Download Chapter 29 Notes

Chapter 29 Notes
The Cold War and the Emergence of a New Era
The Emergence of the Cold War
Containment in American Foreign Policy
 Soviet Union attempted to extend its control westward into central Europe, and
the Middle East
 United States inherited Britain’s task to restrain Russian expansion
 American industrial power was unmatched and American military forces were the
greatest in US history
 America supported self-determination, autonomy, and democracy
 Soviets saw American resistance as a threat to their security
 Churchill warns against communism and the Iron Curtain
 Containment – the US policy during the Cold War of resisting Soviet expansion
and influence in the expectation that the USSR would eventually collapse
The Truman Doctrine
 US becomes a permanent player in European international relations
 Truman Doctrine – support of self-determination
The Marshall Plan
 Marshall Plan – The US program named after Secretary of State George Marshall
of providing economic aid to Europe after WWII
 Soviet Union forbade its satellites to take part in the plan
 Restored prosperity to Western Europe
Soviet Domination of Eastern Europe
 The Soviet Union wanted to use their satellites as a buffer against future invasions
 Stalk saw containment as an attempt to isolate the USSR
 Communist Information Bureau (Cominform) was dedicated to spreading
revolutionary communism throughout the world
 Eastern Europe brought under direct Soviet control
 Stalinist policies included one-party political systems, close military cooperation,
collectivization, domination of education attacks on churches
 Marshal Josip Tito – successful in freeing Yugoslavia from Soviet domination
The Post-War Division of Germany
 Soviet action prompted independent US arrangements for Germany
Disagreements over Germany
 Churchill feared Russian control of Eastern/Central Europe and opposed
dismemberment of Germany
 economic policy was different (Soviets = weaken/US = self-sufficient)
 Soviets feared restoration of German industrial capacity
 Allies disagreed over reparations
Berlin Blockade
 Soviets leave joint Allied Control Commission
 Western powers issued new currency in their occupied zone
 Soviets feared new currency & sealed off Berlin by closing all railroads and
highways
 Western Allies airlifted supplies to city

