STUDY GUIDE FOR JOHN LEWIS GADDIS’S THE COLD WAR: A NEW HISTORY
MRS. GIORDANO
SUMMER READING
IB HISTORY 12TH
PREFACE
1.
Why study the Cold War (ix)
2.
What are the author’s goals and who is his target audience? (x)
3.
What is not the purpose of this book and why is this significant? (xi)
4.
What is Gaddis’s philosophy of history?
THE VIEW FORWARD
5.
Define totalitarian.
6.
What was the great fear of the Cold War?
7.
What ended the Cold War?
8.
Which specific individuals does Gaddis credit with beginning and ending the Cold War?
CHAPTER ONE
9.
What was the Grand Alliance and what were the specific circumstances surrounding its
formation?
10.
Who were the key leaders of the Grand Alliance (countries of origin)
11.
How does the author define the Cold War?
12.
What is the tragedy of the Cold War?
13.
Explain the historical differences between the USSR and the US.
14.
Explain the different experiences of each both of the above during WWII.
15.
Why was their victory in WWII only partial?
16.
What advantages did the USSR have after the war?
17.
Explain the person and goals of Joseph Stalin.
18.
What were Stalin’s expectations after the war?
19.
Explain the US dilemma after WWII.
20.
Define isolationism and explain its importance historically.
21.
How did FDR intend to modify US isolationism after WWII?
22.
Define “Second Front” and explain the importance of a “Second Front” in Europe during WWII.
23.
After WWII, what sphere of influence and control did Stalin and the USSR gain and at what cost?
24.
Explain the results of WWII for Germany.
25.
What issues contributed to the lack of trust between the USSR and western powers?
26.
Explain Stalin’s response to the US development of the atomic bomb.
27.
What distorted Stalin’s view of the world situation?
28.
Explain the demise of the Grand Alliance after WWII.
29.
Explain the importance of the Long Telegram.
30.
Explain the response of the USSR.
31.
Explain Secretary of State, George Marshall’s plan for European recovery.
32.
How did Stalin respond to Marshall’s strategy?
33.
What apparent setbacks did the Western powers experience in 1949 and 1950?
34.
What influenced Mao in China?
35.
Explain the spread of the Cold War to Korea and South East Asia.
36.
Using the map on p. 44, explain the goals and accomplishments of each of the combatants in the
Korean War.
37.
Explain the difference in responses of Mao and Stalin to the Korean war.
38.
Describe the world in 1950? (46-47).
39.
What does Gaddis believe this indicates about the nature of man? Do you agree?
DEATHBOATS AND LIFEBOATS
40.
Record your response to the story on p. 48-49.
41.
Why didn’t events happen as he indicated?
42.
Define “limited war”.
43.
Why was that the goal during the Cold War?
44.
Do you agree with the author that human nature has changed regarding warfare?
45.
Explain the inherent problem with the use of nuclear weapons in warfare.
46.
Explain Truman’s policy toward nuclear weapons and evaluate his leadership.
47.
What was Stalin’s reaction to the US monopoly of atomic weapons and was this realistic?
48.
Explain the arguments in support of building a hydrogen bomb? Do you agree?
49.
How did Eisenhower’s policies differ from Truman’s?
50.
What dilemmas did Eisenhower face and how were they resolved?
51.
Describe Nikita Khrushchev’s character, attitudes and behavior?
52.
Describe a Potemkin village.
53.
Explain the importance of U-2 spyplanes to the US in the late 1950s.
54.
Why did Khrushchev provoke the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962?
55.
How was the Cuban Missile Crisis resolved?
56.
Explain MAD.
57.
Do nuclear weapons exclude war as an instrument of foreign policy?
COMMAND VERSUS SPONTANEITY
58.
Explain the influence of the communist ideology on the world population during the Cold War.
59.
Define bourgeoisie, proletarian and coup d’etat .
60.
Explain the war of ideology of the Cold War.
61.
Explain the actions of Stalin.
62.
In contrast, explain the US plan to restore Germany and Japan after WWII.
63.
Explain Lavrentii Beria’s attempt to reverse the worst effects of Stalin’s rule.
64.
How did Khrushchev continue Beria’s move away from Stalinism?
65.
Identify Khrushchev’s goals and indicate whether he was successful.
66.
How did Mao Zedong attempt to imitate Stalin? What were the results?
67.
Explain any problems with the communist ideology which caused it to fail.
68.
Identify the advantages of the West over the East.
THE EMERGENCE OF AUTONOMY
69.
What was unique about Khrushchev’s retirement?
70.
What does Gaddis mean when he says “mallets were. . .beginning to turn into flamingos and
balls into hedgehogs”?
71.
What replaced the practice of colonialism after WWII?
72.
Define “non-alignment” and explain why it was important during the Cold War.
73.
How does Egypt demonstrate this?
74.
What does the behavior of the Korean and Chinese demonstrate?
75.
How did the Germans behave during the Cold War?
76.
How did the US get drawn into the Vietnam War?
77.
