Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Final Exam Revision Sheet
Final Exam Revision Sheet
After World War II, United States and Soviet Union emerge as global superpowers
Rivals hungry for power because old white men suck
Period of tension named “The Cold War”; named as such because there was never any
actual war
Both countries were armed with nuclear missiles
Cold war resulted in smaller wars
The Soviet Union wanted to spread communism, which goes against the basic principles
of the United States
The Soviet Union had several eastern European countries under its influence
The Marshall Plan: An American led initiative hoping to send aid to western European
countries, as they wanted them as allies.
Because of MAD. Mutually Assured Destruction. Both the United States and the Soviet Union
were global superpowers
Picture on Slide 4:
Yalta conference
(Left to right)
Picture on Slide 5:
Potsdam conference
(Left to right)
NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization): The United States and its allies creating a treaty or
organization hoping to protect themselves against the soviets.
Warsaw (WTO): The Soviet Union and their allies – some eastern European countries – form or
create a treaty to defend themselves against the American and their allies.
Iron curtain speech: Given by Winston Churchill. Berlin Wall nicknamed iron curtain.
Containment Policy: Policy instituted by the United States trying to prevent the spread of
communism
Korean War: A conflict between North and South Korea involving the US and the USSR, who got
involved as a way to challenge one another.
Cuban missile crisis: In 1959 Fidel Castro made Cuba a communist state. In 1963 it was revealed
the Soviets they were stashing nuclear missiles in Cuba. The Americans found out, and cut off
supplies to Cuba, after several days, the soviets agreed to remove the weapons.
*NOTE*: The Korean and Vietnam wars are forms of proxy wars. Proxy wars:
a war fought between groups or smaller countries that each represent the interests of
other larger powers
Iron Curtain:
Ideological barrier born after World War II
The Iron Curtain (as named by Winston Churchill) was a metaphorical idea dividing East
and west Europe, thus dividing Germany into east and west.
East Europe was mostly communist or at least loyal to the USSR
West Europe was democratic/non-communist
After the German surrender, in World War II the country was occupied by allied powers
During the cold war, Germany was divided into east and west
West was democratic
East was communist
Beginning from 1952, 2.5 million East Germans were fleeing from the communist
regime. A large number of east Germans fled from east Germany, threatening to
devastate the east German economy
In 1952, The Soviet Union decided to build a wall preventing people from leaving
Berlin is located inside east Germany; it is split into east and west German territory.
In October 1989, during the wave of democratization sweeping throughout Europe, the
East German leaders were removed from power.
On November 9th, the East German governments opened the borders with West
Germany including west berlin. Openings were made in the berlin wall, resulting in east
berlin citizens travelling freely to the west.
In the same night (November 9th), Berlin citizens (both west and east) began to destroy
the wall. The wall stopped being a barrier between them.
East and West Germany are reunited in 1990 with the destruction of the wall
It is thought that to this day, West Germany has a more successful economy than that of
East Germany; The wall still has lasting effects to this day.
- After the French lost their power in Indo China, Vietnam was separated into North
and South along the 17th parallel
- Ho Chi Minh and the Viet Minh adopted the ideology of communism in North
Vietnam
- South Vietnam had a separate government
- Joint elections were going to be held, in hopes of uniting North and South Vietnam.
However, the elections were never held, because a civil war was breaking out in
South Vietnam:
South Vietnamese president Diem Ngo refused to prepare for the elections.
The US refused to get involved not wanting a communist victory
Ngo’s government lost popularity:
1. Ngo was a Catholic, and the majority of the population – Buddhists
– they were discriminated against
2. Ngo was thought to be corrupt and under American influence
3. He became more dictatorial as time went on
The military planned a coup, planning to overthrow Diem Ngo and his
government
The country was thrust into a state of political crisis and instability.
The United States finally got involved in South Vietnam.
