The Cold War Flashcards
1
Q
What was the American flag called?
A
The Stars and Stripes
The star spangled banner
2
Q
Who often represents USA in cartoons?
A
Uncle Sam
The Bald Eagle
3
Q
What political system does the USA have?
A
Democracy
4
Q
What is the economic system in America?
A
Capitalism
5
Q
What is the capitalism system like?
A
Anyone who wants to get rich can as long as you have enough money to support your own business
6
Q
What is the definition of capitalism?
A
The belief that nothing is wrong with people getting rich and people getting poor
Possibility for profit
Individuals can own private property
Government does not control the economy
Capitalist countries are generally democratic
7
Q
Where did Uncle Sam come from?
A
A meat packer named Samuel Wilson
Stamped boxes with the letters “US” for United States
Became known as Uncle Sam
8
Q
What does the hammer on the flag of the USSR mean?
A
Urban workers
9
Q
What does the sickle on the flag of the USSR mean?
A
Rural workers
10
Q
When was the Russian Revolution?
A
1917
11
Q
What happened after the Russian Revolution?
A
Killed the tsar and his family
Became a communist country
12
Q
Who created Marxism?
A
Karl Marx
Joseph Engels
13
Q
What was the root of communism?
A
Marxism
14
Q
What defines middle class?
A
Education
15
Q
What was Marxism based on?
A
Government overthrown
Ruled by the people
A classless system is established
16
Q
What was the problem with Communism?
A
People aren’t motivated to get good jobs because they all get payed the same
17
Q
What is a political system?
A
How a country is run
18
Q
What is an economic system?
A
How finances are run in a country
19
Q
What type of system is Communism?
A
Political and economic
20
Q
What is socialism?
A
A mix between capitalism and communism
21
Q
What was used as the symbol of Russia?
A
A grizzly bear
22
Q
What is the definition of a superpower?
A
A country that survive on its own, economically, agriculturally etc.
23
Q
What is a socialist government?
A
A mix between communism and capitalism. Rich people can still make a profit
24
Q
What are the Eastern Bloc nations?
A
Countries behind the Iron Curtain
25
What is a diplomat?
Someone who negotiates with another country
26
Who was in charge of Cuba at the beginning of the Cold War?
General Batista
27
What kind of rule did General Batista have?
Capitalist rule
He exploited Cuba
He was corrupt
He used the military strongly
28
Were the Cubans happy with Batista's rule?
The rich were happy because they could get richer, but the poor were very unhappy with his system of government
29
How did the people of Cuba rebel against Batista?
They begin a revolution and fought a Guerrilla War
30
Who was the leader of the Cuban Revolution?
Fidel Castro
31
What is a guerrilla war?
A war where irregular fighters battle against a large regular military force
32
Who was Che Guevara?
He was a a,n from Argentina. He was a guerrilla fighter. He was hired to help fight in the Cuban Revolution
33
What was the result of the Cuban Revolution?
The guerrilla fighters overthrew Batista and Fidel Castro gained power
34
How did Castro change Cuba?
He started instituting Socialist reforms
35
What kind of reforms did Castro institute?
Land redistribution from the rich to the poor
| Nationalisation (government control) of American owned businesses
36
Why was Cuba a place of interest to America?
America had economic interests in Cuba
America was a capitalist country
Cuba is positioned very close to America
37
How did Castro's reforms influence America?
Rich Cubans moved from Cuba to America because they were unhappy with Fidel Castro
American businesses in Cuba could no longer produce profit for America, because they became government owned.
Socialism is similar to Communism
38
Why didn't America like Socialism or Communism?
It is a capitalist country
Communism is almost the complete opposite of capitalism
The USSR and the USA were competing
The USSR was a communist country
39
Why did Che Guevara become famous?
He was good looking
He was a good speaker
He fought in the Cuban Revolution
40
Which main resource was exported from Cuba to America?
Cuban cigars (tobacco)
41
How did the poor people in Cuba feel about Fidel Castro?
They liked what he was doing
42
Why was Castro popular with the poor Cubans?
He gave them land
| He improved the education
43
What was at Guantanamo Bay?
A USA Military Base
| A USA Government Prison
44
Why was the Guantanamo Bay prison so bad?
It did not provide the basic rights of a prisoner
| Prisoners were tortured there
45
What was the Geneva Convention?
A meeting where the basic rights of a prisoner were decided
46
What is an MRBM?
Medium Range Ballistic Missile
47
What was Cuba in terms of the Cold War?
A pawn
48
Why can Cuba be referred to as a pawn?
It was a limited expendable piece that got sent to the front line and was controlled by a bigger piece (country)
49
Who were the important men in the Cold War?
fidel Castro
Che guevara
j. f. Kennedy
nikita Khrushchev
50
Who was J. F. Kennedy?
The American president at the time. He was very popular
51
Who was Nikita Khrushchev?
He was the USSR president at the time
52
What was the relationship between Kennedy and Khrushchev like?
It was a good relationship
53
What was the capital city of Cuba?
Havana
54
What was the Bay of Pigs invasion?
When the USA tried to overthrow Castro
55
Why did the USA want to overthrow Fidel Castro?
They wanted to own businesses again
They wanted to stamp out communism in Cuba, because the USSR was communist
They were worried that Castro would ally with Khrushchev
56
Who invaded the Bay of Pigs?
The CIA trained exiled Cubans and sent them to invade Cuba
57
What was the result of the Bay of Pigs invasion?
