Intro Quiz: What was detente and why did it happen?

Video: What was detente and why did it happen?

﻿Hello, and welcome to this four lesson inquiry into cold war tensions. I'm Miss Newton. And over the next four lessons, we're going to be looking at why tensions first decreased in the Cold War, and then increased again. That's right, you heard me correctly, tensions are decreasing in the Cold War. That's not really something that we've encountered before. And I'm really excited to go through all of this with you. Please get yourself a pen and paper and take a moment to clear away any distractions. Turn off any notifications on apps or conversations you may have running. And if possible, find somewhere quiet where you can work because this is a big moment. The first time tensions are starting to decrease in the Cold War. So when you're ready, we'll get started. Picking up the narrative in the Cold War. Here, in this small gap between the Cold War crises, which you studied with Miss Quick, and the end of the Cold War, which you will also do with Miss Quick. This period came in the aftermath of the high point of tension in the Cold War, the Cuban Missile Crisis, particularly the 13 days in October 1962. The period in the cold war that we're looking at today is called detente, and it roughly covers the 70s. Let's zoom in now, in the time period that we're looking at. After the Cuban Missile Crisis of 62, certain steps were taken to slow down the arms race and reduce the likelihood of nuclear war, because it was believed that things had got out of control in 1962. The first was the Outer-Space Treaty in 1967, which restricted the use of nuclear weapons in space. Couldn't do it. Then there was the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty in 1968, which restricted nuclear technology and weapons capability to a few countries. And we're going to start today in the 1970s with the first major element of detente, something called SALT 1. Now that's got nothing to do with salt that you might put on your chips. It stands for Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty. And that's exactly what it wanted to do. To limit the number of arms or weapons that the United States and the Soviet Union had. So this first one, SALT 1, in essence, was designed to slow down the arms race. And it was signed in 1972. We then had something called the Helsinki Agreements, which were the high point of detente, where tension had decreased the most. And following that, we have SALT 2 another attempt to limit arms to deal with some of the things that hadn't been resolved in SALT 1. So those three things are slowing down the arms race, and they are reducing tension between the two sides. And so they are the key features of detente there what it is. There were, however, also some public events that we use as propaganda as part of detente. For example, Nixon visited Moscow, in Russia. And Brezhnev never visited the US and went to Washington. There was also a joint space mission between the United States and the Soviets. So rather than them being in an arms race, in a space race, they're reducing their arms and they're going to space together. All it means things are detente, a relaxation of tension. They have all decreased tension. And this on the screen is what today's lesson is about. There's one other thing I want to mention before we move on and that is that across the time we're looking at detente, there are three US presidents. Nixon in 1968, Ford in 1974, and Carter in 1977. So if the names keep changing, that is why. Hey, here's the plan for today. We're going to recap a couple of key concepts. Then we'll go over what was detente in a bit more detail. We'll look at the causes of detente from the US and Soviet perspectives. We'll look at each individual key feature of detente, and then you will complete your main task. So to prepare for today's lesson, we need to recap these key terms. I'd like you in a moment to pause the video and write them out with the correct definition. We'll do the first one together first. So tension. Have a look, have a think, from the options on the right, what is the correct definition? That's exactly right. It's strain or stress in a relationship, such as that between the US and the Soviets. So, pause the video, have a go at the rest and resume once you're finished. Lovely work, the answers are here on the screen for you. And I would suggest pausing the video, checking your answers, take any that are correct and feel proud and make any changes that are necessary. Really well done. But before we look at why Cold war tension decreased, we need to look at what has been causing it to increase all along. Have a look at those images on the screen. Have a think, what can you remember? For me, Cold war tension has been ultimately caused by the different ideologies of the two sides, communism and capitalism. And then that's been expressed so shown through the arms race, and the space race throughout the 50s and 60s. Propaganda has then also been used to promote each ideology and their achievements, such as the space race and the arms race. So if tension is going to ever decrease, then something needs to happen. About this picture on the screen, about the arms race, the space race, and propaganda. So these two terms are ones we're going to use in this lesson. Detente is what the lesson is about. So you need that definition in your work. So pause the video, write these key terms and their definitions into your notes and resume once you're finished. So you have the definition. But what does that mean in practise? What was detente? Many of the treaties signed as part of detente were aimed at slowing down the arms race. A detente, was a phase in the Cold War, mainly in the 1970s, when there was a relaxation or decrease of tension as the two sides focused on common interests to avoid the possibility of nuclear war and mutually assured destruction. Let's now look at the causes of detente, and see why Brezhnev for the Soviet Union and Nixon for the United States are willing to work with together to try and reduce tension. So if we look at Brezhnev first. The Soviet Union had very poor living standards, and their economy wasn't developing, that basically means that the Soviets had no money and people didn't have nice lives. And that's because they'd spent billions of dollars on the arms race and the space race, partly. Having done that though, Brezhnev now feels safe, safe enough to follow a policy of detente that involves restrictions