mcq - unit 8

Which two superpowers emerged after WWII?

United States and Soviet Union

What were the two ideologies of the US and the Soviets? 

Capitalism and Communism

What were the two political ideologies of the US and the Soviets?

Democracy and Authoritarianism

What are the dates of the Cold War?

1947-1991

The Alliance between the U.S. and Western European countries came to be known as this:

NATO

This is one of the main reasons why the Russians of today went to war with Ukraine:

  Ukraine was planning to join NATO

This ideology means the state or government controls everything: 

Communism

The Soviet’s put the first satellite into space.  What was it called and when did this happen?

Sputnik , 1957

What did the stockpiling of nuclear weapons between the two powers come to be known as?

The Arms Race

By the late 1980s, what was happening economically to the Soviet Union? 

They were going bankrupt

Who was Mikhael Gorbachev? 

Leader of the Soviet Union in the 80s

What was Gorbachev’s attempt to introduce capitalism into the Soviet economy called?

Perestroika

What ultimately brought down the Soviet Union?

Growing economic discontent among the people within the Soviet Union.

What was Gorbachev’s attempt to introduce more freedom of speech into Soviet society called?

Glasnost

The line separating the Eastern Bloc from Western Europe during the Cold War came to be known as this:

The Iron Curtain

Name the 6 countries that were a part of the Eastern Bloc:

Poland, Czechoslovakia, Belarus, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary

The term for countries that were controlled by the Soviets:

Satellite States

In what year did Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, and Romania become independent?

1989

These are the nine countries today that have nuclear weapons:

US, Russia, China, North Korea, France, England, Israel, Pakistan, India

Why are nuclear power plants a good way to generate electricity?

 Because they burn clean as opposed to coal which is dirty.

In what decade did commercial jets start being used?

1950s

Why did commercial jets increase contact between different peoples around the world?

Because you could now get to places much faster.

The increased use of these in the second half of the 20th century has led to a lot more air pollution globally:

fossil fuels

The emissions that have led to global warming:

carbon dioxide

When did most colonies in Africa and Asia gain their independence?

After WWII

Where would colonial subjects ironically end up migrating to in the decades following independence?

Metropoles of their former colonial overlords

Give an example of colonial subjects migrating to cities of their imperial oppressors:

Indians and Pakistani to British cities like London

When British historians argue that England’s colonizing of India was a net-positive, what do they point to?

The building of infrastructure like roads and railroad.

Which two countries in South Asia are mortal enemies and why?

Pakistan and India because one is Hindu and one is Muslim.

How many people died in the migrations that resulted from the creation of the country of Pakistan?

millions

Who is often blamed for the origins of the hostilities between the Hindus and the Muslims of South Asia?

The British because they employed a divide-and-rule strategy when they were in charge of India.  Meaning divide all ethnicity/religions so that they won’t unite against the British.

What is East Pakistan called today?

Bangladesh

Where and when were most of the boundaries of modern-day sub-Saharan African states created?

Berlin Conference, 1884-1885

What did the coexistence of different ethnicities and religions living side by side in newly created African countries often lead to?

Conflict within those states in the decades following independence.

Why didn’t the French grant Algeria independence following WWII?

There were too many French citizens living in Algeria who opposed it.

What was the most notable of the independence movements in Algeria?

The FLN

Why were movements like the FLN successful?

Imperial powers were considerably weakened economically and militarily because of WWII

When did Algeria get independence ?

1962

When was the Chinese Civil War ?

1945-1949

Why was the Chinese Civil War created?

With the Japanese leaving China, nationalists and communists battled for who would control the country

Who were the leaders of these forces?

Chiang Kai-shek was the leader of the nationalists and Mao Zedung is the leader of the communists (CCP)

Who won the Chinese Civil War and why?

The communists because they had the support of the Chinese people, the peasant class

How many deaths were caused in the Chinese Civil War?

8-12 million people

How long did Mao rule for?

1949-1976

What is the Great Leap Forward

A social and economic campaign launched by Mao Zedong and the CCP (1958) with the goal to change China from an agrarian society into an industrialized socialist nation. The Leap focused on collectivizing all farms and industrializing China.

