(1) SECTION 1 STUDY NOTES (BACKGROUND/TIMELINE)
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113 Terms
When did the Cold War take place?
1945-1991.
Which two superpowers were involved in the Cold War?
The United States and the Soviet Union.
What ideologies did the U.S. and USSR support?
U.S. supported capitalism/democracy; USSR supported communism/command economy.
Why did the U.S.-Soviet alliance collapse after WWII?
Each wanted to shape the postwar world according to its own ideology.
What was decided at the Yalta Conference?
Germany divided into four zones; USSR to fight Japan; free elections promised in Eastern Europe; UN created.
Which promise did Stalin break after Yalta?
Allowing free elections in Eastern Europe.
What was the purpose of the Truman Doctrine?
To support nations threatened by communism.
What was the Marshall Plan?
U.S. economic aid to rebuild Europe and prevent communism.
What is a proxy war?
A conflict where major powers support different sides indirectly.
Name three Cold War proxy wars.
Korean War, Vietnam War, Soviet-Afghan War.
What is containment?
The U.S. strategy to stop the spread of communism.
What were covert U.S. CIA interventions meant to achieve?
Overthrow or prevent communist-aligned governments.
What is Mutually Assured Destruction (M.A.D.)?
The idea that nuclear war would destroy both sides.
What event brought the world closest to nuclear war?
The Cuban Missile Crisis (1962).
What was détente?
A period of reduced U.S.-Soviet tensions in the 1970s.
What were Gorbachev's two major reform policies?
Glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restructuring).
What did the Berlin Wall symbolize?
The division between communist East and democratic West.
What event symbolized the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe?
The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.
What happened to the Soviet Union in 1991?
It dissolved into 15 independent nations.
What happened at the Yalta Conference (Feb. 4-11, 1945)?
Allied leaders met to plan postwar Europe and Germany.
Who became U.S. president after FDR died in April 1945?
Harry S. Truman.
When did Germany surrender in WWII?
May 8, 1945.
What was the purpose of the Potsdam Conference (July-Aug 1945)?
To discuss postwar peace and administer Germany.
On what dates did the U.S. drop atomic bombs on Japan?
Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945; Nagasaki on Aug. 9, 1945.
When did Japan surrender in WWII?
August 14, 1945.
What division occurred in Korea in 1945?
U.S. and USSR occupied South and North Korea, divided at the 38th parallel.
When did Vietnam proclaim independence from France?
September 2, 1945.
When did Japan transfer Taiwan to the Republic of China?
October 25, 1945.
What political change occurred in Yugoslavia in 1945?
It became a federated republic.
What happened to Austria in January 1946?
It was divided into four occupation zones.
When did the UN hold its first meeting?
January 10, 1946.
What government was formed in Albania in January 1946?
The People's Socialist Republic of Albania.
What was significant about Stalin's February 1946 election speech?
It outlined his hardline views and increased Cold War tensions.
Who delivered the "Iron Curtain" speech and when?
Winston Churchill on March 5, 1946.
What conflict began in Greece in March 1946?
The Greek Civil War.
What was the "Speech of Hope" (Sept. 6, 1946)?
A speech by U.S. Secretary of State James F. Byrnes promoting reconstruction and democracy in Germany.
When did the First Indochina War begin?
December 20, 1946.
What was the Truman Doctrine and when was it announced?
U.S. support for anti-communist governments; March 12, 1947.
When did communists take over Hungary?
May 31, 1947.
What was announced on June 5, 1947?
The Marshall Plan.
What was Cominform and when was it created?
Soviet communist information bureau; September 1947.
When did communists take control in Czechoslovakia?
June 1948.
What event began on June 24, 1948?
The Berlin Blockade.
When was NATO formed?
April 4, 1949.
When did the Berlin Blockade end?
May 12, 1949.
What was created on May 23, 1949?
The Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany).
When did the USSR test its first atomic bomb?
August 29, 1949.
What major event occurred in China on October 1, 1949?
Mao Zedong declared the People's Republic of China.
What did the USSR establish in East Germany on October 7, 1949?
The German Democratic Republic (East Germany).
When did the Korean War begin?
June 25, 1950.
Who became U.S. president in January 1953?