Germany divided into East (German Democratic Republic) and West (German
Federal Republic)
NATO and the Warsaw Pact
 Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, Britain, Italy, Denmark, Norway,
Portugal, Iceland, West Germany, Greece, Turkey, Canada, and United States
signed a treaty forming NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization)
 Allies never decided how to treat Germany after its defeat
 Warsaw Pact –Soviet Union, Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany,
Hungary, Poland, and Romania created an alliance system; dominated by Soviets
The Creation of the State of Israel
 Great Britain was the chief political influence in the Middle East after World War
I
British Balfour Declaration
 Zionism emerged in 1897 by Theodor Herzl and Chaim Weizmann
 Arthur Balfour, the Britain Foreign Secretary, issued a statement supporting the
creation of a Jewish state
 Palestine was controlled by the British and many Jewish people moved to the
region to create Yishuv
 Arabs did not like the Jewish settlers intruding
The U.N. Resolution
 The Holocaust increased support in the world for a Jewish homeland
 1947 – the British went to the United Nations for help solving the problems in
Palestine
 The United Nations divided the country and the Arabs resisted this resolution
Israel Declares Independence
 May 1948 – Israel declares independence
 Almost immediately Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Egypt and Iraq invaded Israel
 By 1949 – Israel had expanded its borders beyond the limits set in the UN
resolution
 The United States established itself as an ally of Israel while the Soviets aided the
Arab countries
The Korean War
 After World War II the Soviet Union and the United States divided Korea into
two parts that were to be reunited later – by 1949 two nations had emerged
 1950 – North Korea invaded South Korea and the United States intervened on
behalf of the United Nations
 The United States was the main military power in the conflict following their
policy of containment
 The United States mistakenly believed that the Chinese and Soviets were close
allies and when the US army reached the border of China and Korea, Chinese
troops joined in the fight, escalating the situation.
 1953 – Border was settled at the original spot on the 38th parallel
 1953 – Stalin dies and the world hopes that tension will be eased
 1955 – Soviet occupation forces leave Austria and France, Great Britain, the US
and Soviet Union agree to meet about nuclear weapons
The Khrushchev Era in the Soviet Union
 The Soviet Union suffered the most during World War II
 Stalin did nothing to modify the character of Russian regime
 Presidium: (Politburo): pursued a policy of collective leadership
 Nitika Krushchev (1894-1971) became premier, never commanded powers of
Stalin
Khrushchev’s Domestic Policies
 Retreat from Stalinism, not authoritarianism
 Removed agricultural restrictions on private cultivation
 Modest efforts to meet demands for consumer goods
 Inappropriate farming techniques reduced yields; had to import from other
countries
The Secret Speech of 1956
 Denounced Stalin’s policy and purges
 Opened the way for genuine internal criticism of the Soviet government
 Freedom to express opinion was created as a result.
 1958 – all Stalin’s former supporters removed (NOT executed)
 Other Communists retreated from Stalinists
The Three Crises of 1956
The Suez Intervention
 Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal
 Oct. 1956 – War between Israel & Egypt - French and British intervene (against
Egypt) U.S. didn’t intervene
 Showed that W. Europe could no longer impose will
The Polish Efforts Toward Soviet Domination of Eastern Europe
Independent Action
 Gomulka – new Communist leader of Poland; accepted by the Soviets because
he promised economic and military cooperation
 Stopped collectivization
 Improved relations with Polish Roman Catholic Church
The Hungarian Uprising
 Imre Nagy – new premier; sought to move away from Soviet Union and
withdrew from Warsaw Pact
 Soviet troops invaded Hungary; deposed Nagy
 Janos Kadar (1912-1989) – new premier
 US & Soviet Union solidified as superpowers
 For approximately twenty-five years, the nations of Eastern Europe would be
permitted virtually no autonomous actions in either the domestic or the
international sphere.
Later Cold War Confrontations (1956-1963)
 Soviet Union talks about “peaceful coexistence” with U.S.
 1957- Soviet launches Sputnik, first satellite to orbit earth; enormous
technological superiority over West.
 Both want limited nuclear testing.

1959 – Tensions relaxed. Khrushchev intended to tour the U.S. as Eisenhower
was to tour Moscow.
 U-2 incident ended the visit
 Khrushchev wanted apology; Eisenhower did not apologize although accepted
responsibility.
 Khrushchev refuses to attend Summit Conference; tensions rise. Conference
aborted.
 1960 – Communist world split between Soviets and Chinese. U.S didn’t see the
differences
The Berlin Wall
 1961 - Kennedy and Khrushchev met in Vienna with inconclusive results.
 Throughout 1961, thousands of refugees from East Germany cross into West
Berlin; outflow of people embarrassed East Germany, hurt its economy, and
demonstrated Soviet’s inability to control Eastern Europe.
 August 1961 – E. Germans w/ Soviet support put up concrete wall between East
and West Berlin.
 Wall stopped refugees; U.S. doubts Germany.
The Cuban Missile Crisis
 1962 -Most dangerous days of Cold War.
 Fidel Castro established communist government in Cuba and becomes ally of
USSR causing concern for U.S
 1962 – Soviet Union secretly places missiles in Cuba.
 U.S. blockades Cuba in response and demands removal of weapons.
 Soviets back down; crisis ends.
 Khrushchev’s lessened credibility caused other non-Euro communist regimes to
question Soviet Union’s commitment to their security and survival.
 1963 U.S. and USSR concluded a nuclear test ban treaty, which marked
beginning of lessening in tensions between the two powers.
The Brezhnev Era
 1964 – Communists believe Khrushchev tried to do too much too soon and had
done it poorly
 Brezhnev emerges as dominant figure
1968: The Invasion of Czechoslovakia
 1963 – Alexander Dubcek experiment with liberal communism
 Soviets sent troops into Czechoslovakia to replace Dubcek with communist
leaders
 Brezhnev Doctrine – Soviets can interfere with other communist countries,
socialist counterpart of the Truman Democratic Document
 No Soviet interruption after 1968
The United States Détente
 President Richard Nixon and U.S. began a policy of détente with Soviets
 Détente – agreed on trade and reduced strategic arms
 Under General Ford (1974-1977), U.S. and Soviets signed the Helsinki Accord
along with other European nations
 Soviets agreed to respect each other’s forms of government


Jimmy Carter (1977-1981) strongly advocated the Helsinki Accord
During 1970’s – Forced Cuban militarization, Sandinista forces in North
Corogula, Vietnam, and funds for weapons for Arabs
 By early 1980’s – Soviets possessed largest armed force in the world and nuclear
power similar to America
The Invasion of Afghanistan
 The Brezhnev government decided to invade Afghanistan in 1979 to ensure its
influence in Central Asia and to install an Afghan government.
 The U.S. refused to ratify a second Strategic Arms Limitation, embargoed grain
shipments to the Soviet Union, boycotted the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow,
and aided rebels in Afghan, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and other Islamic nations.
 The Afghan war sapped Soviet strength for ten years like Vietnam did to the U.S.
Communism and Solidarity in Poland
 The Soviet Government challenged the authority of the Polish Communist Party
 Chronic economic mismanagement and persistent shortages of food and consumer
goods plagued Poland for twenty-five years
 The Polish government raised meat prices leading to hundreds of protest strikes in
July 1980
 For the first time, secret elections for the party congress were permitted
 General Wojciech Jaurzelski became head of the Polish Communist Party
 The leaders of the Solidarity were soon arrested
Relations with the Reagan Administration
 U.S. relates grain embargo in Soviet Union and place less emphasis on human
rights
 Reagan describes Soviet Union as “evil empire”
 Reagan administration increase military spending, slow arms limitation
negotiations, deploy new missile system in Europe
 They proposed strategic Defense Initiative (Star Wars), major issue in arms
control negotiation with Soviet Union and Star Wars forced Soviet Union to
increase own defense, costly and contributed to economic problems
 At the same time of Cold War, extraordinary events occurred in Africa and Asia
Decolonization: The European Retreat From Empire









Transformation of Africa and Asia from colonial to independent states= most
remarkable global political event
Approx. 1/3 of world population was subjected to colonial rule
Decolonization was direct result of WWII and rise of nationalist movements
WWII drew back military to Europe
European economic collapses cause powers to not be able to afford
Aims of allies undermined colonialism. Difficult to control colonies while
fighting
The U.S. opposed the continuation of the colonial empires.
The Cold War complicated the process of decolonization.
They moved to create spheres of influence and alliances with the newly
independent states.
Major Areas of Colonial Withdrawal



Decolonization was worldwide event
Involved such dramatic moments as Dutch being forced from East Indies to
replaced by independent nation of Indonesia, Belgian withdrawal from Congo,
liberation of Portuguese Mozambique and Angola and end of white rule in
Rhodesia
Two largest colonial empires were British and French, their retreat from empire
produced far reached repercussions
India
















The British had solidified their rule of India in the mid-eighteenth century.
Their administration required the Indians themselves to pay for British rule.
British policies pushed many Indians to migrate to British possessions in East
Asia, Africa, and the Caribbean.
For decades, the religious, ethnic, linguistic, and political divisions among Indians
permitted the British to dominate the country through a divide-and-rule strategy.
Hindu Indians founded the Indian National Congress.
Muslims organized the Muslim League in 1887.
Gandhi worked on behalf of Indian immigrants.
Gandhi –leader of Indian nationalism
He furthered his insistence on religious toleration.
Passive resistance
Salt March 1930
1947 the British Government decided to leave India
Ali Jinnah led the Muslim League and sought a Muslim state
Partition of India and Pakistan
East Pakistan broke away to become independent Bangladesh in 1971
Founding of Pakistan would be important for the emergence of political Islamism
Further British Retreat from Empire






British undertook various development programs in their remaining Asian,
African, and Caribbean colonies.
Investments in the colonies made the British government and public more aware
of the actual costs of empire and may have led both to accept more easily the end
of empire
British hoped to oversee the creation of institutions in their former colonies that
would assure representative self-government once they departed
1948 Burma and Sri Lanka became independent
British tried to prepare their tropical colonies for self-government
Ghana is an example of decolonization


