Study Guide Cold War, Korean War, and Vietnam War
(Questions for Vietnam are in this study guide, but Vietnam will be covered in the next module since it
crosses into the 1970s.)
Module 11
1. List 5 effects of World War II.
2. Why did the US join the United Nations but not the League of Nations?
3. What effect did the growth of highways have?
4. Explain the causes of the Cold War.
5. What two countries emerge as superpowers after WWII?
6. What are “satellite nations?”
7. Why did Joseph Stalin prove to be such a threat to the US in the era following the war?
8. What was the goal of the Marshall Plan?
9. What prompted President Truman to issue the Truman Doctrine? Give the provisions.
10. Who was dictator of Russia after WWII? How did our relationship with him change after WWII?
11. Why did many Americans build bomb shelters in their backyards after WWII?
12. Explain why the National Security Act of 1947 was passed?
13. What was the goal of the House on Un-Americans Activities Committee?
14. Why were many Hollywood producers “blacklisted?”
15. ___________ were convicted of being spies for Russia (a couple).
16. Who was Alger Hiss?
17. What role did Joseph McCarthy play in the fear and paranoia that swept the nation after
WWII? What happened to him?
18. Give an example from US History in which accusations were spread without evidence to back
them up and those accused suffered:
19. What prompted President Eisenhower to issue the Eisenhower Doctrine? What did it say?
20. How did the events of WWII affect US presence around the world in the years following?
21. Why did the US send troops to Korea?
22. Explain our goal in entering the Korean War?
23. What is the “domino theory”? Do you agree with it? Explain.
24. What was ultimately accomplished by fighting in the Korean War? Do you feel it was worth the
cost?
25. How many lives were lost in the Korean War?
26. Why was General McCarthur fired by President Truman?
27. What role did China play in this conflict?
28. Why does the US enter the Vietnam War?
29. Describe conditions for soldiers during the Vietnam War?
30. What conditions led to the use of “agent orange” during the Vietnam War?
31. What is napalm?
32. Who was Ho Chi Minh?
33. How did “guerilla warfare” make victory difficult for US soldiers there?
34. What was the TET Offensive?
35. What were the enemies in Vietnam called?
36. How did the Mai Lai Incident affect public opinion of the war in Vietnam?
37. The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution expanded the power of the __________ during the Vietnam
War.
38. What prompted Congress to pass the War Powers Act of 1973? What did it do?
39. In the US, how were civil liberties and 1st Amendment rights limited during the war?
40. What happened at Kent State University during a protest?
41. How was the Vietnam War resolved?
42. Was the objective accomplished?
43. What year did the Vietnam War finally end and what president was responsible?
44. Containment of communism dominated US foreign policy at this time. Give at least 2
examples of “containment” during this time.