Weeks 14 &15 - 1960s, 70s, 80s and the Fall of the Soviet Union; the West Today. Flashcards
Why are the 1970s considered the United States’s Decade of Woes?
1) The Disappointing Vietnam War Effort
2) A Poor Economic Performance With 20% Interest Rates
3) Watergate Scandal Shook the Faith of the American People in Government
4) The Iranian Hostage Crisis and Islamic Revolution Sweeping Iran and Overthrowing the Shah
Why did the U.S. Economy Perform Poorly?
1) Guns and Butter - High Social Welfare and Military Spending by LBJ
2) Arab Oil Embargo drove gas prices incredibly high.
3) The restoration of Global Economic Competition not Present in the 1940s.
Who controlled Eastern Germany?
The Communist-doinated Socialist Unity Party.
What was the Nation of Western Germany called?
The Federal Republic of Germany
What was the Nation of Eastern Germany Called?
The German Democratic Republic.
Who dominated Western German Politics Following World War II?
Konrad Adenauer.
In what ways did Adenauer achieve his goal of regaining West Germany’s sovereignty?
1) Economic Cooperation under the Ruhr Statute.
2) Cooperation with the Occupation Statute.
3) Restitution to Victims of the NAzis
What was the European Coal and Steel Community?
An independent authority that controlled steel and coal industries that increased economic cooperation.
What did the European Coal and Steel Community lay the groundwork for?
The European Community.
What was the Bonn Convention?
Granted West Germany most of the attributes of National Sovereignty
Who was the main opponent of socialists in Germany after Adenauer?
Future Chancellor Ludwig Erhard.
What idea was the foundation of the German Economic Miracle?
A market economy based on free trade and private enterprise.
Who adopted the Constitution establishing East Germany?
A Congress organized by the Socialist Unity Party (SED)
What factors caused workers to start an uprising in East Berlin?
1) Food Shortages
2) Economic Hardships
3) Forced Changes
Who emerged as the leader of East Germany in the 1950s?
Walter Ulbricht.
Who replaced Churchill as the Prime Minister of Great Britain?
Clement Attlee.
What organization did he create that still exists in Britain today?
The NHS, Nation Health Service.
What was the policy trend of the 1960s Labor government?
1) Legalized Homosexuality
2) Legalized Abortion
3) Made it Easier to Get Divorces
What happened to Britain’s economy?
Its position relative to other economies declined.
Who regained power for the Conservatives in 1979?
Margaret Thatcher.
What is Thatcherism?
A series of social and economic changes that dismantled Britain’s postwar welfare state.
What happened during Thatcher’s time as PM in Britain and after she left in regards to the economy?
The economy grew during her time as PM
However, it declined as soon as she left office in the early 90s.
What is Margaret Thatcher’s nickname?
The Iron Lady.
What nation invaded the Falkland Islands in 1982?
Argentina.
Who is the most important figure in recent French Politics?
Francois Mitterrand.
What party did Mitterrand Unite?
The French Socialist Party.
What happened to the French economy as. a result of high taxes and high welfare spending?
A 12% Unemployment rate and economic stagnation.
What was the “Mitterrand Revolution”?
A nationalizing of banks, shortening of the work week, increased taxes on the upper class, better workers benefits, and lower retirement age.
What two choices did Mitterrand face when the French economy was near collapse in the 1980s?
1) Pull the Franc out of the European Monetary System and implement high tariffs.
2) Abandon Socialism and Embrace Free-Market Principles.
Which Option did Mitterrand Choose?
The Second.
Who controlled Italy after World War II?
The Christian Democrats in coalition governments with the Social Democrats and other centrist parities.
What was the theme of Italian government?
Constant instability. 36 governments 29 years.
Who emerged out of the chaos of Italian government to lead?
Silvio Berlusconi.
What is the post-war era known for philosophically?
Post-Modernism and Existentialism.
What is good about postmodernism?
1) Sensitivity to Context
2) Realization that Assumptions are Powerful.
3) Tolerance of Christian Ideals
Who was the greatest spokesman of existentialism?
Jean-Paul Sartre.
What is at the foundation of existentialism?
Despair.
What do existentialists believe?
That the world is not worth living in and its up to us to decide about everything.
Who is existentialism for?
1) People who wish to live ethically but realize they have no good philosophical reason for doing so..
2) People who wish for other people to live ethically but realize they. have no sound basis for truing to be good.
