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Year 11
Edexcel

The Helsinki Accords and SALT II

I can explain why there was not a sustained improvement in US-Soviet relations after the Helsinki Accords.

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Year 11
Edexcel

The Helsinki Accords and SALT II

I can explain why there was not a sustained improvement in US-Soviet relations after the Helsinki Accords.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. The Helsinki Accords were an attempt to reach agreement on security, international cooperation and human rights.
  2. The Helsinki Accords are sometimes considered to be the high-point of Détente.
  3. Disagreements about human rights were one source of tension between the USA and the USSR after Helsinki.
  4. By the end of the 1970s, hopes for improved relations between the USA and the USSR had faded.
  5. The USA and USSR signed SALT II but after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan it was not ratified in the USA.

Keywords

  • Détente - the relaxation of tensions between states which were previously hostile towards one another

  • Accords - formal agreements between two or more parties

  • Human rights - the basic freedoms and protections that all people are entitled to, simply because they are human

  • Ratified - when a decision, treaty, or agreement is formally approved and confirmed making it official

Common misconception

Détente ended suddenly following the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in December 1979.

The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan is normally considered to mark the end of Détente but US-Soviet tensions had been increasing since 1975 due to conflict over human rights issues and increased Soviet support for communist groups around the world.


To help you plan your year 11 history lesson on: The Helsinki Accords and SALT II, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Students should practise sequencing the key events of the 1970s and identifying the connections between them in order to develop their skills at writing analytical narratives.
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Adult supervision recommended

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This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Which word describes the relaxation of tensions between states which were previously hostile towards one another?
Correct Answer: Détente, Detente, détente, detente
Q2.
Which word describes issues that exist within a country, rather than those related to its relationship with other countries?
Correct Answer: domestic
Q3.
How much was the US spending on its military and space programme in 1968?
$20.1 billion
$40.3 billion
$60.2 billion
Correct answer: $80.1 billion
Q4.
Why did Nixon want to improve US relations with China and the USSR?
so they would stop fighting against US forces in Vietnam
so they would send troops to fight alongside the US in Vietnam
Correct answer: so they would put pressure on the North Vietnamese during peace negotiations
Q5.
Which two leaders were involved in the period of relaxed tensions between the USSR and the USA in the 1970s?
Correct answer: Leonid Brezhnev
Lyndon B Johnson
Nikita Khrushchev
Richard Nixon
Q6.
Starting with the earliest, sort the following events into chronological order.
1 - President Nixon promised to achieve “peace with honour”.
2 - USA attempted to improve its relations with communist states.
3 - Nixon visited China and improved relations with its leaders.
4 - The USSR worried about becoming internationally isolated.
5 - Both superpowers became open to pursuing Détente.

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Which word describes formal agreements between two or more parties?
Correct Answer: accords
Q2.
Which word describes the basic freedoms and protections that all people are entitled to, simply because they are human?
Correct Answer: human rights
Q3.
Who replaced Nixon as US president by the time the agreements at Helsinki had been reached?
Jimmy Carter
Correct answer: Gerald Ford
Ronald Reagan
Lyndon Johnson
Q4.
Match the 'basket' to the issue discussed.
Correct Answer:Basket 1,European borders
tick

European borders

Correct Answer:Basket 2,international cooperation
tick

international cooperation

Correct Answer:Basket 3,human rights
tick

human rights

Q5.
What was the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project?
Correct answer: the docking of an American spacecraft with a Soviet spacecraft
the docking of an American submarine with a Soviet submarine
the docking of an American ship with a Soviet ship
Q6.
Which 'basket' continued to be a point of tension between the US and USSR post the signing of the agreements in Helsinki?
Basket 1
Basket 2
Correct answer: Basket 3

Additional material

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