Amer. Civ. 10 Mr. Reinbold
Cold War Review Study Guide
TIMELINE/EVENTS
1945 – WWII ends with Truman’s decision to drop ATOMIC BOMB on Japan
1945 – The world starts to become dominated by two SUPERPOWERS - the USA
and USSR
1945 – The UNITED NATIONS is created in NYC
1946 – W. Churchill claimed an IRON CURTAIN had descended upon Europe; The
COLD WAR starts between the East and the West.
1947 – TRUMAN Doctrine - Military and political aid sent to any nation willing to
RESIST Communism - aid is aimed at saving Greece & Turkey.
1948 – U.S.S.R. cuts off supply route to West BERLIN and U.S. responds with the
Berlin Airlift. U.S.S.R. blockaded city of Berlin, located in Soviet zone of occupation in
eastern Germany
 Americans organized yearlong airlift to provide city with food and supplies
 Soviets abandoned blockade in defeat in 1949
 First major confrontation of Cold War, was a symbolic stand to promote
Democracy
1948 – MARSHALL Plan – economic aid to rebuild Western EUROPE.
1949 – U.S.S.R. detonates their first ATOMIC BOMB
 Soviets shocked world by announcing successful test of atomic weapon
 Ended American nuclear monopoly much sooner than U.S. intelligence
anticipated
 Raised (unfounded) fears that Soviets would soon overtake Americans in arms
race
1949 NATO Organized
 Western powers formed formal MILITARY alliance, the North Atlantic
Treaty Organization, to coordinate defense against Soviet bloc
Amer. Civ. 10 Mr. Reinbold
1949 Fall of China
 MAO ZEDONG’s Communists defeated Chiang Kai-Shek's Nationalists to end long
Chinese Civil War
 Nationalists fled to TAIWAN
 Many Americans blamed (unfairly) TRUMAN Administration for "loss of China"
1950 – Korean War begins; as a result United Nations “police action” begins to defend S.
Korea
 Communist North Koreans invaded anticommunist South Korea, nearly captured
entire country
 Americans drove North Koreans all the way to border with China, prompting
surprise intervention by Chinese troops, which then drove Americans back
toward south
 War ended in stalemate, with both sides dug in near original 1950 border
1950 – (R) Sen. McCARTHY claims communists have infested the government,
starts 2nd RED Scare
1951 – ROSENBERGS are tried and sentenced for providing nuclear secrets to the
Soviets; they were executed two years later.
1952 – The first HYDROGEN BOMB (H-BOMB) is detonated by U.S
1955 – MUTUALLY ASSURED DESTRUCTION or MAD Plan introduced by John Foster
Dulles
1955 – Soviets created WARSAW Pact to offset/counter Western Europe’s NATO
1953 – Stalin Dies
1956 – New Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev takes over after a power struggle following
Stalin’s death several years earlier.
1957 – SPUTNIK launches the U.S. & Soviets into a SPACE race. Is the world’s 1st
satellite to be launched into space and leads to anxiety in America over the idea of
falling behind the SOVIETS; shocked many Americans, spurring huge increase in
government spending on math, science, and defense.
1957 – Eisenhower Doctrine becomes policy after tensions rise in the Middle East
Amer. Civ. 10 Mr. Reinbold
1958 – NASA created – mainly as a result of the Sputnik satellite launch
1959 – Communist dictator Fidel Castro (Cuba) takes power
1960 – Francis Gary Powers is shot down in his U–2 spy plane over U.S.S.R.
 Relations between U.S. and U.S.S.R., which had been thawing, grew colder again
COLD WAR LEADERS/IMPORTANT PEOPLE
Winston Churchill
* Prime Minister of GREAT BRITAIN from 1940-45, again from 1951-55
*Close friend of America’s in World War II and the Cold War
* After 1945, favored strong stand against Soviets; delivered famous "IRON CURTAIN"
speech in Missouri, 1946
Harry S Truman
* Democratic Vice President under President Franklin D. Roosevelt
* Became President after Roosevelt's death in April 1945, during last months of World
War II
* Met with Stalin at Potsdam, soon led U.S. into anti-Soviet Cold War posture
*Truman establishes CONTAINMENT as America’s foreign policy in the 1947 Truman
Doctrine
Joseph (Josef) Stalin
* Soviet dictator from mid-1920’s until death in 1953
* Allied with U.S. and Britain during World War II; part of the “Big Three”
* In negotiations over postwar order, demanded Soviet domination of Eastern Europe in
order to guarantee Soviets would not be invaded again by Germany
* Became fearsome enemy of U.S. in early years of Cold War
Nikita KHRUSHCHEV
Amer. Civ. 10 Mr. Reinbold
* Soviet leader following Stalin's death, 1953
* Initially more open to dialogue with West and within Soviet sphere
* Denounced Stalin's crimes in secret speech to Soviet leadership, 1956
* Adopted a harder line against West after 1960; led Soviet Union during Cuban Missile
Crisis
George Kennan
* American diplomat, author of "LONG TELEGRAM" that proposed U.S. policy of
containment of U.S.S.R., 1946
* Kennan's thinking shaped American policy through early years of Cold War
Dwight D. Eisenhower
* Republican President of the U.S. in 1952 and again in 1956
* Served as Supreme Commander of Allied forces in Europe during WORLD WAR II
* Took office promising to end stalemate of unpopular Korean War
*Foreign Policy idea: BRINKSMANSHIP – pushing countries to the edge of nuclear war
if needed in order to prevail in a foreign policy situation
ORGANIZATIONS
NATO
* North ATLANTIC Treaty ORGANIZATION
* Military alliance of U.S. and Western European formed to unite defense against
U.S.S.R.
