You know the names, not the story
Berlin, Cuba and Reagan, but not how they connect.
Courses
Start with three things you can do today
What was the Cold War and how did it end
Understand how the Cold War began, stayed cold and ended.
A course on the rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union, usually dated from the late 1940s to 1991. It covers its origins after the Second World War, the alliances and arms race, the crises that nearly turned hot, wars fought by proxy, and why it ended as it did.
Type this when Cadence asks what you want to learn
I want to understand the Cold War properly. I know the names, like the Berlin Wall and the Cuban Missile Crisis, but not how it started, why the superpowers never fought each other directly, or how it ended.
Change any word so it fits your situation. The course is built from what you type and a few setup questions.
Start today
Four things you can do before the course exists.
Useful on their own. The course is for when you want the whole skill, not just the first move.
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Learn five anchor dates
1949: NATO is founded. 1961: the Berlin Wall is built. 1962: the Cuban Missile Crisis. November 1989: the Berlin Wall falls. 25 December 1991: Gorbachev resigns and the Soviet flag is lowered over the Kremlin for the last time. Hang everything else you read on these five.
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Read the Cuban Missile Crisis as a settlement
The US State Department's Office of the Historian describes how it ended on 28 October 1962: Khrushchev announced that Soviet missiles would be removed from Cuba, Kennedy offered a guarantee not to invade Cuba, and US Jupiter missiles in Turkey were removed in April 1963, kept separate from the public settlement.
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Answer why it stayed cold
Write one sentence answering: why did the United States and the Soviet Union never fight each other directly? A strong answer mentions that nuclear weapons made a direct war catastrophic for both, so rivalry moved into arms races, the space race and proxy wars.
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Read one event from both sides
Pick an event such as the building of the Berlin Wall and find how a Western source and an East German or Soviet source described it at the time. Note the words each side used. This shows how each justified itself, which is different from deciding who was right.
Sources: US Office of the Historian: the Cuban Missile Crisis; US Office of the Historian: the collapse of the Soviet Union. Practical examples are starting points, not promised results.
- Best for
- History & culture
- Prerequisites
- None. Bring the situation you have.
- Course length
- 7 to 30 lessons, sized to your goal
- Lesson pace
- About 10 minutes a day
- Format
- Read it, or play the audio
- Access
- Available on the App Store, with early features and Android testing access
Before the course is built
Setup asks about your situation first.
Lesson 1 opens on the moment you describe, and the examples use your role. For this request, expect questions like these.
- What do you already know about the Cold War, and where did you learn it?
- Which part interests you most: Europe, nuclear weapons, Asia, Latin America, or the end?
- Do you want the big picture, or to understand one period in depth?
Right for now
If any of this sounds familiar, start here.
You lived through part of it
And want to understand what was happening around you at the time.
You hear its echoes in the news
NATO, Russia and nuclear talk, and you want the background.
Course arc
Where the course goes, in order.
Cadence writes the lessons for you, so the exact path follows your answers. This is the ground a course built from this sentence covers.
01 / 06After the Second World War
A divided Europe, mistrust between former allies and the start of containment.
Two blocs
NATO, the Warsaw Pact and a Germany split in two.
The nuclear standoff
The arms race, deterrence and the Cuban Missile Crisis.
A global contest
Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan and wars fought through others.
Thaw and détente
Arms control agreements and periods of reduced tension.
The end
Reform in Moscow, revolutions in Eastern Europe and the Soviet collapse.
What changes
What you will be able to do, and what you will stop believing.
You will be able to
Tell the story in order
Explain how it began, its main phases and how it ended.
Explain why it stayed cold
Describe nuclear deterrence and why fighting moved into proxy wars.
Read sources critically
Compare how each side described the same events at the time.
Ideas this course corrects
The Cold War involved no fighting
The superpowers avoided fighting each other directly, but wars in Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan and elsewhere killed millions of people.
One leader ended it single-handedly
Historians point to many causes, including Soviet economic strain, Gorbachev's reforms, popular movements in Eastern Europe and Western policy.
Course questions
What to know before you start.
What was the Cold War and how did it end: what can I do today?
Learn five anchor dates. 1949: NATO is founded. 1961: the Berlin Wall is built. 1962: the Cuban Missile Crisis. November 1989: the Berlin Wall falls. 25 December 1991: Gorbachev resigns and the Soviet flag is lowered over the Kremlin for the last time. Hang everything else you read on these five. Read the Cuban Missile Crisis as a settlement. The US State Department's Office of the Historian describes how it ended on 28 October 1962: Khrushchev announced that Soviet missiles would be removed from Cuba, Kennedy offered a guarantee not to invade Cuba, and US Jupiter missiles in Turkey were removed in April 1963, kept separate from the public settlement. Answer why it stayed cold. Write one sentence answering: why did the United States and the Soviet Union never fight each other directly? A strong answer mentions that nuclear weapons made a direct war catastrophic for both, so rivalry moved into arms races, the space race and proxy wars. Read one event from both sides. Pick an event such as the building of the Berlin Wall and find how a Western source and an East German or Soviet source described it at the time. Note the words each side used. This shows how each justified itself, which is different from deciding who was right.
Is this a fixed course?
No. Cadence builds the course when you type the sentence and answer a few setup questions, so the lessons follow your situation. This page describes what a course built from this request covers. You see the whole path before Lesson 1.
Who is this course for?
A course on the rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union, usually dated from the late 1940s to 1991. It covers its origins after the Second World War, the alliances and arms race, the crises that nearly turned hot, wars fought by proxy, and why it ended as it did. It sits under History & culture in the Ideas & discovery part of the library.
Do I need any prior experience?
No. Setup asks what you already know and where you want to use it, and the course starts from there. Bring a real situation if you have one; the examples are built around it.
How long does it take?
Courses run 7 to 30 lessons of about 10 minutes, sized to what you asked for. One lesson a day is the intended pace, and you can go faster. Lessons can be read or played as audio.
Does this course award a certificate or degree?
No. Cadence is for practical self-learning and does not award accredited degrees or professional certification.
Start today
Type it, answer a few questions, open Lesson 1.
The sentence to type
I want to understand the Cold War properly. I know the names, like the Berlin Wall and the Cuban Missile Crisis, but not how it started, why the superpowers never fought each other directly, or how it ended.