Download Cold War Study Guide

Cold War Study Guide – If you know the answers to these questions, you will be
fine for the test.
1.) What is containment?
The American foreign policy that states the US would stop the spread of communism
at every point in the world.
2.) What was the Truman Doctrine?
Foreign aid given to Greece and Turkey following WWII aimed to stop the spread of
communism into those countries.
3.) What was the Marshall Plan?
In addition to the Truman Doctrine, plan to give aid to any country after WWII to help
rebuild. The plan was initiated to again, stop the spread of communism.
4.) What is the job of the United Nations?
Large alliance system aimed at preventing future world wars. The UN also was
established to help weaker and newly formed countries with protection and foreign
aid.
5.) In what year did the Cold War start?
1945. The dropping of the nuclear bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki sent a message
to the Soviet Union that the US was a nuclear power. From that point on the race was
on between the two countries to show the world who was more powerful.
6.) Why did the US airlift supplies into Berlin?
After discussions about unifying Germany in 1948 went poorly between the Allies and
the Soviet Union, the Russians closed all roads leading into West Berlin to the Allies
and states that any attempts to use those roads would be considered an act of war. To
avoid the conflict, the US airlifted supplies into West Berlin so they would not be
forced to join Communist East Berlin.
7.) Where did the US first test its containment policy?
The first true test was during the Korean War.
8.) What country launched the first satellite into space? What was it called?
The Soviet Union. It was called Sputnik.
9.) What is the domino theory?
The theory that if one country fell to communism in Southeast Asia, all countries in
the region would fall to communism.
10.) Where was the domino theory first tested?
Vietnam.
11.) Name the group of guerrilla fighters who worked against South Vietnam and the
United States?
Vietcong
12.) What was the name of the event that led the United States to start fighting in
Vietnam versus just advising the South Vietnamese Army?
The attack on a US destroyer in the Gulf of Tonkin.
13.) What were the nicknames given to supporters and opponents of the war?
Hawks supported the war and Doves were against the war.
14.) Give the name for the treaties that helped stop the creation of new nuclear
weapons.
SALT I and SALT II. SALT stands for Strategic Arms Limitation Talks.
15.) What was the nickname given to the military program to shoot down Soviet
missiles from space?
Star Wars. The US, under President Ronald Reagan began plans to create a satellite
system that would have lasers attached to the satellites. These lasers would have the
capability to shoot down nuclear rockets before they made it to the United States.
16.) Give the name of the leader of the Soviet Union who worked with Ronald Reagan
to improve relations between the Soviet Union and the US.
Mikhael Gorbachev
17.) Why did some US citizens want America to stay out of the Vietnam War?
It was a civil war and the US did not need to get involved.
The US did not need to harm soldiers in a country that most Americans never heard of.
There would be many civilian casualties.
18.) When did the Cold War end?
1989 – when the Berlin Wall came down.
1991 – when the Soviet Union disbanded and started to turn towards a democracy.
I can accept either answer
19.) Why did the US care about Cuba so much in 1963?
The Soviet Union placed nuclear missiles in Cuba and those missiles were a direct
threat to the United States.