Essay questions cold war history

1. In your opinion, was the Cold War inevitable? If not, was the United States or the
USSR more to blame?
2. Why has the Korean War often been called Americas forgotten war? What
purpose did the war serve, and what impact did it have?
3. Was the United States, the USSR, or Cuba more to blame for the Cuban missile
crisis? What impact did the crisis have on U.S.-Soviet relations?
4. How did George Kennans containment doctrine change during the Truman,
Eisenhower and Kennedy administrations? Which president was the most
successful in containing Communism?
5. . Why were Americans so terrified of Communist infiltration after World War II?
What impact did the Red hunts of the late 1940s and early 1950s have on
American politics and society?
6. . What impact did the Korean War have on American foreign policy?
7. Why was the launch of Sputnik I in 1957 so significant? What did its launch mean
for Americans?
8. An unnatural alliance that was bound to fall apart after the defeat of the common
enemy. To what extent does this statement explain the origin of the Cold War?
9. To what extent were Soviet policies responsible for the outbreak and development
of the Cold War between 1945 and 1949?
10. To what extent did events in the final year of the Second World War turn wartime
allies into Cold War enemies?
11. In what ways, and to what extent, did mutual distrust and suspicion cause the Cold
War?
12. How, and to what extent, did the conferences at Yalta and Potsdam (1945)
contribute to the origin of the Cold War?
13. "Although it began in Europe the spread of the Cold War to other regions was a
much more dangerous development." To what extent do you agree with this
judgment?
14. For what reasons, and with what results, was Germany a centre of Cold War tension
between 1945-61?
15. Compare and contrast the policies of the USA and the USSR towards Korea between
1945 and 1955.
16. Identify and explain the significance of two of the following in the development of
the Cold War: COMECON; Marshall Plan; NATO; Warsaw Pact.
17. In what ways, and with what results, did the United States Cold War policy of
containment affect Cuba after 1959?
18. Analyse the factors which led to the ending of the Cold War.
19. Analyse the part played by Cuba in the development of the Cold War.
20. Assess the impact of the Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan on the development of
the Cold War between 1947 and 1961.
21. Assess the effects of events in Cuba on the development of the Cold War.
22. How and why did the policies of either the USA or the USSR affect superpower
rivalry between 1950 and 1970?
23. In what ways, and to what extent, did the Cold War become less confrontational
after 1970?
24. Analyse the importance of dtente in ending the Cold War
25. Examine the part played by economic issues in the development of the Cold War
26. To what extent did economic problems in the Communist bloc bring about the end
of the Cold War?
27. Assess the importance of dtente and internal opposition to Communist rule in
Communist countries, in ending the Cold War.
28. How far was U.S. foreign policy of containment a success?
29. to what extent did the Yalta Conference of July 1945 contribute to the development
of the Cold War
30. The Cold War came to an end primarily because of Gorbachevs changes in Soviet
policies. To what extent do you agree with this statement.

31. The Cold War came to an end due to the hard-line approach of Ronald Reagans
policies in the early 1980s. To what extent do you agree with this statement?
32. An unnatural alliance that was bound to fall apart after the defeat of the common
enemy. To what extent does this statement explain the origins of the Cold War?
33. How far was the USSR responsible for the beginning of dtente and the start of the
Second Cold War in the years 1963 to 1985?
34. The outcome of the Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962 was a victory for both the
USA and USSR. How far do you agree?
35. . How far was the USAs policy of containment responsible for the globalisation of
the Cold War in the period from 1950 to 1985?
36. Too little, too late. Consider this view of US intervention in Vietnam.
37. The US policy of containment was a failure in the years from 1950 to 1975. How
far do you agree?. Neither the USSR nor the USA gained anything from
involvement in the Arab-Israeli Conflict from 1948 to the Camp David Accords.
How far do you agree?
38. How far was the US policy of containment the cause of the globalisation of the Cold
War in the years 19501980?
39. How far do you agree that the Cuban Missile Crisis was the result of the US
overreaction to Castros coming to power in 1959?
40. How far was containment successful in the years from 1950 to 1985?
41. . The Cuban Missile Crisis was the inevitable result of US policy towards the Cuban
Revolution.How far do you agree?
42. Why did the Cold War spread outside Europe in the period from 1950 to 1975?
43. Who was most responsible for causing the Cuban Crisis in 1962 Castro, Kennedy
or Khrushchev?
44. . The globalisation of the Cold War between 1950 and 1975 was caused by the
USAs misguided and irrational fear of Soviet intentions. How far do you agree?
45. How far were Arab-Israeli relations affected by the Cold War between 1956 and
1979?
46. The globalisation of the Cold War in the period between 1950 and 1975 was
caused by the expansionist ambitions of the USSR. How far do you agree?
47. Why did the USA become directly involved in the Korean War when the USSR did
not?
48. To what extent was the Soviet Union responsible for the globalisation of the Cold
War in the years from 1950 to 1975?
49. Explain who was more successful in achieving his goals in the Cuban missile crisis
of 1962: Kennedy or Khrushchev.
50. To what extent was the Soviet Union responsible for the globalisation of the Cold
War in the years from 1950 to 1975?
51. Explain who was more successful in achieving his goals in the Cuban missile crisis
of 1962: Kennedy or Khrushchev.
52. From 1950 to 1975, the USAs policy of containment was based on the mistaken
assumption that there was something to contain. How far do you agree?
53. How far do you agree with the view that the USA failed to achieve its aims in the
Korean War?
54. From 1950 to 1975, the USAs policy of containment was based on the mistaken
assumption that there was something to contain. How far do you agree?
55. How far do you agree with the view that the USA failed to achieve its aims in the
Korean War?
56. That both superpowers had expansionist ambitions is confirmed by the
globalisation of the Cold
57. War between 1950 and 1980. How far do you agree?
58. President Johnsons decision to increase American military involvement in Vietnam
was a disastrous error of judgement. How far do you agree?
59. The USA and USSR did not globalise the Cold War; they simply were dragged
unwillingly into regional conflicts. How far do you agree?
60. To what extent did the involvement of the USA and USSR make the Arab-Israeli
conflicts difficult to solve?

