Cold War

Flashcards based on Cold War lecture notes.

Describe the Cold War.

An ideological war between the US and USSR that contained no violence but rather competition through developments.

What were the compromises made at the Yalta conference before the end of WWII?

To create a world peace organization (the UN) and split Germany into 4 zones with different countries occupying each.

What were the causes of the Cold War?

America and the USSR did not trust each other after WW2.

What was the Truman Doctrine?

A policy signed by U.S. President Harry S Truman to help democratic countries grow and stop the spread of communism.

What was the Great Leap Forward? How successful was it?

Mao Zedong's policy in China to increase farmers' production of goods; it was a horrible failure.

What happened after the establishment of the Jewish State of Israel?

Fighting broke out between Israel and Palestine because Israel was nationally recognized as a state and not Palestine.

Why and when did the Soviet Union collapse?

Due to the poor economic state caused by the war in Afghanistan, in 1991.

What is NATO?

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, signed by Truman, to contain communism. The USSR formed the Warsaw Pact in response.

Why did the United States involve themselves in the Vietnam War?

Because of the containment policy.

What type of warfare was successful for Vietnam?

Guerrilla warfare was greatly used and led Vietnam towards victory against the U.S.

Which type of economy, communist or capitalist, was more effective and why?

Market economies were most effective because they had a bigger production of quality consumer goods.

Why did people begin to take a stand against communism?

The government's corruption and economic hardships.

What policy did the US use to intervene in Vietnam and explain this policy?

Containment, the strategy of limiting Communism to the areas under Soviet control.

How did Churchill describe the division between the Communist world and the Non-communist world?

An 'iron curtain' representing the free world vs. the unfree world.

Name the permanent members of the UN Security Council.

USA, Russia, UK, France, China

Name the 1st communist leader of China, and what was the purpose of the cultural revolution in China?

Mao Zedong. The purpose was to purge China of 'bourgeois' tendencies.

What was the Domino Theory?

If one country fell to communism, the rest would follow.

Name the dividing line between North and South Korea (still there today).

The 38th parallel.

Which communist country helped North Korea by sending troops during the Korean War?

China.

Name the Vietnam nationalist who established a communist government.

Ho Chi Minh.

Name the leader of Cuba that began the Cuban Revolution.

Fidel Castro.

Describe the events that took place in Czechoslovakia in 1968. What was the result?

In 1968, Czechoslovakia peacefully split into 2 nations, The Czech Republic and Slovakia.

The Arab oil embargo in 1973 against the US happened because the US gave support to ___.

Israel in the Yom Kippur War.

What countries were involved in the issue with Palestine?

Palestine, Israel, and near Arab nations were involved.

Why did countries want Palestine?

They argued that Palestine was one of the lands that had been promised to them by the British in return for Arab support in WWI.