Cold War Flashcards
Why is the year 1917 significant to the Cold War?
This is the year Tsar Nicholas II abdicated and the Bolshevik party takes over.
Once in power, what did the Bolshevik part do?
Killed the Tsar and his family
Sign the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (1918) to pull the USSR out of WWI.
Describe the Russian Civil War
(1918-1921) White vs. Red Army; Red=Bolsheviks and White=international army that supported the monarchists (13,000 from US)
When did Lenin die?
1924
What did Lenin warn about before dying?
Not to let Stalin take power
What did Stalin do once he took power?
Killed everyone who helped win the Russian Civil War
What were Stalin and the West’s views of each other?
Stalin saw all Western states as the same: capitalist and Hitler-appeasing. The West saw Stalin as a ruthless tyrant, and this was confirmed when he signed the Nazi-Soviet Pact.
What happened during WWII to increase distrust between USSR and USA?
Nazi-Soviet Pact (1939)
It took 3 years before Italian front was opened->USSR felt that the West was letting it bleed out (90:1 ratio)
USA dropped atomic bomb without warning USSR
Which two conferences determined international conditions post-WWII?
Yalta and Potsdam
Who were the three(4) main figures at Yalta and Potsdam and what were their objectives?
Winston Churchill (GB) wanted to restore the balance of power and preserve the British Empire. Stalin (USSR) felt that it had suffered the most in WWII (especially compared to USA, which was geographically isolated) and wanted compensation in the form of control of Eastern Europe. FDR (and later Truman) wanted to keep GB and USSR in the war against the Axis until Japan was defeated (even though Germany had already been defeated).
What was accomplished at the Yalta Conference?
The UN was created (and the USSR agreed to join)
G, Austria, and Vienna split into 4 sectors
DoLE signed
Stalin agrees to help beat Japan even after EU war is over
What was each power’s position on the Pacific?
USA really wanted to beat Japan and had the aircraft technology necessary to do it.
GB wanted to regain Asian colonies, but lacked the aircraft power necessary
USSR wasn’t really interested in Asia except for regaining territory lost in Russo-Japanese War
What were the shifts in leadership that occurred between Yalta and Potsdam?
FDR died and Truman took his place
Atlee replaced Churchill after elections
What was accomplished at the Potsdam Conference?
The West rejected Stalin’s request for $22B from G because Stalin had violated DoLE
Called for Japan’s unconditional surrender
Vietnam and Korea split N/S
What evidence is there that the three powers at least attempted post-war cooperation?
Holding the Yalta and Potsdam Conferences in the first place and the creation of the UN along with the fact that all three countries joined.
What events/speeches/etc. contributed to the disintegration of the war-time alliance?
Kennan’s Long Telegram
Churchill’s Iron Curtain Speech
Describe Kennan’s Long Telegram
Outlined containment policy: don’t fight communism where it is, just prevent its spread
Describe Churchill’s Iron Curtain Speech
He said that Europe was split into free Europe and totalitarian Europe and called for an English-speaking alliance to prevent the further spread of communism
When was the Greek Civil War?
1946
When was the Truman Doctrine created?
1947
Describe the Truman Doctrine
Truman asked Congress for money to support Greece and Turkey in their fights against communism. Congress gave $400M total: $250 for Greece and $150 for Turkey
What was happening in Turkey that made it necessary for the Truman Doctrine to send money?
The Turkish Straits Crisis: The USSR sent battleships to Turkey to take control of the straits between the black and Mediterranean seas.
Other than the implementation of containment, what was new about the Truman Doctrine?
It was one of the first times that the US would support a dictator against communist rebels
When was the Marshall Plan created?
1947
What was the Marshall Plan?
The US offered $13B in aid to any European country; it was denied by USSR and its satellites
What did the US get out of the Marshall Plan?
hunger and poverty=communism
Any country that accepted was economically bound to the US
the US benefited from a prosperous EU economy