61. The Cold War, in the period 1950 to 1979, showed that the USAs fear of
communist world domination was irrational. How far do you agree?
62. . How far was the direct US military intervention in Vietnam due to President
Lyndon Johnson?
63. The USSR was more responsible than the USA for the development of the Cold War
outside Europe in the period from 1950 to 1985. How far do you agree?
64. To what extent was the outbreak of the Korean War due to the involvement of the
USSR?
65. Assess the view that the US policy of containment was far more successful than
other US policies which dealt with the communist threat in the years 1950 to 1980.
66. How far was the Korean War a success for the USA?

Essay questions cold war history p4

Answers :
1. Although both Truman and Stalin helped increase tensions in Europe and
East Asia in the years immediately following World War II, the Cold War
itself was likely inevitable. The alliance that had formed between the
United States and the USSR during World War II was not strong enough to
overcome the past decades of suspicion and unease between the two
nations. Moreover, as both leaders sought to achieve their postwar
security objectives, which were often mutually exclusive, neither was
willing to compromise.
The United States and the USSR had always generally disliked and distrusted
each other, despite the fact that they were allies against Germany and Japan
during the war. Americans had hated and feared Communism ever since it had
appeared in the Bolshevik Revolution of 1 9 1 7 and had refused to recognize
the new Soviet government, especially after Bolshevik leaders promoted the
destruction of capitalism. During World War II, Roosevelt and British prime
minister Winston Churchill delayed their decision to open a second front,
which would have distracted the Nazis and taken pressure off the Red Army
entrenched at Stalingrad. Stalin resented this delay, just as he resented the
fact that the United States and Great Britain refused to share their nuclear
weapons research with the Soviet Union. After the war, Trumans decision to
give Great Britain relief loans while denying similar requests from the USSR
only added to the resentment.

Another major factor contributing to the Cold War was the fact that the United
States and USSR were the only two powers to escape World War II relatively
unharmed. Whereas other major world powers such as Great Britain, France,
Italy, and Germany lay in ruins, the Soviet Union and the United States still
had manufacturing and military capabilities. The world had been a multipolar
one before the war but was bipolar afterward, and this new order implicitly
pitted the already distrustful and ideologically opposed United States and
Soviet Union against each other.
Perhaps most important, both powers had conflicting security goals that
neither wanted to concede. The USSR, which had already been invaded twice
in the first half of the twentieth century, wanted to set up friendly
governments throughout Eastern Europe to create a buffer between Moscow
and Germany. In addition to exacting enormous war reparations, Stalin wanted
to dismantle German factories to keep Germany weak and dependent.
Truman, conversely, believed that rebuilding, reindustrializing, and
democratizing Europe was the key to preventing another world war. With
neither side willing to compromise on these conflicting ideologies and postwar
plans, tension between the United States and the USSR was inevitable.

