Name:
The World Since 1945 Review Sheet
Cold War:
1. The tensions between the US and USSR (Soviet Union/SU) after WWII was called?__
____________COLD WAR_______________________________________________
2. After WWII, the two SUPER POWERS that emerged were:
*__UNITED STATES_
*__SOVIET UNION___________
3. The area of the world that the Soviet Union had the most influence on after WWII,
was:______EASTERN EUROPE________
4. List 3 events that would describe the period of the Cold War.
*_DIVISION OF GERMANY________
*_NUCLEAR ARMS RACE____
*_CUBA AND COMMUNISM____________
5. During the COLD WAR, in what 2 ways did the Super Power of the_US_________________
and the Super Power of the _SOVIET UNION________________ compete?
*_ECONOMICALLY____
*_MILITARILY (SPACE RACE)
6. Define NATO (NORTH ATLATIC TREATY ORGANIZATION)- _ORGANIZATION FORMED TO
PROTECT WESTERN WORLD FROM SPREAD OF COMMUNISM
7. Define Warsaw Pact-_EASTERN EUROPEAN ORGANIZATION TO SAFEGAURD THE SPREAD
OF COMMUNISM
8. Define Truman Doctrine-_GAVE AID TO EUROPEAN NATIONS TO STOP THE SPREAD OF
COMMUNISM.
9. Who was George Marshall and why is he important? SECRETARY OF STATE WHO PROPOSED
THE ECONOMIC PLAN THAT WAS TO HELP REBUILD EUROPE
10. Define the Marshall Plan:_ GAVE ECONOMIC AID FROM THE UNITED STATES TO HELP
REBUILD THE NATIONS OF EUROPE AFTER WWII.
11. NATO and the Truman Doctrine were created to stop the spread of COMMUNISM
12.Why was the Berlin Wall constructed? _TO KEEP GERMANS FROM THE EAST (COMMUNIST)
FROM COMING TO THE WEST(NON COMMUNIST)
13.What did the fall of the Berlin Wall symbolize? _TYRANNY____________________________
14. What area of the world made up NATO? NATIONS OF WESTERN EUROPE_
15. What area of the world made up the Warsaw Pact? EASTERN EUROPEAN NATIONS_
16. What was the common reason for revolts in Hungary (1956) and Czechoslovakia (1968) and
the Solidarity movement in Poland? _TO RESIST COMMUNIST LEADERSHIP INTO THEIR
NATIONS
17. What does the concept of arms race mean? A COMPETITION BETWEEN THE US AND SU WITH
THE BUILD UP OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS
18. What does non alignment mean? WHEN A NATION DID NOT TAKE SIDES WITH EITHER THE
US OR SU DURING THE COLD WAR._
19. Why would nations choose to be nonaligned with other nations during the Cold War? SO AS NOT TO
MAKE EITHER THE US OR SU ANGRY (CAUING A WAR OR CONFLICT) OR TO RECEIVE AID
FROM BOTH._
20. Name 2 nations that remained nonaligned during the Cold War?
* INDIA
* EGYPT
21. What was the purpose for the creation of the United Nations (UN)?_TO CREATE A PEACE
KEEPING ORGANIZATION AND SOLVE INTERNATION PROBLEMS WITHOUT HAVING
ANOTHER WORLD WAR
22. Define Communism:_ECONOMIC SYSTEM WHERE THE GOVERNMENT CONTROLS THE
MEANS OF PRODUCTION. (WHAT, WHERE AND HOW GOODS ARE PRODUCED)
23. What is another term for communism?_COMMAND ECONOMY_
24. What was Joseph Stalin’s program for establishing production and agricultural goals in the
Soviet Union? _5 YEAR PLAN_
25. What was Mao ZeDong’s program for establishing economic improvements in China? GREAT LEAP
FORWARD _
26. What was Mikhail Gorbechev’s plan for economic progress in the Soviet Union? _PERESTROKIA
27. Define Capitalism: ECONOMIC SYSTEM BASED ON BUYING AND SELLING OF GOODS
(SUPPLY AND DEMAND)
28. What is the purpose of constructing canals? _TO SHORTEN SHIPPING ROUTES FOR TRADE
PURPOSES.
