Cold War and Decolonization

• Unit 8 encompasses the Cold War and decolonization as significant post-World War II effects that reshaped global politics and had lasting impacts.
• The unit emphasizes how World War II ushered in a new era marked by emerging powers and trends that shaped the modern world.
• The Cold War was a power struggle after WWII, while decolonization stemmed from post-war independence movements in Africa and Asia.

Contextualizing Unit 8

• World War I was caused by nationalism, military growth from the Industrial Revolution, imperialism, and alliances.
• The failure of the Treaty of Versailles after WWI led to the issues that would contribute to WWII.
• Economic struggles in Germany led to the rise of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party, who blamed Jews and Slavs for Germany’s problems.
• Germany's invasion of Poland in 1939 started World War II.
• The Axis Powers in WWII consisted of Germany, Italy, and Japan.
• The Allied Powers included the United States, France, Britain, and the USSR.
• At the end of World War II, the United States and the USSR emerged as the main Allied victors.
• The United States was a capitalist nation, whereas the USSR was a communist nation.
• The power vacuum after WWII led to the Cold War.
• The Cold War involved espionage, proxy wars, and hostility.
• Colonies began to seek independence due to their involvement in the war.

Big Ideas in Unit 8

The Cold War

• The Cold War was a conflict between the USA and USSR over capitalism and communism.
• Countries aligned themselves into NATO and the Warsaw Pact.
• Germany was divided into East and West Germany, and the Berlin Wall became a symbol of Cold War tensions.
• The USA and USSR engaged in proxy wars like the Korean and Vietnam Wars.
• Espionage and threats were indirect forms of hostility during the Cold War.
• Mutually assured destruction prevented nuclear warfare between the USA and USSR.
• The space race became an ideological and nationalist competition between the USSR and USA.

Decolonization

• World War II led to decolonization, where colonies fought for independence.
• Negotiated independence involved legal means, such as in India with Mahatma Gandhi's boycotts and marches.
• Violent independence involved war, such as in Vietnam and Algeria.
• New states like Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Israel were formed, which led to conflict.

Main Events

• 1914-1918: World War I
• 1918-1920: Estonian war for independence
• 1919: Gandhi’s first satyagraha; Egyptian Revolution; Syrian National Congress convenes
• 1919: May 4th Movement
• 1929: Great Depression begins
• 1929-1947: Indian protest for independence
• 1931-32: Japanese invasion of Manchuria
• 1933: Great Depression ends
• 1939: World War II starts
• 1945: World War II ends/Yalta and Potsdam conferences
• 1947: Marshall Plan
• 1948: Israel created
• 1949: NATO formed//China established as a communist country
• 1950-53: Korean War
• 1955: Bandung Conference
• 1957: Ghanaian independence
• 1959-1975: Vietnam War
• 1960: Year of Africa (independence of 17 African nations, such as Nigeria and Cameroon)
• 1962: Cuban Missile Crisis
• 1963: Kenyan independence
• 1974-1990: Pinochet in Chile
• 1975-2002: Angolan Civil War
• 1989: Year of independence of many countries from the Soviet bloc/collapse of the Berlin Wall