Warsaw Pact
* Communist counterpart to NATO
* Comprised of Soviet Union and Soviet satellite nations of Eastern Europe
Amer. Civ. 10 Mr. Reinbold
The CIA = CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
* Organized in 1947 to oversee all foreign intelligence and counterintelligence
operations for United States
* During Eisenhower administration, covert (secret) action is widely used; Soviets
counter with their spy agency called the KGB.
CONCEPTS
CONTAINMENT
* American policy built upon assumption that U.S.S.R. was by nature an expansionist but
cautious power, and thus U.S. should meet every attempt to expand Soviet influence
with appropriate "counterforce"
* Proposed by diplomat George F. KENNAN, adopted as policy in the Truman
Doctrine
*This policy went against those who wanted to CONFRONT the Soviet Union more
directly with force
Truman Doctrine
*Provide military and political aid, not troops, to countries willing to resist
COMMUNISM
*Helped GREECE and TURKEY survive Communist aggression in 1947
Eisenhower Doctrine
* U.S. formally extended policy of containment to cover Middle East; was a more
“aggressive brand” of Containment than earlier Truman years
* U.S. willing to send troops in limited situations to back-up foreign policy
Brinksmanship
Amer. Civ. 10 Mr. Reinbold
* Practice of pushing conflict to brink of disaster in order to force opponent to relent
* Practiced by Cold War leaders in Washington and Moscow in Berlin Airlift; though it
occurs during the Truman years – it becomes a key idea/concept during the
EISENHOWER years
DOMINO Theory
* American foreign policy theory that suggested that the fall of one nation to
Communism would encourage spread of Communism to neighboring countries
* Encouraged hard line against Communist expansion, anywhere and everywhere
PRACTICE QUESTIONS
1. Nations that are much more powerful than the other nations of the world are
called SUPERPOWERS. The two of these during the Cold War were the USA and
the USSR.
2. The United States led an organization called NATO
3. The Soviet Union led an organization called WARSAW PACT
4. The Americans did not want communism to spread. This policy was called
CONTAINMENT
5. Schoolchildren were told to practice DUCK AND COVER drills in case of a
nuclear bomb blast.
6. People were encouraged to make BOMB (FALLOUT) SHELTERS where they could
live if there was a nuclear attack.
7. The Cold War was a battle of IDEAS between the Superpowers;
8. IDEOLOGY - A set or ideas or beliefs
9. The prize of the Cold War was world DOMINATION by whichever side that won.
10. The Cold War went on from 1945 until 1991
11. Who said, “An Iron Curtain has descended across…Europe”? CHURCHILL
Amer. Civ. 10 Mr. Reinbold
12. The TRUMAN DOCTRINE was a policy that provided military and political
aid to any nation willing to resist Communism.
13. The MARSHALL PLAN helped Western Europe rebuild after WWII and
to resist the spread of Communism.
14. President Truman chose to AIRLIFT supplies into West Berlin during the crisis
over Berlin in 1948-1949 in order to avoid war and maintain DEMOCRACY in
that city
15. What is the difference between a Cold War and Hot War? A HOT WAR INVOLVES
DIRECT MILITARY CONFLICT -- COLD WAR IS A COMPETITION OF IDEAS (Basic Def.)
16. Countries from Eastern Europe joined with the USSR to form the
WARSAW Pact.
17. Countries that followed the lead/directions of the USSR during the Cold War
were known as “SATELLITE” nations.
18. The following are major countries that belong to NATO: The U.S., West
Germany, Italy, France, and GREAT BRITAIN.
19. Which countries belong to the Nuclear Club? U.S., Soviet Union (USSR), China,
Great Britain, France, INDIA, and PAKISTAN. North Korea has
detonated nuclear material and the U.S. is currently worried that IRAN
might try to develop a nuclear bomb.
20. The UN stands for the UNITED NATIONS. It goal is to promote
PEACE and COOPERATION among the nations of the World. It is
headquartered in NEW YORK CITY.
21. What was the result of the Korean War? A victory for the U.S.? _____________
_________________________________________________________________.
22. The House Committee for Un-American Activities did what? _________________
_________________________________________________________________.
23. What does MAD stand for during the Cold War Era? MUTUALLY ASSURED
DESTRUCTION
Amer. Civ. 10 Mr. Reinbold