Unit 8 Study Packet
Unit 8 Study Packet
Theme
1. How do we build peace in times of conflict?
Setting
2. Why were the US and USSR in conflict?
What values did the two countries have that made them suspicious of each other?
Conflict
3. How did the Cold War develop?
Plot
4. How was the Cold War fought?
Characters
5. Did John F Kennedy respond effectively in Cuban Missile Crisis?
Resolution
6. How did the Cold War end?
Theme
1. How do we build peace in times of conflict?
Peace is built when conflicts are used as opportunities for dialogue, understanding and cooperation. Rather than
spiraling in a destructive cycle of anger, attack and misunderstanding, conflict should be acknowledged and worked
through so people can learn from each other, opportunities for correction opened and problems solved. Obstacles to
peace are removed when people get behind the conflict to understanding the needs people are attempting to meet and
the values that shape their decision making. Building peace requires developing curiosity about the conflict through
constructive dialogue, identifying the source of a conflict, finding multiple options for resolving it and making clear
agreements. Conflicts are normal. The challenge is for us to work through them constructively.
Setting
2. Why were the US and USSR in conflict?
As Europe declined as the major superpower after two devastating wars, the United States and the Soviet Union
competed to fill that power vacuum. The United States driven by ideas of a liberal democracy wanted to promote
international free trade, whereas Russia, a relatively new communist nation, desired to be a recognized power on the
world stage. Each felt that the philosophy of their enemy was dangerous and corrupt; therefore, they felt a need to
secure themselves against each other through an arms race and by extending their influence into other parts of the
world. The Cold War conflict encompassed the world as the two superpowers struggled for dominance or hegemony.
Conflict
3. How did the Cold War develop?
At the Yalta Conference the Allies made agreements about what should happen after the war, but post-war tensions
developed that would develop into the Cold War. The Soviet Union concerned to secure her country from future wars
disregarded their agreement about free elections in Eastern European countries and created buffer states. An iron
curtain was descending on Europe, as Winston Churchill described it, that separated East and West. The failed Berlin
Blockade gave the United States and Britain the impression that Russia was going to continue to expand into Europe, so
Truman decided to contain the spread of communism by supporting anti-communist countries (the Truman Doctrine)
especially through aid (the Marshall Plan). The Cold War ultimately developed into new military alliances (NATO and the
Warsaw Pact) formed to protect themselves from any threat.
Plot
4. How was the Cold War fought?
The Cold War was fought primarily through an arms race and proxy wars. The introduction of the atomic bomb to the
world by the United States escalated tensions significantly, leading the Soviet Union to balance that power by
developing their own bomb. This began an arms race as they competed for better technology that would lead to the
development of the hydrogen bomb, intercontinental ballistic missiles and a space race with the Russian development of
Sputnik I. Besides safeguarding national security, the US concerned that nations turning to communism would begin a
domino effect attempted to promote their interests in the third world leading to proxy wars in Korea, Vietnam, Chile,
Afghanistan and many other places. The conflict encompassed the world as each superpower attempted to develop
stronger weapons and spread their influence around the world.
Characters
5. Did John F Kennedy respond effectively in Cuban Missile Crisis?
Despite the high tensions, Kennedy and Khrushchev brought the Cuban Missile Crisis to a positive resolution. Kennedy’s
attempt to overthrow Castro in the Bay of Pigs invasion set off a chain of events that led to the crisis. Castro received
weapons from Russia to protect itself from another invasion, and Russia balanced the placement of weapons in the
world by locating some near the US as the US had placed weapons near Russia in Turkey and Italy. Once Kennedy
discovered the presence of Soviet missile sites in Cuba, he created a blockade to prevent Russian supplies from reaching
Cuba. This was an act of war that brought the situation to a high point, but diplomats were able to bring the nations to
an agreement. The US would remove their missiles from Turkey and Italy and promise not to invade Cuba, if Russia
removed their weapons from Cuba.
Resolution
6. How did the Cold War end?
Several policy changes contributed to the collapse of the Soviet Union, which brought the Cold War to an end. Both the
United States and the Soviet Union were feeling the weight of military spending in the ongoing arms race, which led to a
policy of détente, a relaxing of tensions by reducing armaments. When Reagan came into office, he began a new arms
race that stretched a weak Russian economy. Gorbachev on the other hand, trying to reform the Soviet government
implemented a policy of glasnost (openness) to encourage criticism and transparency in government and perestroika
(restructuring) to loosen control of the economy. Gorbachev’s economic policies had little time to have an impact
because Eastern bloc countries suddenly changed governments and the Soviet Union dissolved closely afterwards. The
Berlin Wall a symbolic barrier of the Cold War tensions between East and West was taken down reuniting Germany.