Download The Cold War - World History

An
overview
of the
Cold War
TURN TO A PARTNER
• What is communism, who invented it and
why would it seem like a good system to
the people?
• Proletariat and Bourgeoisie
• 1st World –
American and
it’s capitalist
countries
• 2nd World –
Soviet Union
and it’s
“allies”
• 3rd World –
Neutral
countries
The Cold War [1945-1991]:
An Ideological Struggle
Soviet &
Eastern Bloc
Nations
GOAL  spread worldwide Communism
WEAPONS:
US & the
Western
Democracies
GOAL  “Containment”
of Communism & the
eventual collapse of the
Communist world.
[George Kennan]
1. Spying [KGB vs. CIA]
2. Arms Race [nuclear escalation]
3. Ideological Competition for the minds and hearts
of Third World peoples [Communist govt. &
command economy vs. democratic govt. & capitalist
economy]  “proxy wars”
Pawns and Domino Theory
• The cold war was a long
conflict between the USSR
and US that would not lead to
direct fighting, but rather
fighting for control of other
countries
• Domino theory – US fear that if
one country falls to
communism, than surrounding
countries would follow
• Vietnam, Korea, Cuba and
Berlin all pawns in this game
• Europe is in Ruins, shattered by the fighting of
WW2. It’s great countries lie open to communist
influence, and Stalin desires to dominate the
continent.
• The main fear is that the standard of living is so
low in Europe, it’s citizens will turn to
communism, and fall under Soviet Dominance
• Turn to a Partner - How should president
Truman react to this problem?
The Truman Doctrine
•
Truman stated the Doctrine would
be "the policy of the United States
to support free people who are
resisting attempted subjugation by
armed minorities or by outside
pressures."
•
These "totalitarian regimes"
coerced "free peoples," they
represented a threat to
international peace and the
national security of the United
States.
•
Saved Greece and Turkey from
Communist revolutions by funding
dictators
1948
Marshall Plan
This plan gives money to European Countries
to help rebuilt their economies.
This plan is a huge success in rebuilding
Western Europe.
The
Marshall
Plan
The Division of Berlin
Soviets order blockade
of Berlin
Hope to choke off the
city from capitalism
and absorb it into East
Germany
George Kennan [“X Article”]:
CONTAINMENT
Goals
Means
Actual Application
1. Restoration
of the balance
of power
Encouragement
of selfconfidence in
nations
threatened by
Soviet expansion.
Long-term
program of U.S.
economic
assistance
[Marshall Plan]
2. Reduction of
Soviet ability
to project
outside power.
Exploitation of
tensions in
international
communism.
Cooperation with
communist regimes;
[supporting Titoism
in Yugoslavia]
People wanted peace…
…and needed the world
put back together again.
The Bipolarization of Europe
• NATO – North
Atlantic Treaty
Organization
• Warsaw pact –
Soviet Union and
it’s satellite Nations
• Soviet Union really
needed to create a
defensive buffer
zone (test question)
Berlin Airlift 1948-1949
Russia closes all
land routes to the
City of Berlin in hope
of driving the Western
allied countries out.
U.S. responds by
delivering all the
supplies the city
needs by aircraft.
Russia eventually
gives up.
..the Berlin
Wall…
The Berlin Wall 1961
1949
A. Russia creates the Atomic Bomb.
1949
China is taken over by Mao Zedong,
and his communist forces.
West Germany is created out of the
three western allied zones.
East Germany is then created by the Russians.
• Winston Churchill – An Iron
Curtain has been draped
across Europe dividing the free
world and the Soviet sphere
• Containment – The idea that we
cannot attack the Soviet’s
directly, but we can contain
communism and prevent it from
spreading
Turn to a Partner
• Vietnam is a country that gained it’s
independence from France. However, it’s
government chooses to become
communist.
• Should the United States interfere?
Cold War v.s. Self determination
• United Nations – Global
organization promoting
peace and human rights
•
Decolonialization – Former
colonies of Europe gain
their freedom. They look
for self determination, but
the U.S. and Soviets look to
influence them towards
communism/capitalism
•
Their civil war is our cold
war-examples –Korea,
Vietnam, Cuba
People wanted peace…
…and needed the world
put back together again.
1950’s
Space Race begins
1957 Russians launch sputnik into orbit.
The U.S. races to catch up to the Russians and
surpass them.
Race to the Moon begins in Cold War duel.
Nikita Khrushchev – Important Soviet Leader
Korean War
[1950-1953]
Korean War
[1950-1953]
Communist North
Invades
Capitalist South
“Domino Theory”
U.S. and United
Nations declare
war to protect S.
Korea even though
it is a dictatorship
Turn to a Partner
• Pretend to be President Truman. You
don’t want communism spreading, but in
order to stop it you have to risk American
lives to support a capitalist dictator.
• What do you do?
The Shifting Map of Korea
[1950-1953]
The Korean War
1950-1953
• U.S. Comes to the Aid of
the south, but China
joins the fight and
pushes U.S. back with
millions of troops
“human wave”
• A stalemate occurs
• General MacArthur
pushes to use the
Atomic bomb against the
Chinese.
• Truman fires him for
insubordination
• Ends in ceasefire
CASTRO AND THE BAY OF PIGS
• Fidel Castro and his brother over through
the US backed dictatorship in Cuba to set
up a communist government
• Kennedy Sponsors an invasion of Cuba to
topple the communist regime
• Castro reaches out to USSR for help
The Cuban Missile Crisis
1962
• Kennedy vs. Khrushchev for the fate of the
world
The Cuban Missile Crisis
• American spy plane sees the
Soviets moving missiles into
communist Cuba, let by
Castro. Right on America’s
doorstep
• U.S. and USSR come to the
brink of Nuclear war
• Kennedy sets up a blockade
and demands the USSR
remove missiles.
• U.S. Agrees to not invade
Cuba to overthrow Castro,
Khrushchev removes missiles
National Defense Budget [1940-1964]
The Cold War
1980 Solidarity Union starts in Poland, is given
support by Pope John Paul II
First cracks in the Iron Curtain
Sensing this, America’s president, Ronald
Reagan, decided to try to end the Cold War
by bankrupting the Soviet Union.
He spent over a
trillion dollars
on new military
technology in
the 1980s.