← Modern History syllabus

VICModern History

Unit 4: Challenge and change in the post-war world, 1945-2010

9 dot points across 9 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.

How did Cold War crises between 1956 and 1962 bring the superpowers closest to nuclear war?

Cold War crises in the era of peaceful coexistence, including the Hungarian Uprising (1956), the U-2 incident (1960), the Berlin Wall (1961), and the Cuban Missile Crisis (1962)
A focused answer to the VCE Modern History Unit 4 dot point on the major Cold War crises between 1956 and 1962. The Secret Speech, the Hungarian Uprising, the U-2 incident, the Berlin Wall, the Bay of Pigs, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Moscow-Washington hotline, and the verdicts of Robert Service and Michael Dobbs.
10 min answer →

How did the Cold War extend into Asia between 1949 and 1953, and what were the consequences?

the extension of the Cold War to Asia, including the Chinese Communist victory (1949), the Sino-Soviet Treaty (1950), the Korean War (1950 to 1953), and the consequences for the global Cold War
A focused answer to the VCE Modern History Unit 4 dot point on the extension of the Cold War to Asia. The Chinese Civil War, Mao's victory, the Sino-Soviet Treaty, the Korean War, Inchon, Chinese entry, the Panmunjom Armistice, and the verdicts of Odd Arne Westad and Bruce Cumings.
9 min answer →

How did the European empires in Asia and Africa come to an end between 1947 and 1980?

decolonisation in Asia and Africa (1947 to 1980), including the independence of India and Pakistan (1947), the Algerian War (1954 to 1962), the Suez Crisis (1956), the Year of Africa (1960), and the consequences for the post-war world
A focused answer to the VCE Modern History Unit 4 dot point on decolonisation in Asia and Africa. Indian partition, Indonesia, Dien Bien Phu, the Suez Crisis, the Algerian War, Ghana, the Year of Africa, the Congo Crisis, the Non-Aligned Movement, and the verdicts of Frederick Cooper and Odd Arne Westad.
10 min answer →

How did apartheid in South Africa come to an end between 1948 and 1994?

the end of apartheid in South Africa (1948 to 1994), including the National Party victory (1948), the Sharpeville Massacre (1960), the Soweto Uprising (1976), the role of the ANC and Nelson Mandela, international sanctions, the FW de Klerk reforms (1989 to 1990), and the 1994 election
A focused answer to the VCE Modern History Unit 4 dot point on the end of apartheid in South Africa. The 1948 National Party victory, Sharpeville, the Rivonia Trial, Soweto, Steve Biko, international sanctions, the de Klerk reforms, the 1994 election, the TRC, and the verdicts of Saul Dubow and Hermann Giliomee.
10 min answer →

Why did the Cold War end peacefully between 1985 and 1991?

the end of the Cold War, including the role of Gorbachev (glasnost and perestroika), the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe (1989), the fall of the Berlin Wall, the reunification of Germany (1990), and the dissolution of the Soviet Union (1991)
A focused answer to the VCE Modern History Unit 4 dot point on the end of the Cold War. Gorbachev's reforms, the Reykjavik summit, the INF Treaty, the Sinatra Doctrine, the 1989 revolutions, the fall of the Berlin Wall, German reunification, the 1991 August coup, and the verdicts of Gaddis, Sarotte and Zubok.
10 min answer →

How did the wartime alliance break down into a divided Europe and a global Cold War between 1945 and 1949?

the origins of the Cold War 1945 to 1949, including the wartime conferences (Yalta, Potsdam), the division of Germany and Europe, the Truman Doctrine, the Marshall Plan, the Berlin Blockade and Airlift, and the formation of NATO
A focused answer to the VCE Modern History Unit 4 dot point on the origins of the Cold War. Yalta and Potsdam, the iron curtain, Kennan's Long Telegram, the Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan, Cominform, the Czech coup, the Berlin Blockade and Airlift, NATO, and the verdicts of John Lewis Gaddis and Melvyn Leffler.
10 min answer →

How did the US civil rights movement challenge segregation and change American law and society between 1954 and 1968?

the US civil rights movement (1954 to 1968), including Brown v Board of Education (1954), the Montgomery bus boycott (1955 to 1956), the role of Martin Luther King Jr and the SCLC, the SNCC and direct action, the Civil Rights Act (1964), the Voting Rights Act (1965), and the rise of Black Power
A focused answer to the VCE Modern History Unit 4 dot point on the US civil rights movement. Brown v Board, the Montgomery bus boycott, Little Rock, the SCLC and SNCC, the Freedom Rides, the March on Washington, the Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act, the Watts riot, Black Power, the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr, and the verdicts of Taylor Branch and Manning Marable.
10 min answer →

Why did the Vietnam War (1954 to 1975) become a defining Cold War conflict, and why did the United States lose?

the Vietnam War (1954 to 1975) as a Cold War conflict, including the partition at Geneva (1954), American escalation under Johnson, the Tet Offensive (1968), Vietnamisation, the Paris Peace Accords (1973), and the fall of Saigon (1975)
A focused answer to the VCE Modern History Unit 4 dot point on the Vietnam War. Dien Bien Phu, Geneva, Diem and the Republic of Vietnam, the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, the air war and search-and-destroy, the Tet Offensive of 1968, Vietnamisation, the Paris Peace Accords of 1973, the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975, and the verdicts of Fredrik Logevall and Lien-Hang Nguyen.
10 min answer →

How did the women's liberation movement change Western societies between 1960 and 1980?

the women's liberation movement (1960 to 1980), including The Feminine Mystique (1963), the Equal Pay Act (1963), the founding of NOW (1966), the contraceptive pill, Roe v Wade (1973), and the consequences for work, law and culture
A focused answer to the VCE Modern History Unit 4 dot point on the women's liberation movement. Friedan's The Feminine Mystique, the Presidential Commission on the Status of Women, the contraceptive pill, the Equal Pay Act, the Civil Rights Act Title VII, NOW, consciousness-raising, the women's strike, Title IX, Roe v Wade, the ERA, and the verdicts of Sara Evans and Ruth Rosen.
9 min answer →