Cold War Test Flashcards
What dictated American foreign policy for next 15 years and how we deal with Soviets for the Cold War.?
Kennan X telegram
Who is fighting in the Cold War?
USSR vs. USA
Why is Cold War cold?
It is not direct warfare between two
Why didn’t the US and Soviets practice direct warfare
Both had Atomic bomb created tensions to make it too costly for direct fighting.
How long does the Cold War essentially go on?
About 45, until end of Berlin Wall in 1989
What were the two sides’ government?
US-Democracy
USSR-Communist
What is Democracy?
a political system of leaders that are elected by the people
What is Communism?
Limited republic controlled by the government
What does USSR stand for?
United Soviet Socialists Republics
How does voting work in Communism?
you must be a communist to vote and you vote on which communist you want to win
How is the Cold War an economically-waged war
It was waged by trades, embargoes, sanctions, tariffs, economic aid such as Marshall Plan
What are the two sides’ economic systems?
US-Capitalist
USSR-Socialist
What is capitalism?
private ownership of business, could own it in groups through stocks, but still private, people are in charge of their own money. In a capitalism system, largest supporter is government, they give subsidies to workers, taxes are determined by supply and demand at which they are to each other.
Describe supply and demand’s relationship with prices.
- Great supply, little demand-low price
- Low supply, big demand-high price
Describe Socialism in the Soviet Union.
It is about equality and equal distribution, they have shared government ownership rather than stocks and private business, government doesn’t own everything, but they determine price and what is produced for what companies they are in charge of.
Are both sides purely following the economic systems they use?
No
How is the Cold War Fought?
We fight through allies-we help out ours and they help out theirs, whoever has better team and more strength, there are conflicts between allies and it is war by proxy.
How was the Cold War a social war?
Use propaganda that promotes us and hates them. Programs of humanitarian aid were created as well. Also, you can use threats and arms to say we are stronger and distract them and keep them nervous about what may come.
How did the Berlin Wall relate to the Cold War?
People couldn’t cross over to West Berlin or East Germany to go onto either side. Communists built wall to prevent people from coming in. Represents two sides to the war.
How are each sides’ approaches at post-WWII conferences lead to the Cold War?
Conferences such as Potsdam as we tried to prevent WW3 and how Russia is trying to prepare for it.
How were the two nations pop culturally different?
Russian ballet vs. Rock and roll Music
How did the differences in religions lead to the Cold War?
Communism is religious-free, atheist, Marx prevented them from seeing change, Democracy says God is on our side, anyone can celebrate any religion.
How were WWII War Goals a Cause of the Cold War?
Soviets wanted immediate help through the opening of a second front on Germany. British and US went on to attack North Africa instead
How did the Soviets perceive the US in Operation Gymnast in WWII?
US and UK are in North Africa while Germans have gotten there, and then as a result of the German invasion, the Soviets do not like this. We are in irrelevant North Africa and they are in the thick of Germany, they want a second front and some help to fight Germans. Stalin is mad at other allies.
How did the US respond to the Soviets’ perception of Gymnast?
Operation Round-up was not doable, we had to to Gymnast first because it was very practical.
How did the results of WWII start the Cold War?
Soviets are paying that price. Start comparing war debt, US loses 400K men, but Soviets lose 20M.
What was Communist Manifesto and Das Capital?
Created in 1948 in London by Marx and Angles, a German economist. It was the economic history of the world retraced, part history, part prophecy.
How many stages are in Communist Manifesto?
5
What were the 5 stages of Communist Manifesto?
Stage 1-Primitive Communism Stage 2-Feudalism Stage 3-Capitalism Stage 4-Socialism Stage 5-Pure Communism
What was described of Stage 1 in Communist Manifesto?
A good life takes a community to survive “community is in communist”, going back to hunting and gathering cultures, it takes a full community to provide, in primitive communism, everyone is essentially equal, social rank gets you a better spot, you need that community.