What did The Leap cause?

It caused widespread famine, suffering, and death. 14-45 million people died, mostly of starvation.

What was The Cultural Revolution

It was a social and political movement (1966-1976) launched by Mao with the aim of reinforcing communist ideology in China while purging capitalist, traditional, and cultural elements from Chinese society, and consolidating (enhancing) Mao's power after the failure of the Great Leap Forward.

What did The Cultural Revolution cause?

Many people were executed, tortured, or forced to commit suicide after being accused of being “counter-revolutionaries”, “capitalist roaders”, or enemies of Mao.

What were positive things Mao did?

He brought more equality for women, he wanted to get rid of China’s cultural bias towards boys and men. His motivation was Marxist (members of the proletariat (working class) are equal regardless of gender).

Who replaced Mao?

Deng Xiaoping

What did Deng Xiaoping do for China?

He introduced market reforms (economic liberalization) in the 1980s that put China on the road toward modernization. In short, he let China be capitalist

What did China being capitalist lead to?

Many Chinese began migrating from the countryside into urban areas to make more money for themselves in factory work. Today, China is the second largest economy in the world (behind the U.S.) thanks to Deng’s early efforts.

What other Pacific Rim countries got into world manufacturing in the 20th century?

Japan, Taiwan, South Korea

What was the Islamic Revolution?

A revolution in 1979 that led to the establisment of a theocratic state under Ayatollah Khomeini. The revolution resulted in the overthrow of the monarchy, which had been secular (nonreligious) and allied with Western powers. They still control Iran today.

What is The Taliban

A Sunni Islamist fundamentalist movement from 1996-2001 and 2021-present that emerged in Afghanistan. The Taliban took power in Afghanistan in 1996, establishing a theocratic regime based on their interpretation of strict Sharia (Islamic) law.

What did The Taliban harbor?

They harbored Osama Bin-Laden (9/11 attacks)

What did Osama Bin-Laden (9/11) cause?

It caused the U.S. to attack Afghanistan and overthrow the Taliban at the end of 2001

What type of state was South Africa in the 20th century?

It was an apartheid state which meant that the majority of their citizens who were black had no rights and were segregated from white society.

Where were Blacks allowed to live?

They had reserves sometimes called Bantustans or African homelands

When did Apartheid in South Africa end?

1994

What was the Prague Spring?

A failed attempt at political reform by Czech citizens in Czechoslovakia during the spring of 1968, crushed by the Soviet Union.

What was the Helsinki Accords?

A landmark agreement signed in 1975 by nations including the U.S., Soviet Union, and most European countries. The agreement was a major diplomatic effort aimed at improving relations between the Eastern Bloc (Eastern European Soviet satellite states) and the Western Bloc (England, France, West Germany, Norway, Sweden, etc), and it marked an important step in the détente (easing of tensions) phase of the Cold War.

What was the Marshall Plan?

Officially known as the European Recovery Program (ERP) was a U.S.-sponsored initiative that aimed to help rebuild and revitalize the economies of Western Europe after the devastation of World War II. It was implemented from 1948 to 1952 and gave about $12 billion ($130 billion in today’s dollars) to Western European countries (including West Germany).

What was the Truman Doctrine?

A foreign policy initiative announced by U.S. President Harry S. Truman in 1947, aimed at containing the spread of communism during the early years of the Cold War (Greece and Turkey specifically). It marked a shift in U.S. policy, committing the United States to intervene in conflicts where communist movements were gaining ground, especially in countries threatened by Soviet expansion.

What was the Vietnam War?

A proxy war fought by the U.S. and the Soviet Union in the form of North Vietnam (communist) fighting South Vietnam (capitalist). The leader of the north was a man named Ho Chi Mihn. Similar to Mao in China (and Gandhi in India), Mihn was successful because he appealed to the peasant class, who represented the majority of Vietnamese people.

Who was Gamel Abdel Nasser and what did he do?

He was Egypts leader from 1952-1970 and he nationalized the Suez Canal for Egypt arguing the canal is on Egyptian land and thus should belong to Egypt.

Who led early 20th century nationalists movements in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East?

Educated urban elites