on weapons production. Because remember, nuclear weapons are expensive. What about Nixon? What's he thinking? So he was elected in 1968, the same time that the Vietnam War was going on. And that was hugely controversial. And there were anti war protests in America, which were causing social unrest. As well as the anti war protests, the civil rights movement was going on. And in 1968, the same year that Nixon was elected, one of the leaders of the civil rights movement, Martin Luther King was assassinated. That led to large scale riots across the United States. And with all those social problems, Nixon wanted to concentrate on domestic issues in the US. He was also concerned about the cost of nuclear weapons. Because at this time, there was a global economic crisis in oil, so all countries were suffering, even wealthy ones like the US. So both these men are willing to follow a policy of detente and slow down the arms race, which will reduce tension. Because they have more time and money, they can focus on domestic issues, rather than competing to make the most weapons and the best weapons. I'd now like you to explain in your notes, why the US and the Soviet Union followed a policy of detente? You need to read the sentence below, copy it, think, and then complete it. The US and the Soviet Union decided to follow a policy of detente because? Pause the video and resume once you're finished. And here's an example of what it could look like. It doesn't need to be exactly the same, but it really does need to have some of these ideas in pink in your answer. The US and Soviet Union decided to follow a policy of detente, because they both wanted to save money and focus on domestic issues. The Soviets wanted to develop their economy and increase the standard of living. And the US wanted to focus on the Vietnam War and social issues in the US, such as the civil rights movement. So we've got a definition of detente, we've looked at an overview of what detente is. We're now going to go through the key features one by one. If you want to help you organise your notes, you could pause the video here and write these down. Let's have a look at the detail. The first major decision of detente was SALT 1. And that's the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty. The aim as the name suggests, was to limit the number of nuclear weapons that the US and Soviets possessed. The most important thing about this treaty is that both sides agreed to avoid nuclear war or to work towards that in the basic principles agreement. There were then specific treaties which slowed down the arms race. So the anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty said that the ABMs were only allowed at two sides, and each side with only allowed 100 missiles. The interim treaty put limits on the number of ICBMs and SLBMs. And all of those are just types of nuclear weapon, types of missile. The success of these agreements in reducing tension was made very obvious to the world, when shortly after signing the treaty, Nixon, the US President visited Brezhnev in Moscow. And then in 1973, Brezhnev visited Washington. So SALT 1 is massively reducing tension. We then get the Helsinki Accords or agreements. An accord just means an agreement. You'll see them referred to with either word. They were in August 1975. And after the success of SALT 1, 33 countries from Nato and the Warsaw Pact, those two Cold War defensive military alliances met to discuss international relations. They organised the agreements they came to into three baskets and they were called baskets at the time. The first with about European borders. It said that borders of countries were fixed, and they could not be changed by force. Importantly, the borders of East Germany and West Germany were recognised for the first time, as were those of the Soviet satellite states. Second basket was about international cooperation. The two sides agreed to exchange technology and they planned that joint space mission Apollo-Soyuz. And the third one was about human rights, such as freedom of speech and freedom of religion. Now the Helsinki Accords were significant because here the superpowers were trying to work together and people thought that perhaps there was now a change in the way that international relations were being conducted. However, both the US and the Soviets were also pursuing their own political agendas. Brezhnev wanted the satellite states recognised and to develop the Soviet economy. So baskets one and two worked for him. The USA wanted to extend more human rights into Soviet controlled areas. So they like basket three. But basket three causes tension with the Soviets, because they're worried that the satellite states would be monitored to check up on Soviet policies and whether they are supporting human rights. So although there weren't many agreements, and the accords were great propaganda, and as they said it was the high point of detente, the underlying suspicion and mistrust and desire to promote their own ideology that had been causing tension since the 1940s had not completely disappeared. In June 1979, there was SALT 2. Now talks for SALT 2 began in 1974. And the plan was to put further limits on weapons and resolve any issues that had not been dealt with in SALT 1. SALT 2 banned the testing, or using of new types of ICBMs, so Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles that could travel over 5000 kilometres. And it restricted the use of missile launches and strategic bombers. However, these was never put into action. SALT 2 was never formally agreed. It was sent to the Senate, a bit like parliament in the US, by President Carter for their approval. But when the Soviets invaded Afghanistan in 1979, that's next lesson, he removed it from the Senate and it was never what's called ratified, which means formally approved. So although there was all this good intention, the actions by the Soviets that you'll learn about next lesson, mean that SALT 2 was never ratified. So this is what detente is. Tension decreased in the cold war because of salt one, which slowed down the arms race. The Helsinki accords are agreements, which were the high point of detente. And SALT 2, which was never ratified. If you want you can pause the video and copy this diagram into your notes if it will be helpful. But let's just check you've got these key features correctly identified. I'd like you to read through statements a to f and decide which ones relate to SALT 1, which ones to the Helsinki accords and which ones to