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
What were the results of the Marshall Plan?
Stalin tightened his grip pn his satellite states and claimed that the Marshall Plan was economic imperialism, but at the same time, European GDP rose 15-25% annually
What provoked the Berlin blockade?
The introduction of the deutschemark, a new currency in West Germany and West Berlin
What was the response to the Berlin blockade?
The Berlin Airlift: British and American planes dropped supplies in West Berlin for 10 months until the blockade was lifted in 1949.
What decisions/events show the two Cold War superpowers avoiding violence or force?
The Berlin Airlift: instead of using force to lift the blockade, USA dropped supplies
When was NATO formed and what did it allow USA to do?
1949, it allowed USA to remain involved in European affairs
What is the most notable article of the NATO charter?
Article 5: an attack against one is an attack against all
What did the USSR do in response to NATO?
Created the Warsaw Pact: USSR/Alb/CzSlv/Rom/Pol/GDR/Hung/Bulg
What was the USSR’s reaction to the creation of the FRoG?
USSR created the GDR, and argued that the creation of the FRoG violated the Potsdam agreement
What were two major victories for the Communists in 1949?
Klaus Fuchs leaked atomic bomb plans to the USSRS, which successfully detonated its first atom bomb
Mao won the Chinese Civil War
What did the USSR’s successful detonation of an atomic bomb mean for the US?
It no longer had a significant military advantage against the USSR
What led the USSR to boycott the UN?
After Mao won the Chinese Civil War and forced the US-supported KMT to flee to Taiwan, the US and most Western states recognized the Republic of China (Taiwan) as legitimate China instead of the PRC (Mao’s China) and therefore gave the Republic of China a seat on the Security Council.
What made Yugoslavia different from other nations in the Eastern Bloc?
Yugoslavia liberated itself from Nazi control and successfully resisted Stalin
What made it possible for Yugoslavia to resist Stalin’s attempt to take over?
Y didn’t owe its independence to the USSR
Tito had strong local support
Y didn’t share a border with the USSR
The US sent money to Y when USSR placed an economic blockade on it
Who steered Y away from Stalin’s control and what was his form of government called?
Josip Broz Tito; national communism
How was Korea split and who were the leaders of each region?
North/South at the 38th parallel; Kim Il-Sung led the North under Communist USSR influence and Syngman Rhee led the capitalist south under American influence
What made the unification of the two Koreas impossible?
In 1948, Stalin declared the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea in the North and the US responded by creating the Republic of Korea in the South. Now that there were two distinct states, it would be harder for the UN to hold elections to unite them.
What happened that encouraged Kim Il-Sung to press Stalin to allow him to invade South Korea?
After it was determined that the two Koreas couldn’t be united, the US removed its troops from SK, leaving it defenseless against the North.
Also, the US said that Korea was out of its sphere of influence leading Kim Il-Sung and Stalin to believe that the US wouldn’t attack if NK invade SK.
In what year did NK invade SK?
1950
How did the US respond to the invasion of SK?
Congress was reluctant to declare war because WWII had just ended, but instead the UN voted to send peacekeeping forces (which just happened to be 90% US)
Who led the UN and SK forces in the Korean War?
American General Douglas MacArthur
Why coulsn’t the USSR vote against the involvement in the Korean War in the UN vote?
the USSR had been boycotting the UN for not recognizing the PRC or giving it a spot in the Security Council
Once UN and SK forces pushed the NK forces past the 38th parallel, what issue arose?
Some people wanted to follow containment very literally and thought they should stop at the 38th parallel, but others such as General MacArthur wanted to push NK further back.
What provoked China’s involvement in the Korean War and what were Mao’s motivations?
When the UN and SK forces got too close to the NK China border, Mao sent in “volunteers” to fight the UN forces.
His motivation was anger towards the UN for not recognizing the PRC and the fact that he wanted NK as a buffer between China and SK.
When was Gen. MacArthur fired and why?
1951 because he threatened nuclear warfare on China
What was the USSR’s official position in the Korean War?
Neutral
Why was the year 1953 significant in the Korean War?
Stalin died in 1953 and Eisenhower was elected in 1953. The new leadership in the two countries were less interested in Korea, so NK, SK, China and the UN were left to sign a peace treaty, which all except SK signed
What were some outcomes of the Korean War?
SEATO was created
NATO was strengthened
The UN proved it could take action unlike the LoN (although it appeared to be a tool of capitalism)
Sino-Soviet Friendship Treaty
What year was the Sino-Soviet Friendship Treaty signed?
1950
What good changes did Khrushchev implement?
Ended forced labor, improved prison conditions, and took apart Stalin’s Cult of Personality
What bad changes did Khrushchev implement?
Crushed the Hungarian Uprising, put nukes on Cuba, and ended relations with China
Who was known as the father of Arab nationalism and what were his goals/policies?
Gamal Abdul Nasser, he was strongly anti-imperialist and wanted to rid Egypt and the Middle East in general of Western influence.
How did Eisenhower win elections?
Americans were mad at Truman for the KW and 2nd Red Scare and the Democrats had been in power for 20 years, so they were ready for a shift in power. He ran with John Foster Dulles as “Cold Warriors”
Who coined the term Brinkmanship?
Eisenhower, it means nuclear arms as first resort
What was the Eisenhower Doctrine?
As GB/F influence in the ME declines, the US can’t ignore the region because it has oil, so it offers money to any country fighting communism in the ME.
When and how did the Suez Crisis Start?
in 1956, the Egyptian military nationalizes the Suez Canal, angering GB and F
How was the CIA created?
The Truman Doctrine
What was GB/F’s plan to retake the Suez Canal?
Have the Israelis go in and retake the Suez Canal and then GB/F navies establish peace in the area.
The Suez Crisis overlaps with another Crisis. Which one is it and why does the UN focus on the Suez Crisis rather than this other thing?
The Hungarian Uprising; the Suez Crisis was seen as more important because so much of the world’s oil was transported through the Suez Canal
What does the UN do in reaction to the Suez Crisis?
It sends in UN peacekeeping forces until Israeli and Egyptian forces leave.
What were the legacies of the Suez Crisis?
Decline in F/GB power and created the UN Blue Helmets
