U.8-9 (1900-now)

• Cold War


  Conflict between Soviet Union and the United States(Two superpowers after the commencement of WWII)
• Tehran Conference

  • FDR, Stalin, Churchill concluded the Soviet Union would focus with East Europe, US + Great Britain will deal with West Europe
• Yalta Conference

  • FDR wanted democratic elections in Eastern Europe and the USSR to help against JAPAN
  • USSR wanted dominance in Eastern Europe and the Manchurian railroad in exchange for helping against Japan
• Lead up to war

  Truman kept pushing for free elections in Eastern Europe, Stalin went against these demands and unjustly gained parts of Eastern Europe. US and Britain (mostly US) supporting Truman mad at USSR- leading to cold War
• Arms Race

  • Both USSR and US developed the Hydrogen bomb and kept developing military technology to be superior to one another
• United Nations

  • Replacing league of Nations
  • Promotes Peace
  • US, USSR, Great Britain, China started the UN
• Differences between the USSR and US

  • US was Capitalist vs USSR was communist
  • USSR spread their ideology with the East
  • US spread their ideology with the West
• Containment


  US policy that contains communism and prevents it from spreading
• Marshall Plan

  • US started offering aid to Western Europeans to help them rebuild, because of wealth they have, no need to be communists
  • Would also supply anyone against or being threatened by communism
• Berlin Wall

  • Germany was split between France, Great Britain, USSR and the US
  • Western allies (France +GB +US) combined their zones to create a democratic state
  • Berlin is also split, Soviets afraid the westerners would control Berlin - causing them to make a blockade
  • The blockade will cause Germany to split: West Germany (Federal Republic of Germany) and East Germany (German democratic Republic, really communist)
  • Soviets will eventually create a wall splitting East and West Berlin
• Proxy Wars


  Regional conflicts that the US or the USSR would support (non-involved) by supplying materials and sometimes troops. Usually would be a capitalism vs communism fight/competition
• Korean War

  • After WWII Korea was divided, Soviets go North Korea, US got South Korea.
  • North Korea will invade South to assert their communist dominance
  • UN and the US will support the South(US the most) China and the Soviets supplied North
  • Will end in a stalemate
• Vietnam War

  • Ho Chi Mihn, ruler of North Vietnam, disliked colonial rule and hoped for the unification of Vietnam under a communist government
  • South Vietnam will gain independence from France in 1954, some liked communists (Viet Cong), some didnt, US helped the non-communists.
  • Communists will win 1971 when Nixon withdrew the US from the War
• Final Decades of Cold War

  • Compromises in missiles led to a time of mercy, USSR will break when they invade Afghanistan. US will create a missile prevention program
  • International treaty was signed that banned intermediate-range nukes
  • End of Cold War is when satellite countries revolted, taking down the Berlin wall and Gorbachev's reforms led to the downfall of Soviet Union
• Nonviolent protests

  • Martin Luther King JR, Nelson Mandela and Gandhi were all key figures in nonviolent demonstrations.
• Mahatma Gandhi

  • Indian Revolutionary who set up non violent boycotts and marches to oppose British Rule
  • Efforts lead to India becoming independent in 1947
• Nelson Mandela

  • Revolutionary in South Africa hoping to end Racial segregation
• Martin Luther King Jr.

  • African American civil rights leader in the United States civil rights movement
  • Peaceful demonstration in Washington
• Partition


  Splitting of a country into two or more parts due to geopolitical tensions
• India Partition of 1947

  • Turmoil between Muslims and Hindus
  • Gandhi wanted to unify India under Muslim, Mohammad Ali Jinnah wanted to create Pakistan, an all Muslim State
  • British drew poor borders and started efforts to split the country.
  • Muslims fled to Punjab and Bengal, regions which would become Pakistan.
  • Hindus and Sikhs in the Punjab/Bengal region fled to Mumbai, Delhi, Calcutta, Gujrat, Madras
  • 500k to 1M will die
  • Will create two new countries Hindu-India and Muslim-Pakistan
• Israel/Palestine