29. Identify the following canals: In South America (PANAMA), In Africa (SUEZ)
30. Explain the role that Japan’s geography has had on the island nation: _MOUNTAINS HAVE FORCED
JAPAN TO IMPERIALIZE AND THEN TRADE WITH OTHER NATIONS FOR NATURAL
RESOURCES
31. Define Meiji Restoration: _THE MODERNIZATION AND INDUSTRIALIZATION OF JAPAN
LATE 1860’S
32. What does OPEC stand for? ORGANIZATION OF PETROLIUM EXPORTING COUNTRIES
33. What is the purpose of OPEC? TO REGULATE THE PRICE OF OIL ON THE WORLD MARKET_
34. What type of political/economic system did Fidel Castro and Ho Chi Minh use in their nations?
_COMMUNISM_
China:
35. Whose support did Mao have, which allowed him to come to power in China? _PEASANTS__
36. During the 1970-80’s how did China limit its population? ONE CHILD POLICY_
37. Why did nations feel the need to limit their populations? TO INCREASE ECONOMIC GROWTH
AND IMPROVE QUALITY OF LIFE FOR THEIR PEOPLE
38. Who do the ideas of communism stem from? __KARL MARX_
39. Name 5 world leaders that were inspired by socialist/communist ideals?
* LENIN
* STALIN
* GORBECHEV
* CASTRO
* MAO ZE DONG
40. What was the goal of Mao’s Cultural Revolution? TO RE-ENFORCE THE IDEALS OF
COMMUNISM AND MAO IN CHINA.
41. Who enforced the ideals of the Cultural Revolution?__RED GUARD_
42. In China, what are 2 major beliefs of Confucianism?
* importance of Group before the individual
* filial piety
43. What happened at Tiananmen Square in 1989 STUDENT PROTESTERS (FOR Democracy,
individual rights and freedom of expression) WERE KILLED BY RED ARMY
India:
44. In 1947, after India had been partitioned (divided), what negative affects resulted?
* civil unrest
* religious conflicts b/w Hindus and Muslims
* territorial disputes
45. What was the major reason for Great Britain granting India their
independence?__COULD NOT AFFORD TO KEEP AFTER WWII___________________
46. What was India’s position during the Cold War? _NON-ALIGNED_______________________
47. Whose side did they take? __DID NOT TAKE ANY ONE SIDE_______________________
Africa:
49. What nation corresponds with the ruler?
Kwame Nkrumah: GHANA_
Jomo Kenyatta:
KENYA__
Kenneth Kaunda:
ZAMBIA_
Define Imperialism: WHEN A LARGER NATION TAKES OVER A SMALLER NATION
FOR RESOURCES IT DOES NOT HAVE.
48. What did each of these men have in common? _LED INDEPENDENCE MOVEMENTS FOR THEIR
NATIONS
50. The mass killings that occurred in Rwanda and Burundi in the 1990s were an example of what type of
conflict? ETHNIC CONFLICT
51. What does Pan-Africanism mean? _THE JOINING TOGETHER OF AFRICAN NATIONS TO
SOLVE THEIR OWN PROBLEMS.
52. What was the reason that Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu were awarded
the Nobel Peace Prize? _OPPOSITION TO APARTHEIRD IN SOUTH AFRICA
53. Define genocide: THE MASS KILLING OF A GROUP OF PEOPLE BASED ON THEIR RACE,
RELIGION, OR GENDER
54. Genocide, discrimination based on religion or race, and Purges are examples of HUMAN RIGHTS
VIOLATIONS
Asia:
55. Why did the US get involved in conflicts in Asia in the 1950-1970s?_TO STOP THE SPREAD OF
COMMUNISM
56. What was a similarity faced by both Vietnam and Korea during the late 1950s and early
1960s?_BOTH NATIONS WILL BE DIVIDIED INTO A COMMUNIST NORTH AND NON
COMMUNIST SOUTH
57. List 2 examples of movements that were a show of resisting colonialism (imperialism):
* GANGHI’S SALT MARCH
* INDEPENDENCE MOVEMENTS AND UPRISINGS IN NATIONS (VIETNAM, KENYA,
SOUTH AFRICA)
58. Who were the Khmer Rouge? POL POT’S COMMUNIST GROUP THAT MASSACRED
CAMBODIAN PEOPLE
59. Who was Pol Pot ?_COMMUNIST DICTATOR OF CAMBODIA WHO LED THE KHMER
ROUGE. Targeted Buddhist monks, Muslims, Western-educated intellectuals, educated people in general,
people who had contact with Western countries or with Vietnam, the crippled and lame, and the ethnic
Chinese, Laotians and Vietnamese.
