Unit 8: Cold War and Decolonization Study Guide

What factors led to anti-imperialist sentiments following WWI and WWII?

After WWI the demand for self-determinism greatly rose and after WWII movements for self-determinism increased. WWII weakened the colonial powers, so they couldn't resist independence movements, and the Cold War gave anti-colonialists 2 superpowers to get as supporters.

What technological gains were experienced during WWII that allowed for a shift of the global balance of power?

Air pressure systems, refrigeration for food, stronger plywood for construction, a variety of plastics for many uses, and penicillin which saved many lives.

Who emerged as global superpowers after WWI and WWII and why?

The Soviet Union and the United States emerged as superpowers because other countries in Europe experienced massive physical destruction and large population losses.

What factors caused the Cold War?

Ideological difference between the U.S.'s capitalism and the Soviet Union's communism, the emergence of nuclear weapons in WWII, American fear of the spread of communism, and the shifting balance of power to the U.S. and the SU.

What were some of the lasting effects of the Cold War?

The creation of many alliances like NATO and the Warsaw Pact, proxy wars all throughout the world, the antinuclear weapons movement, continued tension between communist and capitalist countries, and more investment/advancements in science.

Why is the Cold War considered an "ideological struggle"? What ideologies were at odds?

Each state was truing to promote their ideology, the U.S.'s capitalism and the SU's communism, while they were trying to stop the spread of the other ideology.

Explain the non-alignment movement.

It was made by African and Asian countries that wanted to stay out of the Cold War/not align with or against and side. They also condemned colonialism since many of the countries were colonies.

Why was Kwame Nkrumah in Ghana a part of the non-alignment movement?

He led Ghana to independence from Great Britain, advocated for unity among all Africans, and became one of the most respected African leaders of the post-war period.

How did the US maintain influence over the course of the Cold War?

The US created the Marshall Plan, gave grants and credits to Europeans to help US's economy and rebuild Europe's economy and infrastructure, and they founded NATO and used the CIA intervention for spies.

How did the USSR maintain influence over the course of the Cold War?

The USSR built the Berlin Wall around E.Europe to keep citizens from running to W.Germany, they made neighboring countries into satellite countries, and they heavily supported other communist states to spread communism.

How were these methods similar?

They both developed military arsenal, agreed on "MAD" to prevent escalation of conflict, they created alliances, and they both supported countries that followed their ideologies.

How were they different?

The USSR exploited satellite countries and sought to make the concept of world revolution a reality. On the other hand, the US utilized containment and greatly supported countries in Europe to stop communist expansion.

What is NATO?

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization; it was made to coordinate their defenses in case of conflict w/ the SU and pledged mutual support and cooperation w/in the alliances against conflict and war.

What is the Warsaw Pact?

The Warsaw Pact was the SU's response to NATO and contained the communist bloc. All the members combined their armed forces and based their army leaders in Moscow.

Explain the Korean War as a proxy war.

Both the US and the SU backed the side that followed their ideology. So, the US backed S.Korea while the SU baked N.Korea.

What caused China to adopt communism in 1949?

They won popular support by redistributing land to peasants, opened schools and hospitals, and punished soldiers that mistreated citizens. Because of this peasants saw communists as more nationalist and less corrupt that the current party leading China.

What were the consequences of this shift to communism?

A policy called the "Great Leap Forward" made China go through many land reforms, become highly oppressive, go through food shortages, and caused famine.

How did Japanese aggression contribute to the spread of communism in China?

The CCP fought Japanese aggression, making them gain widespread support. They also brought many reforms, helping them gain mores support.

Describe the Great Leap Forward (goals and outcome).

It was meant to maximize agricultural production through several land reforms. It created communes, where the state held the land, and China continued to export grain even though there were severe food shortages and several famines.

Describe China's Cultural Revolution (goals and outcome).

The Cultural Revolution was meant to reinvigorate China's commitment to communism. In reality, it silenced Zedong's critics. The Red Guards seized govt officials, teachers, and others to the countryside for reeducation or execution if they didn't comply.

What caused many states to redistribute land in this time period?

The combined heritage of feudalism, capitalism, and colonialism resulted in societies w/ small classes of powerful landowners and large class of peasants who had little to no land. TO fix this they did land reforms to make more people into landowners.

What were the effects of land redistribution?

They had mixed effects. Landscapers were mad because they lost land, not all peasants received land, and peasants who received it supported the govt more.

Explain the Communist Revolution in Vietnam.

They would seize land from large landowners and redistribute it to peasants. When they took power in the North, they carried out their policies, often violently.

What role did land redistribution play in this revolution and independence movement?

The communists carried out their land redistribution policies rapidly in the North, while the govt in S.Vietnam was slow to implement them, making the communists more popular.

Explain the White Revolution in Iran.

It was a series of progressive reforms that was implemented by the Shah. It was "white" because they implemented the reforms without bloodshed.

What role did land redistribution play in this revolution and independence movement?

It sought to undercut large landowners and give peasants more land, but not all peasants received land.

What factors motivated independence movements/decolonization after WWII?

Struggles for independence after WWI and the failure of many independence movements added to anticolonial sentiments, empires became politically unacceptable, colonies began fighting for their independence due to their involvement in WWII, and WWII made colonial powers weaker, giving colonies a chance for independence.

