Introduction To The Cold War
BACKGROUND Time period: end of WWII (1947) to fall of ____________________ (1991) Primarily a struggle between the 2 “_____________________” (USA & USSR) Didn’t involve direct ____________ conflict between USA & USSR The Cold War was “fought” over 3 key issues: ideology economics military supremacy Note: end of Cold War did not mean the end of communism, but it did mean an end to the specific conflict between USA and USSR. Communism is still the form of government in China, North Korea, Cuba and other nations.
1. IDEOLOGY Communism vs. Democracy Communism: authoritarian government where equal distribution of ___________ is the end goal Democracy: government in which ____________ lies with the people who elect their representatives USSR pursued a ________________ Communist Revolution USA pursued a policy of containment aimed at stopping the ______________ of communism ___________ domino theory: if one country fell to communism, countries would follow
2. ECONOMICS Communism vs. Capitalism Communism: a state controlled _____________ economy Capitalism: a laissez-faire _________ market economy Trade blockades based on ________________ alliances were a prominent feature of the Cold War
3. MILITARY SUPREMACY Arms Race: USA & USSR stockpiled __________ weapons & built up their militaries. Space Race: They raced to develop new space technology (e.g. ____________________) Alliance System: USA would align itself with ________________ nations like Canada, UK, France, West Germany & South Korea USSR would align itself with communist nations like Cuba, _________________, North Korea & China USSR would be first in space with Sputnik satellite, but USA would put first man on the moon Space technology was considered the new frontier in military tech (e.g. spy satellites, weapons in space) Countries in Europe that were part of the Soviet sphere of influence were said to be behind the “iron curtain”
THE IRON CURTAIN USSR also established 6 satellite states in East Germany, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, _____________ & Bulgaria. The Soviets had complete control in these supposedly ______________________ communist countries. The term Iron Curtain comes from a speech given by Winston Churchill that discussed the divide between the Western powers and countries under the Soviet sphere of influence The Soviet satellite states and Soviet allies in Eastern Europe are said to be behind the Iron Curtain Satellite states were a new idea in the Cold War