What described of Stage 2 in Communist Manifesto?
Develop agriculture, planned growth of food, we can now control supply, societies can be supplied, we settle into areas, land, individually owned, becomes symbol of wealth and power, start dividing into social classes
What were the 3 social classes in the age of feudalism?
95-98% peasants
Nobles (knights, others who support king, etc.)
God/Church/Clergy
In Stage 2 of Communist Manifesto, how did the top 2 groups control the third group?
God controlled everlasting life. Nobles controlled earth life.
Describe Capitalism as mentioned in Communist Manifesto.
1815-1830 at Industrial Revolution, starts changing society, money is power, not land anymore, you invest in business and money, you have more power, we want government out of things such as supply and demand, private ownership starts becoming of age.
What were the 2 social classes of Capitalism in the 1800s?
Bourgeois and Proletariat
Describe the bourgeois in Capitalist era.
rich owners, capitalists, have wealth and power.
Describe the proletariat in the Capitalist era.
are workers, 12-14 hours a day, very physically hard work, not very fun jobs, very hazardous jobs, maybe a small lunch, very fortunate if you get dinner or breakfast outside of work, you don’t do job you get beaten or you get fired and get no food, these people have to share houses.
What does Marx predict of proletariats in Communist Manifesto?
Proletariats will be tired of it, and watching the rich people make money off your life, proletariat will rise up in a rebellion revolution and kill off the bourgeois.
How was Marx’s proletariat prediction wrong?
Government puts in working laws, for working and money limitations and people feel a bit relieved. Healthcare benefits are around, and Unions and strikes are around, too. There are still very rich bourgeois around, but at least it is getting better enough for proletariats, so they end on the idea of revolting against the rich.
After things get better for the proletariats, what does Marx think will happen to economic society?
Marx thinks only people left will be proletarians. He thinks out of people will emerge Democratic socialism, working class will elect our leaders, and government will take over for bourgeois in owning business, all the government money turns into money for the citizens, and there are attempts to get people equal.
What is Pure Communism?
Total elimination of government, no ownership, everyone gets to do whatever they want.
What was the Atlantic Charter?
stated US and British goals
of Free trade and economic cooperation, no reparations
What do Soviets do after calling for total Communism?
demand land (buffer zone) and more security and reparations
What land masses did the Soviets demand during their demand for a buffer zone?
They demand control of Eastern Europe Czechloslovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria.
Why do they want control of Eastern Europe?
They want to have a buffer zone in WWIII so they do not have to fight on their home land.
Why did the Soviets want reparations to them after WWII?
Their country is destroyed, they thought that Germans should pay back for their invasion that caused the Soviets to destroy their country and lost many people. They want revenge.
What did the US want to do after WWII, which is why they never told anyone to pay reparations?
US doesn’t want to punish Germany, they forgive them so they can try to be peaceful.
- US doesn’t want WWIII it is avoidable, we want these countries to rebuild, help them out, do what is right so another Versailles never happens again.
- You avoid WWIII by eliminating desperation and then this will eliminate WWIII.
Who wrote “Iron Curtain”
Winston Churchill
What is the Iron Curtain?
When the Soviets control Eastern Europe, when they took those countries into the USSR, this is the line between East and West.
Why do we hate Communism?
- no government, no money, total equality, sounds somewhat pretty fair, but we hate it because you do not get any say in anything.
- we think it is unrealistic for someone to have all power
Why must Communism be a worldwide deal?
It cannot coexist with another system because a country with no government can easily be conquered.
What is Marx’s theory of anti-religious freedom?
- Marx thinks you change too much based on different religions on different people, he thinks life doesn’t matter.
- Marx doesn’t want to accept religious beliefs because he just wants equality, and in the end, each person is supposed to just be nice, you have to tolerate it without religion.
