Download The Cold War

THE COLD WAR
1945-1991
WHAT WAS IT?
The Cold War: A period of tension, competition, and
hostility between the United States (and their allies)
and the Soviet Union (and their allies) following World
War II
ORIGINS
• The division of
Germany
• Great Britain, France,
and the U.S. were all
Democratic nations
• The Soviet Union was
a Communist nation
DEMOCRACY V. COMMUNISM
Democracy
• The people elect
representatives who
make the decisions
Communism
• The government
controls everything
• “Common ownership”
• No social classes exist
• Everyone pulls his/her
weight and is equal
ORIGINS
• Stalin’s deception
• Vowed to allow free elections in eastern Europe
• Instead created pro-Soviet (Communist) governments
ORIGINS
• The Berlin Airlift
• The Western Powers
(Great Britain, France,
the U.S.) merged their
territory in Germany
• Stalin blocked access
to Berlin (located in the
eastern half of the
country)
• The Western Powers
airdropped supplies
(food, fuel, equipment)
into the city
THE IRON CURTAIN
• The Iron Curtain: the boundary between the Democratic
nations of the West and the Communist nations of the
East
“From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron
curtain has descended across the continent. Behind that
line lie all the capitals of the ancient states of Central and
Eastern Europe. Warsaw, Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Budapest,
Belgrade, Bucharest and Sofia, all these famous cities and
the populations around them lie in what I must call the
Soviet sphere, and all are subject in one form or another,
not only to Soviet influence but to a very high and, in some
cases, increasing measure of control from Moscow.” –
Winston Churchill
PRESIDENT TRUMAN
• War strategy:
Containment
• Stop the spread of
Communism
• The Truman Doctrine:
Truman’s promise to aid
people fighting to
maintain Democracy
• The Marshall Plan: $13
billion given to western
and southern European
countries rebuilding
after World War II
VIDEO
NATO V. THE WARSAW PACT
NATO
The Warsaw Pact
An agreement between
the U.S., Canada, and 10
European countries to
protect each other if
attacked
The Soviet response to
NATO which created an
alliance between 8
communist countries
NATO V. THE WARSAW PACT
THE RED SCARE
• The House Un-American
Activities Committee
• 4 million government
workers underwent loyalty
checks
• The Hollywood blacklist
• Joseph McCarthy
• Claimed that 205 members
of the government were
Communists
• Launched a hunt for
Communists in the
U.S.(McCarthyism)
• Army-McCarthy hearings
accused the U.S. Army of
“coddling Communists”
THE HOLLYWOOD BLACKLIST
JOSEPH MCCARTHY
ARMY-MCCARTHY HEARINGS
ACTIVITY: THE TRUMAN DOCTRINE
The Truman Doctrine
"At the present moment in world history nearly every nation must choose between
alternative ways of life. The choice is too often not a free one. One way of life is based
upon the will of the majority, and is distinguished by free institutions, representative
government, free elections, guarantees of individual liberty, freedom of speech and
religion, and freedom from political oppression. The second way of life is based upon
the will of a minority forcibly imposed upon the majority. It relies upon terror and
oppression, a controlled press and radio, fixed elections, and the suppression of
personal freedoms. I believe that it must be the policy of the United States to support
free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside
pressures. I believe that we must assist free peoples to work out their own destinies in
their own way. I believe that our help should be primarily through economic stability
and orderly political process." -- President Harry S. Truman, March 12, 1947 in an
Address Recommending aid to Greece and Turkey.
Discussion Questions
1. Who is Truman addressing?
2. What is Truman asking for?
3. What are the first and second "ways of life" that Truman refers to? Give textual examples of the
differences Truman mentions between these two “ways of life.”
4. Who is President Truman referring to when speaking of the two different "ways of life"?
5. Give a modern day example of a country that lives by the first "way of life".
6. Give a modern day example of a country that lives by the second "way of life".
7. How are the conditions (quality of life) in these two countries (from questions 5 & 6) different?
ACTIVITY: THE TRUMAN DOCTRINE
Extract from Oral History Interview with CLARK M. CLIFFORD Assistant to White House
Naval Aide, 1945-46; Special Counsel to the President, 1946-50. Washington, D. C.
March 16, 1972 by Jerry N. Hess.
"We weren't concerned about markets; we were concerned about preventing Soviet
control of larger areas of the world than they already controlled. When the Second
World War ended, France was decimated. England was almost brought to its knees,
you'll remember, and if Hitler had moved at one time, he could have probably brought
them to their knees. The Soviet Union had gone through the most traumatic experience
of its career. I read that in the Second World War it's estimated that the Soviet Union lost
between twenty-five and thirty million men. So I think they were just determined that it
was never going to happen to them again. But an enormous vacuum had been left in
the free world by the end of World War II, and the Soviet Union was determined to move
into that vacuum. Now, that was the basis of the Marshall plan when we were thinking
about reviving Europe. At the time the Soviets were pressing and searching and trying to
find every soft spot where they could insert themselves. That was the reason for the
North Atlantic Treaty Organization; it was the reason for the Truman Doctrine."
Discussion Questions
1. What does Clifford mean when he says, "an enormous vacuum had been left in the free world by the end of World
War II?"
2. Why would the Soviet Union be determined to avoid another conflict as devastating as World War II?
3. What does Clifford say was the main reason for NATO and the Truman Doctrine?
4. What does NATO stand for?
5. Compare Truman's address in the previous reading with Clifford's statements in his oral history. Make a list of
similarities and differences between the two sources of information. What can you conclude from this comparison?
