Détente: 1969-1979 (Edexcel GCSE History)

Exam Questions

17 mins17 questions
11 mark

What does the term "détente" mean?

  • Escalation.

  • Relaxation.

  • Tension.

  • Alliance.

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21 mark

Which event marked the beginning of the détente period?

  • The signing of the Helsinki Accords.

  • The Cuban Missile Crisis.

  • The signing of SALT 1.

  • The Vietnam War.

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31 mark

What did SALT 1 aim to achieve?

  • The complete disarmament of nuclear weapons.

  • The limitation on the number and types of nuclear weapons.

  • The formation of a joint military force.

  • The expansion of the world’s nuclear stockpile.

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41 mark

Which year did the USA and the Soviet Union sign SALT 1?

  • 1969

  • 1972

  • 1975

  • 1979

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51 mark

Which of the following was not a term of SALT 1, which limited its success?

  • Limiting Anti-Ballistic Missiles (ABMs).

  •  Limiting Submarine-Launched Ballistic Missiles (SLBMs).

  • Banning Multiple Independently Targeted Re-Entry Vehicles (MIRVs).

  • Restricting Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs).

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61 mark

What was a key feature of the Helsinki Accords, signed in 1975?

  • Collaboration between NATO and the Warsaw Pact.

  • Agreement to increase nuclear weapons.

  • Establishing new borders for Soviet territories.

  • Ending the Vietnam War.

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71 mark

Which event marked the official end of the détente period?

  • The signing of SALT 2.

  • The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

  • The Cuban Missile Crisis.

  • The Helsinki Accords.

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81 mark

Why did SALT 2 never receive ratification from the US Senate?

  •  It was too complex.

  • It was perceived as giving the USSR too much power.

  • The USSR refused to sign it.

  • It did not include the reduction of MIRVs.

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91 mark

Which of the following accurately describes Ostpolitik?

  • A US policy to stand up against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

  • A West German policy to improve relations with Eastern Europe.

  • A treaty to limit the amount of nuclear weapons.

  • A US policy to remove the Berlin Wall.

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101 mark

What was one of the key agreements made in SALT 2? 

  • To decrease the number of ICBMs

  • To end the Cold War.

  • To launch a joint space mission.

  • To ban the development of new nuclear technology.

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11 mark

What was a key reason for the USA and Soviet Union to pursue détente in the 1970s?

  • They wanted to form a military alliance, combining the strength of NATO and the Warsaw Pact.

  • Both countries sought to remove the Berlin Wall.

  • The Cuban Missile Crisis showed the dangers of nuclear war.

  • They wanted to compete in the space race by spending less on nuclear weapons.

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21 mark

What caused the USSR specifically to pursue détente?

  • To improve its poor economic conditions.

  • To increase its military spending.

  • To expand its territory in Europe.

  • To spread communism in Africa.

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31 mark

What was one consequence of ‘Basket Two’ of the Helsinki Accords in 1975?

  • Both countries increased cooperation in space exploration.

  • The USSR refused to respect their people's human rights.

  • The USA provided economic aid to the Soviet Union.

  • The USA refused to accept the Soviet Union's borders, especially in Eastern Europe.

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41 mark

What was a major reason for the USA's pursuit of détente in the 1970s? 

  • Success in the Vietnam War.

  • The desire to become communist.

  • Domestic issues such as racial tensions and high military spending.

  • A plan to distract the USSR as they organised an invasion of East Germany.

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11 mark

What impact did the Helsinki Accords have on US-Soviet relations?

  • It led to the end of the Cold War.

  •  It showed that the USA and the Soviet Union could cooperate.

  • It worsened tensions between the two countries.

  • It ended the need for NATO and the Warsaw Pact.

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21 mark

Which event showed the USSR's increased aggression before the official end of détente?

  • Support for communist rebels in El Salvador and Angola.

  • Signing of the Helsinki Accords.

  • Launch of the Apollo-Soyuz mission.

  • Carter's advisers, like Ronald Reagan, urged Carter to take a tougher stance against the USSR.

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31 mark

Why was the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project significant in 1975? 

  • It was the first manned mission to Mars.

  • It marked the end of the Space Race.

  • It symbolised cooperation between the USA and the USSR.

  • It was a military operation against communism.

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