Unit 8&9: AP World

Question 1

Marshall Plan

Answer 1

The Marshall Plan was an American initiative enacted in 1948 to provide foreign aid to Western Europe. The United States transferred $13.3 billion in economic recovery programs to Western European economies after the end of World War II. The goals of the United States were to rebuild war-torn regions, remove trade barriers, modernize industry, improve European prosperity and prevent the spread of communism.

Question 2

Yalta Conference

Answer 2

The conference was held in Yalta, Crimea, Soviet Union (now in Ukraine) from February 4 to 11, 1945. The leaders present at the conference included Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. The main purpose of the conference was to discuss the reorganization of post-war Europe and the defeat of Germany. Important agreements were made regarding the division of Germany, the future of Poland, and the use of Soviet assistance in the war against Japan.

Question 3

Potsdam Conference

Answer 3

Only increased tensions between the three powers. Beyond Stalin, President Harry S. Truman represented the United States after the death of FDR, and British Prime Minister Clement Attlee replaced Winston Churchill in a recent election. The leaders discussed the future of Germany and the issue of reparations. Important decisions were made regarding the occupation and control of Germany, the expulsion of ethnic Germans from Eastern Europe, and the use of the atomic bomb against Japan.

Question 4

The Truman Doctrine

Answer 4

Established the principle of containment. Aimed at limiting the spread of Soviet power and ideologies, the doctrine stated that the United States would provide military and economic aid to any country threatened by communism.

Question 5

Non-Aligned Movement

Answer 5

Bandung Conference (1955) - A group of states that were not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc during the Cold War. It was founded in 1961. It was headed by Achmed Sukarno, an Indonesian President.

Question 6

Democratic capitalism vs. Authoritarian communism

Answer 6

While DC emphasizes free market economics and political participation from citizens, AC emphasizes strict government control of the economy and redistribution of wealth equally to all citizens who have no voice in the government

Question 7

The Iron Curtain

Answer 7

A notional barrier separating the former Soviet bloc and the West prior to the decline of communism that followed the political events in eastern Europe in 1989.

Question 8

NATO

Answer 8

A military alliance originally established in 1949 to create a counterweight to Soviet armies stationed in central and eastern Europe after World War II. When the Cold War ended, NATO was reconceived as a “cooperative-security” organization.

Question 9

Warsaw Pact

Answer 9

A collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Poland, between the Soviet Union and seven other Eastern Bloc socialist republics of Central and Eastern Europe in May 1955, during the Cold War.

Question 10

Hydrogen Bomb

Answer 10

A second-generation nuclear weapon design. Its greater sophistication affords it vastly greater destructive power than first-generation nuclear bombs, a more compact size, a lower mass, or a combination of these benefits.

Question 11

Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty

Answer 11

The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty was an agreement signed in 1968 by several of the major nuclear and non-nuclear powers that pledged their cooperation in stemming the spread of nuclear technology.

Question 12

Great Leap Forward

Answer 12

A five-year economic plan executed by Mao Zedong and the Chinese Communist Party, begun in 1958 and abandoned in 1961. The goal was to modernize the country’s agricultural sector using communist economic ideologies. Instead of stimulating the country’s economy, The Great Leap Forward resulted in mass starvation and famine. It is estimated that between 30 and 45 million Chinese citizens died due to famine, execution, and forced labor, along with massive economic and environmental destruction.

Question 13

Metropoles

Answer 13

Designated the territory of the imperial country in distinction from their colonial holdings during the age of imperialism

Question 14

Military Industrial Conflict

Answer 14

A country typically attempts to marshal political support for continued or increased military spending by the national government.

Question 15

Line of Rule in USSR

Answer 15

Bolsehviks were led by Vladmir Lenin, taking power from the Tsars and the provisional government. They established communism in Russia. Joseph Stalin then took over and initiated the Five Year Plan, causing famine and death in Ukraine because he took all of their agricultural resources. After a long line of leaders, Gorbachev seized power in 1985, implementing Glastnost and Perestroika and leading to the fall of the USSR. The fall of the Berlin Wall also contributed to this fall.

Question 16

Line of Presidents in US

Answer 16

Harry Truman implemented the Truman Doctrine to restrain the spread of communism at the start of the Cold War. He also set forth the Marshall Plan to rebuild economies in Western Europe, and he created the NATO alliance to protect capitalism and democracy. Dwight D. Eisenhower initiated his own doctrine to aid the Middle East and protect them from any communist or Soviet revolutions or invasions. Richard Nixon signed the strategic arms limitation treaty decades later to prohibit nuclear weapon manufacturing. In 1980, Ronald Reagan was elected president and created the strategic defense initiative to protect the United States from bomb threats through space defense. Reagan knew the Soviet could not match the United States in weapon development due to their economic decline.