In Cyprus, Kenya and Aden the British withdrew under the pressure of militant
nationalists movements
Political instability and poverty have characterized the history of the independent
states in Africa
The Turmoil of French Decolonization
 Many groups in Britain had been critical of colonialism, including the Labour
Party.
 The situation in Vietnam, because of the intervention of the United States, drew
French decolonization directly into the tensions of the Cold War.
France and Algeria
 France added Algeria to itself and the French in Algeria had the most say and the
Algerians were degraded and did not have the rights the French did.
 French fought with Muslims in Algeria. This caused the French to lose legitimacy
and it started Algerian nationalism.
 Algerian nationalists soon found the National Liberation Front (FLN).
 Algerian and French sides committed atrocities, hundreds of thousands of
Algerians were killed
 Charles de Gaulle created the fifth republic which enhanced the power of the
president, tried to pull the French of out Algeria
 Muslims fled from Algeria to France, because FLN took over.
France and Algeria
 France’s government made Algeria and integral part of France
 France’s government established three administrative departments in Algeria like
those in France
 After World War I the French extended rights of full French citizenship to
Algerian Muslims
 Algerian nationalism was emerging when the French established a structure for
limited political representation and undertook economic reform, but however,
these steps were ineffective
 Algerian nationalists found the National Liberal Front (FLN)
 1945, Fourth French Republic refused to compromise with Algeria
 War broke out and both sides committed atrocities
 Thousands of Algerians were killed in the war between Algerian nationalists and
the French
 Once the FLN took over Algeria, thousands fled to France and France gained a
large and largely unwelcome Muslim population.
France and Vietnam
 Algerian drive toward independence mainly involved France and Algeria
population
 Indochina problem eventually draws the United States into war in Vietnam
 The war establishes Ho Chi Minh as a major anti-colonial nationalist leader.
 Ho Chi Minh was a communist; he achieved his position without support of
Chinese or Soviet communists




1945- Ho Chi Minh declares independence of Vietnam under the Viet Minh
1947- full fledged civil war erupts in Vietnam
The United States showed minimal concern about the Indochina war
United States saw the French colonial war against Ho Chi Minh as an integral part
of the Cold War conflict
 United States supported French effort in Vietnam financially but was not prepared
to intervene militarily
 1954- French military stronghold of Dien Bien Phu fell to Viet Minh forces after a
prolonged siege.
 France lost the will to continue the struggle; became increasingly unpopular with
French people
 1956- elections held to reunify the country
 Conference attempted to transform a military conflict into a political one
Vietnam Drawn Into the Cold War
 September 1954, US formed Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO); it
consisted of Great Britain, France, Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, Pakistan,
Philippines, and United States.
 The U.S. stepped into the turmoil in Vietnam by providing military and economic
aid
 1955, France withdrew from South Vietnam, allowing Vietnamese political
parties to fight for power.
 Ngo Dinh Diem – a strong non-communist nationalist came to power establishing
the Republic of Vietnam
 1960- National Liberation Front formed to overthrow Diem, unify country, reform
the economy and oust the US
 The military wing of the NLF was called the Viet Cong
The Collapse of Yugoslavia and Civil War
 Its borders –seven national groups- include Slavs, Croats, Slovenes,
Montenegrins, Macedonians, Bosnians, and Albanians
 Ethnic disputes which constituted individual republics or autonomous areas
 Tito pursued is own foreign policy; encouraged a cult of personality and instituted
complex political power sharing
 After death, economic difficulties undermined central authority and Yugoslavia
dissolved into civil war
 Nationalistic Leaders – Slobodan Milosevic (Serbia), Franjo Tudjman (Croatia)
gained authority
 Ethnic tension and violence resulted from systematic discrimination
 1990 – Slovenia and Croatia declare independence Central Yugoslavian
government
 Germany and several other European nations granted them recognition
 Violence escalated
 Serbia wanted to maintain a unitary Yugoslav state to dominate