How was Marx’s theory about competition among humans economically impractical?
our human nature is being competitive and getting better than everyone. Marx’s theory was this would eliminate competition, but it really did not.
What was Marx’s theory about economic human competition?
If you do better than someone, you don’t get recognition for it. You really don’t need a big house, lots of cars and other expensive stuff.
What did STM write and what was it about?
Utopia, which was about Communism
How was Marx profiled as bad?
His violent revolution of the bourgeois being killed portrayed him as bad.
How did the US come out of WWII?
US had limited war dead (412K) and land was unharmed by war
- US comes out of WWII better than we went into WWII, GD is thing of past, people back to work, better equality for women and blacks, we are in great shape and rebuilt easily
- We also were liked by many nations after WWII
How did the Soviets come out of WWII?
Every big city/industrial area was bombed from scorched earth, total wreck.
How much did we downsize our army and how quickly did we do it in?
In 4 months, we went from 14M to 2M in the army
What was containment?
US foreign policy throughout Cold War to limit communist expansion anywhere in the world.
How did the US’s positive attitude after WWII prompt the Soviets to make a move?
USSR is thinking next war is coming, so they need to get ready, and US is not paying too much attention, so Soviets invade in Eastern Europe to take over and use it to buffer the mainland; also they could make up for lost supplies and make tanks and other supplies to bolster their army.
Who proposed containment as our policy?
Kennan to Truman in the X article
How does Kennan warn us about initial success?
-Initial success leads to weak spots, it will keep pushing and pressure, so you must be constantly vigilant
How does Kennan warn us about pushing in the Soviets too hard?
Kennan says we always need to give them an out, let them walk away with some kind of victory, if you show them that respect, then they wont go to a fight, but if you put them in a corner and press the issue, then they will fight back.
How does Kennan describe the way containment should work?
Kennan uses containment to hold it to its boundaries, doesn’t eliminate it, but it controls it.
What two countries are helped in the Truman Doctrine?
Turkey and Greece
What did the Truman Doctrine do to Turkey and Greece?
Gave them $400M, in military and economic aid
Why did we give money to Turkey and Greece?
This prevents Soviets from getting into Middle East and getting resources, also prevents them from being on the Black Sea and the Baltic Sea, now their only resource is near Vladivostok, so they do not have much water resources to have and we control them.
What does NATO stand for?
North Atlantic Treaty Organization
What is the function of NATO?
It is an alliance, of the Democracies of Western Europe, US and Canada.
What did the Marshall Plan do?
gave $17B economic aid to Europe to rebuild
Who was in charge of the Marshall Plan?
George Marshall
Why did we carry out the Marshall Plan?
Strong nations are peaceful nations, economically strong means politically strong, there are no radical ideas going on because they are being contained.
How was the Marshall Plan money distributed?
Axis powers get some of it, as well as Spain and Portugal (neutral nations)
Why was the USSR angry about the Marshall Plan?
USSR is mad because they won’t give them anything, and some of the Marshall Plan was given to countries that made no sense to get benefits (Spain, Portugal, Axis Powers, etc.)
Why did the Soviets get no money from the Marshall Plan?
Because they are Communists and the US hates them and they were old allies.
What did NSC 68 stand for?
National Security Council and the 68 is the document, the number of pieces of advice they gave to the President.
What two groups came from NSC 68 and when was it formed?
In 1947, the National Security Council and CIA were formed.
What was the purpose of the CIA?
To gather information and intelligence, pass it on to NSC, come up with recommendations to the President about what he should do.
What was the main goal of the CIA and NSC working together?
They want to triple our defense budget, it is a show of force to tell Soviets we can respond and we are not weak, we can stop them, but Soviets get stronger, both sides build and that increases intensity between the two.
What was the first real challenge of the Cold War and why is it so important?
Berlin Airlft/Blockade. It is a testing point of our strategy of containment.
How did Berlin sit in exposed position before the Airlift?
