Cold War HISTORY TEST

Primary v. Secondary sources

Primary: created by someone who was present during the event

Ex- journal, speeches, photos, etc

Secondary:

-sources written with the benefit of hindsight

-documents, but author uses those primary sources to tell his/her version of what happened in the past

Ex- history textbook

Origin of a source

• Background information about where the source came from

• What type of source is this?

• Who was the author?

• When was the source created?

Purpose of a source

• Why the source was created

• Who is the intended audience

• What is the main point the author wants to communicate to their audience

Qualifications and reputation of the author

• the author should have authority to speak on the topic

Agreement with other credible sources

• a credible secondary source should refer to other reliable sources that agree with it

• When you find multiple sources saying the same thing about the past, that means your more confident about if your source is reliable

Perspective or bias of the author

• Perspective: past experiences, background, and values of the author

• Bias: feeling and/or showing favor for or against a group or person

Accuracy and internal consistency

• Accurate information- are there any false statements in the source

• Internal consistency- does the author contradict himself/herself

• Is the author trying to mislead their audience?

The circumstances in which the author prepared the source

Loaded language: wording that attempts to influence an audience by appealing to emotion, name calling, or using “stereotypes” (generalizations)

Cold War

• The USSR and U.S emerged as 2 superpowers after WWII

• A state of hostility without direct military conflict developed b/t them, known as Cold War

• Both wanted to spread their own influence and limit the other’s ideas

Years of the Cold War

1945-1991

Satellite nations

Nations in Eastern Europe that were controlled by communist Soviet Union leaders during the Cold War

Containment

U.S foreign policy that tried to stop the spread of communism

Truman Doctrine

• President Truman asked congress to give $4 million to Greece and Turkey to help them resist communist rebellions

• Marked official beginning of America’s policy of containment

Marshall Plan

• U.S gave $13.5 billion to help rebuild Western Europe after WWII

• U.S wanted to help Western Europe resist appeal to communism has during desperate times and build future trading partners for the U.S

Berlin Airlift

• U.S and British planes dropped supplies into West Berlin after the Soviet’s blockaded the city

• After USSR lifted the blockade, Germany was divided into two nations: communist East Germany and democratic West Germany

Berlin Blockade

A major Cold War crisis where the Soviet Union blocked all land/water access to West Berlin to force Western allies out of the city

Cold War Arms Race

When 2 or more countries increase the size and quality of military resources to gain superiority over one another

Deterrence theory

• Cold War military strategy to build up a nation’s nuclear arsenal and threaten overwhelming relations if attacked

• The threat of mutual annihilation (if either side attacks) is often referred to as “Mutually Assured Destruction” (MAD) and was supposed to reduce the likelihood of war

Domino theory

If one nation falls into communism, then other nations will fall in to communism

Advice U.S gave regarding how to protect yourself in a nuclear attack? Why that advice?

• Gave the advice, “duck and cover” and build shelters

• Gave this advice to give them a false sense of hope, reducing panic even though it wouldn’t fully keep them safe

2 results of the Arms Race

1. Buildup of nuclear weapons:

• Soviet testing of an A-bomb and H-bomb established the USSR as the 2nd superpower, making the balance of power b/t the two nations more equal

2. Creation of military alliances:

• NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization): formed in 1949 b/t most democratic nations to protect each other from communist attack

NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization)

A team of counties agreeing to protect each other in case of military threats

• founding idea was “an attack against one is an attack against all”

Warsaw Pact

• Military alliance of the Soviet Union and its satellite states

• joined NATO

• Ensured collective defense among member nations and keep communist states in Eastern Europe under Soviet control

2nd Red Scare

• Fear that communism was spreading inside America during the early years of the Cold War

Caused by:

• Spread of communism in Eastern Europe & Asia

• USSR obtained nuclear weapons

• Discovery of spies in U.S

• Mass hysteria & propaganda

Executive Order 9835

• President Truman ordered 1st loyalty program in the U.S federal govt

• Investigated and removed employees deemed disloyal or security risks, especially those with potential communist ties

McCarthyism & Joseph McCarthy

McCarthyism:

• Accusing people of being disloyal without providing evidence

• Baseless accusations could ruin a person’s career and life

Joseph McCarthy:

• Republican senator from Wisconsin

• Claimed he had a list of people within the State Department who were communists

• Numbers on his lists kept changing (57, 205, 81, 9, etc…)

Chinese civil war (1927-1949)

• After civil war, china became a communist nation

• The Nationalist Party, led by Chiang Kai-Shel, fled to Taiwan

• Mao Zedong’s army won and established the People’s Republic of China as a communist country

• U.S promised to defend Taiwan if it was invaded by China

The Korean War: main reason U.S entered

• After WWII, the U.S entered a civil war in Korea to stop communism from taking over South Korea and beyond

Alger Hiss

• was a communist spy

• Worked for the state department

Julius & Ethel Rosenberg

• Both communists

• Death by electric chair

HUAC (House Un-American Activities Committee)

• congressional committee (1938) to investigate racist and communist influences inside and outside the U.S govt

Hollywood Ten

• 10 witnesses from film industry who refused to cooperate with HUAC’s investigation

• “Blacklisted” by the movie industry and sentenced to several months in prison for refusing to testify to HUAC

Blacklist

List of people who were not allowed to work because of alleged communist connection