Download The Cold War

The Cold War: The
Beginnings
Five Major Causes
• 1) Poland: “The Big Apple in the Barrel”
• 2) Structure of governments in other E.
European countries
• 3) Future of Germany
• 4) Economic reconstruction of Europe
• 5) International policies toward the
atomic bomb and atomic energy
• “. . . as the war drew to an end, virtually
none of the critical issues on the agenda of
postwar relationships had been resolved.
Preferring to postpone decisions rather than
to confront the full dimension of the conflicts
that existed, FDR evidently hoped that his
own political genius, plus the exigencies of
postwar conditions, would pave the way for a
mutual accommodation that would somehow
satisfy both America’s commitment to a
world of free trade and democratic rule, and
the Soviet Union’s obsession with national
security and safely defined spheres of
influence.”
Chafe. The Unfinished Journey; American since WWII p. 53
Yalta Conference
• Meeting of the Big 3
• Stalin took back free
elections in Poland
and banned
democratic parties
• Soviet Army in E.
Europe = West
could do little
U.S. GOALS IN E.
EUROPE:
• Self-governing
countries
• Access to raw
materials and
markets
• Rebuild European
govs.
• U.S. wanted to
polarize Germany
into small farms =
FAILED
SOVIET GOALS IN E.
EUROPE
• Encourage
communism
• Rebuild its economy
by using E.
European resources
• Control E. Europe to
balance U.S.
influence in W.
Europe
• Keep Germany
divided so it could
not threaten the
Soviet Union again.
Satellite Nations
• Stalin wanted a
barrier between E.
Europe and W.
Europe.
• Satellite Nations:
countries dominated
by the Soviet Union.
U.S. Policy of Containment
• Feb. 1946: George F.
Kennan, U.S.
diplomat proposed
the policy of
containment:
– U.S. would take all
measures to prevent
any extension of
communist rule to
other countries.
The Iron Curtain: 1949
The Truman Doctrine
• March 12, 1947:
Declaration that the
U.S. should support
free countries trying
resist communist
pressure.
– 1947 – 1950: U.S.
sent $400 million in
aiding Greece and
Turkey
The Marshall Plan
• June 1947: Sec. of
State George
Marshall: The
Marshall Plan
• U.S. provide aid ($)
to all European
nations that needed
it.
• By 1952, 16
countries received
some $13 billion in
aid
Post-War Germany
The Berlin Airlift
• West Berlin held
hostage by Stalin
• U.S. and Great
Britain flew in
supplies for 327
days
– 277,000 flights
– 2.3 million tons of
supplies
• May 1949, Soviets
lifted the blockade.
NATO
• NATO: North Atlantic
Treaty Organization.
• Formation of 12
countries unified by
increased Soviet
aggression
• Military support if one
of the NATO countries
was attacked
• 1st time in history the
U.S. was involved in a
military alliance during
peacetime.
Vasili Alexandrovich Arkhipov
•
•
•
•
•
Executive Officer aboard a Hotel class
ballistic missile submarine B-59 during
the Cuban Missile Crisis
Caught behind the quarantine line
during the Cuban Missile Crisis
– In the middle of one U.S. carrier
and 11 battleships
U.S. dropped depth charges to force
the subs to the surface
Capt. of the sub loaded a nuclear
torpedo to be used against the U.S.
ships
– Believed the war “already” has
started
Moscow had left the decision to use
one of these nukes with the captain of
the submarine but with a proviso. If he
felt the need to use the weapon the
next two officers in terms of rank had
to agree to its use as well. The
political officer on board said yes. The
Executive Officer, Arkhipov, said no.
McCarthyism
• Joseph McCarthy,
Republican from
Wisconsin
• Unfair tactic of
accusing people of
disloyalty w/o
providing evidence.
Finding Suspected Communists
• HUAC = House
Committee on UnAmerican Activities
– Investigations in and
outside the
government
– Investigated “thought
to be” Communists in
Hollywood
The Hollywood 10
• Resist to cooperate
with HUAC
– Thought hearings
were Unconstitutional
• Blacklist: a list of
people who were
condemned for
having a Communist
background.
Spy Cases