The east-west blockade is a challenge for the allies vs. the Soviets. Berlin would get attacked either way, it just depended on who would attack it.
Why was ruling Berlin so key to the Soviets?
Berlin was the top central city in Europe at the time, so he who ruled Berlin basically ruled most of Europe.
How did Eisenhower think of controlling Berlin?
Eisenhower thinking more of a general, he didn’t care who took Berlin, so he turned our forces south near Bavarian Africa and let Soviets go into Berlin.
Why did the Germans want us to go into Berlin, not Soviets?
We would not hit it as hard as the Soviets would.
When was the final attack on Germany by the Soviets and how did it play out?
April 16, 1945-Many Soviets died, but they still beat Germany.
What happened to Germany in July 1945?
All the allies enter Berlin, and then it would be agreed to divide Berlin and rebuild it
After VJ Day and after 1946, what did we do with our army?
We did not have a single division of army, we subjected to Stalin from our own weakness from demobilization
Why was demobilization a mistake after WWII?
Soviets take advantage of it to prepare for another war. This lets Soviets get to a spot of strength.
What do the Soviets use to push us to our limits?
They use intimidation to see how far they can push us, use a bit of harassment with the idea of how will they respond and how can we push them.
When did the Berlin blockade begin?
June 24, 1948
What happened at the start of the Berlin blockade?
Soviets refuse to leave their spot and the temporary divisions become permanent in East Germany. They now blockaded West Germany from East Germany.
What was a plan that was too risky for the US, so what plan did they try to help it that wouldn’t cause direct war?
If an allied train was able to break this blockade, there would be direct war, then they had to think of something else, so they started the Berlin airlift.
What was the Soviets’ initial goal of Berlin?
Soviets initial thought was to never rebuild Germany, but to take it for themselves, unlike the West, who tried to rebuild it.
What was the crisis the Soviets made towards the people of Berlin?
- Soviets block road and rail access into West Berlin from US, British, and French sectors of Germany.
- Cut power to West Berlin (2.5 million people are hostages)
- Soviet challenge to policy of Containment
How were people of Berlin suffering?
Berlin needed 15,000 tons of food and fuel per day to survive. Children were dealing with limited food, very little hope for kids and adults in Germany.
Describe the train option of stopping the Berlin crisis.
Use US troops to open roads and railways breaking the blockade if Soviets try to stop or shoot the train, it is WWIII, idea is Soviets will have to back down because they do not want war anyway.
What is the downside to the train option to stop the Berlin Crisis?
Neither side is ready for war, but if you give them that option, they almost must choose war, American people will not support going back to war.
Describe the appeasement option of stopping the Berlin crisis.
Appease Stalin and let the Soviets have the city of Berlin, we never really cared
What was the downside to the appeasement of Stalin?
We cannot let them go to Berlin because they will keep going, see our appeasement as a weakness, and have Berlin, and they could eventually control much of Europe.
What is the third Berlin plan that works?
The Airlift plan
Describe the Berlin Airlift plan.
Airlift supplies into the city using the 3 air corridors, flying over the blockade.
What could be the downside of the airlift method in Berlin?
Big risk is they could get shot down, and if they do get shot down war starts.
Why is the Airlift method a good idea for playing the Soviets in a lose-lose situation?
Soviets would essentially start a war if they shot us down, so we want them to start it for them to mean war, so we can prove they waged the war and we have to stop them. If they do not shoot down the plane, they start running out of ideas to control Berlin, as we are breaking the barrier.
When did the first planes come into Berlin?
1948
Describe our entrance on the first Berlin Airlift.
First planes came into Berlin with tons of food on them, this now brought them 2500 pounds of supplies each day
How do we win the Berlin Airlift?
Soviets do not shoot down the planes, showing they don’t want war.
Why do the Soviets not shoot down the planes from the Airlift?
They do not attack because they knew we had the atomic bomb and Soviets did not, so they would lose if it came down to that.
