How did atomic weapons change the world’s geopolitical dynamic?

What were the two main options for socio-economic organization at the end of WWII?

What was the purpose of the United Nations?

What were the two most important bodies within the U.N.?

How many members did the U.N. have when it began?

How did decolonization and the growth of the “third world” affect the U.N.?

Chapter 22: The Cold War

Why did the United States and the Soviet Union become enemies after WWII?

Why is this oppositional relationship known as the “Cold War”?

What did the United States fear with regard to Soviet intentions?

What was the strategy they devised to combat possible Soviet expansion?

How did developments in Eastern Europe support the American interpretation of Soviet intentions?

How did the Soviet handling of situations elsewhere in the world, such as Iran and Turkey, affect the American point of view?

What did Churchill mean when he said that an “iron curtain” had descended across eastern Europe?

* Who was George C. Marshall? * Who were Dean Acheson and George Kennan? What was the Truman Doctrine? What was the role of the national security

apparatus established within the United States in the late 1940s and early 50s?

What is the most well known example of the national security establishment?

Why did the Soviet Union feel threatened by the United States?

How did the U.S.S.R. respond to these perceived threats?

How did the policies of the western powers in Germany provoke a response from the Soviet Union?

What form did that response take (June 1948?)

*How did Truman respond to the blockade? * What was the significance of the blockade

for the U.S. domestically and internationally?

* What was the Marshall plan and why was it proposed?

What is NATO? How did it come to exist?

* What was the significance of the stationing of American forces inside West Germany?

How did the Soviet Union interpret the “three prongs” of the Western response to the Soviet Union?

What was the geopolitical situation in Europe by 1950?

* What did the National Security Act of 1947 accomplish?

* Why was Dean Acheson, and others, insistent that the U.S. should develop the hydrogen bomb?

* What is the significance of NSC-68? What changes to Japanese government and

society did the American government bring about in occupied Japan?

What factors contributed to Japan’s economic revival?

What was the situation in Korea as of 1950? How did it get this way? How did the United States interpret the invasion

of South Korea by the North in June 1950? What were the most likely intentions of the

North and the U.S.S.R. in mounting the invasion?

What role did the UN play in the Western response?

How did the initial fighting go for the UN forces?

What turned the tide and put the UN back on the offensive?

Why did China enter the war and what was the effect?

How did the war finally “end”? What were the “costs” of fighting the war to

the participant nations? Did they view the costs as acceptable?

How did many of the nonaligned nations view the outcome of the war?

Section 112 When did Stalin die? What was his impact on the Soviet Union? How did Stalin’s paranoia and totalitarian

controls manifest themselves in Soviet policy?

What was meant by “Khruschev’s thaw”? How deep did the thaw really go? What was Sputnik? Why was Khruschev ousted from power in

1964? Who succeeded him?

Which eastern European countries fell into the Soviet sphere of influence after the war?

How did Soviet supported policies in eastern Europe “make a mockery” of the idea of free elections?

How did Stalin’s paranoia fuelled purges manifest themselves in eastern Europe?

What economic reforms did the communist governments enact?

What was the Warsaw Pact? Who was Tito? How and why did Poland revolt aginst the Soviet

Union following Khruschev’s de-Stalinization speech in 1956?

How did the Polish success influence Hungary?

Why did the Soviet Union crush the Hungarian uprising of 1956?

What happened to its leader, Imre Nagy? Section 113 How did the Chinese Nationalists and

Communists get along during the war with Japan?

What happened when WWII ended? What happened to China’s seat in the UN in

1971?

What were Mao’s goals for China after he attained power?

How repressive was Mao’s regime during the 1950s?

Why did Mao encourage a “hundred schools of thought”? What happened to many of the thinkers?

What evidence was there of friendly Sino-Soviet relations early on?

What was the “Great Leap Forward”? How successful was it? What are some examples of positive changes

brought about by Mao?

What was the cultural revolution? Who were its main tools and who were its main victims?

What were the results of the Cultural Revolution?

When did Mao die? What was Mao’s legacy? What was his “little red book”? Why did China invade Tibet? Why did Sino-Soviet relations sour

throughout the 1960s? Whom did Mao welcome to China in 1972?

Readings for the next few weeks: Main Text:

P. 947-950 French Algerian War P.961-962 Belgian Congo P.981-987 Iran-Iraq War, First Persian Gulf War P.995-1010 Section 121: Confrontation and Détente P. 1021-1027 Section 123: The Cold War Rekindled P. 1027-1032 Section 124: China After Mao P. 1033-1064 Ch. 26 End of the Cold War

Handouts American Text:

P. 706 -720 Cold War at Home and Abroad P. 728- 738 Sputnik, Beginning of Civil Rights P. 739-772 the 60s P. 793-94 Collapse of Détente P. 799-804 Reagan and the World P. 808-809 Ending the Cold War, The Gulf War

Describe Spain and Portugal’s system of control over Latin America during the colonial period.