Dwight D. Eisenhower.
When did Stalin die?
March 5, 1953.
Who took power after Stalin's death?
Nikita Khrushchev.
When did the Korean War end in a ceasefire?
July 27, 1953.
What did the Geneva Accords of July 1954 accomplish?
Ended the First Indochina War.
What military alliance was formed on May 14, 1955?
The Warsaw Pact.
What happened during the Hungarian Uprising of 1956?
It was suppressed by the Soviet Union.
What crisis occurred on October 30, 1956?
The Suez Crisis.
What historic spacecraft did the Soviet Union launch on Oct. 4, 1957?
Sputnik 1.
What was carried aboard Sputnik 2 (Nov. 3, 1957)?
Laika, a dog.
When did Khrushchev become both Soviet prime minister and Communist Party chief?
March 27, 1958.
What happened to a U.S. U-2 plane on May 1, 1960?
It was shot down over the Soviet Union.
Who became U.S. president in January 1961?
John F. Kennedy.
Who became the first human in space on April 12, 1961?
Yuri Gagarin.
What was the Bay of Pigs invasion and when did it occur?
A failed U.S.-backed invasion of Cuba; April 17, 1961.
When did construction of the Berlin Wall begin?
August 13, 1961.
What event sparked the Cuban Missile Crisis?
Discovery of Soviet missiles in Cuba on October 14, 1962.
When was the Cuban Missile Crisis resolved?
October 28, 1962.
What treaty was signed on August 5, 1963?
The Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.
When was President John F. Kennedy assassinated?
November 22, 1963.
What incident escalated U.S. involvement in Vietnam in 1964?
The Gulf of Tonkin Incident (August 2, 1964).
Who replaced Khrushchev in October 1964?
Leonid Brezhnev (as First Secretary) and Aleksey Kosygin (as Premier).
What major offensive began on January 30, 1968?
The Tet Offensive.
What was the Brezhnev Doctrine (1968)?
The policy that the USSR could intervene in any communist country threatened by reform.
Why did the Soviet Union invade Czechoslovakia in August 1968?
To stop the Prague Spring reforms.
What was the significance of Apollo 8 (Dec. 21, 1968)?
First manned orbit of the moon.
Who became U.S. president on January 20, 1969?
Richard Nixon.
What happened on July 20, 1969, with Apollo 11?
Neil Armstrong became the first human on the moon.
What major action did the U.S. take on April 30, 1970?
Sent troops into Cambodia.
What significant treaty was signed on May 26, 1972?
SALT I (Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty).
What did SALT I mark the beginning of?
Détente between the U.S. and the USSR.
What ended U.S. involvement in Vietnam?
The Paris Peace Accords on August 15, 1973.
Who became U.S. president on January 20, 1974?
Gerald R. Ford.
When did South Vietnam fall to communism?
April 30, 1975 (Fall of Saigon).
What event in July 1975 symbolically ended the Space Race?
The Apollo-Soyuz Test Project.
Who became U.S. president on January 20, 1977?
Jimmy Carter.
What treaty was signed in June 1979 between the U.S. and USSR?
SALT II.
When did the Iranian hostage crisis begin?
November 4, 1979.
What event ended détente with the West in 1979?
The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan on December 24, 1979.
What major action did the U.S. take regarding the 1980 Moscow Olympics?
Led an Olympic boycott.
Who replaced Aleksey Kosygin as Soviet prime minister in October 1980?
Nikolay Tikhonov.
What movement did the Polish government suppress on December 13, 1980?
Solidarity.
When did the Iranian hostage crisis end?
January 20, 1981.
Who became U.S. president on January 20, 1981?
Ronald Reagan.
When did Brezhnev die, and who succeeded him?
Died November 10, 1982; succeeded by Yuri Andropov.
Who became Soviet leader after Andropov died in February 1984?
Konstantin Chernenko.
Who replaced Chernenko as Soviet leader in March 1985?
Mikhail Gorbachev.
What reforms did Gorbachev introduce beginning in 1985?
Glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restructuring).
What nuclear disaster occurred on April 26, 1986?
The Chernobyl explosion.
Why was Boris Yeltsin dismissed in November 1987?
He criticized the slow pace of reforms.