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 explain why there were hopes for improved superpower relations in the early 1950s.

Key Notes

• New leaders came to power in both the USA and USSR after 1953.
• Khrushchev and Eisenhower both believed US and Soviet differences did not need to be settled through conflict.
• The 1955 Geneva Summit was attended by both Eisenhower and Khrushchev.
• The Geneva Summit was the first meeting between the leaders of the superpowers since the end of WW2.
• No agreements were reached during the Geneva Summit.

Vocabulary To Learn

• arms race: the situation in which two or more countries try to have more and stronger weapons than each other
• inevitable: something which you cannot avoid or prevent from happening
• summit: a meeting between different nations or political powers where key issues and problems are discussed

Common Mistakes To Avoid

• The arms race only made the superpowers more hostile towards one another.

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
• Initial stages of the Cuban Missile Crisis Study Guide
• International responses to the Prague Spring 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