Question 17

Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty

Answer 17

A series of bilateral conferences and international treaties signed between the United States and the Soviet Union. These treaties had the goal of reducing the number of long-range ballistic missiles (strategic arms) that each side could possess and manufacture (US - Richard Nixon and USSR - Leonid Brezhnev).

Question 18

Strategic Defense Initiative

Answer 18

A proposed missile defense system by Reagan intended to protect the United States from attack by ballistic strategic nuclear weapons

Question 19

Greece Civil War and Role in Cold War

Answer 19

The Greek Civil War was the only unsuccessful communist sponsored takeover during the Cold War Era. The USSR desired access to the Mediterranean which is what led them to support the Greek communists. The war had its roots in divisions within Greece during World War II between the communist-dominated left-wing resistance organization, the EAM-ELAS, and loosely-allied anti-communist resistance forces. It later escalated into a major civil war between the Greek state and the communists. Greece enjoyed the benefits of the Marshall Plan and gradually became part of the Western system, joining the Council of Europe in 1949 and NATO in 1951. The defeat of the Communist revolt in Greece, in which more than 50 000 people died, marked the end of the spread of Soviet influence in Europe.

Question 20

Turkey Role in Cold War

Answer 20

Turkey abandoned its policy of neutrality and accepted USD $100 million in economic and defence aid from the US in 1947 under the Truman Doctrine’s plan of ceasing the spread of Soviet influence into Turkey and Greece. The two aforementioned nations joined NATO in 1952. In 1961, the US government put Jupiter nuclear missiles in Italy and Turkey to have power over the Russians, who had stocked missiles in Cuba.

Question 21

Yugoslavia in the Cold War

Answer 21

While ostensibly a communist state, Yugoslavia broke away from the Soviet sphere of influence in 1948, became a founding member of the Non-Aligned Movement in 1961, and adopted a more de-centralized and less repressive form of government as compared with other East European communist states during the Cold War.

Question 22

Germany in the Cold War

Answer 22

After the Potsdam conference, Germany was divided into four occupied zones: Great Britain in the northwest, France in the southwest, the United States in the south and the Soviet Union in the east. Berlin, the capital city situated in Soviet territory, was also divided into four occupied zones. Having experienced great losses as a result of German invasions in the First and Second World Wars, Soviet leader Joseph Stalin preferred that a defeated Germany be dismembered and divided so that it could not rise to its former strength to threaten European peace and security again. However, Russia kept their pieces of Germany to further expand communist influence. The Berlin Wall would prevent the West from having further influence on the East, stop the flow of migrants out of the communist sector, and ultimately become the most iconic image of the Cold War in Europe. The United States quickly condemned the wall, which divided families and limited freedom of movement. The United States and United Kingdom responded by airlifting food and fuel to Berlin from Allied airbases in western Germany. The Berlin Wall fell in the early 1990s, symbolically ending the Cold War.

Question 23

Korean War

Answer 23

After Japan let go of the colony of Korea, the North Koreans (People’s Army) attacked South Korea with confidence that they could win the war and communize the entire Korean peninsula. The Korean War was a proxy war for the Cold War. The West—the United Kingdom and the U.S., supported by the United Nations—supported South Korea, while communist China and the Soviet Union supported North Korea. The Korean War ended three years later, with millions of casualties. After three years of fighting, the war ended in a stalemate with the border between North and South Korea near where it had been at the war’s beginning.

Question 24

Vietnam War

Answer 24

Once Japan surrendered to the Allies in 1945, Ho Chi Minh proclaimed the independent Democratic Republic of Vietnam. Ho Chi Minh led a long and ultimately successful campaign to make Vietnam independent. He was president of North Vietnam from 1945 to 1969, and he was one of the most influential communist leaders of the 20th century. At the heart of the conflict was the desire of North Vietnam, which had defeated the French colonial administration of Vietnam in 1954, to unify the entire country under a single communist regime modeled after those of the Soviet Union and China. The US feared communist domination of Southeast Asia and wanted to contain Soviet and Chinese influence. Losing Vietnam was seen as a major strategic defeat. But, the unpopular war triggered massive domestic protests and fueled the counterculture movement. The fight between the United States and South Vietnam on one hand and North Vietnam and the National Liberation Front, strongly backed by the Soviet Union and mainland China, on the other, ended with the victory of the North Vietnamese in 1975.