  • Zionist movements which originated during the Enlightenment spread in popularity amongst Europeans and Jews. Yearend for an independent state, specifically in the region of Palestine
  • Balfour Declaration, supporting Zionists in creating their own homeland
  • Arabs (originally occupied Palestine) Protested as their Islamic way of life was coming to an end
  • European powers came to the UN, which concluded that Palestine was to be divided or partitioned into a Jewish and Muslim part
• Green Revolution


  A movement that sustained the Earths growing population by chemically and genetically modifying agriculture

  • Goals: Fight world hunger, get crops with pest-resistance and high yield. Allowed farmers more independence and feeds the people faster
  • Negatives: Plants take too much water, and fear that chemicals used in the seeds will damage the Earth, Genetically modified crops made it so Small Farmers could not compete with large scare farming.
  • Norman Borloug was the founder of the Green Revolution
• Mao's China


  Communism

  • Chinese civil war between nationalists and communists.
  • Communists under Mao Zedong won popular support, Nationalist fled to Taiwan, Mao will establish the People's Republic of China
• Mao Zedong's Five Year Plan

  • Industries under Government control, heavy industry over consumer goods, Peasant land was organized into communes and resdistributed, Opened up schools, if opposed: reeducation camps or sentenced to death
  • Results: severe food shortages, 20M Chinese died, plan abandoned 1960, Creation of Red Guard
• Red Guard


  Group of students(Like Hitler Youth) who followed Mao's revolutionary teaching and tasked to send any teacher, official, or family members who opposed Mao to reeductation camps.
• Demographic change 


  Changes in population size and structure caused by changes in birth rates, death rates, and by immigration.

  • Places who were going through Partitions are examples of this (Israel/Palestine and India) as well as people in war.
• Ghana

  • British agreed to negotiate with the US to decolonize the region
  • Ghana will gain independence in 1957, first president Kwame Nkrumah who created a culture of nationalism centered around glory and rich traditions
  • Will become corrupted and dictatorial
• Algeria

  • French ruled, Algerian War of Independence began in 1954
  • Communist group in France supported Algerian Independence, but many pro-French Algerians fled to France causing chaos in both regions
  • Will become a militant, dictatorial nation like Ghana
• French West Africa

  • French indirectly ruled
  • Negotiated independence from France
• Nigeria

  • Gained independence from British in 1960, leading to a Civil war in Nigeria
  • Igbos(Westernize Christian tribe) sought autonomy from the oppressive Islamic North
  • Igbos will declare themselves an independent state called Biafra, will not last
  • Conflict between Islamic and Christian groups will last
• Mustafa Kamal Ataturk


  Turkish politician and revolutionary who fully reformed Turkey into a secular, democratic state, Responsible for the establishment of the Republic of Turkey. Will also industrialize it.

  • Accomplishments: removed islamic, ottoman remains and made Turkey compatible with the Western World. Removed Arabic alphabet and introduced Turkish alphabet. Women gained equal rights to men, established a modern education system
• Spread of Disease

  • Epidemics emerged due to poverty affected whole populations.
  • Disease will lead to social disruptions as well as encourage medical advancements
  • Prominence of small pox led to the development of Vaccines; allowed people from not catching the disease
• NATO


  North Atlantic Treaty Organization, alliance created by several western nations who's goal was so support and cooperate with oter countries during war and times of conflict

  • Created since the USSR had complete control over the Eastern European satellite countries, Western Europeans feared communism spreading, Nato is to coordinate their defenses in case of conflict with soviets.
• Warsaw Pact


  Soviet response to Nato

  • Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania combined armed forces and based their military leaders in Moscow
• Self Determination


  When one country determines its own sovereignty and forms its own government
• Anti-colonialism


  Political and social movement that opposes the practices of colonization.

  • Anti-colonist movements were seen in India under Gandhi
  • Vietnam against French
  • Nigeria and Ghana against the British
• Apartheid


  Racial segregation (a policy in South Africa), leading to the discrimination of nonwhites