Name ______________________________

Date ___________________ Pd ________

The Cold War in the 1960s and 1970s

I. The Cold War under Joseph Stalin (1945-1953)
A. _____________________________________ led the Soviet Union from 1927 to 1953
1. When the Cold War began, Stalin spread communism into the ______________________________ in Eastern Europe
2. Stalin escalated the Cold War by creating the ____________________________________________________ in 1948
3. Under Stalin, the USSR tested the ________________________ in 1949 & _____________________________ in 1953
4. Stalin signed a “treaty of friendship” with ______________________________________ after the Chinese Revolution
5. Stalin sent _____________________ to communists in ________________________________ during the Korean War
B. Joseph Stalin’s ________________ in 1953 changed the Soviet Union & how it approached the _____________________
against the United States
II. The Cold War from 1953 to 1980
A. Nikita Khrushchev & De-Stalinization
1. New USSR leader Nikita Khrushchev began a series of reforms known as ____________________________________,
which included releasing political ______________________ & ____________________ censorship
2. Khrushchev seemed willing to ________________________________________________ to ease Cold War tensions…
But, tensions between the USA & USSR ______________________________________ throughout the 1950s & 1960s
a. Under ______________________, the Soviet Union launched _______________________ & the space race began
b. The creation of _____________ led to the stockpiling of ______________________ weapons during the arms race
B. In 1961, ___________________________________ became U.S. president…Kennedy & Khrushchev faced two important
crises that heightened Cold War tensions: Building of the Berlin Wall & the Cuban Missile Crisis
1. Berlin Wall, 1961

a. Khrushchev was upset with the increasing number of communist ____________________________________ who
moved to democratic ___________________________________
b. In 1961, Khrushchev threatened to ____________________________ to West Berlin like Stalin’s blockade in 1948
c. President Kennedy promised to ______________________ West Berlin
d. Rather than ______________________ the city, Communist leaders built the ______________________________
to keep East Germans out of West Berlin
2. Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962

a. When __________________________ seized power in __________________ in 1959, the USA feared the spread
of communism so close to America
b. After a failed attempt to _________________ Castro, Khrushchev secretly sent nuclear _______________ to Cuba
c. The U.S. successfully ______________________________ Cuba & Khrushchev removed the ________________ in
exchange for the removal of American ICBMs in Europe
d. The Cuban Missile Crisis was the closest the USA & USSR came to ________________________________
C. Vietnam War, 1965-1973

1. From 1965 to 1973, the USA became involved in the _______________________________________

a. When communist leader ____________________________________________ gained independence for Vietnam,
the USA feared ______________________________ in SE Asia
b. Vietnam was __________________________ into a communist North & a democratic South
c. In South Vietnam, communists known as the ___________________ worked to _________ North & South Vietnam
d. To _______________________ communism, the USA sent _________________ to Vietnam starting in 1965
 i. The American military used ___________________ raids, pesticides, & __________________________________
missions to fight the communists
ii. Despite these efforts, the U.S. was ____________________________________________ the communist enemy
2. The Vietnam War was expensive, hurt the U.S. _________________, & became unpopular with __________________
protestors in the USA.
3. In 1973, the USA ______________________ from Vietnam & 2 years later communists _________________ Vietnam
D. Détente in the 1970s

1. America’s ____________________________ in Vietnam led to a change in Cold War policies

2. The USA abandoned its containment policy & began looking for ways to _____________________________________
with Cold War enemies
3. In the 1970s, Richard Nixon’s policy of _____________ (easing Cold War tensions) replaced _____________________
a. Recognition of China

i. In 1972, Nixon became the first U.S. president to ____________ & _______________________ communist China
ii. Nixon’s visit to China put ________________ on the ___________________________ to negotiate with the USA
b. Détente with the Soviet Union

i. In 1972, Nixon met with Soviet leader Brezhnev to discuss ____________________________________________

ii. The USA & USSR signed the ___________________________________________________________ Talks (SALT)
which limited the number of _______________ each nation could have
iii. By the 1970s, the USA & USSR seemed willing to peacefully _____________________
E. Invasion of Afghanistan, 1979-1989

1. But, détente ________________ in 1979 when the USSR invaded ________________________________________ to

put down an anti-communist uprising
a. The U.S. viewed the attack as an attempt to spread _______________________ into South Asia & the Middle East
b. The United States cut off all _______________ with the USSR & sent _________________ & __________________
aid to Afghan rebels
2. The USSR fought in Afghanistan from 1979 to 1989, but was ______________________________________________
the Afghan resistance
a. The war exhausted Soviet _________________ & proved as _______________________________ as Vietnam was
for the United States
b. The war renewed _____________________________ between the USA & USSR
F. Cold War in the 1980s

1. In the 1980s, new U.S. President ___________________________ helped win with Cold War against the Soviet Union
2. President Reagan’s strong ____________________________________________ policies & the collapse of communist
economies brought the Cold War to an _____________ by 1991