History II honors

Q: What were the main ideological differences between the U.S. and USSR after WWII?

A: U.S.: Democracy & capitalism; USSR: Communism & totalitarianism.

Q: What was the "Iron Curtain"?

A: A term for Soviet control over Eastern Europe, symbolizing the division between the West and USSR.

Q: Who were the major Soviet leaders during the early Cold War?

A: Joseph Stalin and Nikita Khrushchev.

Q: What organization was created in 1945 for international peacekeeping?

A: The United Nations (UN).

Q: What were NATO and the Warsaw Pact?

A: NATO: Western alliance; Warsaw Pact: Soviet alliance.

Q: What was NSC-68?

A: A U.S. policy document calling for massive military buildup to contain communism.

Q: What did the Marshall Plan do?

A: Gave economic aid to rebuild Western Europe and prevent communism.

Q: What was the Truman Doctrine?

A: U.S. policy to support countries resisting communism (first used in Greece and Turkey).

Q: What was the Berlin Airlift?

A: U.S. response to Soviet blockade; airlifted supplies to West Berlin (1948–49).

Q: What sparked the U.S.-USSR Space Race?

A: The launch of Sputnik by the USSR in 1957.

Q: What did the National Defense Education Act do?

A: Funded science/math education in response to Sputnik.

Q: What was the goal of the Federal Civil Defense Administration?

A: Prepare citizens for nuclear war with drills and shelters.

Q: Why did the U.S. get involved in Vietnam?

A: To contain communism; fear of the Domino Effect.

Q: What happened during the Gulf of Tonkin Incident?

A: Alleged attack on U.S. ships; led to escalation via the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution. (states the U.S. will do whatever it can to ensure the peace in vietnam)

Q: What was the Tet Offensive?

A: A major North Vietnamese surprise attack during the Vietnam War in 1968, targeting multiple cities and military installations, which significantly altered public perception of the war.

Q: What was Vietnamization?

A: Nixon’s strategy to reduce U.S. troops and shift fighting to South Vietnam.

Q: What did the War Powers Act do?

A: Limited the president's power to send troops without Congressional approval.

Q: What caused the Cold War to end?

A: Soviet economic problems, Gorbachev’s reforms, uprisings in Eastern Europe.

Q: What did the fall of the Berlin Wall symbolize?

A: The collapse of communism in Eastern Europe and the end of the Cold War.

Q: What was McCarthyism?

A: The practice of accusing people of communism without evidence.

Q: What were the HUAC hearings?

A: Congressional investigations into suspected communists in Hollywood and government.

Q: Who were the Rosenbergs?

A: American couple executed for allegedly passing nuclear secrets to the Soviets.

Q: What did the G.I. Bill do?

A: Provided education and housing benefits to WWII veterans.

Q: What was the Interstate Highway Act?

A: Built a national highway system; boosted economy and suburb growth.

Q: What was “White Flight”?

A: Movement of white families from cities to suburbs.

Q: What did Brown v. Board of Education decide?

A: School segregation is unconstitutional (1954). overruled plessy v. ferguson

Q: What did the Civil Rights Act of 1964 accomplish?

A: Banned segregation and discrimination in public places and jobs.

Q: What did the Voting Rights Act of 1965 do?

A: Banned literacy tests; gave federal oversight of elections.

Q: What did the Chicano Movement fight for?

A: Labor rights, education reform, and cultural identity.

Q: What were key achievements of the Women’s Rights Movement?

A: Title IX, Roe v. Wade, equal employment rights.

Q: Why are the Stonewall Riots significant?

A: Sparked the modern LGBTQ rights movement.

Q: What did the Americans with Disabilities Act (1990) do?

A: Protected disabled people from discrimination and ensured public access.

Q: What was Franklin D. Roosevelt’s approach to post-WWII foreign policy?

A: Promoted the United Nations and cooperation with Allies but tensions with USSR began late in his presidency.

Q: What was Harry S. Truman’s Cold War policy?

A: Containment policy, Truman Doctrine, Marshall Plan, NATO, Berlin Airlift, and entry into Korean War.

Q: What was Dwight D. Eisenhower’s Cold War strategy?

A: Massive retaliation, brinkmanship, CIA interventions (Iran, Guatemala), Domino Theory, and Eisenhower Doctrine.

Q: What was John F. Kennedy’s foreign policy approach?

A: Flexible response, Bay of Pigs failure, Cuban Missile Crisis success, increased Vietnam involvement.

Q: What did Lyndon B. Johnson do in Vietnam?

A: Escalated U.S. involvement with Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, War of Attrition, and faced backlash at home.

Q: What were Richard Nixon’s key foreign policies?

A: Vietnamization, détente, SALT I, China rapprochement (1972 visit), and ending U.S. involvement in Vietnam.

Q: What was Gerald Ford’s foreign policy stance?

A: Continued détente and Helsinki Accords on human rights; faced post-Vietnam foreign skepticism.

Q: What was Jimmy Carter’s foreign policy focused on?

A: Human rights, Iran Hostage Crisis, deteriorating détente with the USSR.

Q: What did Ronald Reagan do in Cold War foreign policy?

A: Rejected détente, increased defense spending, SDI ("Star Wars"), aided anti-communist forces (Reagan Doctrine), and pressured USSR leading to its collapse.

Q: What was the significance of Reagan and Gorbachev’s relationship?

A: Led to improved U.S.-Soviet relations, INF Treaty (1987), and momentum toward the Cold War's end.

Q: What is Chinese rapprochement?

A: The re-establishment of diplomatic relations between the U.S. and the People’s Republic of China during the early 1970s.

Q: Why was rapprochement with China significant during the Cold War?

A: It ended 20+ years of no communication, strategically divided China and the USSR, and gave the U.S. leverage in Cold War diplomacy.

Q: What was Ping-Pong Diplomacy?

A: In 1971, the U.S. table tennis team was invited to China — a symbolic and public beginning of improved relations.

Q: How did Ping-Pong Diplomacy help U.S.-China relations?

A: It softened tensions, humanized both countries to each other, and paved the way for formal talks.

Q: What was the outcome of Nixon’s 1972 visit to China?

A: It marked the first time a U.S. president visited communist China; resulted in the Shanghai Communiqué, agreeing to improve relations and acknowledging the “One China” policy.

Q: How did rapprochement with China affect the USSR?

A: It increased pressure on the Soviet Union to negotiate with the U.S., contributing to détente and Cold War diplomacy shifts.