Cold War

Question 1

Cold War

Answer 1

After World War II, differing interests and
ideologies of the United States and the
Soviet Union led to mutual suspicion,
hostility, and eventually indirect conflict
that lasted for over 50 years.

Question 2

Soviet Foreign Policy After WWII:

Answer 2

●
To create a buffer around their country to stop any
attack on Russia.=stalin’s Justification for Soviet control of Poland was to
create a buffer between Germany and Russia.
20 million men lost in WWII
Attacked by Germany twice, both times via Poland.
Occupation of Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Czech, &
soon follow

Question 3

U.S. Foreign Policy

Answer 3

In response to the aggressive Soviet
expansion and their unwillingness to
cooperate, the US responds with the
Containment policy:

●
Policy toward the Soviet Union in which the
United States committed itself to stopping the
SPREAD of communism anywhere in the
world

Question 4

Phase 1: The Truman

Doctrine

Answer 4

Called for direct intervention against
the spread of Soviet aggression and to
aid Free People throughout the world.

●
Soviet Union attempts to
spread ideas to Greece & Turkey in
1947.

●
In response, the U.S. sends $400
million to these countries to fight the
spread of communism

Question 5

Greece + Turkey

Answer 5

BOTH GREECE AND TURKEY 
FACED COMMUNIST 
REVOLTS IN 1947 AND 
ASKED THE U.S. FOR AID TO 
DEFEND THEMSELVES FROM 
COMMUNIST TAKEOVERS

Question 6

Phase 2-The Marshall Plan

Answer 6

A plan drawn up by U.S. Secretary of State
George Marshall, which provided aid for
European countries still suffering from the
effects of WWII.

●
The plan gave $17 billion to Western European
countries.

●
The plan ensured an economic alliance between
W. Europe and the U.S

Question 7

HOW EUROPE WAS TO BE RECONSTRUCTED

UNDER THE MARSHALL PLAN

Answer 7

➢
MODERNIZATION OF INDUSTRIAL EQUIPMENT

➢
EXPANSION OF TRADE AND INCREASE IN EXPORTS

➢
INCREASE IN PRODUCTION ESPECIALLY IN
AGRICULTURE AND ENERGY INDUSTRY

➢
IMPROVEMENT IN TRANSPORT SYSTEMs

really helped 
THE MARSHALL PLAN IS A MAJOR 
FACTOR IN WESTERN EUROPE’S 
RECOVERY FROM THE DEVASTATION 
OF WW II

Question 8

Germany division

Answer 8

Germany–>France, GB, Soviet Union, US

Then Germany–>East (soviet) and West

Question 9

Phase 3:NATO-THE NORTH ATLANTIC
TREATY ORGANIZATION IS FORMED
IN 1949

Answer 9

IN APRIL 1949, TEN WEST 
EUROPEAN COUNTRIES AND THE 
UNITED STATES AND CANADA, SIGN 
THE WASHINGTON TREATY, WHICH 
CREATES THE NORTH ATLANTIC 
TREATY ORGANIZATION (NATO).

•AN ALLIANCE WHICH BRINGS
TOGETHER FREE AND SOVEREIGN
COUNTRIES IN ORDER TO CREATE A
COLLECTIVE SECURITY SYSTEM.

•THE PRINCIPAL PURPOSE OF THE
ALLIANCE IS SPECIFIED IN ARTICLE
5 WHICH STATES THAT

"AN ARMED 
ATTACK AGAINST ONE OR MORE OF 
THEM IN EUROPE OR NORTH 
AMERICA SHALL BE CONSIDERED AN 
ATTACK AGAINST THEM ALL

Question 10

Presidents during Cold War

Answer 10

Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, John F Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan (+George H. W. Bush)

Question 11

first members of NATO

Answer 11

BELGIUM, CANADA, DENMARK, FRANCE, ICELAND,
ITALY, LUXEMBOURG, THE NETHERLANDS, NORWAY,
PORTUGAL, THE UNITED KINGDOM AND THE UNITED
STATES. LATER JOINED BY GREECE, SPAIN, TURKEY AND
WEST GERMANY