What class (caste) distinctions were there in Latin American society?

How did these influence the push towards independence?

What role did the Napoleonic invasion of Spain and Portugal play in increasing Latin American autonomy?

Why did many Spanish American “colonies” create their own juntas?

Section 116

Why did Brazil not need to create a junta? Who were some of the leaders of the

independence movements? How did the United States view the newly

independent nations of the south? What was the Monroe Doctrine? What was Kennedy’s Alliance for Progress? Did it

work? What impact did borrowing money have on the

countries of Latin America? What is the OAS? How did the United States often “handle”

governments that were deemed to be too far left?

Who was Salvador Allende of Chile? What happened to him?

How did Castro challenge America’s power in the Western Hemisphere?

Section 117/Handout on Algerian War of Independence

How did France’s treatment of Tunisia and Morocco differ from its treatment of Algeria?

Why do you think this was the case? How many of Algeria’s 9 million people were

French settlers, or “colons”?

What is a guerrilla war? Where does the term come from?

What are the common strategies and tactics used in most guerrilla campaigns?

What are some of the challenges in mounting a guerrilla campaign?

How did Mao’s victory in China influence other movements?

Describe the societal advantages French settlers enjoyed over Arab natives in Algeria.

What were the three sides involved in the war?

What were the UDMA and the Ulema? What were their respective beliefs regarding Algerian independence?

How were the two sides represented in the MTLD and its successor the Font de Liberation Nationale (FLN)?

Who was Ahmed Ben Bella? How did events in Korea and French

Indochina (Vietnam) influence the Algerian nationalists?

How similar were the Viet Minh with the FLN?

When and how did the Algerian War begin?

What tactics did the FLN use throughout 1954-55? How did the French respond?

What does the principle of “collective responsibility” mean? Is it just?

How did the use of helicopters affect the French army’s ability to conduct operations?

How many soldiers did France have “in- country” by 1957? How many guerrillas were they fighting?

Why did the French use torture? How did this knowledge affect public opinion of the war in France?

Did Morocco and Tunisia play a role in the war?

Why did the army and pied-noirs turn to Charles de Gaulle?

How did things go for the FLN in Algeria during 1959?

How did they bring the war “home” to the people of France?

Why did de Gaulle put the issue of Algerian independence to a referendum? How did it turn out?

Do you agree with Kissinger’s quote, “A conventional army loses if it does not win. A guerrilla army wins if it does not lose.”?

How did the colons/pied-noirs/French settlers in Algeria, along with portions of the army, react to the move toward Algerian independence?

Approximately how people were killed during, and as a result of, the war?

What were the Evian Accords? How did Islamic extremism affect Algeria in

the 1990s?

The Belgian Congo: What did the Belgian government decide to

do in 1960? Who was Patrice Lumumba? What happened that undermined the power

and authority of Lumumba’s government? Why did Moise Tshombe have the European

financial support for his attempted secession of the Katanga region of the Congo?

Why did Lumumba appeal to the UN for help? How did the UN respond? To whom did Lumumba turn after the UN?

Why was Lumumba removed as Prime Minister?

How was he able to establish his own government in Stanleyville?

What happened on January 17, 1961? How did the UN end up conducting offensive

military operations against the Katanga government?

How did it turn out? Why is this an important event in the history of

the UN? In what ways did the larger struggle of the Cold

War manifest itself in the Congo Crisis?

How did the internal strife in the Congo finally resolve itself?

Why did the United States support Mobutu? How did Mobutu remake the Congo? Iran-Iraq War How is Iran different than most of the Arab Gulf

states? What had been Iran’s history through the 20th

century up to the revolution of 1978-79? What was the nature of the Iranian Revolution? Who took ultimate control of Iran as result of

the revolution?

How did the Ayatollah Khomeini and his Supreme Council change the country?

How did they view the west? How did they express their view in the autumn of 1979?

Why were Iraq and Iran natural enemies as of 1980?

What did Iraq use an excuse to attack Iran? How did the war progress for each side? What was the extent of western

involvement in the Persian Gulf? Why did Iran and Iraq bring the war to an

end in 1988?

What were the effects of the war on each country and the region?