Croatia was equally determined to secure independence
June, 1991- Full-fledged war had erupted between Serbia and Croatia
Croatia was accused of reviving Fascism
Serbia was accused of maintaining a Stalinistic regime
The core conflict was ethnic-based
1992 – the conflict took a new turn; both forces were determined to divide
Herzegovina
Serbs pursued “ethnic cleansing” the killing and removal of Bosnian Muslims
Bombardment of Sarajevo brought violence of the Yugoslav war to the attention
of the war
NATO forced Serbs to withdraw artillery from Sarajevo
The Collapse of European Communism
 The withdrawal of Soviet influence from Eastern Europe and the internal collapse
of the Soviet Union are the most important European historical events of the
second half of the century.
 Under Brezhnev, the Soviet government became markedly more repressive at
home.
 It began to harass Jews
 The structures of the Communist Party became both rigidified and corrupted.
Gorbachev Attempts To Reform the Soviet Union
 Gorbachev came to power after both of Brezhnev’s immediate successors died
within thirteen months of each other.
 Gorbachev proved to be the last great attempt to reform the Soviet system.
 It led to both his retirement and the end of communist rule in the Soviet Union
 He wanted to revive the Russian economy through a policy called perestroika.
 It reduced the size and importance of centralized economic ministries.
 Gorbachev began to advocate private ownership of property and liberalization of
the economy, but the economy still remained stagnate and even declined.
 Gorbachev allowed public discussion and criticism of Soviet history and Soviet
Communist policy. This was called Glasnost, or openness.
 The policy of open discussion allowed national minorities to demand political
autonomy.
1989: Revolution of Eastern Europe
Solidarity Reemerges in Poland
 Poland government released Solidarity prisoners but Jaruzelski remained
president
 Solidarity was legalized and Walesa led the movement for independent
trade union
 Jaruzelski promised free election but Communist lost to Solidarity
 He then appointed the first noncommunist prime minister since 1945
Toward Hungarian Independence
 Hungary opened its border to allow free travel to Austria
 Thousands of East Germans left for West Germans
 Kadar is stripped of his position as president of Hungarian Communist
Party
 The party renames itself the Socialist Party and promised free election
German Reunification
 Gorbachev said he would not use force to support the demonstrations in
East Germany
 East German government resigned
 In 1945, the Berlin Wall was open
 Free travel began between East and West Germany
 Khol led the movement for unification
 The European Economic Community accepted the unification of Germany
The Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia
 Havel led the forces against the Communist Party
The August 1991 Coup
 Conservative forces that Gorbachev attempted a coup
 Gorbachev was placed under house arrest while on vacation in Crimea
 On the day of the coup, Boris Yeltsin climbed on a tank in front of the
Russian Parliament building to denounce the coup and ask the world for
help to maintain the Soviet Union’s movement toward democracy
 Gorbachev was humiliated by his supporters when he came back
 Celebration of the failure of the coup- one of the largest public
demonstrations in Russian history
 Yeltsin became the dominant political figure in the nation
 Communist Party collapsed
 December 1991 Soviet Union ceased to exist
 Marxist socialism has been discredited
The Yeltsin Decade and Putin
 Yeltsin emerged as the strongest leader within the new commonwealth
 The Russian Parliament opposed Yeltsin personally and his policies of economic
and political
A Transformed West
 Attack on 9/11/2001 led to “war on terrorism”
 Late 2001, U.S. overthrew Taliban government but Al Qaeda is still in hiding
 U.S. took policy of preemptive action so weapons of mass destruction
wouldn’t fall into terrorists’ hands—departure from U.S. foreign policy
 1990 U.N. inspectors tried to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq but
were expelled





Clinton administration adopted policy of regime change in Iraq
After 9/11/2001, George W. Bush tried to overthrow Hussein and remove
supposed weapons of mass destruction— tried to get passage into Iraq but
U.N. security council didn’t allow
Al Qaeda terrorists struck Europe (Madrid, Spain and London, England)
U.S. found no weapons of mass destruction
U.S. relationships with world changed—NATO split