Cold War Practice Questions and Answers PDF

Preview

Summary

Notes...

Description

Questions General 1. What was the Berlin wall and why was it created? What was its significance to the Cold War? 2. What are some of the factors that contributed to the US’s economic prosperity post-war and during the Cold War? 3. Define the term “proxy war”. 4. Why was the Cold War considered a “cold war”? Why were the countries involved “all bark but no bite”? 5. What is the difference between capitalism and communism? 6. What were the “hot conflicts” that broke out during the Cold War? Individual Events (Make sure to include importance to Canada) 7. W5, Korean War 8. W5, Vietnam War 9. W5, Suez Crisis 10. W5, Cuban Missile Crisis 11. W5, Avro Arrow Answers 1. The Berlin Wall was a wall constructed to prevent citizens of East Germany from entering West Germany and to keep West Germans out of East Germany. After World War 2, Germany was split in two and the Western half of Germany was taken by UK, US, and France, while the Eastern half was taken by the Soviet Union. The Berlin wall eventually became the symbol of the Cold War and stood until it was taken down in 1989. 2. Since the US entered both world wars late, they did not lose as much and did not have as much to rebuild as other countries. As a result, they prospered economically and soon became the wealthiest country in the world. 3. A proxy war is a war fought by one country but for the interest of another. For example, the Korean war was fought mainly for US and Russian interests during the Cold War. 4. The Cold War was a war fought through diplomacy and proxies. Although there were some smaller “hot wars” during the Cold War, the Cold War was generally a conflict between the USSR and the US, and there was no direct conflict between these countries. Instead, the war was fought through proxies, in which one country fights for the interests of another. During the Cold War, both sides had nuclear missiles and bombs, however the most they could do was mutually assure destruction. The reason for this was because if one side initiated a direct attack, the whole country would be destroyed, and neither side wanted to risk annihilation. 5. Capitalism is an economic system where the country’s trade and industries are controlled by people, whereas communism is an economic system where the economy is controlled by the governments and all resources are given according to one's needs. Most of the Cold War pivoted around these two systems vying for more influence on the

world. 6. The hot conflicts include the Korean War and the Vietnam War. 7. The Korean war was fought between North Korea (USSR occupied) and South Korea (US occupied) from 1950-1953. Korea had split after WW2, and raising tensions led North korea to attack South Korea. The UN (including Canada) supported South Korea, and China eventually intervened on North Korea’s side. It ended with a ceasefire. 8. The Vietnam war was fought between communist North Vietnam (supported by China and USSR) and democratic/capitalist South vietnam (supported by US) from 1954-1975. The battle raged over the entire country, with North vietnam trying to unify the country under communist rule. South vietnam wanted to maintain western ties. Many Canadians signed up with the US and Agent Orange (a US chemical weapon) was tested in Canada. 9. The Suez crisis happened in the Suez canal in Egypt in 1956 after Egypt seized the Suez canal (a crucial shipping route) and tried to nationalize the Suez canal company. Britain and France owned the Suez canal company and launches attacks (the USSR threatened to launch nuclear weapons if they didn’t withdraw). Pearson suggested that France and Britain withdraw but leave a UN force to stay, which defined Canada as a peacekeeper. The force was the first large peacekeeping force and was led by a Canadian general (Pearson received a Nobel peace prize). 10. The Cuban Missile crisis happened in Cuba in 1962 when the US discovered that the USSR was assembling nuclear weapons in Cuba, which would allow a strike on the US mainland (the US had missiles in Turkey that could strike USSR). US President Kennedy held a naval blockade around Cuba blocking USSR ships. Canadian PM Diefenbaker delayed Kennedy’s request to put Canadian troops on alert, and their relations never healed. The USSR offered to remove missiles if the US promised not to attack. 11. The Avro Arrow was a Canadian made supersonic fighter jet - the most advanced of its time. The program (running from 1957-1959) was cancelled because it was too expensive, and Canada ended up buying US planes and weapons. It was a huge blow to Canadian pride....