Who Is “Winning” the Cold War?
OER PROJECT: WH/ LESSON 8.3ACTIVITYWHO IS “WINNING” THE COLD WAR?Unless otherwise noted, this work is licensed under CC BY 4.0. Credit: “Who Is ’Winning’ the Cold War?”,OER Project, https://www.oerproject.com/1PurposeBy researching and investigating different events during the Cold War, you’ll be able to more fully understand why this conflict was so far-reaching. Many of itseffects are still evident inthe world today, as certain regions continue to recover from foreigninfluences in their governmentsand economies.Process1.What do you think it might mean to “win”a conflict duringthe Cold War?2.Your teacher will assign you a handful of events from the Cold War Timeline (page4). Write the eventsyou’re assigned in the table below (you might not need to use all the rows).3.For each event, you’ll do some research to determine whether the US or the USSR “won” that particular event. Ultimately, it’s up to you to decide what “winning” the Cold War means, but you must defend your choices. Keep in mind the three key features of the war,as defined by “The Cold War: An Overview”: •Threat of nuclear war •Competition over the allegiance (loyalty) of newly independent nations•Military and economic support of each other’s enemies around the world
OER PROJECT: WH/ LESSON 8.3ACTIVITYWHO IS “WINNING” THE COLD WAR?2Event“Winner”Explanation
OER PROJECT: WH/ LESSON 8.3ACTIVITYWHO IS “WINNING” THE COLD WAR?34.Your teacher may have you share out or write each of your explanationson a sticky note (a different color for each country),and then post it on a class timeline so you can see all the events.5.Was it easy to decide who was “winning” each event? Why or why not?6.Do you think there is ever actually a “winner” when it comes to war? Why or why not?
OER PROJECT: WH/ LESSON 8.3ACTIVITYWHO IS “WINNING” THE COLD WAR?4Cold War Timeline•1945–US drops atomic bombs on Japan; Ho Chi Minh forms the Democratic Republic of Vietnam; People’s Republic of Korea established•1947–Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan•1948–Berlin blockade and Berlin airlift begin; communists take power in Czechoslovakia•1949–NATO established; USSR explodes first A-bomb; Mao Zedong establishes the People’s Republic of China•1950–McCarthyism begins; Sino-Soviet Treaty signed; Korean War begins•1952–US successfully tests the hydrogen bomb•1953–USSR explodes first hydrogen bomb; Stalin dies; Korean War ends•1954–Geneva Conference (Accords)•1955–Warsaw Pactformed•1956–Hungarian Revolution•1957–Space race begins with the launching of Sputnik•1959–Cuban Revolution•1960–U-2 reconnaissance (spyplane) incident; USSR sends aid to Patrice Lumumba (Prime Minister of Democratic Republic of the Congo)•1961–Bay of Pigs invasion; Berlin Wall construction begins•1962–Cuban Missile Crisis•1963–Partial nuclear test ban treaty signed (USSR, US, and Britain)•1965–First US combat forces land in Vietnam•1967–Worldwide demonstrations against the Vietnam War take place•1968–USSR invades Czechoslovakia•1969–Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) begin; Ho Chi Minh dies; Nixon announces start of withdrawal of US forces from Vietnam•1972–Nixon visits China and the Soviet Union•1973–Yom Kippur War
OER PROJECT: WH/ LESSON 8.3ACTIVITYWHO IS “WINNING” THE COLD WAR?5•1975–Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) falls to the North Vietnamese•1978–Vietnam invades Cambodia•1979–USSR invades Afghanistan; Sandinista revolutionaries take control of Nicaragua•1980–US boycotts the 1980summerOlympics•1981–Reagan announces massive increases to US defense spending•1983–US invades Grenada•1986–Iran-Contra Affair exposed; Reykjavik Summit; Gorbachev institutes reforms (perestroika and glasnost)•1987–Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty signed•1988–USSR begins withdrawing troops from Afghanistan•1989–Berlin Wall comes down•1991–USSR dissolved