Cold War and Vietnam Flashcards

Flashcards about the Cold War and Vietnam War

Why was the United States initially accepting of the Cuban leader before Castro?

He was a horrible tyrant, but not communist, so the United States did not have a huge problem with him.

What action by Castro angered the United States?

Castro nationalized American businesses in Cuba.

What action did Kennedy take against Castro?

Authorized an invasion at the Bay of Pigs, which failed due to lack of full support.

Why did Castro seek help from Nikita Khrushchev?

Feared the United States would continue trying to overthrow him and sought protection from the Soviet Union.

What did Castro request from Khrushchev?

He wanted nuclear weapons to deter the United States from interfering with Cuba.

What promise did Khrushchev make to Kennedy regarding nuclear weapons in Cuba?

Khrushchev initially told Kennedy that he would not put nukes in Cuba.

How did the United States discover the construction of nuclear missile launch sites in Cuba?

The United States was flying spy planes over Cuba.

What did the spy planes photograph in Cuba?

A launch facility for medium-range nuclear warheads.

What event was triggered by the discovery of missile sites in Cuba?

The Cuban Missile Crisis.

What is the Doomsday Clock?

A metaphorical clock that represents how close the world is to a global catastrophe.

During the Cuban Missile Crisis, what image did the United States need to project of the Soviet Union?

The United States needed to portray the Soviet Union as evil and warmongering.

What action by the United States provoked the Soviet Union to place missiles in Cuba?

The United States placed nuclear weapons in Turkey, near the Soviet border.

What was the range of the missiles being placed in Cuba?

They could hit every major city in the Eastern United States.

What was Kennedy's concern if he allowed the missiles to be placed in Cuba?

He could lose popularity and be voted out of office.

What options did Kennedy consider during the Cuban Missile Crisis?

Diplomacy, stern warning, blockade, airstrike, and full-scale invasion.

What action did Kennedy ultimately decide to take during the Cuban Missile Crisis?

He decided to implement a blockade of Cuba.

What were the two significant unknown dangers to Kennedy's plan during the Cuban Missile Crisis?

The Soviets had submarines with nuclear-tipped torpedoes, and the US had a military base in Cuba.

What were the terms of the agreement that ended the Cuban Missile Crisis?

The Soviet Union would remove the missiles from Cuba, and the United States would not invade Cuba and remove missiles from Turkey.

What was established as a result of the Cuban Missile Crisis?

A direct line between the White House and the Kremlin.

What was Brezhnev's approach to communism compared to Khrushchev?

He wanted to return to Stalin's ideas and exert more control over communist countries.

What was the Brezhnev Doctrine?

The Soviet Union had the right to intervene in any country that claimed to be communist.

What happened when Czechoslovakia tried to implement reforms in 1968?

It was crushed by the Soviets to illustrate that they were in control.

What is the domino theory?

The idea that if one country falls to communism, the surrounding countries will also fall.

How did Ho Chi Minh utilize communism?

He used communist ideas to motivate the peasants to fight off the French.

What did Ho Chi Minh motivate the Vietnamese people to do?

He motivated them to fight off the French, who had controlled Southeast Asia for almost a century.

According to Ho Chi Minh, what was the primary motivation for the Vietnamese people's struggle?

Patriotism, not communism.

What event led to the United States escalating its intervention in Vietnam?

A warship came under fire, supposedly from North Vietnamese troops.

What was the nature of the government of South Vietnam?

They are corrupt and not supported by the people.