Unit 8
Cold War and Decolonization (c. 1900–present)
Notes
The Cold War
- A rivalry (about 1947–1991) between the U.S. (capitalist democracy) and the Soviet Union (communist). They didn't fight each other directly but competed through alliances (NATO vs the Warsaw Pact), an arms race, the space race, and proxy wars.
- Containment: the U.S. tried to stop communism's spread (the Truman Doctrine, the Marshall Plan).
- Hot spots: the Korean War (1950–1953), the Cuban Missile Crisis (1962), the Vietnam War, and the Soviet war in Afghanistan (1979–1989).
- The Non-Aligned Movement (Nehru of India, Sukarno of Indonesia, Nasser of Egypt) refused to side with either superpower.
Communist China
- Mao Zedong's Communists won China's civil war in 1949. The Great Leap Forward (1958–1962) caused a massive famine; the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976) persecuted intellectuals.
- After Mao, Deng Xiaoping introduced market reforms while keeping one-party rule.
Decolonization
After WWII, colonies won independence.
- Negotiated independence: India (1947), led by Gandhi's nonviolent movement. It was partitioned into India and Pakistan, causing mass migration and violence. Ghana (1957) under Kwame Nkrumah.
- Armed struggle: Algeria against France (1954–1962), Kenya (the Mau Mau), Vietnam against France.
- New states faced challenges: borders drawn by colonizers, ethnic conflict, and economic dependence. Some leaders nationalized industries (Nasser seized the Suez Canal, 1956).
- Apartheid in South Africa ended in the early 1990s; Nelson Mandela was elected president in 1994.
The end of the Cold War
- Soviet economic problems, the costly war in Afghanistan, and Gorbachev's reforms (glasnost and perestroika) weakened the USSR.
- The Berlin Wall fell in 1989, and the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991.
Practice
Korea and Vietnam are examples.
India, Egypt and Indonesia were leaders.
Civil disobedience pressured Britain to leave in 1947.
Millions of Hindus and Muslims crossed the new border.
The war lasted from 1954 to 1962.
Unrealistic production targets caused disaster.
Perestroika was the economic restructuring.
Soviet missiles in Cuba were removed after negotiation.
Free response
Write your answer first, then open the scoring guide.
Free-response question
Answer (a), (b) and (c).
(a) Identify ONE way the U.S. tried to contain communism.
Show the answer and scoring guide
The Marshall Plan gave economic aid to rebuild Western Europe, making communism less attractive. (Or: forming NATO, or fighting in Korea.)
Check off the points you earned:
(b) Explain ONE difference between two decolonization movements.
Show the answer and scoring guide
India won independence mostly through Gandhi's nonviolent resistance and negotiation, while Algeria had to fight a long, violent war against France.
Check off the points you earned:
(c) Explain ONE challenge newly independent states faced.
Show the answer and scoring guide
Borders drawn by colonial powers grouped rival ethnic groups together, leading to conflict, and many economies still depended on exporting raw materials.
Check off the points you earned: