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The Cold War: Student Handout What was the cold war? The Cold War is the term used to describe the relations between the USSR and the USA after the Second World War ended. -During WW2, The Soviet Union and The United States fought on the same side due to the fact that they were both enemies of Germany. They were thought to have a stable relationship during the war and knew that they needed each other to defeat Germany and fascism. It is referred to as the Cold War because there wasn’t any actual fighting but tension that developed because of the nations different political ideologies (communism and capitalism.) During the cold war, (which began in 1945 and ended in 1990) the two nations were engaged in an arms race where each country was trying to outdo each other in nuclear weapons. The threats they opposed on each other went to such extremes that both nations feared of losing control over their own government. For example: The Soviet Union kept it’s people under complete control because they were afraid of their people escaping communism, whereas the Americans were scared of Communists taking over America. Until 1990 when the cold war finally ended, relations between the East and West dominated international affairs. Other things that influenced the Cold War were economic and military related competition. The USSR & Communism - The Soviet Union was made up of many eastern European countries such as Russia, Belarus, Estonia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Lithuania, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Latvia, Moldova, Ukraine and Uzbekistan. - These countries were all had communist governments. Communism is a political ideology that which means that nothing is privately owned giving the government control over all property and possessions. - The USSR was known for having one of the most powerful armies in history, (Which the Americans saw as a threat.) The Soviet Army was made up of ground forces, air forces, air defense forces and strategic rocket forces and its equipment and men were both known for their power. The Communist government provided for it’s people and in return the people had to contribute what they could. NATO & Capitalism - USA consisted of a capitalist government, meaning that the people’s possessions were privately owned. People have more liberty in a capitalist setting. NATO is the military alliance between North America and democratic countries in Europe created in 1949. Although the USSR was just at war with United States, countries in Europe who felt threatened by communism allied with the USA. This was beneficial for the US because they had land they could use in Europe for the occupation of nuclear weapons close to Russia in the case of war. The United States had a very powerful army during the cold war and advanced technology that the Russians didn’t. The Americans used nuclear weapons for the first time when they launched the Atomic bomb on Hiroshima at the end of WW2. This caused the Soviet Union to feel threatened but also gave them the want to be able to produce better nuclear weapons. Technological Competition - The USSR and the USA Major Personalities John F. Kennedy John F. Kennedy was the 35th President of the USA, serving from 1961 to 1963. He was what was known as a "Cold Warrior", with his political campaigns largely revolving around the anti-Cold War platform. In 1962, the middle of his presidency, he heard that the Soviet Union was creating offensive missiles in Cuba. Frightened for his country and it's alliances, he took immediate action and ordered the quarantine of Cuba and moved troops in to eliminate the threat it posed. When Soviet premier Khrushchev saw this persistence, he ordered the removal of the missiles, which ended the Cuban Missile Crisis. On November 22, 1963, during a car procession in Dallas, Kennedy was shot by assassin Lee Harvey Oswald from the upper story of a building above and was killed. Mikhail Gorbachev Mikhail Gorbachev was the President of the Soviet Union and the last USSR leader. He served from 1985 to 1991 as the second-last General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Gorbachev didn't want the war to continue, he wanted peace. Attempting to achieve this, he cut his Soviet armed forces by 10 percent and withdrew 50 000 troops from Eastern Europe to show the USA that the Soviet Union didn't want a full blown war. He then went on to have four different summits with the then current president of the United States, Ronald Reagan, all with the same goal of ending the war. Gorbachev's efforts ultimately led to the end of the war. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990 for his astounding contributions. Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman was a President of the United States beginning in April 1945, during WWII and into the Cold War. Also known as "Give 'Em Hell Harry", it was his orders to drop the bomb on Hiroshima that effectively ended World War II. Alarmed with the growing communist forces, he helped Greece and Germany resist the impending communism, and when he saw North Korea going after South Korea with its communist views, he sent troops in to defend them, which was controversial and upset many of his people. His general of the troops at the time, General Douglas MacArthur created him an invasion plan, which proved to successfully push North Korea back into its boundaries. However, North Korea had said that they wouldn't really retaliate unless the troops pushed past the 38th parallel, or into their borders - and Truman let MacArthur push too far. Their forces were overwhelmed by the North Korean forces, and a frantic MacArthur requested for the use of nuclear weapons to win the war. Truman's quickly decreasing popularity was a direct influence of his equally quick decision to decline the request, and fire General MacArthur. He left office in January of 1953. Joseph Stalin Joseph Stalin, whose name meant "Man of Steel" and was chosen specifically to intimidate the masses, was a strong-willed communist dictator. Stalin became the leader of the Soviet Union after World War II, and determinedly fought with the USA over control of almost everything. His mission included having everybody thinking and acting along the same lines as him, and he acted out that mission sadistically. He killed tens of millions of people, for no good reason other than suspicions of not being loyal - from doctors to civilians to military officials, nobody was safe and everybody was scared and on edge. Stalin's main goal at first was to get into the secretive Allied meetings, also called "The Big Three", and was finally called in with Churchill and Roosevelt. When he convinced a sick and warweary Roosevelt to side with him against the knowledgeable Churchill, the power it gave him started the Cold War. Causes of the Cold War The Soviet Union wanted to spread its beliefs of communism worldwide, which worried the Americans who follow democracy. The United States wanted to encourage free trade throughout the world. The Soviet Union wanted to shield off her own sphere from international commerce. Russia feared that trade with the West would involve the risk of Russia being opened to western influences which would have eroded the strength of the Soviet Union The possession of atomic weapons by the Americans caused fear in the Soviets. Both countries feared an attack from each other. The Soviet Union’s action of taking over Eastern Europe was a major factor for Americans suspicions. The US President had a personal hate for the Soviet leader Josef Stalin. The Soviets feared that America would use Western Europe as a base to attack them Effects of the Cold War Both United States of America and the Soviet Union built huge stores of atomic weapons and ballistic missiles. Both military blocs NATO and The Warsaw Pact were then formed The cold war led to conflicts such as the Vietnam War and the Korean War. Due to economic weaknesses the Soviet Union collapsed. The Berlin Wall was knocked down and the two German nations were unified. The Warsaw Pact fell apart. The Baltic States and other former Soviet republics accomplished independence. The United States of America became the sole superpower of the world. Communism distorted all around the world. Cold War -Canada September 1945, a young Russian called Igor Gouzenko walked into the newsroom of the Ottawa Citizen and announced that he had proof of a widespread Soviet spy ring operating in Canada. Due to Igor's allegations, that was a wake-up call for Canada and the rest of the world. Canada didn’t have the chance to choose sides in the Cold war. The country was immediately seated next to the United States. However, during World War II, Canada had already traded some of its sovereignty in a chain of political and military pacts with the United States. During the post-war period, Canada had moved closer to the American sphere of influence as international tensions rose. In 1949, the Soviet Union tested its first atomic bomb and in reply, Canada's military expenses soared. In the year of 1950, North Korea, which was communist, invaded the United States of America, backed South Korea and added more pressure and stress on Canada to build up its weapons. Igor Gouzenko