Chapter 31 Reading Questions (And a Smidge from 29 as well)
Modern China & The Cold War
Page 776-779; 784-786; 840-842
1. Describe the Manchurian Incident of 1931. How does it reflect the relative weakness of the Guomindong?
2. How did Mao Zedong’s beliefs on communism differ from those of Marx?
3. How did the events of the Sino-Japanese war and the actions of the government officials in the Chinese civil war affect the reputation of the Guomindong? What happened as a result?
4. Explain Mao Zedong’s nationwide program, the Cultural Revolution.
5. How did a rift grow between the PRC and the Soviet Union? How did the U.S. take advantage of that rift?
Page 821-830
6. Why was socialism “loathed” by most counties in the world?
7. How did economic ideas play into the Cold War between communists and capitalists?
8. Describe what happened in Korea, including the USA’s careful treatment of China during the crisis.
9. Describe the efforts of Vietnamese communists in their fight for liberation from France. Why did the USA support the corrupt government of South Vietnam under Diem and his successors?
10. Describe the arms race during the Cold War, including efforts to decrease the number of nuclear weapons in the world and the role of space exploration within the arms race.
Page 830-832; 839-840; 845; 858-862
11. Briefly describe the decolonization of Asia (including India/Pakistan) & S.E. Asia.
12. Explain the term Third World, and what it meant for the people who lived in countries within this “Third World”. What term did leaders from the Third World prefer and why?
13. What sorts of faulty policies and inefficiencies within the Soviet government led to its eventual downfall? Be specific.
14. How did a relaxation of soviet control combined with a rise in nationalist labor unions lead to the collapse of the Socialist Bloc?
15. Why did Saddam Husain invade Kuwait? How did the US respond?