6. What influence does the Truman Doctrine have on American foreign policy today?
THE KOREAN WAR
• The 38th Parallel: a
boundary between the
Soviet-backed
Democratic People’s
Republic of Korea (North
Korea) and the Republic
of Korea (South Korea)
• Created after WWII (Japan
had owned Korea)
• Half went to the Soviets,
half to the U.S.
• More than 10,000 soldiers
from both sides had died
before the war even
began due to crossing the
border
What is ironic about the name “Democratic People’s Republic of Korea?”
SOUTH KOREA
NORTH KOREA
WAR!
• June 25, 1950:
75,000 North Korean
soldiers crossed the
38th Parallel
• In response, the
United States sent
soldiers
AMERICAN PARANOIA
• Americans feared this
was the first step in
the Communists plan
to take over the
world
“If we let Korea down,
the Soviets will keep
right on going and
swallow up one place
after another.” – Harry
Truman
THE STRATEGY
• Plan #1: attempt to force North Korea back across
the 38th Parallel
• FAILURE!
• The North Korean Army: well-disciplined, well-trained, wellequipped
• The South Korean Army: Frightened, confused, and prone to
fleeing
• Plan #2: Liberate ALL of Korea (even North Korea)
from the Communists
• SUCCESS!
• At first…
• Communist China feared the U.S. would come for them
next and joined the North Koreans
COMMUNIST CHINA
THE DILEMMA
• Solution #1: Keep fighting
General MacArthur’s plan
• The problem: The Soviets might step in, starting a nuclear war
• Solution #2: Agree to peace
• The problem: This would be a clear sign of weakness and
show that Communism was winning
President Truman’s plan
THE OUTCOME
• After two years of
negotiations, they
agreed to end the war
• South Korea gained an
extra 1,500 square miles
of territory
• It created a 2-mile wide
“demilitarized zone” that
still exists today
• Though it only lasted 3
years, nearly 5 million
people died (40,000
Americans)
DEMILITARIZED ZONE
DEMILITARIZED ZONE
THE KOREAN WAR
“If the best minds in
the world had set out
to find us the worst
possible location in
the world to fight this
damnable war, the
unanimous choice
would have been
Korea.”
VIDEO
ACTIVITY: THE KOREAN WAR
5th Recording
1.
Why does Truman say the United States
did not occupy all of Korea after World
War II?
2.
Truman says that atomic weapons were
not used in Korea when the Chinese
crossed the Yalu River. Why did Truman
insist atomic weapons should not be
used?
3.
Truman speaks of the aggression of the
1920’s and 1930’s in these recordings.
Name two of the aggressor nations
Truman is referring to.
4.
How does Truman feel about war
atrocities and the accountability they
should face?
5.
Discuss how Truman believed his
experiences as a World War I veteran help
guide his decisions as Commander and
Chief.
6.
After listening to the recordings of
President Truman, name and describe at
least two decisions you believe were
positive and beneficial. Name and
describe at least two decisions you
believe were negative and detrimental.
Explain your answer. This question is
graded with a higher score.
6th Recording
1.
Truman states that McArthur was too busy
to come to the United States. Where did
Truman meet McArthur?
2.
Some of the “boys” told Truman that
McArthur failed to show him respect.
Although, Truman did not care that
McArthur failed to show him respect, what
was the disrespectful action?
3.
Truman was afraid of what future event, if
we fought a war in China?
4.
How does Truman describe McArthur’s
personality?
5.
How would you have dealt with the
McArthur controversy if you were in
Truman’s shoes?
DWIGHT EISENHOWER
• War strategy:
Brinkmanship
• The U.S. would raise tensions with
Communist nations, even
threatening to go to war to fight
Communism
• The Soviet Union created
its first atomic bomb,
which began an arms
race with the U.S.
• The U.S. built the world’s
first H-Bomb (hydrogen
bomb)
• 3 years later, the Soviet
Union created their own
NIKITA KHRUSHCHEV
• Strategy: DeStalinization
• The process of undoing
what Stalin had done
• Freed political enemies
• Renamed Stalingrad to
Volgograd
• Reduced the “status” of the
dictator
• Preferred peaceful relations
with the West
• Hated Chinese dictator
Mao Zedong
• Approved the
construction of the
Berlin Wall
THE SPACE RACE
• The Soviet Union
launched Sputnik, the
world’s first space
satellite
• Eisenhower responded
by creating NASA and
pouring billions of dollars
into space research
• Before the U.S. could
respond, the Soviet
Union sent the first
animal (a dog!) and the
first person (Yuri
Gagarin) into space
YURI GAGARIN
VIDEO
ACTIVITY: THE SPACE RACE
• View the timeline of the space race.
• Develop two arguments (one per partner)
supporting why you believe the United States won
the space race.
• Develop two arguments (one per partner)
supporting why you believe the Soviet Union won
the space race.
• Group 1: Support the U.S. winning
• Group 2: Support the U.S.S.R. winning
• Group 3: Compare and contrast the U.S. and the
U.S.S.R.
ASSIGNMENT
Now that you have become familiar with both sides
of the argument, “Who ‘won’ the Space Race?”, you
are to write a 2-3 page response (double spaced)
picking one side, either American or Soviet,
explaining why you think that side won. Use at least 3
examples of accomplishments the side you picked
achieved, and explain why each accomplishment
helped that side win.