Download The Cold War

The Cold War
Intense competition of nations
after WWII
WWII Aftermath
• Germany (and its
capital Berlin) were
divided into four
occupational zones
dominated by four
Allied powers.
• When Germany was to
be reunified, the Soviet
Union (Russia) refused
to give up its German
zones.
• This began a four
decade long period of
intense competition
between the U.S. and
the Soviet Union that
involved many other
nations who allied
with one of the two
superpowers (called
the Cold War).
Marshall Plan (1947-1951)
• AKA – The
European
Recovery
Program
• America’s main
program for
rebuilding
Western Europe
after WWII to
keep the area
from falling to
communism
• European nations were
asked how much money
they needed to rebuild
and the U.S. spent $13
billion for economic and
technical assistance for
these nearly destroyed
democratic nations
• The Soviet Union was
offered the same aid if
they made political
reforms but they refused
Containment
• The policy of the
U.S. of preventing
the spread of
communism to
new areas was
called
containment. It
dominated U.S.
foreign policy
during the Cold
War.
Communism
U.S.
Containment - Keeping the lid on
Communism
• NATO – permanent alliance
formed by the United States
and many noncommunist
European nations to prevent
a communist take-over in
member nations
• The world domination goal
of Soviets were viewed as a
threat to American security
• The Soviet Union began the
Warsaw Pact (an alliance of
communist nations)
Truman Doctrine (1947)
• Stated the U.S. would supply any nation
with economic and military aid to prevent
its fall to communism
• It was a direct threat to the Soviet Union
Building Cold War Walls
• Berlin Wall
• Containment
• 38th Parallel in
Korea
Cold War conflicts
occurred when
these walls were
breached.
McCarthyism
Senator Joseph McCarthy
• The Chinese Revolution and
the Korean War increased
American fears of the spread of
communism in the early 1950’s.
• A revived “Red Scare” emerged
led by Sen. Joseph McCarthy
who claimed that the U.S.
government and military was
full of communists.
• The civil rights of those who
were communist, those who
were believed to be
communists, and those who
supposedly knew communists
were violated.
HUAC
• Special House Committee
on Un-American Activities
that investigated the film
and entertainment industries
for Communist supporters
or spies to be placed on
blacklists
• Investigated the State
Department member Alger
Hiss as a communist spy
but failed to prove his guilt –
sentenced to 5 years in
prison for perjury
Alger Hiss before HUAC
Korean War (1950-1953)
• Korea (like Germany
and Vietnam) was
divided into zones
after WWII.
• In 1950, communist
North Korea invaded
South Korea in an
attempt to create a
unified communist
Korea.
• North Korea was aided by the new
communist superpower, China.
• The U.S. was bound by our
containment policy to assist South
Korea to prevent the spread of
communism.
• The U.S. troops drove the North Koreans
back across the border (38th parallel).
• Gen. Douglas MacArthur then attempted
(without Pres. Truman’s consent) to drive the
communists completely out of Korea into
China.
• When the American
troops approached the
Chinese border, the
Chinese attacked
forcing the U.S. to
retreat back to the 38th
parallel which still
remains the border
between North and
South Korea.
• Gen. MacArthur was
fired by Truman for not
following his orders.
Cuba’s Role in the Cold War
• Fidel Castro – led the
Cuban Revolution and
became the Prime Minister
in 1957 with American
support
• The U.S. turned against
Castro when he allied Cuba
with the Soviet Union,
suspended all elections, and
named himself president for
life
Bay of Pigs Invasion (1961)
• 1,500 Cuban exiles were armed
and trained by the CIA to invade
Cuba at the Bay of Pigs and
remove Castro from power
• The invasion was leaked to
Castro and the invasion was
crushed
• President Kennedy refused to
involve U.S. troops to help them
• 1200 were captured and the U.S.
had to give $53 million in food
and supplies to Cuba for their
release
• Soviets became bold when
Cuban
Missile
they were convinced that
Kennedy would not engage
Crisis
U.S. troops in Cuba after
the Bay of Pigs invasion
• Soviets began to install
nuclear missile bases in
Cuba aimed at targets in
the U.S. claiming they
would be used if another
American invasion occurred
• U.S. spy planes took
photos of the missile sites
and President Kennedy
immediately responded
• U.S. naval forces completely
surrounded Cuba and
demanded that the missiles be
removed by the Soviet Union
or there would be another
massive invasion (by U.S.
forces this time)
• After a tense thirteen day
standoff, the Soviet Union
finally agreed to remove the
nuclear missiles in Cuba if the
U.S. removed their missile
sites in Turkey aimed at the
U.S.S.R.
• Both nations removed their
threatening missile bases
Sputnik I
• Americans
feared the Soviets
might use rockets
to launch nuclear
weapons from
space
• The Soviet Union launched the
first artificial satellite (Sputnik
I) into space in 1957
• This started the “space race”
of the Cold War period
• Americans feared we had
fallen behind the Soviets in
science and technology
• Federal funds for education
(especially math and science)
were increased as well as
national military defense
programs
Vietnam War
• Vietnam was owned by the
French when the conflict
originally began
• South Vietnam was
invaded by its communist
neighbor North Vietnam in
an effort to reunify the
nation under a communist
regime
• France tried to keep this
from happening but gave
up after the costly Battle of
Dien Bien Phu
• In the 1950’s, the U.S.
(because of our containment
policy) decided to send military
advisors and economic aid to
the South Vietnamese forces
• In the early 1960’s, President
Lyndon Johnson reported the
Tonkin Gulf Incident to the
Congress and asked them for
permission to actually fight in
the war
• Congress allowed more
involvement in the war with the
Tonkin Gulf Resolution
• South Vietnam and the U.S.
fought North Vietnamese troops
and the Viet Cong for nearly a
decade
• The U.S. troops had a difficult
time in this war because it was
difficult to identify the enemy
and fight in the dense tropical
rainforests
• Domino Theory – the belief that
if one nation in an area fell to
Communism the others would
fall as well (The fall of Vietnam
could lead to the rest of
Southeast Asia becoming
communist)
Tet Offensive
(1968)
• 8 month long
attack on over 20
South Vietnamese
cities
simultaneously
• Showed the ability
of the North
Vietnamese to plan
such an organized
attack
Tet Offensive (cont’d.)
• It was the largest and most damaging
attack of the war; it ultimately failed
• Many people began to question Pres.
Johnson’s speeches claiming our victory
in the war was near
Anti-War
Movement
• After the Tet Offensive,
many Americans began to
openly protest the
Vietnam War
• College campuses were
particularly known for
forming groups to protest
the war
• Most anti-war groups
favored…
– ending the military draft
– removing all American
troops from Vietnam
Anti-Vietnam War Movement
• Used many of the same tactics as Civil Rights
groups including sit-ins, marches, and public
demonstrations
• Later protesters became more radical, burning
their draft cards, going to prison rather than
Vietnam, and even fleeing to Canada
Ending Vietnam
• In the election of 1968,
Richard Nixon promised
vaguely to end the Vietnam
War which helped him to
win the presidency
• Vietnamization – Nixon’s
plan to remove U.S. troops
from the war respectably
(“Peace with honor”); called
for the gradual withdrawal
of troops as South
Vietnamese troops were
trained to take over their
combat roles
South Vietnam’s Defeat
• March, 1975 – North
Vietnam launched a massive
invasion of South Vietnam
• South Vietnam appealed to
the U.S. for help and they
received only economic aid
(no troops)
• April 30, 1975 – Saigon
(capital of South Vietnam)
was captured to end the war
• Vietnam was reunified as a
communist nation