Application and Reflection Questions
1
.
Should the Cold War have been fought? Did the United States have to prevent the expansion of communism? Why or why not?
2
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In your opinion, which side had more responsibility for starting the Cold War, the United States or the Soviet Union? Why?
3
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Which of the many different strategies used to fight the Cold War seems most effective? Which seems least effective? Why?
4
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In what ways is the relationship between the United States and Russia today similar to the relationship between the two countries during the Cold War? In what ways is it different? Why?
5
.
Why was the Chinese Communist Party popular with the people?
6
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Should the United States have supported France or Ho Chi Minh in the First Indochina War? Why? Why did Ho Chi Minh believe the United States would support him?
7
.
How successful were the countries that wished to remain nonaligned with either the United States or the Soviet Union? What explains their results?
8
.
What were the causes of the Arab-Israeli conflict? In what way was this conflict part of the Cold War? What could the UN have done to prevent this conflict?
9
.
What were the causes of the Sino-Soviet split?
10
.
What were the main goals of the Mau Mau? Why did the group see violence as necessary to achieve those goals?
11
.
Why did the Soviet Union and the Eastern Bloc collapse?
12
.
Could a communist economic system have been maintained in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe while allowing greater political freedom? Why or why not?
13
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Do economic freedom and political freedom go together? Do capitalist countries develop democratic forms of government? Why or why not?