America Topic 6 Flashcards
What was the Red Scare?
A growing fear of communism in the USA in the years after WW2
What nations became Soviet Satellite States?
Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia and Hungary.
When was the Yalta conference held?
January 1945
How many zones was Berlin going to be divided into?
Four zones
What was the main disagreement of the Yalta conference?
How much Germany should pay in post-war reparations
When was the Potsdam conference?
July 1945
How many Russian soldiers had died during WW2?
Twenty million
Why did Stalin want to financially cripple Germany?
He saw a revived Germany as a barrier to possible Soviet expansion
Who would recieve the most from Germany in reparations payments?
The USSR due to them having suffered the most
Who wrote the Long Telegram?
George Kennan
What was the Long telegram and what did it do?
It was a telegram outlining the dangers of Soviet expansion into Eastern Europe and influenced Truman’s policies about communist containment
What was the Truman Doctrine?
A US policy of containment of communism by financially supporting at-risk countries
When was Churchill’s Iron Curtain speech?
March 1946
What was the Marshall Plan?
A plan to financially support European countries, in an attempt to prevent them from falling into communism
When was the Marshall Plan announced?
June 1947
What benefits did the Marshall Plan have for Europe?
It would provide aid in the form of cash, machinery, food and technological assistance
What did the USA get from the Marshall Plan?
An agreement from European countries to buy US goods and allow for US investment in their industry
Why did Stalin withdraw from the Marshall plan?
He didn’t trust the USA and didn’t want to show how weak the USSR was economically
What was the Domino theory?
The belief that if one country fell to communism, then those around it would also fall