AP World History AMSCO Guided Notes
8.2: The Cold War
AMSCO Guided Notes
AP World History Guided Notes
AMSCO 8.2 - The Cold War
Essential Questions
- What were the causes and effects of the ideological struggle of the Cold War?
I. Cooperation Despite Conflict: The United Nations
1. Why did the League of Nations fail and what did the Allies hope to accomplish with the United Nations?
2. When was the United Nations established and which countries were instrumental in its creation?
II. Rivalry in Economics and Politics
A. Capitalism and Communism
1. How did the United States and Soviet Union differ in their approach to economic organization and ownership?
2. What did Winston Churchill mean by the "Iron Curtain" and what did this metaphor represent?
B. Democracy and Authoritarianism
1. How did the political systems of the United States and Soviet Union differ in terms of elections, press freedom, and political parties?
C. Criticisms and Similarities
1. What criticisms did each superpower level against the other regarding their economic and political systems?
2. Despite their differences, what similarities did some analysts identify between the U.S. and Soviet systems?
III. Conflicts in International Affairs
A. The USSR and Its Satellite Countries
1. What were satellite countries and how did the Soviet Union use them to expand its power?
2. How did Soviet policies toward Eastern European nations benefit the USSR rather than those countries?
B. World Revolution
1. What was the concept of world revolution and how did Soviet support for revolutions affect Western attitudes toward the USSR?
C. Containment
1. What was George Kennan's policy of containment and why did some politicians criticize it?
D. Truman Doctrine
1. What was the Truman Doctrine and which two countries did it specifically target for U.S. support?
2. Why was Turkey strategically important to both the Soviet Union and the United States?
E. The Marshall Plan
1. What was the Marshall Plan and what were its goals for rebuilding Europe?
2. How did the Soviet response to the Marshall Plan differ from U.S. intentions, and what was COMECON?
3. How successful was the Marshall Plan in achieving its economic objectives?
IV. The Space Race and the Arms Race
A. Space Race
1. What was Sputnik and how did it initiate the Space Race between the United States and Soviet Union?
B. Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD)
1. What was mutual assured destruction and how did the development of ICBMs change the nuclear balance between superpowers?
2. How did the concept of MAD paradoxically help maintain peace between the United States and Soviet Union?
V. The Non-Aligned Movement
1. What was the Bandung Conference and why did newly independent African and Asian nations organize it?
2. What were the main challenges faced by Non-Aligned Movement member states?
3. How did the Non-Aligned Movement's goal of staying neutral often conflict with Cold War realities?
Key Terms
United Nations (UN)
Iron Curtain
satellite countries
world revolution
containment
Truman Doctrine
Non-Aligned Movement
mutual assured destruction
Sputnik
Marshall Plan
Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (COMECON)