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American History > Cold War > Flashcards

Cold War Flashcards

1
Q

What was the Cold War?

A

A political struggle/war between USA and Soviet Union:
Democracy/Capitalism vs. Communism/Totalitarian

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2
Q

What were the 2 reasons as to why the USA and Soviet Union were uneasy allies?

A
  1. USA felt betrayed because the Soviet Union made a nonaggression pact with Germany
  2. The Soviet Union felt betrayed because the Allies delayed attacking Europe
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3
Q

What 2 things happened in the Yalta Conference?

A
  1. Agreement to divide Germany into four between the Allie Powers but give it back later
  2. Stalin promises to give Eastern European countries a free election after the war
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4
Q

What happened in the San Francisco Conference?

A

United Nations established: an international piece keeping organization, replacing the League of Nation.

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5
Q

What are the 2 post war goals of the Soviet Union?

A
  1. shield itself from invasion from the west by using Eastern Europe as a buffer/shield
  2. Spread Communism
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6
Q

What are the 2 post war goals of the USA?

A
  1. Stop the spread of communism
  2. Spread democracy
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7
Q

What 2 things happened in the Potsdam Conference?

A
  1. Stalin breaks his promise of free election in Eastern Europe
  2. Official beginning of the Cold War as Stalin declares that communism and capitalism could not exist in the same world
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8
Q

What are the names of East and West Germany when they were divided?

A

East - German Democratic Republic
West - Federal Republic of Germany

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9
Q

Iron Curtain

A

Coined by Winston Churchill which represented the division of Europe into west and east

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10
Q

Containment

A

US foreign policy to contain communism and spread democracy.

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11
Q

Truman Doctrine

A

Gave military aid/support to any countries that reject communism; particularly Turkey and Greece

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12
Q

Marshall Plan

A

Economic assistance to rebuild western European countries if they stay away from communism

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13
Q

George Marshall

A

US Secretary of State who came up with the Marshall Plan

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14
Q

What did the soviets do to West Berlin and why?

A

They set up a blockade and demanded West Berlin be theirs

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15
Q

Berlin Airlift

A

*First major conflict in the Cold War
Americans airlifted food/supplies to West Berlin in response to the blockade by the Soviets

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16
Q

Two rival alliances formed

A

NATO - North Atlantic Treaty Organization, led by USA, Canada, and Western Europe

Warsaw Pact - led by Soviet Union and Eastern Europe

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17
Q

What was always present in the Cold War?

A

The threat of a Nuclear War

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18
Q

H-Bombs

A

Nuclear bomb stronger than the atomic bomb

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19
Q

Brinkmanship

A

Willing to go to the brink of a nuclear war which created tension between the US and the Soviet Union

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20
Q

Arms Race

A

Build up of Nuclear weapons

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21
Q

Space Race

A

Race to control space and to launch nuclear weapons

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22
Q

What 4 things did the Soviets do in the space race?

A
  1. created 1st ICBM - Intercontinental Ballistic Missile
  2. launched Sputnik I - first unmanned satellite
  3. launched the first living creature in space - a dog
  4. launched first man in space -* Yuri Gagarin*
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23
Q

What 5 things did the USA do in the space race?

A
  1. launches Explorer I - 1st communication satellite
  2. launched the 1st spy planes
  3. launched Allen Sheppard into space
  4. John Glen 1st to orbit the Earth
  5. USA launches Neil Armstrong - 1st to moon
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24
Q

Red Scare and who led it?

A

The fear of the infiltration of communism which was led by Joseph McCarthy

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25
Berlin Wall
A wall built overnight by the Soviets in Berlin that divided West and East Berlin
26
Why did the Soviet build the Berlin Wall?
To stop people from fleeing to West Berlin, especially the young and talented ones
27
Who led the communist take over in Cuba?
Fidel Castro
28
Bay of Pigs
Invasion of Cuba to over throw the communist approved by President John F. Kennedy
29
Who were used in the Bay of Pigs invasion
Cuban exiles trained by the CIA
30
Which country does Cuba turn to for protection?
The Soviet Union
31
Cuban Missile Crisis
13 day conflict which was the closest to we ever came to a Nuclear War
32
Who is Nikita Khrushchev and what did he do?
New Soviet Union leader who places nuclear missile in Cuba pointed at USA
33
How many of people wanted to use nuclear weapons in the Soviet Submarine?
2 out of 3
34
What 2 things does Kennedy do?
1. Sets blockade in Cuba and demands the Nuclear weapons be removed 2. He also put nuclear weapons in Turkey and Italy towards the Soviet Union
35
What are the 2 things that happened to end the Cold War?
1. The fall of the Berlin Wall 2. The fall of the Soviet Union
36
Lee Harvey Oswald
Assassinated John F. Kennedy
37
Jiang Jieshi/Chang Kai Shek
Led the Nationalist democrats in the Chinese Civil War
38
Mao Zedong
Led the communists in the Chinese Civil War
39
2 Major reasons why the communist win the Chinese Civil War
1. Better trained 2. Supported by peasants
40
Formosa
Taiwan
41
Tibet
Taken by China
42
Dalai Lama
Leader of Tibet that was forced into exile
43
The Great Leap Forward
Attempt to Modernize China
44
Communes
Collective Farms
45
Goal of the Chinese Cultural Revolution
Establish a society of peasants and workers in which all were equal
46
What was dangerous to Communism?
Intellectuals/the educated, which is why they closed down all the schools
47
What four olds did Communist China want to purge?
1. Old Thoughts 2. Old culture 3. Old customs 4. Old habits
48
Who occupied North and South Korea?
North - USA and established Democracy South - Soviets and force them to be Communist
49
Who led US soldiers to drive out the communist Koreans?
Douglas MacArthur
50
Why does Truman fire MacArthur?
Because he disagreed with Truman and wanted to use the atomic bomb
51
What does the Korean war end with?
A Draw
52
What is Indochina composed of and who controlled it?
Vietnam, Loas and Cambodia and controlled by France
53
Dwight Eisenhower
Pres. of US during some parts of the Cold War and came up with the Domino Theory
54
What is the Domino Theory?
The rest of Southeast Asia will become Communist like a domino
55
Who is Ho Chi Minh?
Led Communist revolt against France and formed the Vietminh Independence League
56
What tactic did Vietnam use in War?
Guerilla Warfare
57
What does Pres. Kennedy do?
Sent military advisors to help south Vietnam
58
Ngo Dinh Diem
Brutal dictator that led the democratic gov. in south Vietnam
59
Vietcong
Communist Guerillas from north Vietnam; supported by the peasants from both sides
60
Gulf of Tonkin Incident
Congress authorizes Pres. Lyndon Johnson to send troops and the Vietnam War begins
61
@ major problems for US during the Vietnam War
1. Fighting Guerilla Warfare in unfamiliar territory 2. South Vietnamese gov. was very unpopular
62
US tactics in Vietnam (2)
1. Search and Destroy 2. Bombing - Operation Rolling Thunder
63
Vietnam War was the first war to be...
Televisionized
64
Hippies
Flower children - opposed the war
65
Hippie motto
Make love not war
66
Kent State Uni.
Protest that led to the death of 4 students
67
Draft Dodgers
Avoided the draft and fled to Canada
68
Who are the Doves and Hawks?
Doves - Anti war Hawks - Pro war
69
Richard Nixon
Pres. of US that ends the Vietnam War
70
Vietnamization
Gradually pulling out US troops out of Vietnam
71
The Vietnam war was the...
Only war in which the US lost

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