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World History:
Connections to Today
C H A P T E R 20
Europe and North America (1945–
Present)
Copyright 2001 © Prentice Hall
SECTION 1
The Western World: An Overview
•
The Cold War divided Europe into two hostile camps:
the western democracies, led by the United States, and
the communist bloc, dominated by the Soviet Union.
•
The nations of Western Europe recovered fairly quickly
from World War II. They expanded social programs and
introduced the welfare state. By the 1980s, however, an
economic slowdown forced cuts in social programs.
•
Western Europe’s recovery from World War II was
helped by economic cooperation among the nations of
the region, who formed organizations such as the
Common Market and the European Union.
Chapter 20, Section 1
SECTION 2
The Western European Democracies
•
Under the Conservative leadership of Margaret
Thatcher, Britain reversed many programs of the
welfare state.
•
After a period of ineffective leadership and colonial
wars in France, Charles de Gaulle began rebuilding
French prosperity and power.
•
After World War II, West Germany, aided by the United
States, achieved an “economic miracle,” while East
Germany, under communist rule, stagnated. After the
collapse of communism, Germany was reunited in
1990.
Chapter 20, Section 2
SECTION 3
North American Prosperity
•
After World War II, the United States used its vast
economic and military resources to prevent the spread
of communism.
•
As the American economy prospered, the United States
government pursued bold new social programs to help
the poor and disadvantaged.
•
The civil rights movement helped reshape American
society, securing increased rights for African
Americans, Native Americans, Hispanics, women, and
other groups.
•
Canada enjoyed a postwar economic boom, but the
Quebec separatist movement and the immense impact
of the neighboring United States posed difficult
challenges to defining a national identity.
Chapter 20, Section 3
SECTION 4
The Soviet Union: Rise and Fall of a Superpower
•
The Soviet Union emerged from World War II as a superpower,
with a sphere of influence from the Baltic to the Balkans.
•
Although Stalin’s successors eased some of his most repressive
policies, they continued to suppress dissenters at home and
forcefully assert Soviet control over its satellites in Eastern
Europe.
•
The Soviets enjoyed some economic successes in military and
space industries but had severe problems in such areas as
agriculture and production of consumer goods.
•
Efforts by Mikhail Gorbachev to reform inefficiencies in
government and the economy led to the collapse of the Soviet
Union in 1991.
Chapter 20, Section 4
SECTION 5
A New Era in Eastern Europe
•
After World War II, local Communist parties, backed by
Soviet power, gained control over the nations of
Eastern Europe, from Hungary to Bulgaria.
•
In 1989, a “democracy movement” swept Eastern
Europe. One by one, communist governments fell, and
Eastern European nations, free to settle their own
affairs for the first time since 1945, set out to build
stable governments and free-market economies.
•
After shaking off Soviet domination, nations of Eastern
Europe faced economic challenges and ethnic
conflicts.
Chapter 20, Section 5