Unit 4: International experiences in the modern world (The Cold War 1945 to 1991)
8 dot points across 6 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.
Inquiry topic 2: The Cold War in Europe (1948 to 1962)
Inquiry topic 4: Cold War crises and the threat of nuclear war
- Examine the causes, course and outcome of the Cuban Missile Crisis (October 1962), including the Cuban Revolution, the Bay of Pigs invasion, the discovery of Soviet missiles in Cuba, the thirteen-day standoff, and the resolution of the crisis
A focused answer to the QCE Modern History Unit 4 dot point on the Cuban Missile Crisis. The Cuban Revolution (1959), Bay of Pigs (April 1961), Soviet deployment of missiles, US response and naval quarantine, ExComm decision-making, the secret Jupiter missile deal, and the legacy in nuclear restraint.
9 min answer → - Examine the period of detente (1969 to 1979), including the SALT I and SALT II treaties, the Helsinki Accords (1975), Nixon's opening to China (1972), and the eventual breakdown of detente by the end of the 1970s
A focused answer to the QCE Modern History Unit 4 dot point on detente. Brezhnev-Nixon-Ford era of relaxation in Cold War tensions, the SALT arms control agreements, Nixon's 1972 visit to China, the Helsinki Accords (1975), and the breakdown after Soviet involvement in Africa and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan (December 1979).
8 min answer →
Inquiry topic 5: The end of the Cold War
Inquiry topic 3: Cold War conflicts in Asia
- Explain the causes, course and consequences of the Korean War (1950 to 1953) as the first major military conflict of the Cold War, including United Nations involvement, Chinese intervention, and the entrenchment of the division at the 38th parallel
A focused answer to the QCE Modern History Unit 4 dot point on the Korean War. Causes (division at 38th parallel, communist victory in China 1949), course (North Korean invasion June 1950, UN counteroffensive, Chinese intervention October 1950), and consequences (stalemate, armistice July 1953, continued division).
8 min answer → - Explain the causes, course and consequences of the Vietnam War (1955 to 1975), including the failures of French colonialism, the partition at the 17th parallel, US escalation in the 1960s, the Tet Offensive, anti-war movements, and the final fall of Saigon
A focused answer to the QCE Modern History Unit 4 dot point on the Vietnam War. French defeat at Dien Bien Phu (1954), Geneva Accords, US escalation under Johnson, Tet Offensive (1968), anti-war movement, Nixon's Vietnamization, fall of Saigon (April 1975), and the war's significance for American Cold War strategy.
9 min answer →