Question 25

Angolan Civil War

Answer 25

Imperialists drew borders around neighboring colonies that were rivals under one government. The Angolan ethnic groups united to fight against the Portuguese to win their independence. However, no one knew which colony would hold power once they gained independence. The Soviets, United States, and South Africa each backed a different state. As part of the Cold War between the US and USSR, the MPLA received aid from the Soviet Union and Cuba, while UNITA and FNLA received aid from the United States and apartheid South Africa. Ultimately, hundreds of thousands would die as a result of the conflict, being by far the bloodiest conflict in Angolan history. Ultimately, the MPLA (USSR backed) won the war and is the dominant political party, but UNITA continues to challenge its influence in electoral politics.

Question 26

Sandinista-Contras Conflict

Answer 26

In Nicaragua, the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN), who were socialists, proclaimed power. The United States backed the Contras to overthrow the Sandinistas who were backed by the Soviets. The Contras committed many human rights violations, ending the war with a ceasefire. The Sandinistas were easily defeated in the next election.

Question 27

Chinese Revolution vs. Russian Revolution

Answer 27

China’s revolution was focused on the rural, peasantry population while the Russian Revolution focused on urban workers and industry. The Chinese was much less industrialized at the time of their revolution as well. The Soviet Union’s collectivization of agriculture sparked internal rebellion, causing millions of people to die due to a famine. China’s collectivization was a peaceful process because of the communists build up trusts with the peasants. Mao also focused on equality and a classless society, which Russia did not specifically care for.

Question 28

Communist Bloc

Answer 28

The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc (Combloc), the Socialist Bloc, and the Soviet Bloc, was the coalition of communist states of Central and Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America that were aligned with the Soviet Union and existed during the Cold War (1947–1991).

Question 29

Cuban Missile Crisis

Answer 29

In 1962 the Soviet Union began to secretly install missiles in Cuba to launch attacks on U.S. cities. After extensive consultation with his foreign policy and military advisers, Kennedy blockaded Cuba on October 22, 1962. The two sides stood on the brink of nuclear war, but Khrushchev capitulated six days later and the missiles were dismantled. In return, Kennedy disbanded its own missile sites in Turkey.

Question 30

Nelson Mandela and South Africa

Answer 30

Once South Africa gained its independence from Britain, the minority white population rose to power and introduced apartheid or legal segregation. Nelson Mandela led the Africans through the African National Congress with nonviolent protests. While Mandela was on trial for his peaceful protests, white police fired openly at another protest. This led Nelson Mandela and other leaders to adopt violence in their struggle for freedom. Although he was jailed for two decades for his actions, when he was released, he ran for president and won, confirming South Africa’s end of apartheid.

Question 31

Pinochet in Chile

Answer 31

In Chile, Pinochet led a political coup to overthrow a democratic leader, Salvador Allende, who had started to implement Marxist and socialist policies. With the support of the United States, Pinochet assume power over Chile as a dictator, violently suppressing opposition to his leadership. His military conducted raids and torture against any political enemies, including the Catholic Church and unions. The military dictatorship ended in 1990 with the election of Christian Democrat candidate Patricio Aylwin.

Question 32

Idi Amin in Uganda

Answer 32

Idi assumed power through a military coup in Uganda, responding to ethnic conflicts with extreme violence. He demonized the large south asian population of China, who supported the economy for centuries. However, Idi blamed them for taking jobs from Ugandans. He became known as the Ugandan butcher. His violence targeted ethnic groups and in others it targeted political enemies and in still others it targeted seemingly random groups whom Amin deemed enemies.

Question 33

Shining Path

Answer 33

The communist Party of Peru was a Maoist guerilla group that waged a violent insurgency in Peru in the 1980s. Abimael Guzman led the group to overthrow the Peruvian government and establish a communist state. The Shining Path grew support from rural peasants, many of whom were disillusioned with the government and saw it as a good strategy. These attacks were brutal. Also, the path sought to isolate rural communities from the government by disrupting transportation and communication networks, allowing them to impose their own regulations. The group was largely defeated by military action later.

