Key Personalities in the Cold War

Question 1

Francis Gary Powers

Answer 1

US pilot shot down and captured by the Soviet Union on a spy mission in a U2 aircraft
•Caused mass embarrassment for the USA

Question 2

Fidel Castro

Answer 2

Socialist, overthrew American backed leader of Cuba 1959
• increasingly became an ally of the USSR after US stopped importing sugar and after the Bay of Pigs incident
•In charge of Cuba during the Cuban missile crisis

Question 3

McCarthy

Answer 3

1950 - against members of the Truman administration

Question 4

Khrushchev

Answer 4

1955 Mikhail Khrushchev came to power
•Advanced the notion of peaceful coexistence
•de-stalinisatio Feb 1956 secret speech
•1955 rapprochement with Yugoslavia
•1956 dismantled Cominform
•Brutally suppressed the Hungarian uprising

Question 5

Reagan

Answer 5

• Given credit for the end of the Cold War
• played an integral role in the early 1980s in arms control negotiations
• Huge believer in the SDI program
• strategic Defence Initiative
• slowed negotiations by refusing to abolish
• 1981 - 89
• improved relations with the UK

Question 6

Gorbachev

Answer 6

• President 1985
• Glasnost + Perestroika
• Overthrown 1991
• Mikhail Gorbachev
• Instrumenta in the end of the cold war

Question 7

Carter

Answer 7

• Elected 1976 - 81
• Hoped to use respect for human rights as the basis for his foreign policy
• Often portrayed as a ‘dove’ cause he was “soft” on communism not entirely true
• Central weakness inexperience led to inconsistency
• Worked with Brezhnev on SALT II until the Afghan invasion
• Supplied arms to anti-communist groups

Question 8

Eisenhower

Answer 8

Cold war policies
•Eisenhower Doctrine 1957: USA would intervene in the Middle East if my govt. threatened by a communist take over asked for help
• Didn’t intervene in Hungary
• Forced Britain and France to withdraw from the Suez Crisis
•Massive retaliation
•In charge during U2 incident 1953 - 61