SALT 2. For example, a, European borders are permanent, they cannot be changed by force that was from the Helsinki accords. So pause the video, complete the task, and resume once you're finished. Well done. Some of those were quite tricky because they were very precise pieces of information. So the pink statements are SALT 1, the bluey-green are Helsinki, the high point of detent, and blue is SALT 2, the one that was never ratified. So we know that slowing down the arms race was important. But there were some other aspects of detente that you also need to know about, and they are space, sports, and special visits. So space. Having spent decades competing to have the first man in space, the first dog in space, the first man on the moon, in July 1975 the US and Soviets had a joint space mission, Apollo-Soyuz. Apollo is the US bit, Soyuz is the Soviet bit. This was the first international space mission , carried out jointly by the United States and the Soviet Union. And it was a hugely powerful symbol of detent between the two superpowers. Russian and American aircraft docked in space. And Russian and American astronauts were photographed shaking hands. It was a huge moment. In sports as well, there was cooperation. In April 1971, the US accepted an invitation from the Chinese table tennis team to tour China. The tour included exhibition matches and visits to famous places in China, such as the Forbidden City and the Great Wall. There was a lot of media attention in both countries. And this sporting tour allowed expressions of trust and goodwill between the East and West, but without showing any political weakness. And finally, we have the visits that we've talked about, Nixon going to Russia and Brezhnev have coming to the US. That would have been unheard of in the 50s or 60s. It was a very obvious sign that tensions were decreasing. So true, false, four statements for you. Just to check that you've got this understanding, can you please identify the two that are true? The two that are true, please. Pause the video if you need to read through them and resume when you're finished. That's great. The two that were true were that the US and Soviets worked together in a space mission and that Brezhnev and Nixon both visited each other. Really, really well done. So finally, before you do your independent work, a reminder of what was happening in the Cold war in the 1970s. There was SALT 1, Helsinki Accords, SALT 2, and the space sports and special visits. All of those things mean that Cold War tension decreases in the 1970s. So these are your comprehension questions for today. We'll read through them together. Why did the US and Soviets want to follow a policy of detente in the 1970s? Two, what did SALT 1 say? Three, explain why the Helsinki accords were the high point of detente? Four, explain one weakness of SALT 1? And the challenge question, to what extent has tension been reduced during detente? There is a summary table in the worksheet that will help you with that question. And there are some hints and sentence starters in the green box as always. Top tip, if it says to what extent, you're going to need to give reasons tension has reduced and reasons tension has not reduced. Pause the video read the slides on the resource work sheet and answer the comprehension questions. Resume once you're finished. Well done for doing all of that work, particularly that challenge question, which was slightly different this lesson. So let's go through some sample answers. As always, they don't have to look exactly the same, but it is important that you have this content detail in pink. So feel free to pause the video and add any of that to your work. So question one, why did the US and Soviets want to follow a policy of detente in the 1970s? So we got the acceptable answer there, but the good answer is what we want to focus on. The US and the Soviets wanted to follow a policy of detente in the 1970s as they both wanted to stop spending so much money on defence and concentrate on domestic issues instead. The US was facing social issues with anti-Vietnam protests and the civil rights movement and the Soviet Union wanted to develop their economy. Question two. What did SALT 1 say? A good answer. SALT 1 said that the US and the Soviets would avoid nuclear war. It slowed down the arms race because it put limits on the number of nuclear weapons that each country could have. For example, the Anti-ballistic Missile, ABM treaty, said that each country could have a maximum of 100 ABMs kept at only two sites. And that answer is good because it's very precise. We've got the number of ABMs allowed by the treaty, and how many sites they're allowed to be kept on. Three, explain why the Helsinki Accords were the high point of detente? And see that the good answer there has a lot more specific detail in pink. The Helsinki accords were the high point of detente, because they made agreements in areas that had a big impact on international relations, such as European borders and international cooperation. It was the first time the East and West Germany's borders and those of the satellite states were officially recognised. Four, explain one weakness of SALT? So there were lots of reasons that potentially SALT 1 could be weak. And there are three on the screen there. If you chose any of those and explained it, then well done. Give yourself a tick. So it was only a piece of paper, they still had enough weapons to achieve MAD, there was no reduction in the number of exists weapons, and SALT 1 did not cover all nuclear technology. Question five, to what extent has tension been reduced during detente? So what you've got here on the screen is evidence that tension has been reduced. So you can pause the video, read through that, and add any extra to your work if necessary. And then resume once you've done that. Because now we need to look at the other side, evidence that tension has not been reduced. And there's a series of reasons there. So you can read through those, check it against your work, give yourself a tick and add any detail if necessary. So that's the end of our lesson and well done for all of your hard work. They really were a huge number of new concepts and a phenomenal amount of content for you to take on board. So really, really well done, you should be very proud. Next lesson, we are going to look at why on Christmas Eve 1979 detente ended? So I do hope that you'll join me for that. Please don't forget to do the quiz. Until I see you again, enjoy your learning. Bye.

