Cold War Test

Harry Truman

U.S. President after FDR, Finalized WWll, Initiated Cold War, , expanded Truman Doctrine, and Marshall Plan.

Joseph Stalin

Dictator of Soviet Union, major role in defeating Germany and capturing Berlin

Winston Churchill

British Prime Minister and was very good with speeches about not surrendering especially considering he was an author.

Cold War

A prolonged state of ideological tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union. (No Violence-Offically)

Satellite Nations

Formally independent countries in Eastern Europe such as Poland, East Germany, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia. (Communist)

United Nations

Alliance of Nations against the Axis powers. Works to maintain world peace. UK, US, USSR, and China.

Containment

US policy adopted after WWll to stop the spread of communism, especially USSR influence.

Communism

Political and economic ideology that advocated for a classless society and everything was under government control.

NATO

North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Established to provide defense against the USSR.

Warsaw Pact

Soviet led mutual defense treaty and military alliance compromising Eastern Europe communist states.

Compare the different aims of the Soviet Union and United States after WWII

The USSR wanted more national security, expansion, and communism.

The US wanted Global stability, economic expansion, and democracy.

Dwight D. Eisenhower

“I like Ike”, known for directing the D-day invasion, and 34th president of the United States.

Nikita Khrushchev

Leader of the USSR known for easing tensions during the Cold War and launching sputnik.

Duck and Cover

U.S. defense strategy to educate citizens especially children about how to protect themselves if a/ hide under desks in a nuclear attack.

Brinkmanship

High stakes foreign policy strategy where threats are deliberately escalated forcing an opponent to back down/give up.

Mutually Assured Destruction

When both nations have enough nuclear weapons to create equal damage to one another that neither will initiate conflict.

Nationalize

Government taking private assets, resources and industries under control.

Eisenhower Doctrine

Eisenhower Doctrine- Gave economic aid to countries fighting communist aggression.

John F Kennedy

President known for his youth and navigating cold war crisis, apollo space program, cuban missile crisis.

Fidel Castro

Leader of cuba who turned cuba into a dictatorship

Joseph McCarthy

Senator from Wisconsin who made up accusations about others being communist and did anything to ruin reputations.

Alger HIss

U.S. Department official accused of spying for the soviet union although he denied it he received jail time.

Julius & Ethel Rosenberg

They gave away secrets about the American radar and nuclear weapons. They were both executed.

McCarthyism

Political practice of making intense accusations of disloyalty.

What is the Red Scare?

Expansion of communism to China and Europe.

Mikhail Gorbachev

Final leader of the USSR(Now Russia) and essentially led to the end of the Cold War.

Detente

A period of relieved tensions between the United States and USSR.

Glasnost

Openness is Russian, more increased government transparency, freedom of speech and reduced censorship.

Perestroika

Restructuring in Russian, modernizing the USSR.

Conformity

A societal push to everything being the same(Little Boxes)

Chronological order

Iranian Coop

Korean War

Suez canal crisis

Berlin Wall

Cuban Missile Crisis

Flexible response

Using conventional forces and nuclear weapons.

Peace corps

Combat USSR influence by sending American volunteers to aid in education, agriculture and health.

Alliance for progress

Economic aid program to develop social reform and democratic stability.

Identify the political, social, and economic factors that led to the end of the Cold War.

1. Reform Policies of Mikhail Gorbachev

Introduced glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restructuring).

Allowed more political freedom and transparency.

Reduced censorship and loosened centralized control.

2. Reduced Soviet Control Over Eastern Europe

Gorbachev abandoned the Brezhnev Doctrine (which justified Soviet intervention).

Eastern Bloc countries like Poland and Hungary began reforms without Soviet interference.

3. Key Symbolic Events

The Fall of the Berlin Wall marked the collapse of division in Europe.

Led to the reunification of Germany and weakening of communist control.

Growing Public Dissatisfaction

Citizens in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe faced poor living conditions and limited freedoms.

Increasing awareness of Western lifestyles through media.

2. Rise of Nationalism

Various republics within the Soviet Union (like Lithuania) pushed for independence.

Ethnic and national identities weakened the unity of the USSR.

3. Popular Movements and Protests

Mass protests in Eastern Europe demanded democratic reforms.

Nonviolent revolutions (e.g., in Czechoslovakia) undermined communist regimes.

Economic Stagnation in the Soviet Union

Central planning led to inefficiency, low productivity, and shortages.

The economy lagged far behind Western capitalist economies.

2. Costly Arms Race

Competition with the United States drained Soviet resources.

Military spending took priority over consumer needs.

3. Burden of the Soviet-Afghan War

Expensive and unpopular war.

Further weakened the Soviet economy and morale.

4. Falling Oil Prices

The USSR relied heavily on oil exports.

Declining global prices reduced government revenue.