COLD WAR FLASHPOINTS
AP World History Flashcards
1949: A BAD YEAR
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China falls into communist hands. Mao Zedong leads a successful revolution in China.
• The policy of Containment suffers a significant setback.
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Stalin moves to absorb the city of West Berlin
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As a result of nuclear physicist Klaus Fuchs, the Soviet Union uses stolen nuclear secrets
to complete the development of their Atomic Bomb.
COLD WAR FLASH POINTS: KOREA
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1950 Communist North Korea invades South Korea, crossing the 38 th parallel.
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Containment (Truman Doctrine) is again threatened.
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The war ends as China enters the war and forces American troops back to the 38 th
parallel.
COLD WAR FLASH POINTS: CUBA
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1959 on the heels of the revolution led by Fidel Castro—Cuba becomes the Western
Hemisphere’s 1 st Communist Nation.
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Containment has failed again, and this time 90 miles and 3 missile minutes away from the
United States.
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A failed CIA action called the Bay of Pigs defines America’s failed foreign policy in Cuba.
COLD WAR FLASH POINTS: CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS
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October 1962 saw the closest the two superpowers come to direct conflict.
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Soviets secretly install nuclear missile bases in Cuba
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America responds with a naval blockade of the island
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For thirteen days, the world waited to see if the Soviets would run the blockade.
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A treaty was reached to end the stalemate
COLD WAR FLASH POINTS: VIETNAM
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Similar to Korea in cause.
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North Vietnam threatening the sovereignty of South Vietnam
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The US cannot accept that
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US is drawn into an “unwinnable war”
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Key events—see image files
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US tries to bomb its way to victory—this was not a winning
strategy for fighting in Vietnam.
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Saigon falls in 1975, Cambodia falls but 2 years later
COLD WAR FLASH POINTS: CAMBODIA
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Cambodia (Kampuchea) had been a SE Asian kingdom
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The US led a revolution to overthrow the Prince in 1970. This along with the bombing of
Cambodia during the Vietnam War (to destroy Ho Chi Minh) unleashed a horrifying turn of
events for Cambodia.
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Pol Pot arose to establish a peasant communist state, and in the process 25% of the
entire country was eliminated in a genocide.
COLD WAR FLASH POINTS: LATIN AMERICA
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20th century Latin America is a time filled with upheaval and revolution across the entire
region.
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The second half of the 20 th century saw the spread of communist ideas from Cuba
through revolutionaries like Argentianian Che Guevera
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The ideas moved to the mainland and soon infected
• Chile
• Argentina
• Colombia
• Nicaragua
• El Salvador
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United States now had to cope with communism in this hemisphere
COLD WAR FLASH POINTS: AFGHANISTAN
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The Soviet Union found their “Vietnam moment” in the 1980’s in the central Asian country
of Afghanistan.
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Like Vietnam, Afghanistan is of no geographic importance. Like Vietnam it has a distinct
lack of natural resources.
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Like Vietnam, the Soviets found themselves in a quagmire, from which they couldn’t
emerge.
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The big difference between Vietnam and Afghanistan—the Mujahadeen, fighters from
around the Islamic World that came to the defense of Afghanistan in the name of Jihad.
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The Soviet Union accepted defeat in 1988. For many of the same reasons the US did—
cost, geography, and an invisible foe.
COLD WAR FLASH POINTS: THE BERLIN WALL
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Unbearable cost of fighting the war in Afghanistan and the need to keep up with the US
defense spending model left the Soviet Union vulnerable in its efforts to maintain its
empire.
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Following the example of Hungary, German students protested and demanded the gates
be opened.
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Unwilling to continue to bear the cost of security, the Communist government relented.
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The wall collapsed in 1989
COLD WAR FLASHPOINTS: REAGAN AND SDI
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The nuclear balanced was threatened by the scientific ideas behind the Strategic Defense
Initiative.
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Soviet Union had to keep spending to try and develop theirs…they couldn’t.
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In 1991, the Soviet Union collapsed and reorganized itself as The Republic of Russia