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Second Semester College History > The Cold War > Flashcards

The Cold War Flashcards

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1
Q

What is the literal definition of the Cold War?

A

A struggle over political differences carried on by means short of military action or war

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2
Q

Essentially what was the Cold War?

A

Struggle to see if the political ideas of democracy or communism would rule the world

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3
Q

During WWII, the USA and Soviet Union were uneasy allies! (Distrust grew) - Why? (2)

A
  1. Soviet/German non aggression pact (USA felt betrayed)
  2. Allies delay in attacking Europe (D-Day) - USSR felt betrayed
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4
Q

who met at the Yalta Conference (3)

A

Stalin, Churchill, Roosevelt

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5
Q

Why did the 3 leaders meet at the Yalta Conference?

A

met to create a post-war peace!

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6
Q

what 2 things were decided at the Yalta Conference?

A
  1. Agreed to divide Germany into four zones occupied by the French, British, USA and the Soviet Union
  2. Stalin promised to give Eastern European countries free elections after the war
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7
Q

What was established at the San Francisco Conference?

A

The United Nations was established!

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8
Q

What city was the UN established?

A

New York City

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9
Q

What was the UN?

A

international peace keeping organization - replaced the League of Nations

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10
Q

Make up of the UN: (2 groups)

A
  • General Assembly (all countries allowed to be members)
  • Security Council (5 permanent members - USA, China, Great Britain, France, Soviet Union, and 6 rotating members) they had the real power1 (Veto)
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11
Q

What was the major postwar goal of the Soviet Union?

A

Major goal of the Soviet Union was to shield itself from another invasion from the west

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12
Q

What did the Soviet Union want to use as a buffer/shield, or “wall of protection”

A

Wanted to use Eastern Europe as that shield or buffer

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13
Q

What 2 things were decided at the Potsdam Conference?

A
  1. Stalin said he was not going to allow free elections in Eastern Europe
  2. Stalin declared that communism and democracy could not exist in the same world (The Cold War began!!!!)
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14
Q

What started the cold war?

A

Stalin declared that communism and democracy could not exist in the same world at the Potsdam Conference

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15
Q

Who gave their zones back to Germany as promised, and who didn’t?

A

USA, Britain, and France did
Soviet Union did not

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16
Q

What 2 German states were established by the end of 1948?

A
  1. Federal Republic of Germany - West Germany
  2. German democratic Republic - East Germany
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17
Q

Was the Federal Republic of Germany democratic or Communist?

A

Democratic

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18
Q

Was the German Democratic Republic democratic or Communist?

A

Communist

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19
Q

Winston Churchill’s term that came to represent the division between communist Eastern Europe and democratic Western Europe

A

“Iron Curtain”

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20
Q

US foreign policy

A

Containment

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21
Q

The US gave aid ($) and support to any country in the Middle East that resisted and rejected Communism

A

The Truman Doctrine

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22
Q

What 2 countries received aid under the Truman Doctrine?

A

Turkey and Greece

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23
Q

assistance (aid) program to rebuild Western Europe after the war (12.5 billion dollars)

A

Marshall Plan

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24
Q

What was the only requirement to receive aid under the Marshall plan?

A

the only requirement was to stay away from communism

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25
Q

Who was the Marshall plan named after?

A

Named after secretary of state George Marshall.

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26
Q

What country and what region was offered help under the Marshall Plan but refused to stay away from communism?

A

the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe

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27
Q

What did the Soviets do after they demanded Berlin?

A

Set up a blockade around West Berlin

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28
Q

Nickname for west (democratic) Berlin?

A

Island of Democracy

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29
Q

Result of the Soviets setting up a blockade around West Berlin?

A

Western Berlin faced starvation

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30
Q

For the next 11 months, the Americans and British airlifted food and supplies into the people of West Berlin

A

Berlin Airlift

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31
Q

What resulted from the Berlin Airlift?

A

Finally the Soviets gave up and lifted the blockade

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32
Q

First conflict in the Cold War

A

Berlin Airlift

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33
Q

Two rival military alliances formed during the Cold War:

A
  • Nato
  • Warsaw Pact
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34
Q

What does NATO stand for?

