AP European History AMSCO Guided Notes
9.3: The Cold War
AMSCO Guided Notes
AP European History Guided Notes
AMSCO 9.3 - The Cold War
Essential Questions
- How did the conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union play out in global politics?
I. The Division of Europe
1. Why did the United States and Soviet Union shift from alliance to conflict after World War II ended?
A. Eastern Europe
1. What principle did the United States and Great Britain advocate for Eastern Europe, and why did Stalin reject it?
2. What was Stalin's rationale for establishing Soviet-controlled governments in Eastern Europe?
3. What were the Truman Doctrine and the domino theory, and how did they shape U.S. Cold War policy?
B. Germany
1. How did the Allies plan to divide Germany and Berlin after World War II?
2. What was the Berlin Blockade and how did the Western Allies respond to it?
3. What two German states emerged after the Berlin Airlift, and what did this division represent?
II. The Cold War on a Global Stage
1. Why did the Soviet takeover of China in 1949 increase Western concerns about communism?
2. What were the four major types of conflict that characterized the Cold War between the superpowers?
A. Arms Race
1. How did the Soviet development of atomic weapons in 1949 change the nature of Cold War competition?
2. Why did the concept of mutual assured destruction prevent direct military conflict between the superpowers?
B. The Cuban Missile Crisis
1. What actions did the Soviet Union take in Cuba, and how did President Kennedy respond?
2. How was the Cuban Missile Crisis resolved, and what measures did the superpowers take afterward to prevent future crises?
C. The Space Race
1. What early Soviet achievements in space exploration alarmed the United States, and how did the U.S. respond?
2. How did the space race serve both military and propaganda purposes for each superpower?
D. Propaganda Campaigns
1. What values and ideologies did the United States and Soviet Union each promote through propaganda?
2. What methods did the United States use to spread Western messages to people in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union?
3. How did Soviet propaganda portray the West, and what strengths did the Soviets emphasize in their messaging?
E. Covert Actions
1. What were the main intelligence agencies involved in Cold War espionage, and what types of information did they seek?
2. How did the Cambridge spies illustrate the nature of Cold War espionage and ideological commitment?
3. What covert actions did the CIA undertake in Western Europe, and what was their purpose?
F. Limited "Hot Wars"
1. What were proxy wars, and why did the superpowers use them instead of fighting directly?
1. Conflicts in Korea and Vietnam
1. What triggered the Korean War, and how did the involvement of the Soviet Union and China affect the conflict?
2. How did the Korean War end, and what was the outcome for the Korean peninsula?
3. Why did the United States become involved in Vietnam, and what was the role of the Viet Cong?
4. How did the Vietnam War end, and what did the outcome reveal about U.S. Cold War strategy?
2. Yom Kippur War
1. What was the Yom Kippur War, and how did the superpowers become involved in this Middle Eastern conflict?
2. How did the U.S. and Soviet responses to the Yom Kippur War demonstrate Cold War tensions?
3. The USSR Invades Afghanistan
1. Why did the Soviet Union invade Afghanistan in 1979, and how did the United States respond?
2. What factors led to the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan in 1989?
4. Non-Aligned Movement
1. What was the Non-Aligned Movement, and which countries participated in it?
2. How did non-aligned countries attempt to benefit from Cold War tensions without taking sides?
Key Terms
Cold War
Franklin Roosevelt
Winston Churchill
United Nations (UN)
Joseph Stalin
self-determination
Truman Doctrine
Iron Curtain
nuclear arms race
covert actions
Korean War
Vietnam War
Yom Kippur War
USSR invasion of Afghanistan
Non-Aligned Movement