History Group test DIscursive essay.

• What was the Cold War?


  A state of extreme TENSION between the

  Superpowers stopping short of all-out ‘hot’

  war. It was characterized by MUTUAL

  HOSTILITY and INVOLVEMENT in

  COVERT WARFARE and WAR by

  PROXY. This was done in an effort to

  uphold the interests of one against the

  other.
• Cold War


  A state of extreme tension between the Superpowers stopping short of all-out ‘hot’ war. Characterized by mutual hostility and involvement in covert warfare and war by proxy
• Superpowers

  • USSR
  • USA
  • and their allies
• Communist Revolution in Russia led to Russia withdrawing from WW1, angering the Allies and causing distrust
• USSR occupied Eastern Europe at the end of WW2, leading to mutual distrust of each other's intentions
• Locations of Cold War conflicts

  • Korea
  • Vietnam
  • Cuba
  • Middle East
  • China
  • Afghanistan
  • Africa
  • South America
  • Space
  • Oceans
• Leaders of the USSR

  • Lenin
  • Stalin
  • Khrushchev
  • Brezhnev
  • Andropov
  • Chernenko
  • Gorbachev
• Leaders of the USA

  • Roosevelt
  • Truman
  • Eisenhower
  • Kennedy
  • Johnson
  • Nixon
  • Ford
  • Carter
  • Reagan
  • Bush (Snr)
• Cold War events

  • Space Race
  • Arms Race
  • Olympics
  • Espionage
  • Building of Berlin Wall
  • Wars in Vietnam, Korea, Angola
• Marginal utility is the additional utility gained from the consumption of an additional product. Total utility is the sum of marginal utilities for each unit consumed
• Conflict of Ideology

  • Capitalism
  • Communism
• Capitalism


  An economic system of free enterprise where individuals have the right to start a business and make a profit. Prices, production, and distribution are determined by the free market
• Communism

  An economic system where the state owns all land, natural resources, and industry to facilitate equal distribution of wealth
• Strengths of Capitalism

  • Encourages economic growth
  • Encourages innovation
  • Promotes competition
  • Emphasizes individual responsibility
  • Leads to product diversity
  • Linked with democracy
• Weaknesses of Capitalism

  • Unequal wealth distribution
  • Poor treatment of workers
  • Inequality due to circumstances
  • Poverty and unemployment
  • Limited access to resources
• Strengths of Communism

  • Redistributes wealth
  • Provides full employment
  • Develops talents with state support
• Strengths of Communism

  • Redistributes wealth as economy is centrally planned, thus the poor are protected from extreme hardship
  • Provides full/close to full ______________ therefore everyone contributes + everyone’s talents are developed with state support
  • Decisions are taken to benefit the whole of ______________
  • Money is directed to where it is needed most
  • Society is more ______________
• Weaknesses of Communism

  • Economy does not make more money and is only effective if there is already money to redistribute or invest. If this is not the case, ______________
  • Ppl are employed whether they work well or not. Ppl are NOT ______________
  • Countries became ____________ Development is not possible without state coercion
  • Poor state planning can have disastrous effects e.g. Famine
  • There are no alternate sources of ____________
  • Opposition not tolerated. Under a dictatorship ____________ are taken away
  • Massive _______________ was required to convince citizens to work for common good
• If a firm increases advertising then their demand curve shifts right. This increases the equilibrium price and quantity
• Marginal utility

  The additional utility (satisfaction) gained from the consumption of an additional product. If you add it up for each unit you get total utility
• THE COLD WAR
• Contents of Summary Booklet on THE COLD WAR

  • Concept/Definition
  • Origins
  • Communist Expansion
  • US Reaction
  • Germany as a Battleground of the Cold War
  • Est of Military Alliances
  • Role of Science & Technology
  • Use of Espionage
  • The use of Propaganda & Est of Popular Culture
• THE COLD WAR BEGINS
• The Cold War was characterised by

  • No direct action against each other, rather fought by PROXY
  • The use of PROPAGANDA to convince people of the virtues of their respective ideologies and the evil of the opposition
  • The Use of Espionage e.g. KGB, CIA
  • The Use of Brinkmanship e.g. THE CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS
  • Participation in a nuclear arms race which held the potential for M.A.D.
  • The use of economic, DIPLOMATIC and POLITICAL shows of power e.g. BERLIN AIRLIFT, USE OF THE UN AS A BATTLEGROUND, ARMS RACE, SPACE RACE
• ORIGINS OF THE CONFLICT
• Countries that provided supplies to the USSR

  • Not specified
• Stalin was angry with regard to the secrecy surrounding the Atomic bomb
• Spies were keeping Stalin informed with regard to Project Manhattan
• Conflict regarding Poland

  • West criticized USSR involvement in the massacre of 15,000 Polish soldiers in Katyn
  • USSR + West supported rival groups, each claiming to represent the Polish people
• The West had only opened the 2nd front in 1944, leaving the USSR to bear the burden of fighting the Nazis
• Stalin believed that the West opening the 2nd front in 1944 was an attempt to weaken the USSR
• Not specified

  End of WW2
• YALTA Conference

  1. Agreements reached:

  2. Germany to be divided into FOUR zones (Br, USA, Fr + USSR)

  3. Berlin to be divided into four zones

  4. War Crimes trials to be held

  5. "Allied Declaration on Liberated Europe" - Countries liberated from Nazi control to hold elections to choose what type of govt they wanted, i.e., Democracy

  6. USSR to join the war against Japan

  7. A commission was appointed to investigate the issue of reparations

  8. Agreed that Eastern Europe could be a Soviet "Sphere of Influence"

  9. Stalin promised that free elections would take place in Poland

  10. Stalin was determined to create a buffer zone to protect the USSR from German aggression
• POTSDAM Conference

  1. Agreements made:

  2. The four German zones were to be ruled by military governors under a joint ALLIED CONTROL COUNCIL (ACC)

  3. Capital Berlin in the Soviet zone was also to be divided into Four zones

  4. Each zone to have an army of occupation

  5. Economic issues to be coordinated by the ACC

  6. Reparations: Soviet sector to provide Western zones with food + coal, Western zones to supply industrial goods which the USSR could take home

  7. Germany to be disarmed and demilitarized

  8. Germany to remain united, although administered in FOUR zones

  9. New borders created for Poland
• Administration through the ACC failed, especially because all four governors on the ACC could veto decisions made
• Increasing disagreement with regard to reparations, each side accusing the other of not abiding by the Potsdam agreement
• Each established conflicting political + economic systems in their zones
• Consequences of conflicting political + economic systems

  Experienced economic recovery, especially through USA assistance, then a BIZONE was established (Br + USA) = stable economic unit
• Problems developed in the WEST

  • Democracy
  • Free enterprise/Capitalism
• Problems developed in the EAST

  • Dictatorship
  • State Socialism/Communism