Question 34

Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan and Al-Qaeda

Answer 34

It was the first Soviet military expedition beyond the Eastern bloc since World War II. The Soviet–Afghan War caused grave destruction throughout Afghanistan and has also been cited by scholars as a significant factor that contributed to the dissolution of the Soviet Union, formally ending the Cold War. Al-Qaeda began as a logistical network to support Muslims fighting against the Soviet Union during the Afghan War; members were recruited throughout the Islamic world. When the Soviets withdrew from Afghanistan in 1989, the organization dispersed but continued to oppose what its leaders considered corrupt Islamic regimes and foreign (i.e., U.S.) presence in Islamic lands. Al-Qaeda merged with a number of other militant Islamist organizations, including Egypt’s Islamic Jihad and the Islamic Group, and on several occasions its leaders declared holy war against the United States. The organization established camps for Muslim militants from throughout the world, training tens of thousands in paramilitary skills, and its agents engaged in numerous terrorist attacks, including the destruction of the U.S. embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (1998), and a suicide bomb attack against the U.S. warship Cole in Aden, Yemen (2000; see USS Cole attack). In 2001, 19 militants associated with al-Qaeda staged the September 11 attacks against the United States. Within weeks the U.S. government responded by attacking Taliban and al-Qaeda forces in Afghanistan. Thousands of militants were killed or captured, among them several key members (including the militant who allegedly planned and organized the September 11 attacks), and the remainder and their leaders were driven into hiding.

Question 35

Perestroika and Glastnost

Answer 35

Glasnost translates as ‘openness. ‘ It refers to a significant increase in individual freedom of expression in political and social aspects of life in the Soviet Union. Perestroika was the policy of “restructuring” and reforming the economic and political system of the Soviet Union.

Question 36

Suez Canal and Egypt

Answer 36

The Suez Canal was very useful to the Europeans, who could use it to easily travel and transport goods to Asia. In 1952, Gamal Abdel Nassar proclaimed independence from the British for Egypt. While he was not a communist, he implemented socialist reforms to their land, nationalizing the Suez Canal. This made the canal solely under Egypt’s control. This threatened Great Britain, France, and Israel well being, so they invaded Egypt. Nikita Khrushchev, the soviets leader, threatened to violently attack the invaders. Dwight Eisenhower put pressure on France and Britain to withdraw, so they did. Nasser completed the Aswan High Dam on the Nile River to provide electricity and irrigation for Egypt. He also created social welfare reforms to establish free schooling and healthcare.

Question 37

India

Answer 37

India was Britain’s most prosperous and valuable colony, as they had invested money to build up sea ports, railroads, and urban development (infrastructure). This modernization produced an educated middle class, who were influenced by nationalism and self rule. They formed the Indian National Congress, who formed ignored petitions to garner forms of independence. India fought for Britain in World War 1, believing this would earn them independence. However, in the Amritsar Massacre, the British slaughtered peaceful protestors who were fighting for what they were promised. Mohandas Ghandi led the Indians in a nonviolent campaign against the British. By the 1920s, Britain transferred some authority to the Indians. Once World War 2 started, they again participated in the struggle. Afterwards, the Indians demanded independence, and the British gave in because they were broke and many leaders in parliament supported the movement in 1947. Although India’s independence was peaceful, their struggle for governance was violent. India was home to substantial Muslim minority, forming the Muslim League because they feared they would be persecuted. This caused the British partition, creating Pakistan. While Muslims fled south and Hindus fled north, they violently assaulted each other.

Question 38

Ghana Independence

Answer 38

Kwame Nkrumah led the movement. Ghana’s attainment of independence was not only a triumph for its nationalist movement but also a watershed moment in African history. The country’s liberation inspired similar movements across the continent and signaled the beginning of the end for colonial rule in Africa.Feb 10, 2024

Question 39

Kenya Independence

Answer 39

The Mau Mau movement was an anti-colonial uprising in Kenya that lasted from 1952 to 1960. It was primarily made up of members of the Kikuyu ethnic group, who were opposed to British colonial rule and land policies that had resulted in their dispossession.

Question 40

Algeria Independence

Answer 40

Beginning in 1954, the Front de Libération Nationale (FLN) waged war against France to gain their independence. The conflict was devastating enough to cause the collapse of the Fourth Republic in France and brought about its successor, the Fifth Republic, now headed by the WWII war hero Charles de Gaulle.

Question 41

Nigeria and Biafra Conflict

Answer 41

The Nigerian Civil War was fought from 1967 to 1970 between Nigeria’s federal government and the secessionist state Biafra. Ethnic conflict, economic inequality, and educational disparities were among the factors that contributed to the start of the war, which killed an estimated 500,000 to 3,000,000 people.