Who is the supposed founder of Christian existentialism?
Soren Kierkegaard.
What two factors fueled massive Japanese economic growth?
1) US economic and military aid.
2) Japan’s Ministry of International Trade and Industry that decreased cost of securing better technology and helped spur economic growth.
What did Japan begin to export in the postwar era besides economic goods?
Culture - Anme, manga, and other aspects of Japanese culture (Martial Arts)
What is the Brezhnev Doctrine?
The Soviet Union will intervene military to suppress anti-Soviet revolutions in Eastern Europe.
What was Brezhnev a willing participant in?
Detente.
What are examples of cooperation between the US and USSR under Brezhnev?
1) The Helsinki Accords
2) SALT
What halted the detente between the USSR and US?
The USSR rolled tanks into Afghanistan.
How did the US resist the Soviets in Afghanistan?
By arming the Mujahideen with Stinger missiles.
What type of war was fought in Afghanistan?
A guerilla war.
What did the Helsinki Accords mandate?
The current political status quo and the recognition of all current boundary lines as permanent. The Soviets agreed to open the iron curtain and have a basic respect for human rights.
What did the Helsinki Accords lead to?
The permeation of Western influence into the USSR.
Why did the Soviet economy struggle?
1) Bad Central Planning
2) Oil Based Economy
3) Cold War Spending Drained Resources
What program was launched to attempt to bankrupt the Soviets?
The Strategic Defense Initiative.
Which US President launched the SDI?
Ronald Reagan.
Who took control after Brezhnev?
Gorbachev.
What did Gorbachev call for in the Soviets Union to promote reform?
1) Glasnost - Openness and criticism of the government
2) Perestroika - Restructuring of the Soviet economy and political systems.
Who led Poland’s Revolution against the USSR leadership?
Lech Walesa.
Who led Czechoslovakia’s Revolution against USSR leadership?
Vaclav Havel.
Who was the first European State to overthrow the communists?
Poland.
What trade union led the fight for Polish rule?
Solidarity.
What was the first hole in the Iron curtain?
Hungary opening its border with Austria and permitting free trade.
What is the Czechoslovakian Revolution called?
The Velvet Revolution.
What happened in Bulgaria?
After old communist leaders refused to reform, Bulgaria collapsed and the leaders resigned. A democratic government was installed.
What happened in East Germany?
The wall was torn down after protests and a change in government occurred that paved the way for German Reunification.
Where was the only violent anti-communist revolution?
Romania.
Who ruled Romania during the anti-communist revolution?
Nicolae Ceauescu.
Who won election after Gorbachev?
Boris Yeltsin, a populist.
What happened when Yeltsin took power?
The remaining KGB and conservatives staged a coup.
What was banned after the failed coup?
The communist party.
What did the former Soviet countries form to encourage some cooperation?
The Commonwealth of Independent States.
When was the Soviet Union dissolved?
December 26, 1991.
Why did the United States win the Cold War?
1) The U.S. exhausted the Soviet Union economically through massive defense spending.
2) Containment Policy Deprived the USSR of morale boosting victories.
3) The US cultivated citizens discontent with Communism in the USSR.
How did Yeltsin attempt to transform the Russian economy?
Through a shock program shift to capitalism without any key infrastructure.
Under who’s rule has the Russian economy improved?
Vladimir Putin.
What happened under Franco’s dictatorship in Spain?
1) Economic Blockades and Spanish Isolation
2) Exclusion from NATO and the UN
3) Economic Recession
4) Sharp Divisions Between the Wealthy and Poor.
When did Spain make a transition to democracy?
Under the rule of King Juan Carlos in 1977.
What is the major blemish on Spain’s domestic front since becoming a democracy?
The terrorist and separatist military campaign of the ETA for an independent Basque homeland.
What’s going on with Muslims in Europe?
The relationship is getting complicated cause there are a lot of them…
When was Yugoslavia termed?
1929.
Who led the resistance against the Nazis in Yugoslavia?
Tito/Josip Broz.
Who became the party chief in Yugoslavia after Tito?
Slobodan Milosevic.
What states declared independence from Yugoslavia in 1990?
Macedonia
Croatia
Slovenia
Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Who claimed parts of Bosnia-Herzegovina after its declaration of independence?
Serbia
Croatia
Muslim in the rest of the territory.
Where did a civil war erupt in 1998?
Kosovo.
