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 key events and significance of the nuclear arms race.

Key Notes

• The development of the atomic bomb triggered a nuclear arms race.
• The USA and USSR competed to develop larger and more powerful nuclear weapons.
• By 1961, both superpowers had the ability to destroy the world many times over.
• Mutually Assured Destruction suggested nuclear weapons deterred war.
• The nuclear arms race became increasingly focused on deterrence.

Vocabulary To Learn

• monopoly: when only one person or country has control over something
• arms race: the situation in which two or more countries try to have more and stronger weapons than each other
• armageddon: a catastrophic conflict, especially one seen as likely to destroy the world or the human race
• missile gap: the fear of US government officials that Soviet development and production of missile technology had overtaken the USA's
• deterrence: an action or system intended to prevent or discourage someone from doing something

Common Mistakes To Avoid

• Everybody agreed the possession of nuclear weapons made the world more dangerous.

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
• 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 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