Starter quiz
- The period of intense rivalry that existed between the USA and the USSR is known as the...
- 'Cold War' ✓
- During which conference did the USA test their first atomic bomb?
- Tehran
- Yalta
- Potsdam ✓
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- In which year did Stalin order the blockade of Berlin?
- 1947
- 1948 ✓
- 1949
- 1950
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- Which of these were reasons for the superpowers' mistrust of one another?
- The superpowers had opposing ideologies. ✓
- The USA had opposed the Bolsheviks during the Russian Civil War. ✓
- The USSR had initially fought on the side of Nazi Germany.
- The USA refused to open up a second front in Western Europe.
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- Match the economic or political system to its description.
- Democratic politics⇔Free elections with multiple parties to choose from ✓
- Communist politics⇔Controlled elections with one party to choose from ✓
- Capitalist economy⇔Businesses outside of government ownership and control ✓
- Communist economy⇔All businesses owned and controlled by the government ✓
- Starting with the earliest, place the following events in chronological order.
- 1⇔the Yalta Conference
- 2⇔the Novikov Telegram
- 3⇔the Marshall Plan
- 4⇔the creation of NATO
Exit quiz
- Which of these was a consequence of the Tehran Conference (1943)?
- Britain and the USA agreed to open up a second front against Nazi Germany. ✓
- Poland's new borders were agreed.
- The superpower relationship worsened due to disagreements over Eastern Europe.
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- Why was the Truman Doctrine provocative?
- It committed the USA to rolling back communism.
- It committed the USA to containing communism. ✓
- It committed the USA to war with the USSR.
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- Which of these statements about Marshall Aid are correct?
- offered to all European countries, including the USSR and Eastern Europe ✓
- only offered to European countries with democratic political systems
- imed at post-war recovery with the hope of containing the spread of communisma ✓
- pledged over $13bn to Europe's post-war recovery ✓
- pledged less than $13bn to Europe's post-war recovery
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- Which of these statements best describes Stalin's motivations for blockading Berlin in 1948?
- He wanted to force the Western powers out of Berlin. ✓
- He feared the economic recovery of Trizonia would reflect badly on communism. ✓
- He was afraid that West Germany might join NATO.
- Large numbers of skilled workers were leaving East Berlin.
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- Which of these statements best describes the development of the arms race in the 1940s and 50s?
- In the 1940s, the USA had an advantage over the USSR. ✓
- By the late 1950s, the USA and the USSR were equal in terms of nuclear ability. ✓
- In the 1940s, the USSR possessed greater nuclear capacity than the USA.
- In the 1950s, the USSR initially developed a superiority in rocket technology. ✓
- In the 1950s, the USA developed the hydrogen bomb but the USSR did not.
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- Why did Khrushchev order the invasion of Hungary?
- If Hungary left the Warsaw Pact, so too might other satellite states. ✓
- The USA were threatening to overthrow the government there.
- Nagy had threatened the USSR.
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Lesson Details
Key learning points
- Ideological differences meant there were tensions between the USA and USSR even when they were allies during WW2.
- From 1945, the Soviet creation of satellite states and the US development of the atomic bomb increased tensions.
- Concerned about Soviet expansion, Truman committed the USA to a policy of containment in 1947.
- In 1948, the Berlin Crisis significantly increased Cold War tensions.
- The Cold War intensified during the 1950s due to the escalation of the arms race and the Soviet invasion of Hungary.
Common misconception
Historians agree that the Cold War started in 1945 with the end of World War Two.
The breakdown of the wartime alliance and the emerging ideological rift between communism and capitalism unfolded over several years. The exact start date of the Cold War is often debated among historians.
Keywords
Cold war - a period between c. 1945 and c. 1991 of intense rivalry and tension between the USA and the USSR
Ideology - a set of beliefs or ideas
Satellite state - a county that is dominated by another country
Arms race - when countries compete with each other to build up their military strength
Containment - using American influence and military resources to prevent the spread of communism into non-communist countries
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