Download
1 / 14
E N D
Democracy vs. Communism 1. Communism is a political system in which the people own all land, factories, and businesses, and power is supposed to rest with the people in order to eliminate social classes. In the Soviet Union, the government plans and controls the economy and their rulers hold absolute power, limiting the rights of their citizens. 2. Communism was seen as a threat to democracy because it opposed the democratic values of rule by the people. 3. The Cold War, which lasted from 1945-1989, was a time period of uneasy peace and rivalry between the U.S. and U.S.S.R.
Truman Doctrine, Marshall Plan, and NATO 1. The U.S. established the Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan to let the Soviet Union know that they supported freedom from communist rule. 2. Three effects of the plans were: communist inspired riots in eastern European countries, economic rebuilding took place in countries like Greece and Turkey, stopped the spread of communism, and established the U.S. as the world’s dominant economic superpower. 3. The purpose of the Berlin Airlift was for the U.S. and Great Britain to provide food, coal and medical supplies to West Berlin until the Soviets lifted the blockade. 4. The U.S.S.R.'s response to the formation of N.A.T.O. was to form an alliance of their own called the Warsaw Pact and tested their own nuclear bomb.
Cold War Conflict 1. “Containment” was the U.S. policy of trying to stop communism. 2. “Brinksmanship" was the U.S. policy that it was willing to go to the brink of war to stop communism. 3. It was significant that the Cold War finally had its first military challenge so that the U.S. would be able to test their military strength and see how far the Soviet Union would be willing to go to spread and protect communism. 4. The United States did not attack past the 38th parallel for fear that the Soviets may retaliate or China would intervene, which may lead to World War III.
Vietnam War 1.The U.S. got involved with countries that were considered "strategically unimportant“ because they wanted to let communism know that they were willing to defend freedom anywhere. 2. Two effects of the "Vietnam Syndrome“ were that the U.S. suffered a crisis of self-confidence which caused citizens to lose faith in the U.S. government and caused government to lose faith in its military, and the U.S. questioned its role in foreign affairs which led to a period of “détente” (easing international relations). 3. The “Domino Theory” stated that if one country fell to communism, neighboring countries would fall soon after, like a row of dominoes. 4. Four reasons why the Vietnam War became difficult to win were: • The U.S. waged a limited war in order to keep China from becoming involved • Most soldiers were young, inexperienced, and served a short tour of duty • There was no exact “front line” where fighting took place • We were not familiar with guerilla warfare in the Vietnam environment • The U.S. had difficulty gaining the support of the South Vietnamese because their chemical warfare damaged their environment and civilians
Vietnam War 5. Five "legacies" of the Vietnam War are: • Terrible destruction and suffering in Southeast Asia • Lasting damage to farmland and forests • Many Vietnamese immigrated to the U.S. • 58k soldiers died, 300k wounded and had permanent disabling injuries • Returning soldiers suffered from stress related problems • Many U.S. citizens treated returning soldiers poorly 6. Two political effects of the Vietnam War were: • 26th Amendment (1971)– lowered the voting age from 21 to 18. (if they can die in war, they can vote for the leaders that sent them) • War Powers Act (1973) – limited the president’s war-making powers. The president has to report to Congress within 48 hours if troops have been sent into a hostile situation without a declaration of war and can remain no longer than 90 days without the permission of Congress.
Red Scare and HUAC 1. The "Red Scare“ was the name given to the fear of communism coming to the United States. It was created by emergency tests, building bomb shelters, and news stories of the advancement of communism, nuclear war, and Soviet spies. 2.The House Un-American Activities Committee, or HUAC, interviewed thousands of Americans accused of being communist sympathizers. Many Hollywood actors and screenwriters were subpoenaed and subsequently blacklisted, despite little or no evidence connecting them with communism.
McCarthyism 3.Three effects caused by the actions of Senator Joseph McCarthy were: • Innocent people were accused of being communist which led to firings • Hyteria • People lost confidence in government • People questioned whether we could preserve the liberties we were fighting for
U-2 Incident 4. The U-2 incident increased tension between the U.S. and U.S.S.R. because it proved that the U.S. was spying on the Soviet Union, which would prevent a “thaw” in the Cold War. 5.The "Corona" was the first earth-orbiting reconnaissance satellite. It was significant because it could spy on an enemy from over a 100 miles into space.
Cold War Cuba 1. The president’s reason for adopting a policy of "flexible response“ was to fight limited wars without a nuclear apocalypse. 2. The United States was concerned about Cuba because its leader, Fidel Castro, instituted a communist government and Cuba was only 90 miles from the U.S. 3. The U.S. addressed the issue by planning an invasion of Cuba (which failed) and establishing economic sanctions.
Cuban Missile Crisis 4. The Cuban Missile Crisis was called "the gravest confrontation of the Cold War“ because it was the closest the U.S. and U.S.S.R. came to a head-to-head confrontation that involved nuclear weapons. 5. Khrushev uses a simile to describe the tension between the U.S. and U.S.S.R. (pulling on a rope). He was trying to say that the tension between the two countries increased as each side pulled against the other instead of working together to ease tensions. 6. President Kennedy learned from the Cuban Missile Crisis that a nuclear war was winnable and destroying the U.S.S.R. would probably also mean the end of the U.S. (M.A.D. – Mutual Assured Destruction)
Reagan and Star Wars • 1. President Reagan's plan to end communism was controversialbecause it involved a massive build-up in military power ($) and helping ANYONE defend themselves against communism ($). Some felt this would lead to a nuclear war. • 2. Reagan's "Star Wars" plan involved a space-based missile defense, satellites that would shoot down Soviet missiles.
The Berlin Wall 1. 2. The Berlin Wall was built under the orders of Khrushev, the Soviet leader, to divide the communist east from the democratic west.
The End of the Cold War 3. In 1989, Eastern European people began to rebel against repressive communist governments. 4. Mikhail Gorbachev announced that people should have freedom of choice. Eastern Europeans fled into Western European countries when the Berlin Wall was destroyed and the “Iron Curtain” came down. 5. Citizens of Eastern European countries began to protest and their countries held free elections for the first time ever. 6. The legacy of Mikhail Gorbachev is probably that of a hero that changed the course of history.