What happened in 1948 during a German meeting?
Soviets interrupted meeting and arrested 46 people
Why did the Soviets arrest people during that meeting?
They believed city’s future of Communism vs. Democracy was in jeopardy and going the wrong way for them.
78 days into the blockade, why are there people in front of the Reichstag?
They are anticipating a speech.
What did the Reichstag speech contain?
Soviets sentenced the youth for 25 years as western Germans protested against the blockade
What happened to German lives as winter came?
life was harder, many people struggled to get through, many adjustments had to be made, very little food, they used bartering to get through with food, not enough coal for heat, so people went out into the woods for wood.
How did pilots respond to the brutal German winter conditions?
Pilots got determined during the winter to keep up for West Germany
What was made by these pilots to help out the Germans?
They made an advanced radar system which landed planes every 55 seconds.
What happened to Berlin in 1949?
In January, allies raised food rations, and that April they gave more food than ever since the war.
What effects did the Berlin food rations do to the Soviets?
Soviets were now suffering badly, as our airlift was increasing as the Russians were getting tired of it and running out of ways to stop.
When was the blockade lifted in Berlin?
July 1949
What happened when the blockade was lifted?
People were let through to either side
What were the effects of the US victory of Berlin blockade?
- Improved US-German Relations
- Divided Germany
- NATO and Warsaw pact are formed of new alliances
After the victory at Berlin, what was our plan?
Do not demobilize because Soviets will keep fighting and are very persistent. This led to the creation of NSC 68, as we felt the Soviets would contest our goals of containing them.
Describe the country situation after the Berlin blockade was finished.
- Division becomes permanent, West is Democratic from NATO, West Berlin still part of West Germany, East Germany is Soviet.
- Country of West Germany was a big ally for the US.
After the situation in Berlin, what has Europe become in the Cold War?
Europe is much of a done deal as Warsaw and NATO are passed.
What has China been ruled by throughout its history?
Dynasties
How are dynasties more effective than monarchies?
Dynasties are longer-lasting because it is family-ruled, and they can pick best person in family to be ruler, greater flexibility from who to pick, more capable leaders
How long did the Qing dynasty rule?
250 years
What is the problem with China’s dynasties?
Problem they have is rest of the world has advanced beyond what China has done.
What European power has influenced China the most?
Britian
What were the British selling to China that they grew in India?
Opium
How did the Qing dynasty respond to the opium sales?
This is bad for their people , it is ruining lives, they need to keep it out
How did Britain respond to the Qings’ response and what did this dispute lead to?
Brits say they want money as they made tons off this sale to Chinese, British wanted to keep selling heroin, so they went to war over this. This war was called the Opian War.
Who won the war between the UK and China?
Britain
What other nation beat China in a war before WWII?
Japan
In the early 1900s, how well is the dynasty handling things?
Lots of countries making open door policies with China, you have countries using extraterritoriality, meaning foreigners in China don’t have to obey Chinese law. Any foreigner that commits a Crime in China gets sent back to their homeland, not in China. This dynasty has lost all ability and sovereignty to control all outside influence in China.
After the dynasty has weakened their sovereignty, how have the people responded to this?
There are big uprises; Following Opian war with England, there are rebellions, because the people are protesting against government because the government cannot protect the country from foreigners
In 1911, who led a Chinese revolution?
Dr. Sun Yat-Sen
What was Yat-Sen’s revolution about?
nationalism, democracy, and livelihood
Why was democracy an important part of Yat-Sen’s revolution?
Democracy connects by western traditional government so they could make advancements like them that there is some popular power and say in China, democracy is rule by people and people want rule on their country.
Why was nationalism an important part of Yat-Sen’s revolution?
Nationalism connects by protecting China from foreign influence.
Why was livelihood an important part of Yat-Sen’s revolution?