A

Nato (North Atlantic Treaty Organization)

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35
Q

What countries and what region led NATO? (2 countries, 1 region)

A

led by the USA, Canada and Western Europe

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36
Q

What country and what region led the Warsaw Pact?

A

Warsaw Pact led by the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe

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37
Q

During the Cold War there was always a threat of what?

A

Nuclear War

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38
Q

What kind of bombs were developed that were thousands of times more powerful than A-Bombs (atomic)

A

H-Bombs (hydrogen)

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39
Q

willingness to go to the bring, or edge of war

A

“Brinkmanship”

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40
Q

What did “Brinkmanship” create?

A

created huge tension between the two superpowers.

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41
Q

build-up of nuclear weapons

A

Arms Race

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42
Q

Why a space race?

A

wanted to launch weapons from space

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43
Q

The 9 main events of the space race in the Cold War in order:

A
  1. 1957 - Soviets created the first ICBM (intercontinental ballistic missile)
  2. 1957 - Soviets launched Sputnik - the first unmanned satellite in space
  3. 1957 - Soviets launch a dog into space - First living thing!
  4. 1958 - USA launches Explorer I - first communication satellite
  5. 1960 - Launched the first spy planes
  6. 1961 (early) - Soviets launched Yuri Gagarin - First man into space
  7. 1961 (later) - US launches Allen Sheppard into space
  8. 1962 - US launch John Glenn - First to orbit the Earth
  9. 1969 - USA - Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin - First to step on the moon
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44
Q

Who created the first ICBM

A

Soviets

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45
Q

Sputnik and who launched it

A

The first unmanned satellite in space - Soviets

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46
Q

first living thing in space and who launched it

A

soviets launched a dog

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47
Q

First communication satellite in space and who launched it

A

USA launched Explorer I

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48
Q

First man in space and who launched him?

A

Yuri Gagarin - Soviet

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49
Q

First US man in space

A

Allen Sheppard

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50
Q

First to orbit the Earth and who launched him

A

US launch John Glenn

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51
Q

First to step on the moon (2) and who launched them

A

Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin

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52
Q

Fear that the communists had infiltrated spies into the US government

A

Red Scare/Red Hunt

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53
Q

Why did hundreds of thousands of East Berliners flee to the West! (young, talented)

A

Escape communism

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54
Q

What did the Soviet Union do to keep people in East Berlin?

A

built up a wall overnight

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55
Q

What did the Berlin wall divide?

A

East and West Berlin

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56
Q

How long was the berlin wall?

A

over 100 miles

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57
Q

Who led the Communist take over of Cuba?

A

Fidel Castro

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58
Q

Pres. John F. Kennedy gave approval for an overthrow of the communist government in Cuba

A

Bay of Pigs Invasion

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59
Q

Who trained Cuban exiles for the Bay of Pigs Invasion

A

the CIA

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60
Q

Did the Bay of Pigs Invasion work?

A

Failed miserably

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61
Q

Who did Cuba turn to for protection after the Bay of Pigs Invasion?

A

Cuba turned to the Soviet Union for protection

62
Q

Nikita Khrushchev (Soviet leader) placed several nuclear missiles in Cuba - all pointed towards the USA

A

Cuban Missile Crisis

63
Q

Soviet leader responsible for the Cuban Missile Crisis:

A

Nikita Khrushchev

64
Q

How did Kennedy respond to the Cuban Missile Crisis?

A

Demanded they be removed

65
Q

What did the USA do to Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis?

A

USA set up a blockade of the island

66
Q

For how long was the US on the brink of nuclear war with the communists during the Cuban Missile Crisis?

A

13 days

67
Q

Which country backed off during the Cuban Missile Crisis?

A

Soviet Union

68
Q

The closest we came to Nuclear war?

A

The Cuban Missile Crisis

69
Q

Who assassinated Kennedy.

A

Lee Harvey Oswald

70
Q

Ended the Cold War (2 events)

A
  1. Fall of the Berlin Wall - 1989
  2. Fall of the Soviet Union - 1990
71
Q

Prior to WWII the Chinese were in the middle of what? And what were the 2 sides?

A

a bitter Civil war - the communist forces vs democratic forces

72
Q

Why was the bitter civil war in China between communist and democratic forces put on hold?

