AP World Unit 8
A cold war is when two states are conflicting between ideological struggles, but not open warfare.
The US was able to rise as a superpower due to no damages
Because of this, the US launched the Marshall Plan which sent 13 billion dollars to war torn nation that led to economic revivals.
The USSR was able to become a superpower due to:
Enormous resources from its land
Large population
Much of the infrastructure was already built before WWII
The Arms Race was a contest between the US and the USSR on who can develop the more destructive bomb, causing fear on everyone who was not on the global stage.
Decolonization was on a greater scale after WWII due to European colonies and military being absolutely destroyed
The Cold War started due to:
Conflicting ideologies and wanting to spread universal ideas
Mutual Mistrust where the Soviet Union continuously broke agreements from the US due to being biased towards the democratic powers.
The Cold War contained fighting through
Getting other countries to depend on them economically.
Containment policies to keep communism from spreading, and offering military aid to those who were threatened.
Nuclear war did not happen due to multual-assured destruction, basically meaning that no one would win the war because everyone would be dead from radiation.
The Space Race was a fight to see who had better technology when conquering space, with the USA winning in 1969.
The Non Align Movement started to form from colonial states, refusing to be influenced by the two superpowers due to prior history from the wars.
NATO and WARSAW were formed to keep both ideologies from spreading
The Cuban Missile Crisis provoked extreme fear, as the USSR set up nuclear weapons on the borders of USA, with the USA planting nuclear weapons on the border of the USSR in Turkey (1962)
The Nuclear Weapon Treaty was created in 1968, which prevented dangerous countries from creating nuclear weapons.
Proxy wars are when two countries backed by two different superpowers go to war
Korean War, Vietnam War, Anglo Civilian War,
For context, the Qing dynasty ended in 1911 after the revolution led by Sun Yat-Sen
However during the 1920s, China seperated into a nationalist and communist party
The communists ended up winning the civil war after many interruptions, under the new leadership of Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong’s new policy was to spread the collectivization of agriculture, like Stalin, but he did it a little bit differently.
He made it more peaceful as the communist party creating relationships with peasants
The Great Leap Forward was created to start heavy industrialization
However, Mao focused on small rural areas for industrialization
But due to poor quality, it ended up killing over 20 to 50 million people.
Other communist/socialist movements include:
Suez Canal revolution, where Nassar made it so the property of the canal belonged to Egypt, making the Western powers mad
Vietnam’s communism was redistributing land from the poor to the wealthy
This also happened with the White Revolution in Iran
And with India
And with Ethiopia
It is important to note that while socialism and communism are beneficial for everyone, if done wrong like land distribution, can cause severe damage.
One example that was successful was Kerala allowing everyone to buy land for a reasonable price, rather than for private business owners.
Cuba who was tired of the USA’s influence economically, had a major reform from Castrio for land redistribution and fair wages
Once India gained their independence, India was displaced into the Hindu and Muslim regions due to the Muslims being fearful of minorities.
Algeria established the National Liberal Front in 1954 to recognize their independence through the killings of French military and citizens.
Portugal was accused of inhumane treatment towards farmers in Angola
Non violence resistance movements started to form like:
Mohandas Gandhi who was a member of the Indian National Congress. promoting civil disobedience against British imperial powers
Homespun Movement - To protest against the British textile industry, they made their own textiles at home.
Salt March - Protested agains the British salt monopoly by harvesting their own salt,
Martin Luther King Jr was a black baptist and protesting against racial violence in the United States
Civil Rights Movement - aimed to support equality for Black Americas
Montgomery Bus Boycott- refused transportation methods in Alabama to protest segregation, causing severe economic distress.
Nelson Mandela led strikes on the new white government after South Africa gained its independence.
The Sharpeville Massacre- Killing of 69 black South Africans, changing it to violent resistance.
People who intensified resistance are
Augusto Pinochet who ruled Chile as a dictator, became a communist, and violent killed people who oppressed his political party
Idi Amin became president of Ugana and dehumanized the South Asians for taking jobs, resulting in around half a million deaths
The Military Industrial Complex during the Cold War fueled the Arms Race as the economic profit to keep building militaries had to keep increasing, otherwise the unemployment rates will go up.
Terrorism against citizens include
Peru’s Shining Path - Guzman wanted to otherthrow the Peru government and install a communist government, resulting in a massacre of 32,000 civilians
Al Qaeda - To get revenge on how the United States has been treating the Middle East, Osama Bin Laden launched many attacks on US Civilians
Most notably, the 9/11 attack which killed over 2,000.
Ronald Reagan’s SDI developments and more creation of nuclear weapons, created struggle for the USSR economically
Furthermore, the war of Afghanistan created even more economic struggle after losing
The isolation of the USSR from the rest of the world, as well as how bad the agricultural economy was led to a collaspe.
Gorbachev’s policies led to the collaspe of the USSR, as they allowed for protests and criticism, and gave some control of economics to citizens, creating a more socialism government