2. The Korean War has often been called Americas forgotten war because
the United States made no significant territorial or political gains during
the war. Despite the fact that tens of thousands of Americans died, the war
both began and ended with the Korean Peninsula divided at the 3 8 th
parallel. Nevertheless, the Korean War helped define the Cold War,
established a precedent for keeping peripheral wars limited, and boosted
defense spending that contributed to the postwar economic boom in the
United States.
Despite the loss of life, the Korean War faded from national memory, perhaps
because the three-year conflict ended without any territorial or political gains.
Although General Douglas MacArthur captured nearly the entire Korean Peninsula
after his brilliant Inchon landing, his tactical miscalculation at the Yalu River
brought China into the war and forced United Nations troops back down to
the 3 8 th parallel, where they had started. Both sides became entrenched there,
each preventing the other from making any headway. As a result, neither side
could claim victory when cease-fire negotiations began in1 9 5 3 . The 3 8 th parallel
remained one of the hottest Cold War borders in the world, almost as if the war
had never really ended.
The Korean War was an important conflict, however, because it set the tone for
the entire Cold War. In expanding the draft and sending more than 3 million U.S.
troops to Korea, Truman demonstrated to the USSR his commitment to containing
Communism at almost any cost. This demonstration of massive U.S. military force
in East Asia forced the Soviets to rethink postwar policy in Eastern Europe and
the rest of Asia.

Truman also set a precedent during the war of avoiding the use of nuclear
weapons, despite the fact that MacArthur advocated using them against North
Koreans and the Chinese. Although the American public vilified Truman for this
decision and for firing his insubordinate general, the decision proved to be
prudent. The president knew that using nuclear weapons would only drag the
Soviet Union and China fully into the conflict, which would destabilize Europe and
initiate a third world warone that might even lead to all-out nuclear war. By
refusing to use nuclear weapons, Truman kept the war confined to the Korean
Peninsula. The decision would later have an enormous impact on future
presidents making similar decisions in Vietnam. Trumans actions in Korea
therefore demonstrated not only American resolve to contain Communism but
also a desire to keep the Cold War from devolving into an open war.
The Korean War also boosted American military spending, as a result of a
memorandum issued by the National Security Council, known as NSC-6 8 . The
memo recommended that Congress quadruple military and defense spending in
order to contain the Soviet Union. As a result, the percentage of Congresss
annual budget spent on defense soared throughout the following years, hovering
at roughly5 0 percent under the Eisenhower administration. Government
investment in war factories kept employment high and money flowing into the
economy between 1 9 5 0 and 1 9 7 0 , contributing significantly to the prosperous
economic boom.
3. Because the United States attempted repeatedly to assassinate or
overthrow Fidel Castro in the early1 9 6 0 s, the blame for the resulting
Cuban missile crisis falls squarely on American shoulders. Had it not been
for Khrushchevs ultimate willingness to back down and end the crisis, the
United States and the USSR might actually have ended up in the nuclear
war that the world feared.
The United States tried repeatedly to topple Castro after he seized power in a
popularly supported revolution in Cuba in 1 9 5 9 . Americans disliked the Castro
regime because it threatened U.S. economic interests in the country. When the
United States withdrew its financial support from Castros government, Castro
turned to the Soviet Union for assistance. In order to prevent Cubas Communist
influence from spreading throughout Latin America, Kennedy launched the
Alliance for Progress, a program that awarded Latin American countries millions
of dollars in U.S. aid to tackle poverty. Kennedy took more direct action when he
authorized the arming and training of 1 ,2 0 0 anti-Castro Cuban exiles to invade
the island, in the hopes that the invasion would cause a massive public uprising
that would ultimately depose Castro. The plan for this Bay of Pigs invasion failed,
however, when Kennedy decided not to involve American military forces and
withheld the air support he had previously promised the exiles. As a result, the
Cuban army killed or captured all of the exiles, and the invasion attempt was an
embarrassment for the U.S. government.
Although Kennedy accepted full responsibility for the Bay of Pigs failure, he
continued to authorize unsuccessful CIA-led assassination attempts against
Castro. Not surprisingly, Castro turned to the Soviet Union for support, and

in 1 9 6 2 , U.S. intelligence officials discovered that the Soviet Union had placed
nuclear missiles in Cuba. Kennedy sent a naval blockade to circle the island,
despite Cuban and Soviet protests, and refused to back down, even at the risk of
nuclear war. The crisis ended only when Khrushchev himself agreed to remove
the missiles in exchange for an end to the blockade. This sacrifice cost him his
position as head of the Soviet Communist Party but saved the world from the
prospect of nuclear war between the superpowers.
The crisis had a significant impact on U.S.-Soviet relations, as both sides worked
to improve their relationship in order to prevent another potentially catastrophic
situation from arising. A Moscow-Washington hotline, for example, was installed
so that the Soviet premier and American president could speak to each other
personally should another crisis occur. Kennedy also changed his rhetoric by
asking Americans to think more kindly of the Russians rather than see them as
enemies. He also pushed the USSR into signing the Partial Nuclear Test Ban
Treaty, a symbolic but nonetheless significant step that helped pave the way for
dtente in the 1 9 7 0 s.