A

WWII - worked together to fight common enemy: Japan

73
Q

Nationalist (democratic) forces were led by who during the Civil War in China?

A

Jian Jieshi

74
Q

Communist forces were led by who during the Civil War in China?

A

Mao Zedong

75
Q

What advantage did the communists have in the communist revolution in China? (2)

A

The communist forces were much better trained and had the support of the peasant population

76
Q

Why did the peasant population of China support the communists?

A

They were promised free land

77
Q

Who won the communist revolution in china?

A

Communists

78
Q

Where did the Nationalists flee to after losing the communist revolution in China?

A

they settled on the Island of Formosa

79
Q

What is the Island of Formosa called today?

A

Taiwan

80
Q

Communist China brutally took over what region?

A

Tibet

81
Q

the spiritual and political leader of China

A

Dalai Lama

82
Q

what happened to the Dalai Lama?

A

Forced into exile

83
Q

Mao Zedong’s Attempt to Modernize the country of China

A

“The Great Leap Forward”

84
Q

What 2 things happened first during “The Great Leap Forward?”

A
  • The state/Mao seized all land from landlords and started state controlled collective farms called communes
  • Most peasants were taken off the farms and forced to work in factory production
85
Q

State controlled collective farms created by Mao Zedong

A

Communes

86
Q

Result of “The Great Leap Forward”

A

Famines killed over 30 million people

87
Q

Goal of the Chinese cultural Revolution

A

Goal was to establish a society of peasants and workers in which all were equal

88
Q

What was thought of as dangerous during the Chinese Cultural Revolution?

A

The life of the mind - intellectuals, artists, educated

89
Q

What was emphasized during the Chinese Cultural Revolution?

A

the hands - hard work

90
Q

What happened to the schools during the Chinese Cultural Revolution?

A

All were closed

91
Q

What was to be purged during the Chinese Cultural revolution?

A

The Four Olds

92
Q

What were the Four Olds?

A
  1. Old thoughts
  2. Old culture
  3. Old customs
  4. Old habits
93
Q

former high school and college students who formed military units to enforce the Chinese Cultural revolution?

A

Red Guards

94
Q

How did 5.8 million people die in the Chinese Cultural Revolution?

A

from persecution

95
Q

How did the Chinese Cultural Revolution end

A

with the death of Mao Zedong

96
Q

Why was Korea divided into North and South after WWII?

A

USA occupied the south and introduced democracy
The Soviet Union occupied the north and forced communism on the people

97
Q

What line is Korea divided along?

A

38th parallel

98
Q

What type of zone was the 38th parallel?

A

DMZ - Demilitarized zone

99
Q

What started the Korean War?

A

the US pulled troops out of South Korea so the North Koreans invaded South Korea - captured most of the South

100
Q

What part of South Korea did the North Koreans not capture after the US pulled the troops out of South Korea?

A

all but the Pusan Peninsula!

101
Q

Who did South Korea ask for help after North Korea captured all of South Korea but the Pusan Peninsula?

A

the UN

102
Q

How did the UN respond to South Korea’s request for help after being almost entirely captured by North korea?

A

The UN forces (15 nations) are is sent to stop the invasion - drive north out of south - invade north

103
Q

Who led the UN forces?

A

led by US Gen. Douglas McArthur

104
Q

What happened after the UN forces came to help South Korea and invade North Korea that made the UN forces to be outnumbered?

A

Chinese joined the North Korean forces

105
Q

After the Chinese joined the North Korean forces, McArthur asked who what?

A

McArthur asked President Harry Truman to authorize the use of an atomic weapon! (nuclear attack)

106
Q

How did the Korean War end?

A

in a draw

107
Q

Why did the korean war end?

A

Truman said no to McArthur’s request to authorize the use of an atomic weapon

108
Q

What resulted from the Korean War? (2)

A

4 million died, Korea is still divided today

109
Q

During Imperialism, France controlled all of

A

Indochina

110
Q

What did Indochina consist of? (3)

A

Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia

111
Q

who led the communist revolt against the French (French Indochina War)

A

Ho Chi Minh

112
Q

What happened to the communists and Ho Chi Minh in their revolt in the French Indochina War?