Question 42

Indian Partition Continued

Answer 42

Muslims were the minority in every state except in Kashmir in South Asia. Pakistanis assumed the Kashmir would be added to their territory consequently. The ruler of the state was Hindu, and Kashmir had valuable natural resources. India declared Kashmir their territory, as Pakistan initiated a military response to claim the region. The United Nations insisted that the people of Kashmir vote on the outcome of the state, which would hav resulted in Pakistan getting the state because of their majority Muslim population. This vote never occurred, and this region has remained a place of conflict. Indira Ghandi, the first and only female prime minister of India, inherited economic problems from the Pakistan conflict. She implemented five year socialist economic plans, allowing the government to control the economy rather than western nations. She adopted the Green Revolution to yield grain in mass. She oversaw the nationalization of key Indian industries and introduced significant government regulation, reducing inflation and increasing production.

Question 43

Migration

Answer 43

Even if the presence of the imperial power was unwelcome, the colonial people grew familiar with the customs and culture of that occupying power. Therefore, some people chose to migrate to metropole cities to escape economic problems and find jobs. This transformed white societies to multi ethnic societies.

Question 44

Tanzania

Answer 44

In Tanzania, Julius Nyerere also tried to modernize. He collectivized large farms and heavily promoted education. At his urging, Tanzania created universal education, vastly increasing literacy.

Question 45

Sri Lanka

Answer 45

Sirimavo Bandaranaike was a Sri Lankan politician who served as the world’s first female prime minister, holding the office three times between 1960 and 2000. Unlike India, she promoted free enterprise, though she did nationalize some industries. Under her leadership, the wealth gap in Sri Lanka declined immensely.

Question 46

Cambodia

Answer 46

Cambodia, similar to Vietnam, was originally part of French Indochina. Once World War II ended, authoritarian leaders in Cambodia grappled for power, and the resulting political chaos led to communists gaining power under the Khmer Rouge, a notoriously violent group.

During the time the Khmer Rouge was in power, they aggressively attempted to make the country agricultural again by forcefully collectivizing farms. This, accompanied by many other violent techniques, such as murdering anyone suspected of dissent, killed about 1.5 million people in the Cambodian genocide.

Question 47

Canada

Answer 47

Canada is still very similar to what it was 100 years ago today. But there was a little blip: the Quebecois separatist movement. Quebecois, or French nationalists, believed Quebec should be independent, or at least significantly different, from Canada. However, they were unsuccessful in separating from Canada.

Question 48

Kerala

Answer 48

The Indian state of Kerala elected a government that legitimized peasants’ right to cultivate the land and set a limit on the amount of land one could own.

Other states in India enacted similar reforms, such as abolishing the British Zamindari system (feudal landholding) and ending the position of intermediary tax collectors.

Question 49

Iran

Answer 49

The White Revolution (1963) was a set of aggressive modernization reforms, such as forcing big landholders to redistribute land, increasing federal funding for internal improvements, and encouraging industrial growth and education.

Question 50

Cambodian Genocide

Answer 50

The Khmer Rouge held power in Cambodia for just under 45 months (April 1975-January 1979) and left 1.6–3 million Cambodian civilians dead through starvation, torture, execution, medical experiments, untreated diseases, forced marches, forced labor, and other forms of violence. He wanted to rid the society of all western educated people.

Question 51

Rwandan Genocide

Answer 51

The Rwandan genocide was a mass extermination of the Tutsi ethnic group and moderate Hutus by the Hutu-dominated government, known as the Interahamwe, and the military of Rwanda that occurred in 1994. It is estimated that between 500,000 and 1 million Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed during the 100-day genocide. The genocide was characterized by its brutality and speed. The Interahamwe and government-controlled military units systematically hunted down and killed Tutsi and moderate Hutu men, women, and children. Many Tutsis and moderate Hutus were also killed in churches, schools, and other places where they sought refuge. The genocide was also characterized by its widespread use of rape as a weapon of war.

Question 52

Neo-Liberalism

Answer 52

An economic ideology that emphasizes free markets, limited government intervention, and individual freedom as the keys to economic development. It promotes deregulation, privatization, and globalization (Reagan and Margaret).

Question 53

World Trade Organization

Answer 53

It deals with the global rules of trade between nations. Its main function is to ensure that global trade flows smoothly, predictably and freely as possible.

Question 54

European Union

Answer 54

A political and economic union of 27 member countries located in Europe. It aims to promote peace, stability, and cooperation among its members through the establishment of common policies and institutions.

Question 55

Association of Southeast Asian Nations

Answer 55

It was established in August 1967 with the purpose of accelerating the economic growth, social progress, and cultural development in the region, and promoting regional peace and stability.