History final exam 🖕🏻

• The Cold War was not a direct military conflict. It refers to the tense relations and confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union from 1946 to 1991
• After the Second World War (WWII), the United States and the Soviet Union dominated international affairs. However, their relations grew worse, which eventually sparked the Cold War
• During the Cold War, the United States led the capitalist bloc while the Soviet Union led the communist bloc. The two blocs confronted each other, but no direct war broke out between them. The Cold War gradually turned into a global conflict. It ended peacefully when the Soviet Union was dissolved in 1991
• Where the term 'Cold War' came from

  In May 1945, the Soviet Union established pro-Soviet communist governments in Eastern Europe. In October, the British writer Orwell stated that there were ideological conflicts between the Soviet Union and the Western countries. He also used the term 'cold war' to describe the state of a constant threat of nuclear war. This term was further adopted by American politicians to describe the confrontation between the American bloc and the Soviet bloc. In 1947, the American writer Lippmann published an important work, The Cold War, popularizing the term 'Cold War'
• Decline of traditional European powers

  • War damage and casualties
  • Decline in production and foreign trade
  • War debts and reparation
• Europe was the main battlefield during WWI. Numerous cities were destroyed and countless civilians lost their homes. Railroads, factories and infrastructure were ruined
• The war caused heavy casualties. The traditional European powers amounted to 10 million deaths. Many people were also disabled by the war, resulting in a sharp decrease in the labour force
• After the war, Europe's grain output was only half of that before the war, and industrial output was only one-third, causing a food and resource crisis. Inflation was serious and European export trade dropped significantly. Unemployment also worsened as many soldiers were left jobless
• Britain and France intended to acquire cheap resources from their colonies to increase productivity, but their plan failed with the start of decolonization. As a result, their economic difficulties remained unsolved. The governments lacked money to carry out reconstruction
• Britain and France, which won the war, also had to repay huge war debts. The economic strength of the traditional European powers was severely weakened by the war, making their construction progress slow. They could no longer dominate world affairs, but mainly followed their creditor, the United States, in their foreign policy
• Germany was a main battlefield. Numerous houses, factories and farmlands were damaged. Furthermore, the Soviet Union took many resources from its German occupation zone and expelled millions of Germans. Unemployment and inflation worsened
• Italy had to give up its colonies and cede territories to France and Greece. There were frequent changes of government after the end of Fascist rule. Political instability led to national protests. The war seriously damaged railways, factories and farmland. The cost of reconstruction was huge. Due to the damage and the political and social instability, post-war industrial and agricultural production was only one-third of the pre-war level
• Rise of the United States


  • The United States joined the two world wars only at a later stage and it was not a major battlefield. Also, during the First World War (WWI), the United States grabbed export market share from the European countries. Therefore, it became a world economic power in the 1920s
  • Between 1933 and 1943, the United States experienced rapid economic growth
  • The US dollar even became the dominant world currency after WWII. In 1945, it became the first country to successfully develop the atomic bomb. After the two world wars, the United States became an economic and military superpower
• Rise of the Soviet Union


  • During WWI, Russian communists set up the first communist regime in history, and established the 'Soviet Union' in 1922. Starting in the 1920s, the Soviet Union focused on developing its heavy industry. It also vigorously developed its military industry because of international isolation and the threat of Nazi Germany
  • By 1938, the Soviet Union had become the world's third largest industrial country after the United States and Germany. The Soviet Union received huge compensation after WWII and extended its influence throughout Eastern Europe. It replaced the traditional powers like Britain and France as another superpower