A

The revolt was crushed and he had to flee into exile

113
Q

What happened to Vietnam in 1941 during WWII

A

Japan seized and took over Vietnam

114
Q

What did Ho Chi Minh do after Japan took after Vietnam during WWII

A

During the war Ho Chi Minh fought to drive out the Japanese

115
Q

What did Ho Chi Minh form after WWII?

A

After the war he formed the Viet Minh Independence League

116
Q

What was the goal of the Viet Minh Independence League?

A

(goal was to get independence from France)

117
Q

What kind of warfare did the Viet Minh use against the French?

A

guerilla

118
Q

Did the french or the Viet Minh win their war for vietnam?

A

The Viet Minh - communist

119
Q

Why did the Viet Minh winning Vietnam from the French concern the USA?

A

Pres. Dwight Eisenhower believed in the Domino Theory

120
Q

What was the Domino Theory?

A

The fear that the rest of Southeast Asia would fall like dominoes to the communists like Vietnam

121
Q

What did the USA convince the UN to do with Vietnam?

A

Divide into North and South

122
Q

What did the US help South Vietnam do?

A

set up a democratic government

123
Q

Who led the South Vietnamese democratic government?

A

led by Ngo Dinh Diem

124
Q

What was the problem with Ngo Dinh Diem being the leader for South Vietnam?

A

He ruled as a brutal dictator - people hated him

125
Q

Who led the opposition to Diem and who did they have for support?

A

Vietcong (communist guerillas) - backed by the peasants, they attempted to take over South Vietnam

126
Q

What caused the Gulf of Tonkin incident and what was the result?

A
  • Congress authorizes President Lyndon Johnson to send in troops!
  • Vietnam War begins
127
Q

What 2 major problems did the US face in the Vietnam war?

A
  1. Fighting a guerilla war in unfamiliar territory
  2. The South Vietnamese government was very unpopular
128
Q

U.S. tactics to win the Vietnam war

A

“Search and Destroy”

129
Q

What was the problem with with the US tactic “Search and Destroy?”

A

Problem was that they could not find the enemy

130
Q

Why couldn’t the US find the enemy during the Vietnam war?

A

The Vietnamese set up underground tunnels

131
Q

Why couldn’t the US find the enemy during the Vietnam war?

A

The Vietnamese set up underground tunnels

132
Q

What was the name for the bombing campaign the Americans used in the Vietnam War?

A

Operation Rolling Thunder

133
Q

Result of Operation Rolling Thunder

A

Created more peasant opposition

134
Q

Why did operation Rolling Thunder Create more peasant opposition

A

Huge peasant casualties

135
Q

What made it so that the Vietnam war eventually became extremely unpopular in the USA

A

First televised war in the USA

136
Q

Youth driven “counterculture” sprang up - Opposed the war

A

Hippies - Flower children

137
Q

The hippie slogan:

A

“Make Love Not War”

138
Q

What did the Hippies lead

A

an Anti-war and anti-government movement

139
Q

Who led the Hippies?

A

Led mostly by college students

140
Q

What happened to Hippies at Kent State University?

A

4 students killed by the National Guard

141
Q

Doves

A

anti-war - young people

142
Q

Hawks

A

pro-war - adults

143
Q

What plan was Nixon pressured into during the Vietnam War?

A

President Richard Nixon pressured into a new plan called Vietnamization

144
Q

What was the Vietnamization plan?

A

gradual pull out of US troops - replaced by South Vietnamese

145
Q

in what agreement did the Communists promised to give the south vietnam free elections

A

Paris Accords

146
Q

Did the Communists keep their promise in the Paris Accords?

A

No

147
Q

Who won the Vietnam War?

A

South Vietnam fell to the communists - Communist country today

148
Q

Results of the Vietnam War: (3)

A

58,000 US troops died
2 million Vietnamese died
Only war in US history that we lost

149
Q

What happened in Cambodia? (2)

A
  • Taken over by the communists t
  • Killed over 1.5 million people
150
Q

What was the communist take over of Cambodia called?

A

Khmer Rouge

151
Q

Who led Khmer Rouge?

A

led by Pol Pot

Second Semester College History (6 decks)

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