Explain the role of nationalism in decolonization movements of the mid-20th century.

Nationalism grew among citizens of colonies and encouraged them to be independent as a nation.

Which colonies negotiated their independence after WWII?

India from the British, Ghana from the British, and West African countries from France negotiated their independence.

Which colonies achieved independence through armed struggle?

Algeria from the French, Angola from the Portuguese, and Vietnam from the French had independence through armed struggle.

Explain the role of the Indian National Congress in decolonization.

The Indian National Congress began the drive for Indian self-rule with Mohandas Gandhi being the leader. They primarily used mass civil disobedience to protest British rule.

Explain the role of the Muslim League in advocating for autonomy in India. What were their goals?

They Muslim League was a group formed to protect India's Muslims and they also fought British rule along side Indian Hindus. They then began advocating for a separate nation for Indian Muslims.

What were some similar methods that colonies utilized to achieve independence in this time period?

Colonies used a variety of protests including civil disobedience and through fighting, both unarmed and armed.

Explain the creation of Israel after WWII.

The fate of European Jews bought the worldwide sympathy for Jews, so the UN divided Palestine (where their ancestors lived) into the state of Israel, aligning with the Zionist movement of a homeland for Jews.

Explain the creation of Pakistan after India gained independence in 1947.

In order to end conflict between Hindus and Muslims, the British divided India to create Pakistan, which would be predominantly Muslim, while India remained predominantly Hindu. The partition was very chaotic and the 2 states continue to fight over Kashmir.

What were some of the long term consequences of the Partition of India?

Distrust between India and Pakistan grew, the region of Kashmir is being fought over because majority of the population is Muslim while the leader is Hindu, and India became the world's largest democracy while Pakistan elected leaders and authoritarian military rulers.

What were some of the long term consequences of the creation of the state of Israel?

Multiple wars including the 6-day war and the Yom Kippur war, Israel gained the Gaza strip, the west bank, east Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights, the Camp David Peace Accords and the PLO were created, and hostility and violence continues there.

What economic changes resulted from the process of decolonization?

India demolished the private sector and restored government permission for investors and entrepreneurs, Egypt encouraged the growth of the middle class and broke up large estates, Tanzania collectivized large farms, and Sri Lanka promoted free enterprise and decreased the wealth gap.

What economic continuities resulted from the process do decolonization?

migration of people from colonies to imperial metropoles allowed for the former colonies to maintain ties with the former colonies.

Give an example of a government taking on a strong role in guiding economic life to promote development in the 1900's to present time period.

Sri Lanka sought to promote development when Bandaranaike instituted more radical policies like land reforms and restrictions on free enterprise so that the government would be more involved in the economy

Describe Indrugonte's economic policies in India. How do her policies involve A strong government role in promoting economic development?

Indira Gandhi start to fight high inflation and growing poverty through a 20 point economic program. Some policies included jailing opposition leaders, alleviating inflation, increasing national production, and reforming corrupt laws.

Describe Gamal Abdel Nasser's economic policies in Egypt. How did his policies and all the strong government role in promoting economic development?

Nasser transformed private farms into socialist cooperatives, nationalized industries and businesses, including making foreign-banks as state enterprises.

what is an imperial metropole?

A large city of a former colonial ruler, like London, were citizens of the former colonies would often migrate to.

explain one example of migrations to imperial metropole in the 1900 - 1990 time period.

filipinos migrated to the United States to work in the medical field, on railroads, in foundaries, and in airports.

describe Chile under Augusto Pinochet.

The Chilean government turned from state control towards a free market approach, through several economic reforms, which he used repression to enact. They were unpopular because they didn't address poverty and other social issues.

Describe Spain under Francisco Franco.

he was extremely anti-communist, becoming an ally to similar states, but he made his government execute, imprison, or send those who opposed it to labor camps. This causes authoritarianism to be heavily opposed.

What role did Gandhi play in the Indian independence movement?

Mohindas Gandhi was the leader of the INC, a key part in India's independent movement, led merches, boycotts, and fasts to oppose British colonial role in India.

How did Gandhi utilize nonviolence to bring about political change?

Gandhi utilize nonviolent civil disobedience. He believed that they would make the empire be conscious and expose Britain's imperial injustice.

what role did Nelson Mandela play in ending apartheid in South Africa?

Nelson Mandela led black resistance to proceed. He was also the leader of the ANC which sought to end white domination and create a multi racial South Africa.

How did Nelson Mandela utilize nonviolence to bring about political change?

although initially supporting violence, he later use civil disobedience against apartheid. He was later in prison for this, which inspired a global movement to end apartheid.

how did Martin Luther King Jr. utilize nonviolence to bring about political change during the civil rights movement?

he led massive marches, inspired and arranged boycotts, and thought for antisegregation laws through nonviolence, protests, and civil disobedience.

What is Al Qaeda?

it is one of the deadliest terrorist groups that uses a fundamentalist interpretation of Islam. They carried out several attacks in many countries, including the 9/11 attack in the United States.

explain how Al-Qaeda used violence against civilizations to achieve political aims.

their violence inflicted fear on to people and governments and it worked as a threat for them to achieve their political aims.

explain the factors that led to the end of the Cold War.

agreements to limit nuclear weapons,

what things we can this will be union?