It was a failure. It was supposed to be a secret operation, but Castro knew of the plot in advance, so he was ready for the invaders.
58
What happened after the Bay of Pigs invasion?
Cuba accepted help from the USSR
| The USSR sent food, money, and later weapons to Cuba.
59
What was the Cuban missile crisis?
The USSR began building missile bases on Cuba
The USA, through espionage, found out
The USA sent their navy to form a barricade between Cuba and the USSR ships carrying the missiles
The two navies almost fired nuclear weapons at each other
60
What is brinkmanship?
A situation that gets very close to a catastrophic point, but stops just before it gets there
61
How was the Cuban missile crisis averted?
Kennedy and Khrushchev held negotiations by telegram and agreed to stop nuclear war from happening
62
What were the terms of the agreement that stopped the Cuban missile crisis?
USSR would move out of Cuba and turn their missiles around
| The USA would move out of Turkey and agree never to invade Cuba again
63
Why did the USA want to have missiles in Turkey?
Turkey is close to the USSR capital, Moscow. This means that the USA ICBMs can cause mass destruction in the USSR from Turkey
64
Why did the USSR want to have missiles in Cuba?
Cuba is close enough to the major cities in the USA, such as Washington and New York. If ICBMs were launched from Cuba, they could cause mass destruction in the USA
65
How many nuclear weapons have ever been used in war?
Two
66
Who used these nuclear weapons?
The United States of America
67
Which two cities were the nuclear weapons used on?
Hiroshima
| Nagasaki
68
Which city got bombed first?
Hiroshima
69
Which city got bombed second?
Nagasaki
70
What are the immediate effects of a nuclear explosion?
Victims directly underneath the bomb experience the full effects of the heat released
They become vaporised instantly
There are bomb blasts or shockwaves
Firestorms are created
Extremely strong winds caused buildings to collapse
71
How hot is a nuclear explosion?
Clothes on people 3 km away from the initial explosion caught on fire because of the extreme heat
Roof tiles melted half a kilometre away
72
How strong are the winds created by a nuclear explosion?
1600 km per hour
73
What is the definition of Communism?
The government controls the finances
No classes
All property and businesses are ruled by the government
Wealth shared equally among the people
No opportunity to make a profit
Communism is defined as a system based on the theories of Marx and Engels that emphasises common ownership of the means of production and distribution. Each member of the community should work for the common benefit according to their own capacity and would receive according to their own specific needs. Private ownership would thus be abolished
74
Whose theories helped to develop the nuclear bomb?
Albert Einstein
75
Which nuclear bomb was tested on a fake village in the desert?
The Gadget
76
Who was the lead scientist of the Manhattan Project?
Robert Oppenheimer
77
Why were Hiroshima and Nagasaki chosen to be destroyed?
They created weapons for Japan
78
How many people were killed in the Hiroshima bombing?
Over 90 000
79
How many people were killed in the Nagasaki bombing?
Over 60 000
80
What were the three main reasons that the USA used for dropping the bombs?
To avoid further casualties
To keep Stalin out of Japan and to frighten the USSR
To frighten the Japanese military leaders into surrendering
81
How did the atomic bombs prevent further casualties?
If the USA had invaded Japan instead, there would have been many deaths on both sides
82
Why did the USA want to frighten the USSR?
They don't want Japan to be invaded
They didn't want to share the victory with the USSR
Communism made them nervous
83
What aeroplane was used to drop the atomic bombs?
The Enola Gay
84
Who flew the Enola Gay?
Paul Tibbets
85
Why did the USA and the USSR fight a Cold War?
They wanted to spread their power in the world, but they knew that a Nuclear War would destroy the world
86
What was the Arms Race?
When the USA and the USSR tried to build up the most powerful weapons
87
Why were the poor people in Cuba unhappy with Batista's rule?
They had few human rights
| They could not find work because America owned all of the big businesses
88
How did Fidel Castro improve Cuba?
He decreased illiteracy
| He improved health
89
What Socialist reforms did Castro introduce?
Land redistribution from the rich to the poor
| Nationalisation of American-owned businesses
90
What was the Space Race?
The USSR and the USA wanted the ability to drop bombs onto each other from space
91
Who was more advanced in terms of space technology?
The USSR
They launched the first satellite into space
They sent the first man into space
92
How was the Cold War fought?
```
Through economic development
Military power
Arts
Science
Education
Expansion
Trade
```
93
What was the Cold War?
A competition between the USA and the USSR
94
Who was the first man in space?
Yuri Gagarin
95
What was the goal set by the USA for the space race?
To land the first man in the moon
96
Which three men made it to the moon?
Buzz Aldrin
Neil Armstrong
Collins
97
Who was the first person to walk on the moon?
Neil Armstrong
98
Describe the Cuban missile crisis
Castro now cooperates with his ally
Allows for construction of
USSR missile bases in Cuba.
US spy plane photographs missile installations.
Missiles being transported by ship.
Kennedy (US president) orders a naval blockade to stop ships from reaching Cuba.
Soviet ships reach blockade, turn back
Khrushchev prepared to negotiate (not risk war)
Agreement reached –
USSR would dismantle bases, if US lift
blockade and not invade Cuba.
USA also remove missiles bases from Turkey.
99
What were the long term effects of the Cuban missile crisis?
Led to better relations between Superpowers
They realised how close they had come to war.
A “ Hotline” was set up between the two leaders- direct phone link
They also decided to sign nuclear test ban treaty
