How did the Second World War set the stage for a Cold War between two superpowers?
Topic 8.1 Setting the Stage for the Cold War and Decolonization: the emergence of the United States and the Soviet Union as rival superpowers after the Second World War and the start of decolonization.
A focused answer to AP World History Topic 8.1, explaining how the Second World War set the stage for the Cold War: the rise of the United States and Soviet Union as rival superpowers, their opposing ideologies of capitalism and communism, the division of Europe, and the start of decolonization.
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What this topic is asking
Topic 8.1 covers how the Second World War set the stage for the Cold War and decolonization. It asks you to explain the emergence of the United States and the Soviet Union as rival superpowers, their opposing ideologies of capitalism and communism, the division of Europe, and how the war's exhaustion of the old empires began the process of decolonization that runs through the rest of the unit.
What "setting the stage" means
The rise of the superpowers
Two powers stood above the rest.
The division of Europe
Wartime allies became postwar rivals.
As the war ended, the United States and the Soviet Union divided the territory they had liberated. Germany and its capital Berlin were split into Western and Soviet zones, and an "iron curtain" descended across Europe, separating the Western, capitalist states from the Soviet-dominated, communist East. Wartime cooperation rapidly gave way to mutual suspicion over the future of Europe, beginning the standoff that became the Cold War (Topic 8.2).
The start of decolonization
The war also undid empires.
- Exhausted empires. The war drained the European powers of wealth and strength, making it harder to hold distant colonies.
- Discredited rule. A war fought partly in the name of freedom and self-determination undercut Europe's moral claim to rule others.
- Rising demands. Colonized peoples who had fought and contributed to the war demanded the self-rule they felt they had earned, and anticolonial movements gained momentum.
So the war set in motion the decolonization that would dismantle the European empires, a process the rest of Unit 8 traces.
Try this
Q1. Name the two superpowers that emerged from the Second World War. [Recall]
- Cue. The United States and the Soviet Union.
Q2. Explain one way the Second World War set the stage for decolonization. [Short explanation]
- Cue. The war exhausted the European empires and discredited their claim to rule, while colonized peoples who had fought and contributed demanded the self-rule they had been promised, so anticolonial movements gained momentum.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of College Board exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
AP 2020 (style)3 marksBriefly identify the two superpowers that emerged after the Second World War. Briefly explain ONE ideological difference between them. Briefly explain ONE way the war set the stage for decolonization.Show worked answer →
A Short Answer Question (SAQ), 3 points, one per bullet.
A. Identify: the United States and the Soviet Union emerged as rival superpowers after 1945.
B. Ideological difference: the United States championed capitalism and liberal democracy, while the Soviet Union championed communism and a one-party state.
C. Decolonization: the war exhausted the European empires and discredited their claims to rule, while colonized peoples who had fought or contributed demanded the self-rule they had been promised.
Each bullet must be concrete.
AP 2022 (style)6 marksEvaluate the most significant way the Second World War set the stage for the Cold War in the period c. 1900 to the present.Show worked answer →
A Long Essay Question (LEQ), scored on the 6-point causation rubric.
Thesis (1): "The most significant way the war set the stage for the Cold War was by leaving the United States and the Soviet Union as the only superpowers, with opposing ideologies and a divided Europe, though the exhaustion of the old powers also created the vacuum they filled."
Contextualization (1): situate the postwar world in the destruction of Europe and the defeat of the Axis.
Evidence (2): the rise of the two superpowers; capitalism versus communism; the division of Germany and Europe; the weakened European empires.
Analysis (2): explain HOW the war produced a bipolar, ideologically divided world, then add complexity by linking it to the simultaneous start of decolonization.
Related dot points
- Topic 8.2 The Cold War: the strategies and confrontations of the Cold War, including containment, the arms and space races, proxy wars, and crises such as Berlin and Cuba.
A focused answer to AP World History Topic 8.2, explaining the Cold War: the policy of containment, the nuclear arms race and mutually assured destruction, the space race, proxy wars in Korea and Vietnam, and crises like the Berlin Blockade and Cuban Missile Crisis.
- Topic 7.7 Conducting World War II: the methods and technologies of the Second World War, including total war, the deliberate targeting of civilians, new weapons, and the use of the atomic bomb.
A focused answer to AP World History Topic 7.7, explaining how the Second World War was fought: total war and total mobilization, new technologies like tanks, aircraft, and radar, the deliberate targeting of civilians through strategic bombing, and the use of the atomic bomb.
- Topic 8.5 Decolonization After 1900: the processes and methods of decolonization after the Second World War, including negotiated and armed independence, partition, and the role of nationalism.
A focused answer to AP World History Topic 8.5, explaining decolonization after 1900: the negotiated independence of India under Gandhi, armed struggles in Algeria and Vietnam, the role of nationalism, partition and its violence, and how methods of decolonization differed.
- Topic 8.4 Spread of Communism After 1900: the spread of communism through revolution and the varied paths and effects of communist movements, including the Russian and Chinese revolutions and their economic and social policies.
A focused answer to AP World History Topic 8.4, explaining the spread of communism: the Russian and Chinese revolutions, the policies of Stalin and Mao including collectivization and the Great Leap Forward, the human costs, and communism's varied paths and effects worldwide.
- Topic 7.9 Causation in Global Conflicts: applying the historical reasoning skill of causation to the global conflicts of the twentieth century, including the world wars and their causes and consequences.
A focused answer to AP World History Topic 7.9, the causation reasoning skill applied to Unit 7: explaining the causes and effects of the world wars, distinguishing long-term from immediate causes, and how to structure a causation essay on twentieth-century conflict.
Sources & how we know this
- AP World History: Modern Course and Exam Description — College Board (2020)