Study Guides

Unit Summary

In this unit pupils undergo a wider depth study which tells a story about a period that shaped the world we live in today: the Cold War. They look at the key events, developments, people and stories that defined the international relations in this Cold War period.

Lesson Summary

You will learn to assess the Soviet Union's motives for installing nuclear weapons on Cuba.

Key Notes

• American spy planes detected Soviet missile bases on Cuba.
• The discovery of Soviet missile bases triggered the Cuban Missile Crisis.
• Soviet missiles on Cuba would be capable of hitting most of the USA.
• Cuba and the USSR suspected that the US was planning to invade Cuba.
• Khrushchev was concerned by US missiles installed in Turkey.

Vocabulary To Learn

• alliance: an agreement between countries to work together
• prestige: respect and admiration which a country enjoys from others
• balance of power: the strength of different countries compared to one another
• deter: to make someone less likely to do something

Common Mistakes To Avoid

• The USSR did not believe that the USA would be bothered by nuclear missiles in Cuba.

3 Quick Questions (With Answers)

More Lessons In This Unit

• Consequences of the Cuban Missile Crisis Study Guide
• Consequences of the Korean War Study Guide
• Construction of the Berlin Wall Study Guide
• Détente and SALT 1 Study Guide
• Early causes of tension between the USA and the USSR Study Guide
• Hungary and Soviet power in Eastern Europe Study Guide
• International responses to the Prague Spring Study Guide
• Khrushchev and peaceful coexistence Study Guide
• NATO and the Warsaw Pact Study Guide
• Outbreak of the Korean War Study Guide
• Soviet influence over Eastern Europe Study Guide
• Tensions between the superpowers by the late-1960s Study Guide
• The 'loss' of China and the Cold War Study Guide
• The 13 Days of the Cuban Missile Crisis Study Guide
• The Bay of Pigs Invasion Study Guide
• The Berlin Crisis, 1948-9 Study Guide
• The Brezhnev Doctrine Study Guide
• The collapse of French Indochina Study Guide
• The Cuban Revolution and its consequences Study Guide
• The growth of communism in China Study Guide
• The impact of the atomic bomb Study Guide
• The nuclear arms race Study Guide
• The origins of the Cold War, 1941-58 Study Guide
• The Prague Spring Study Guide
• The reasons for Détente Study Guide
• The Space Race Study Guide
• The Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan Study Guide
• The U2 Crisis Study Guide
• US involvement in the Vietnam War Study Guide