U.S. Involvement:
Guerilla Warfare:
Guerilla warfare is small scale war, consisting of sabotage, booby traps, ambushes, raids
The Vietcong and the Vietminh were very skilled at Guerilla Warfare and they were
familiar with the territory. The Americans were not used to that type of war; they were
accustomed to full scale battles and walking with in guns a blazing
Guerillas would hide among normal civilian populations
The Vietcong wished to unite all of Vietnam and they received support from the USSR,
China, and North Vietnam
North Vietnam to unite all of Vietnam under communism
JFK (John F. Kennedy):
He was JFK’s vice president, and he took over when JFK was assassinated
He dropped bombs on north Vietnam hoping that Ho Chi Minh would stop his campaign
40% of south Vietnamese villages were under the control of the Vietcong
LBJ assumed that the Vietcong were following Ho Chi Minh’s orders
The year is 1968, and 80% of southern Vietnamese villages are now under the control
of Vietcong
There was pressure on the American government to withdraw from Vietnam
LBJ decided not to run again for President (quitter)
Richard Nixon:
Agent Orange:
Poisonous gas used for herbicide; the extermination of plant and wild life
It was used to cut off the main food supply of the north Vietnamese army, and to
prevent them from carrying out guerilla warfare.
US Public Opinion:
Tet offensive:
A surprise attack launched by North Vietnam on one of the major South Vietnam cities
The Americans were gaining the upper hand because they were fighting in familiar
conditions, while the north Vietnamese were unfamiliar with the situation.
The Tet offensive was an overwhelming victory for the Americans.
US withdrawal:
The Americans decide to bomb the north Vietnamese hoping to reach the negotiation
table
They came to an agreement that entailed:
- All American troops will be withdrawn from Vietnam
- Both North and South Vietnam would respect the border between them
- After the Americans left, the Vietcong continued their campaign
On April 30th, 1975 Saigon (capital of south Vietnam) fell to communism. Vietnam
was finally united under a communist government
Laos and Cambodia became communist countries
The French were exporting goods and produce from Algeria; many Algerians were going hungry
due to a lack of resources
*Slide 70*
*Slide 72*
Lalla (title)
Fatma (name)
*Slide 73*
The French believed that their power and might would be enough to instill fear into the
Algerians, which would keep their protests non-violent.
Algeria was treated like overseas France; it was not considered to be a colony.
Algerians had some form of power, but in the end, all of the authority fell to the
Europeans.
The French, after their humiliating defeats in Indo-China, Moroccan and Tunisia, could
not afford to grant Algeria independence out of embarrassment, and not wanting their
own people to turn against their government
It became evident that the settlers were the real problem, because they did not want to
cooperate
This meant that the struggle for independence would become violent
The Algerians were encouraged by the French being defeated in Indo-China
They founded the National Liberation Front (FLN)
FLN launch a guerilla campaign
The French try to stop the Guerilla campaign by sending 700,000 soldiers in the year
1960
Ahmad Ben Bella was in charge of the FLN
The French Politicians realized that even if they won the military struggle, they would
never win over the people, as the Algerians supported the FLN’s cause
French control of Algeria was no longer secure
French generals did not want to experience another defeat with Algeria, they even
though overthrowing any government that thought to leave Algeria.
As for public opinion, some wanted to support the settlers, and others felt as though the
war was useless. It got so severe, that it threatened a civil war in the country.
*Slide 79*
Right to left:
*Free France: an organization dedicated towards fighting the Nazi regime in France
Generals Massu and Salan decide to bring in the respected Charles De Guall; hoping to
unite the people and keep Algeria in French control
Meanwhile in France, the government is in shambles, civil war seems imminent
Charles De Guall runs for prime minister, on the condition that he can rewrite the
constitution to give himself the presidential power.
He is elected as president in 1958, and resigns in 1969
De Guall received the popular vote from most of the french as well as the Algerians
Charles De Guall was faced with a dilemma. He could not resort to a military solution or
a compromise.
De Guall relied on his popularity to find a solution
De Guall negotiated with the FLN. Word got out of his meeting with the FLN, people
were enraged, including the military and the french settlers
The French General Salan founded the OAS, a terrorist organization that blew up
buildings in both France and Algeria. They also tried to assassinate Charles De Guall
several times
It was finally announced that peace talks were to be held, meanwhile the OAS took
power in Algeria
Charles De Guall broadcasted a message asking for piece, and the army and rebellion
complied
*Slide 87*
Aftermath: