Cold War: Setting the Stage

What was the Cold War primarily about?

• A military conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union

• A cultural exchange program between the United States and the Soviet Union

• An epic standoff between the United States and the Soviet Union

• A trade war between the United States and the Soviet Union

What does decolonization refer to?

• The development of new colonial powers

• The process of recolonizing territories

• The expansion of European empires

• The process by which former colonies gained independence

Which conference did Franklin Roosevelt press for free elections in Eastern Europe?

• The Berlin Conference

• The Potsdam Conference

• The Geneva Conference

• The Yalta Conference

Who represented the Soviet Union in the discussions about post-World War II Europe?

• Joseph Stalin

• Vladimir Lenin

• Leon Trotsky

• Nikita Khrushchev

What was the main reason the United States emerged as a superpower after World War II?

• Its mainland remained largely untouched by the war

• It discovered oil reserves

• Its military was the strongest in the world

• It had the largest population

Why did the Soviet Union become a superpower despite heavy losses in World War II?

• Because of its vast oil reserves

• Due to its alliance with the United States

• Because it discovered nuclear weapons first

• Due to its large population and industrial capacity

What was the Marshall Plan?

• A strategy to defeat the Soviet Union

• A plan to colonize Mars

• A military alliance

• $12 billion in aid for the rebuilding of European cities

What fundamentally altered the relationship between colonies and their parent countries after World War II?

• The economic prosperity of the colonies

• The invention of the internet

• The discovery of new lands

• The second world war

What was a key factor in the wave of decolonization after World War II?

• The establishment of the United Nations

• The development of new technologies

• The lack of interest in colonies

• The intervention of the U.S. and the Soviet Union in colonial disputes

What does a cold war involve?

• A series of trade embargoes

• A state of hostility without open warfare

• Cultural exchanges to ease tensions

• Open warfare between two countries