Crisis: U.S., Britain and France decided to combine their 3 zones into democratic Western Germany. USSR saw this as a threat and took Berlin hostage by blockading any goods from entering the city and preventing anyone coming in or out of the city. They intended to starve the people of Berlin out until the other zone’s abandoned their plan or left Germany entirely for communism. The U.S. did not want to lose this symbolic battle and decided to airlift goods over the blockade to the people of Berlin. It worked and the blockade ended after nearly 1 year.
  • Hungary Crisis: people of Hungary rebelled against communism believing they had support of the U.S. and NATO. The rebellion was a success, but the USSR sent troops to take back the gov. and end the rebellion. The U.S. and NATO decided it was not worth the risk of war and allowed Hungary to fall back into communists hands and the deaths of over 30,000 Hungarians.
  • Fall of China: Civil War in China resumed after WWII. Mao Zedong and the Communists won the war and the U.S. backed Nationalist party fled to Taiwan. China was now allied with the USSR in Asia, containment did not work in this case. In return the U.S. allied with Japan and ensured their economic success.
  • 38th Parallel: Division of Korea between communist N. Korea and anti-communist S. Korea
  • Korean War: When WWII ended the USSR and U.S. split Korea like Germany. The USSR had military in the North and the U.S. in the south. The two superpowers were supposed to leave but the USSR stayed and trained the N. Koreans to invade S. Korea. N. Korea invaded over the 38th Parallel and pushed S. Korea back. The U.S. led the UN forces sent to protect S. Korea under command of Douglas MacArthur. MacArthur pushed N.Korea back to China before China sent hundreds of thousands of soldiers. The war turned into a stalemate at the 38th Parallel for year until an armistice was signed making the parallel a Demilitarized Zone.
  • First, second, third world countries:
  • First: U.S. and Western Democracies
  • Second: USSR and communist countries
  • Third: Everyone else who was developing

The U.S. and USSR fought for control and influence over the Third World.

  • Covert Actions in the Cold War: CIA used secret tactics and operations to support anti-communists, lead coup’s over communist governments around the world, and spy and conduct espionage against the USSR. CIA helped support overthrow’s in Iran, Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic
  • U2 Spy Plane Incident: The CIA was conducting recon missions over the USSR using U-2 spy planes. One plane was shot down and the pilot was captured. This led to increased tensions between the two countries. The pilot served 2 years in Soviet jail before being traded for a U.S. Soviet prisoner.
  • Arms Race: Race for superior quality and quantity of weapons during Cold War.
  • Brinksmanship: Policy of bringing the world to the brink of war in order to achieve goals
  • Mutually Assured Destruction: any attack made will be met with an attack of much greater force. Essentially promising to blow each other off the map if anything happens.
  • SALT: Strategic Arms Limitations Talks: Limited the # of nuclear weapons and missile launch sites between the two superpowers
  1. How and why did the US and USSR emerge as two opposing superpowers?
  1. What motivated America to enter the Cold War against the USSR? How did the end of WWII contribute?
  1. In what ways was the Cold War fought?
  1. What was NATO and the Warsaw Pact? What countries were members of these alliances?
  1. How did the arms race, brinksmanship and MAD help prevent war?
  1. How was the Korean War a proxy war and why was this important for the UN and the Cold War?
  1. Did the U.S. actions in the early Cold War bring us closer or further from our founding ideals?