What did French President Charles de Gaulle accomplish?
78.
Explain Mao’s response toward the USSR.
79.
What events characterized 1968?
80.
What was the Cultural Revolution and how did Mao respond?
81.
How does Nixon’s explanation differ from Gaddis’s?
82.
How did American and European student radicals respond to Mao?
83.
Explain the Brezhnev Doctrine.
84.
What did Nixon mean when he told Mao. . .”History has brought us together”?
85.
Explain Nixon’s motivations to seek détente.
86.
What were the causes of Nixon’s resignation?
THE RECOVERY OF EQUITY
87.
Explain the Watergate scandal.
88.
Explain the inherent attraction of the UN and it’s attempt to establish a universal standard of
justice.
89.
Explain the potential effect of the application of this universal standard of justice on national
law and sovereignty.
90.
What strains did the Cold War place on the morality of the US and its officials?
91.
Identify the actions of the Truman and Eisenhower administrations and the CIA which may have
crossed the “moral” line.
92.
How was the Machiavellian principle articulated on page 156 applied by leaders of the US during
the Cold War?
93.
Are there constitutionally based principles of accountability and how are these reconciled with
Machiavellian theory?
94.
Explain whether a country is justified in treating its friend better than its enemies.
95.
How and why was LBJ willing to “sacrifice the public trust”?
96.
Under what circumstances do Americans tolerate plausible deniability exercised by their
leaders?
97.
Why was the Vietnam War so unsettling to the American people and the American system of
government?
98.
How did President Nixon use secrecy successfully?
99.
How did Nixon blur the lines between defensible and indefensible?
100.
What resulted from Watergate and Nixon’s person and character?
101.
What did Congress conclude regarding the CIA?
102.
What is détente?
103.
What are the advantages/disadvantages of détente over MAD.
104.
Explain the reaction of the Soviet satellites to the suppression of “Prague Spring”.
105.
Explain how Brezhnev intended to use détente.
106. What were the unintended consequences of the Helsinki Accords within the USSR sphere of
influence?
107.
What principle reasserted itself within the Soviet sphere?
108.
With regard to the photos on pages 174-175, explain the time frame and importance of each.
ACTORS
Leadership Timeline:
Harry S. Truman
1945-1953
Dwight D. Eisenhower 1953-1961
John F. Kennedy
1961-1963
Lyndon B. Johnson
1963-1969
Richard M. Nixon
1969-1974
Gerald Ford
1974-1977
James E. Carter
1977-1981
Ronald W. Reagan
1981-1989
George H. W. Bush
1989-1993
William J. Clinton
1993-2001
George W. Bush
2001-2009
109.
Why are individual actors so important?
110.
What was S.A.L.T. and why was it so important?
111.
Explain what undermined the S.A.L.T. agreements.
112.
Explain how events in the Mideast undermined détente.
113.
Explain USSR involvement in Africa in the 1970s.
114.
What happened in Afghanistan between 1979 and 1981?
115.
Explain the state of the Cold War in the 1970s.
116.
How did Deng Xiaoping change China?
117.
Explain Margaret Thatcher’s affect on Britain.
118.
Describe the person of Ronald Reagan.
119.
Describe the accomplishments of Lech Walesa.
120.
Explain the USSR in the early 1980s.
121.
What was Reagan’s attitude toward communist regimes?
122.
Explain Reagan’s political offensive against the USSR.
123.
Why did Reagan repudiate the MAD doctrine?
124.
How did Soviet leaders react to Reagan’s rhetoric?
125.
How was Mikhail different from all other Soviet leaders?
126.
Explain Gorbachev’s response to Reagan’s entreaties.
127.
Explain the accomplishments of Reagan and Gorbachev.
128.
How did the foreign policy of the USSR change and what effect did the economy play?
TRIUMPH OF HOPE
129.
Explain the importance of the French Revolution and the revolutions of 1989.
130.
What was the cause of the revolutions in Eastern Europe in 1989?
131.
Explain events of 1989 in each of the following:
Hungary
Poland
USSR
China
East Germany
Romania
132.
Explain Gorbachev’s response to these changes and why this was odd?
133.
Why was George H. W. Bush caught off guard by these events?
134.
Who benefitted from German reunification?
135.
Why did Gorbachev’s efforts backfire?
136.
Identify Boris Yeltsin and explain his importance.
137.
What did Gorbachev ultimately accomplish?
138.
Explain the title of this chapter.
THE VIEW BACK
139.
Who does Gaddis credit with ending the Cold War?
140.
How does can this conclusion be justified with his previous claims?
141.
Are those who live through the events the best judges of their significance?
142.
Explain why Gaddis may now consider war and anachronism.
143.
Does democracy confer legitimacy on governments as Gaddis assumes?
SUMMARY QUESTIONS:
1.
How has Gaddis presented and interpreted the Cold War?
2.
How would you describe his writing style?
3.
Discuss the origin, purpose, value and limitation of this work.
4.
Suggest improvements to Gaddis for the second edition.