Cold War Flashcards
What ideology did the Soviet Union follow?
Communism
What ideology did the USA follow?
Capitalism
What are communist principles?
Egalitarian: all people were regarded as equal and deserved equal opportunities.
What are capitalist principles?
Being run by a Democratic government of elected representatives chosen to serve the country by the majority.
What are some major criticisms of communism?
Individuals have no freedom and human rights. There are no proper elections. Only one political party is allowed. The government has to much control.
What are some major criticisms of capitalism?
Wealth is distributed unevenly. Too many people are rich and too many people are poor. There is no real equality because people are not treated equally.
What does capitalism include?(12)
Regular elections. Personal/individual freedom. Production is privately owned. Free enterprise. Prices determined by market competition. Wide variety of goods. High standard of living. Properties and companies owned by individuals. Individuals goal is to make profit. Workers choose their employer and occupation. Freedom of the press. Quality education.
What does communism include? (13)
Voters can only vote for members of the Communist Party.
Emphasis on good of society.
Production is state owned.
No class division.
Prices determined by the state.
Lower standard of living, but low-cost housing, free medical care and education.
Government owns land, factories, machinery.
Equitable distribution of resources.
Trade + industry controlled by government. Profits not allowed.
State determines employer and employment.
No freedom of press.
Free education-being educated is about serving the state.
What did the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki result in?
Th end of WWII and kickstarting the Cold War.
How did the USA and Soviet Union compete for supremacy?
By harnessing the devastating power of the atomic bomb and nuclear warfare.
What did President Truman reveal to Stalin at the Potsdam conference?
That the USA had made great advances in its Manhattan Project.
What was the Manhattan project?
A project under a team led by J Robert Oppenheimer, to develop the first ever atomic bomb.
What were Stalin’s vast network of spies called?
Espionage
How has the development of the first nuclear bomb been described?
“So top secret that there were no formal meetings about it, there was no official discussion about what to do with it.”
Why did America decide to drop the atomic bomb
The Japanese continued to fight furiously even after Germany had been defeated, and refused to surrender.
What was the aircraft carrying the bomb from the USA to Japan called?
Enola Gay
What was the bomb dropped on Hiroshima nicknamed?
Little Boy
When was the bomb dropped on Hiroshima?
6 August 1945.
What was the second bomb, dropped on Nagasaki nicknamed?
Fat Man
When did Japan surrender?
14 August 1945
When did Emperor Hirohito announce his country’s unconditional surrender in WWII?
15 August
What has been suggested about the underlying reasons the USA dropped the bombs?
An intimidating warning to the Soviet Union about the USA’s military might and capacity for attack.
What did the bombing of Hiroshima result in for the Soviet Union?
The Soviet Union became tenacious and determined to develop their own nuclear bomb.
When did the Soviet Union construct their first atomic bomb?
1949
How and when did the USA respond to the Soviet Union’s development of its first atomic bomb?
They responded in 1952 by testing the highly destructive hydrogen “superbomb”
When did the Soviet Union test its “superbomb”?
1953
What happened four years after the Soviet Union tested their “superbomb”?
Both the USA and Soviet Union tested their first intercontinental ballistic missiles.
What did President Truman develop in 1947?
The Truman Doctrine
What was the Truman doctrine?
A pledge of American support to any country that was commuted to or stopped the spread of communism.
What resulted in the Soviet Union and USA being able to control nuclear and other energy?
A terrifying arms race.
What did the Soviet Union and USA begin to do during this arms race?
They rushed to develop and manufacture more destructive weapons than their rival, and furiously began to stockpile weapons.
What theory developed from the arms race?
Mutually Assured Destruction (the MAD theory)
What did the MAD theory state?
Countries utilizing nuclear weapons during a conflict could essentially result in the end of all human life on the planet.
What was the Missile gap?
When the USA seemed convinced in the 1950s, that the Soviet Union had stronger missile capability, a military strength that was potentially so great that if launched, could not be defended against.
Was the Missile gap theory true?
No, it was disproved by the CIA (Central Intelligence Agency)
When did the two countries sign the INF?
1987
What was the INF?
Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty. It limited the scope and range of missiles.
When did USA withdraw from the INF?
2019
Why did the USA withdraw from the INF?
It believed Russia had not followed the requirements.
How could the Arms Race still not be over?
There are other countries concentrating on improving their military strength.
When did the Soviet Union launch the worlds first artificial satellite?
1957
What was the Soviet Union’s artificial satellite named?
Sputnik
What was Sputnik?
The world’s first artificial satellite and the first man-made object to be placed into the earths orbit.
What happened later in 1957?
The Soviet Union successfully launched Sputnik 2.
What did Sputnik 2 carry?
A stray dog named Laika.
What did the launch of Sputnik 2 mean for the Soviet Union?
The Soviet Union became the First Nation in history to send a living, breathing organism into orbit.
What did the USA do in 1958?
Launched its own satellite, Explorer 1, and the US President created a high specialized department entirely dedicated to space exploration.
What is NASA?
National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
What was one of NASA’s responsibilities which was kept classified until the early 1990s?
To use satellites secretly to gather information and intelligence on the Soviet Union and other communist countries.
Who became the first person to orbit earth?
The Soviet astronaut, Yuri Gagarin.
When did the first person orbit earth?
1961
How long did Gagarin remain in space for?
One hour and twenty-nine minutes.
What was announced shortly after the Soviet Union’s successful first person to orbit of earth?
The US President, John F Kennedy, made a bold public announcement that before the end of that decade, America would claim the honour of landing the first man on the moon.
What shows how determined the USA were to win the space race?
From 1961-1964, NASA’s budget was increased by almost 500 percent.
What was the increasing of NASA’a budget from 1961-1964 the start of?
The Apollo program, which culminated in the launch of Apollo 11.
When was Apollo 11 launched?
1969
Which American astronauts did the Apollo 11 spacecraft hold?
Neil Armstrong, Edwin (Buzz) Aldrin and Micheal Collins.
When did Apollo 11 land successfully on the moon?
20 June 1969
How did America make the moon landing so known about?
The moon landing was televised and watched around the world by about 723 million people, and through extensive media coverage.
What did the first walk on the moon secure for the USA?
A victory in the space race.
What must be noted about the space race?
It was incredibly dangerous, and serving your country during the space race could be life threatening.
Name some devastating attempts that ended badly during the space race. (2)
1967, fire broke out during practice launch of an American spacecraft and all astronauts died.
1971, Soviet Union spacecraft Soyuz 11 landed and it was discovered all astronauts on board were dead as the cabin had depressurized.
When did tension between the USA and Soviet Union soften?
By the 1970s.
When was the Apollo-Soyuz test project launched?
1975
What was the Apollo-Soyuz test project?
A collaborative space mission, that was the first venture with an international crew. The two spaceships, each belonging to a different Cold War superpower, docked together:
What ended the space race?
Representatives from the USA and Soviet Union met in outer space and shook hands as a gesture of support and respect. It was a significantly symbolic act which signified the end of the space race and more co-operation in the future.