Livelihood connects by most of the Chinese being peasant farmers and need land to farm. Peasants who work do not own the land. They want the government to take land from the rich land owners and give some of it to the poor peasants who feel they want it.
After the revolution of Yat-Sen’s three beliefs, what does he offer to the people?
A Democratic government with people having power which should improve lives
What is the issue with the three beliefs of Yat-Sen working in China?
This is very hard to do by making good on these promises.
Why won’t Yat-Sen’s view of nationalism work in China?
Because other countries are taking advantage of China
Why won’t Yat-Sen’s view of democracy work in China?
Because they always have had a dynasty, never a democracy, most people are uneducated about it because it is a newer thing
Why won’t Yat-Sen’s view of livelihood work in China?
Because rich are powerful people so they wont give up their land easily to the peasants.
When does Yat-Sen die?
1925
Who replaces Yat-Sen?
Chiang Kai Shek
What are the differences in appearance between Yat-Sen and Shek?
Shek is a military leader from China, general for Kuomintang, the nationalist party of China, while Yat-Sen looks like a professional business man.
What upcoming challenge does Shek face just two years after he comes in?
Communism
Who led the Communists in China and what did he do against the Nationalists?
Mao Tse-Tung is leader; begins to wage a Civil War against Kuomintang and Chiang Kai Shek, Civil war starts in 1927
What is the nationalist party of China?
Kuomintang
Describe how WWII interrupted the Chinese Civil War.
The Civil War paused during WWII.Japanese invade Manchuria and Coastal China, and then they come together and turn efforts against Japan, big problem is WWII goes bad for China, two sides although fighting against Japan, having internal conflicts and end up using the US’ military aid fighting each other.
What does Mao do after WWII is over?
He comes up with a plan called the Long March
Describe Mao’s Long March Plan.
What he tried to do is having his army decimated, but avoiding Japanese and his enemy forces, the way he does it is with respect.
Describe how Mao used respect with Japanese during the Long March.
He gave them strict control to not live in peoples homes, they would go outside of cities and big areas, gave orders what they can get for people is only to buy from them, do not take from people they are fighting for.
What were the effects of his army’s respect?
Peasants had never felt this kind of respect before, so he gains more respect from people.
After WWII, how are the Communists doing?
They are in a good position to get ahead.
Why do we care about the Mao’s success?
- we need to stop Communist expansion
- We also worry about population of China, good size for trading
- if you can go to China and sell, you could make lots of money, this is why we got the open door policy with them
- we were helping China and supported Shek’s Democracy plan
How do we support Shek to fight in the Chinese Civil War?
Give $3M in military aid to fight forces of Mao.
How does the Chinese Civil War play out?
Mao will start in Manchuria where Japan took over first, exposes the weakness of the democratic people.
Who wins the Chinese Civil War?
Mao wins the Civil War in 1950
What was the top effect from the Chinese Civil War?
Go from having one China to two, as Shek takes his supporters to island of Taiwan.
What are the two Chinas and what form of government do each have?
Red China (mainland)-Communist Taiwan-Democracy
What part of Communist containment, especially in Asia is key for us to look for?
The Domino Theory
Describe how the Domino Theory could bring trouble in Asia.
The thought process is that most Asian countries are similar with rich land-owning class and large poor peasant class. If communism takes hold in China, it may start a domino effect throughout the rest of Asia going into Korea, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Burma, India. This could be a first domino falling in China could add significance in the next country.
What does Mao do to give people more information about his Communism?
He puts out a little red book (“Quotations from Mao”) dealing with issues of Communism.
Describe the theater shift in the Cold War.
It is going from Europe and Asia, because we knew that stopping Communism from spreading in Asia was key.
Who was king in Egypt until 1940s?
King Farouk
When was King Farouk overthrown and who was he overthrown by?
RCC (Revolutionary Command Center)
Who was one of the leaders of the coup that overthrew him and what government type was he?
Gamal Abdel Nassar, he is a nationalist.