Worksheet: What was detente and why did it happen?

Exit Quiz: What was detente and why did it happen?

Completed: What was detente and why did it happen?

This lesson looks at detente, a period of relaxation of tensions in the Cold War. It explores the reasons for detente and the ways in which the US and Soviet Union tried to reduce tension. Students will be asked to assess how successful the two sides were in reducing tension.

History

Y11 History

Key Stage 4

Year 11

What was detente and why did it happen?

The Cold War: Superpower relations from 1941- 1991

UNIT

Grand Alliance, 1941-1945: Why were they unlikely allies?

Why did tension develop at the wartime conferences?

Why did the atomic bombs damage US-Soviet relations?

Why did the 1946 telegrams increase the tension?

Did Churchill officially announce the beginning of the Cold War?

What were the consequences of Soviet expansion into Eastern Europe?

How far did early tension begin to show in the breakdown of the Grand Alliance?

Why did the Truman Doctrine increase the tension between the Superpowers?

How significant was the Soviet response to the Truman Doctrine?

What was the Berlin blockade?

What were the consequences of the Berlin blockade?

How significant were events in Asia for superpower relations?

How did the arms race increase tensions?

Why did the space race make US-Soviet relations worse?

Why did the Hungarians challenge Communist control?

How significant was the Hungarian uprising?

Why did the Cold War intensify between 1950-1958?

Why was the Berlin Wall built?

What were the consequences of the building of the Berlin Wall?

Why did the Cuban Revolution change the relationship between the superpowers?

How was the Cuban Missile Crisis resolved and with what significance?

What were the causes and consequences of the Prague Spring?

Why did detente not last?

Why did Reagan's policies increase tension?

Explore the Enquiry

How did Gorbachev's 'new thinking' reduce tensions between the superpowers?

How did the Soviet Union's hold on Eastern Europe come to an end?

What did the fall of the Berlin Wall mean for the Cold War?

Why did the Cold War come to an end?

History

What was detente and why did it happen?

Introductory Quiz

Video

Worksheet

Final Quiz

Lesson Complete