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Unit 8 Overview

Unit 8 Overview

The end of the Second World War produced new alliances and new tensions. As the United States and Soviet Union faced off, the dream of global unity dimmed.

Key Ideas

As this video progresses, key ideas will be introduced to invoke discussion.

Key Ideas

Think about the following questions as you watch the video


  1. 02:05 Why did a struggle between the Soviet Union and the United States emerge in the years following the end of the Second World War?
  2. 02:44 What was one way in which decolonization was a result of the Second World War?
  3. 03:30 How did the Cold War and decolonization become tied together?
  4. 05:34 How are the spikes in the US military budget in the 1950s, mid-1960s, and 1980s evidence of the global reach of the Cold War?
  5. 05:48 What does the collapse of Soviet military spending in 1989 tell us?
  6. 08:05 Why did Cuban troops get involved in decolonization in Angola, leading to their involvement at the battle of Cuito Cuanavale?