Question 12

Soviet Response to NATO

Answer 12

• EASTERN BLOC COUNTRIES FORM THEIR OWN GANG:
• THE WARSAW PACT

○
FORMED BY THE USSR TO COUNTER NATO IN
EUROPE

MAY 1, 1955

○
“TREATY OF FRIENDSHIP, CO-OPERATION AND
MUTUAL ASSISTANCE”

○
ALBANIA, BULGARIA, HUNGARY, EAST GERMANY,
POLAND, ROMANIA, THE USSR, AND
CZECHOSLOVAKIA

Question 13

China + Soviet Union–>SINO-SOVIET PACT

Answer 13

IN FEBRUARY OF 1950 THE TWO GREAT COMMUNIST POWERS
SIGNED THE SINO-SOVIET PACT. THIS CREATED A BILATERAL
DEFENSE COMMITMENT AND SETTLED BOUNDARY ISSUES, BUT THE
ALLIANCE EVENTUALLY SPLIT APART, AS THE TWO FOUGHT BLOODY
BORDER CONFLICTS IN THE 1960S

Question 14

Chinese Communism and

the US

Answer 14

Less than one year after the end of the
Chinese Communist Revolution, Chinese
troops would be battling UN forces (led by
the US) in the Korean War.
●
Communist victory in the world’s most
populous country also created
anti-communist hysteria in America which
leads to a second Red Scare in the 1950’s

Question 15

38th parallel

Answer 15

•
Liberated from Japan in 1945 
during the final days of World War 
II, Korea was divided by the Allies 
with the United States occupying 
the territory  to the south of the 38th 
Parallel and the Soviet Union the 
land to the north. 

•
Later that year it was decided that
the country would be reunited
and made independent after a

 five-year period.

•
This was later shortened and
elections in North and South Korea
were held in 1948.

Question 16

korean war

Answer 16

N (supported by China) invades S(US) and
Korean war begins

While the Communists 
under Kim Il-Sung took 
power in the north, the 
south became 
democratic. 
●
Supported by their 
respective sponsors, both 
governments wished to 
reunite the peninsula 
under their particular 
ideology. 
●
After several border 
skirmishes, North Korea 
invaded south on June 
25, 1950, opening the 
conflict

Question 17

A Stalemate Ensues: July 1951-July 27, 1953

Answer 17

At the front, UN airpower continued to
hammer the enemy while offensives on
the ground were relatively limited. These
typically saw both sides battling over hills
and high ground along the front.
●
UN forces stopped their advance north of
the 38th Parallel and the war effectively
became a stalemate.

Question 18

brinkmanship–>

Answer 18

only way to stop
it is to convince your enemy that
you could any time wipe them off
earth (stalemate)

Question 19

Fighting Ends

●

Answer 19

Though fighting ended, no formal peace treaty was concluded.

●
Instead, both sides agreed to the creation of a demilitarized
zone along the front.
●
Approximately 250 miles along and 2.5 miles wide, it remains
one of the most heavily militarized borders in the world with
both sides manning their respective defenses.
●
Casualties in the fighting numbered around 778,000 for
UN/South Korean forces, while North Korea and China
suffered around 1.1to 1.5 million.

Question 20

The Development of
Nuclear Weapons
●

Answer 20

The Dropping of the A-Bombs in Japan on
August 6 & 9 of 1945 thrust the United
States into the role of world leaders in
International Relations.

IN 1949 THE USSR EXPLODED AN ATOMIC
BOMB AND BECAME THE SECOND NUCLEAR
POWER

Question 21

American Response to Soviet
development of atomic bomb
●

Answer 21

President Truman authorizes the creation 
of a more powerful bomb than the 
A-Bomb, The Hydrogen Bomb.
●
Military spending is increased to $50 
million/year.
●
National Security and Military Spending 
would become the biggest expenditures 
for the next 50 years

Question 22

The Development of
Nuclear Weapons
● contribution to CW

Answer 22

The development of nuclear weapons
contributed to the development of the
Cold War for several reasons:
●
First, the Soviet Union’s development of nuclear
weapons positioned them to compete with the United
States as a military superpower.
●
Second, the Soviet Union and the United States each
amassed more and more nuclear weaponry to keep
up with the other.
●
Third, the Soviet Union and the United States knew
that a direct conflict using nuclear weapons would
cause untold devastation.