The Persian Gulf War, 1990-1991 Why did Saddam Hussein’s Iraq invade Kuwait in

August of 1990? How did other countries in the region, and around

the world, interpret Iraq’s aggression? *What was Operation Desert Shield? What was the purpose of economic sanctions

against Iraq? Were they successful? *Why did the Soviet Union not block the United

States’ push for UN support of military action against Iraq?

What was Operation Desert Shield? *How did the attack on Iraq begin? How was

this an example of the increased importance of air power in modern warfare?

How successful was the ground assault launched five weeks later?

Why did President Bush not push American forces all the way to Baghdad and remove Hussein from power?

What were the immediate and long-term effects of the war?

The Cold War: The 50s How did the Berlin crisis of 1948 help Truman retain

the presidency? * How did the Cold War impact America’s “home

front”? * What was the purpose of Truman’s loyalty

program? * Was the House Un-American Activities

Committee? * What did Senator Joseph McCarthy say on

February 12, 1950 that grabbed national attention? * How did this lead to “McCarthyism” and what

does the term mean?

* What were McCarthy’s usual tactics? * How did he use his Senate subcommittee

to promote his agenda? * To whom did McCarthy appeal? * What was Eisenhower’s approach to

dealing with McCarthy? * What were the Army-McCarthy hearings? * How did it bring about McCarthy’s political

downfall? *In the 1952 presidential campaign what did

thee Republicans refer to as K1C2?

*How did Dwight D. Eisenhower win the 1952 election?

*Why was Eisenhower well prepared to lead the United States during the Cold War?

*Who was Eisenhower’s Secretary of State? *What was Eisenhower’s approach to military

spending while in office? *What was “massive retaliation”? *Who was Ho Chi Minh? *What happened at Dien Bien Phu? *How did events in Indochina present a crisis for

President Eisenhower and how did he handle it?

*How did this contribute to the creation of North and South Vietnam?

*What was America’s role in South Vietnam by the end of the 1950s?

*How did Eisenhower handle communist China’s claims to Formosa?

*What was the Suez crisis and how did it increase tensions between the Soviet Union and the U.S.?

*How does the text assess Eisenhower’s record as a “cold warrior”?

What implications did the development of ICBMs and the hydrogen bomb create for the superpowers and the world in general?

*How did Eisenhower react to the claims that a missile gap was developing between the USSR and USA?

*What effect did the shooting down of Gary Powers’ U-2 spy plane have on Soviet-American relations?

What did Eisenhower mean when he warned of the “acquisition of unwarranted influence….by the military-industrial complex”?

Section 121 Main Text: Confrontation and Détente 1955-1975

What was the “Eisenhower Doctrine”? Why was the Soviet launch of Sputnik in

1957 a game changing event? Why did it make the idea of “massive

retaliation” less practical? How did it contribute to the growth of

“mutual deterrence”? *What was Eisenhower’s response to

Sputnik? (p.728)

What did President Kennedy mean when he said in his inaugural address that, “…we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure the survival and success of liberty.”? (p.741)

*Who were the “best and the brightest” and what did they all believe?

What steps did Kennedy take to make the United States more appealing to developing countries?

What pledge did he make with regards to space exploration?

*Was there actually a missile gap by the time Kennedy took office in 1961?

What did Kennedy do to ensure the US increased its lead in the nuclear arms race?

What were the “Green Berets” and what was their role?

What was the name for the new strategy, of which the Green Berets were now a part, as made clear by Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara?

Why was the Soviet Union interested in curbing the exodus of East Germans fleeing to the west through Berlin?

How did Khrushchev finally decide to settle the problem in August of 1961?

What was the impact of the wall? Why did Castro and the US not get along? What had Eisenhower been planning with

regards to Cuba in the months before he left office?

*Why did Kennedy feel compelled to go along with the invasion plans?

How did the Bay of Pigs invasion turn out? Why?

How did the Bay of Pigs play a causal role in the Cuban Missile Crisis?

Why did the Soviet Union begin an arms buildup in Cuba?

What types of weapons were being installed when Kennedy warned the Soviets not to introduce offensive systems?

On October 14, 1962 how did the United States become aware of the Soviet missiles installed in Cuba?

What did Kennedy and his EXCOMM advisers decide to do about the missiles?

What did the “quarantine” of Cuba actually mean?

What was the Soviet response to the blockade of Cuba?

What was the tone and content of the first Khrushchev letter?

What was the tone and content of the second, received on October 27?

How did Kennedy handle the two letters and what was his response?

What did he tell his brother Robert to do with regards to contacting the Soviets?

What was the publicly acknowledged settlement to the crisis and what was the actual arrangement?

*What were the larger consequences of the crisis?