60. What was Pol Pot guilty of? CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY-GENOCIDE
Middle East:
61. What Middle Eastern waterways do OPEC nations use to transport oil:
* STRAIT OF HORMUZ
* PERSIAN GULF
* SUEZ CANAL
62. What was the Camp David Accord? A PEACE AGREEMENT BETWEEN EGYPT AND ISRAEL
63. Who was involved? UNITED STATES (CARTER), EGYPT (ANWAR SADAT), ISRAEL
(MENACHEM BEGIN)
64. Who has supported the nation of Israel since the 1940s? UNITED STATES_
65. Why was this situation considered to be a Cold War event? _PITTED US AGAINST SU. US
SUPPORTED ISRAEL, AND SU SUPPORTED SEVERAL ARAB NATIONS
66. What are the 2 major stumbling blocks to peace between Palestine and Israel?
* LAND DISPUTES
* RELIGIOUS CONFLICTS
67. What has been a primary cause of conflicts in the Middle East and in Northern Ireland?
RELIGIOUS DISPUTES
68. What event occurred in Iran in 1979?_OVER THROW OF SHAH REZA PAHLAVI/ REVOLUTION
69. What was the cause for the Iranian Revolution? _REZA PAHLAVI WESTERNIZED IRAN…MADE
IT A LESS TRADITIONAL NATION. FUNDAMENTALISTS REVOLTED
70. Who came to power in Iran in 1979? _THE AYATOLLAH KHOMEINI_
71. What is the definition of economic embargo? _TO STOP TRADE WITH A NATION TO SEND A
MESSAGE…ISOLATE THE NATION AND CAUSE PROBLEMS INTERNALLY
72. What would be the purpose of imposing an economic embargo on a nation? _TO BRING ATTENTION
TO THE WORLD THAT A NATION MAY BE VIOLATING HUMAN RIGHTS OR MISTREATING
CITIZENS WITH OPPRESSIVE GOV’T.
73. What was the purpose of the Persian Gulf War in 1991?_TO PROTECT OIL INTERESTS___
74. Define Theocracy: A GOVERNMENT RUN BY RELIGION_
75. What Middle Eastern nation became a theocracy in 1979? _IRAN_
76. What were the 2 reasons the US and Great Britain used to justify the invasion of Iraq in 2003?
* WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION
* TERRORIST NATION
Soviet Union:
77. Who became leader of the Soviet Union in 1985? _MIKHAIL GORBACHEV_
78. Why was the above leader coming to power considered a turning point in Soviet history?
BROUGHT AN END TO COMMUNISM IN SOVIET UNION….WORLD DECLINE OF
COMMUNISM
79. Why was the tearing down of the Berlin Wall so significant in world history? (symbolism)_IT
BROUGHT AN END TO TYRANNY..FALL OF COMMUNISM IN EASTERN WORLD
Latin America:
80. In the past 10 years, what new type of leadership has come to the South American continent?
_ELECTION OF LEADERS (DEMOCRATIC)_______ _
81. Define Liberation Theology: _Christian
mission to bring justice to the poor and oppressed,
particularly through political activism
82. In Latin American nations, what type of governments became popular after WWII?
_MILITARY DICTATORSHIPS (JUNTAS)_
83. What Latin American nation had a revolution in 1959?__CUBA_______________________
84. Who led the above revolution? _FIDEL CASTRO___________________________________
85. Who was the inspiration for the above revolution? _KARL MARX_______________________
86. What was his economic ideal? _SOCIALISM= COMMUNISM________________________