Question 23

The Arms Race Begins

Answer 23

-In 1949, the USSR created an atom bomb.
President Truman was forced to make a
stronger weapon. This started an “arms race.”

-In the USA, Scientists created an “H”
(hydrogen) bomb and claimed that it was over
60 times more powerful than an atom bomb.

-In 1952, the USA detonated an “H” bomb. In
1953, the USSR also detonated an “H” bomb

Question 24

Brinkmanship and the Eisenhower Doctrine

Answer 24

-President Eisenhower, elected in 1952, took strong
stands against Communism. In the Eisenhower
Doctrine, he promised to give military aid to any
Middle East nation threatened by Communism.

-Secretary of state, John Dulles, claimed the only
way to prevent Communism from spreading was to
make the Russian USSR fear that the USA was
ready to use nuclear weapons, if the time arose.

-Brinkmanship is the willingness to use your most
powerful weapons, at any moment, to keep your
enemy afraid

Question 25

Satellites in Space

Answer 25

-Stalin died and a leader named Nikita
Khrushchev was Stalin’s successor.

-Khrushchev thought Communism would take
over the world, but peacefully and not in
violence.

-In 1957, the Soviet Union became the first
nation of Earth to launch a satellite into space,
Sputnik. Despite the reduced tension with
Stalin’s death, many feared that the USSR had
such advanced technology.

Question 26

U-2 incident

Answer 26

The USA sent secret U-2 planes over
Russia to get images of the USSR for military
use.
-USA pilot Francis Gary Powers was shot
down and held in prison in Russia for two
years (sentenced to 10) for spying for the USA.

-Cold War fears remained for decades after
this incident. Many feared all out nuclear war
could erupt between the USA and the USSR.

Question 27

McCarthy launches his “Witch Hunts

Answer 27

In the 1950s, Joseph McCarthy, a Senator from
Wisconsin, made countless, unsupported accusations
asserting people were Communists. He ruined the
lives of many

-In 1954, Army investigations concerning
Communism were televised; people saw McCarthy
bully the witnesses and began to realize his
assertions were simply false and based on delusional
hysteria.

-McCarthy died due to difficulties with alcoholism and
McCarthyism is forever remembered as unfair tactics
of accusation

Joseph McCarthy increased the hysteria of the fear of
Communism by claiming that Communist spies had radically
infiltrated the United States and the government. He had no
proof or evidence of these claims. He ruined the lives of
many by falsely claiming they were Communists.

Question 28

Edward R Murrow

Answer 28

S
ome journalists, like Edward R. Murrow, bravely reported on
McCarthy and pointed out that his accusations

were untrue and his tactics were ruthless.

Question 29

Fear of Communism Grow

Answer 29

The Communist takeover of China shocked
the world. Many found it unbelievable that the
USA lost such a large nation to Communism.
❖Republicans claimed Truman was weak on
communism. In response he formed the
Federal Employee Loyalty Program to remove
Communists from the government.
❖According to FELP, if you supported
Communism, you were fired from government
service. Many saw this as a violation of the
Constitution

Question 30

More Communist Investigations

Answer 30

❖The House Un-American Activities Committee
(HUAC), in 1947, investigated the movie industry to
determine if Communists were working in the
industry.
❖The “Hollywood 10” was a group who refused to
cooperate and went to prison. They claimed the
investigations were wrong and unconstitutional.
Many people were “Blacklisted” after being accused
of being Communist.
❖For those accused, they were often fired from their
jobs, abandoned by their families, and ostracized
by their friends. Those associated with the
accused avoided them to avoid being accused
themselves

Question 31

So, were there spies in the USA?

Answer 31

❖Yes, there were spies in the USA. Yet, the
massive infiltration of spies that McCarthy
fabricated never existed.

Question 32

Ethel and Julius Rosenberg

Answer 32

❖Ethel and Julius Rosenberg were
Americans who helped leak information to
the USSR to help them build an atom bomb.
Julius worked for the Army as an engineer.
❖Ethel and Julius were convicted for spying
on the USA and both were executed for
treason.