Download The Cold War

The Cold War
Tension between the US and Soviet
Union
 Following WWII, tension arose between the United States
and the Soviet Union over how the new governments would
be structured.
 The US wanted these new nations to be democratic, while
the Soviet Union favored communism
 In 1949, the US and her allies formed NATO to support the
spread of democracy
 Six years later, the Soviet Union and her allies began the
Warsaw Pact.
The Truman Doctrine
 Established by President
Harry Truman in 1947
 It was now the official
policy of the United States
to support those who were
being subjected to
Communism
 America pumped millions
of dollars into European
countries in an effort to
stop the spread of
communism.
The Marshall Plan
 Created by General George
Marshall
 Believed that poor
countries were more likely
to fall to communism
 Pumped billions of dollars
into European country to
CONTAIN communism.
The Division of Germany
 Following World War II, Germany had been divided into four
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
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sections
In 1949, those sections were reduced to two
The Federal Republic of Germany, or West Germany, was
controlled by the United States and her allies.
The German Democratic Republic, or East Germany, was
controlled by the Soviets
A wall was constructed in 1961, to formally separate the East
from the West.
Brinkmanship
 The Soviet Union and the United States were always on the brink, or
edge of war with one another
 Nuclear Arms Race
 A-Bombs and H-Bombs
 Cuban Missile Crisis
 Soviets had missiles in Cuba pointed directly at key US cities
 Very heated period between the two rivals
 U-2 Incident
 US said that they were not flying any secret spy missions
 A US plane was shot down over the Soviet Union
 What do we now look like?
 Space Race
 Race between the US and Soviets
 Who can get to space first? What about the moon?
American Spies
 America was very concerned about the threat of her citizens
becoming spies for the Soviet Union
 Many were accused of being spies and executed based on
very little evidence.
 The Rosenbergs
 Husband and Wife team
 Had been giving secrets to the Soviets which allowed them to
build the atomic bomb
 Denied charges against them
 Found guilty and sentenced to death.
HUAC
 House Un-American
Activities Committee
 Investigated communist
influence in the movie
industry
 Believed that communists
were sneaking information
into American films
 Those that refused to testify
and answer the committee’s
questions were blacklisted
McCarthyism
 Senator Joseph McCarthy
 Began somewhat of a
“witch hunt” for
communists
 Accused many of being
communists, with little
evidence
 Only ended when he began
to accuse the “wrong”
people of being
communists
The Domino Theory
Belief that if one nation falls to communism, other
nations around it will also fall
For this reason, the US gets involved in the Vietnam
War
The Division of Vietnam
 Following a civil war in Vietnam, the major world powers
created a peace agreement called the Geneva Accords
 This agreement divided Vietnam along the 17th parallel
 The Communist, led by Ho Chi Minh controlled North
Vietnam and the anti communist nationalists controlled
South Vietnam
War in Vietnam
 The Vietcong (communists
living in SV) began attacks
on the SV government
 Ho Chi Minh began
supporting this group by
supplying them with
weapons
 Soon, another war began
between the NV and SV
The US Gets Involved
 Kennedy
 Sent advisors to SV to help train troops
 Johnson
 Escalates the conflict in Vietnam
 Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, allows the president to use “broad
military powers” in Vietnam, but doesn’t declare war
 Johnson further increases US involvement in the war, even as he
says he isn’t
 Nixon
 Begins “Vietnamization”
 Withdrawal of troops
Problems Faced by the US in Vietnam
Hard to determine who is the enemy
Jungle warfare
Napalm and Agent Orange
Low troop morale
The American Home-front
 Credibility Gap
 What the President was saying and what was appearing on the nightly
news were two very different things
 Opposition Movement
 Large-scale protest movement
 Students for a Democratic Society
 Spread to college campuses across America
 Kent State
 Students killed by national guardsmen at a peaceful protest
 Pentagon Papers
 Proved that Johnson was planning to take part in Vietnam, even when
he said he was not.
Social Changes Post Vietnam
Latinos
 During the 1960s, the Latino population grew from 3 million
to 9 million
 As their population grew, so did the demand for greater
representation and better treatment
 United Farm Workers Organizing Committee
 Led by Cesar Chavez
 Led peaceful protests and boycotts to gain rights for Latino
farm workers
Native Americans
American Indian Movement
Native American rights organization
Regain possession of many Native American lands
during this period
Women
 Feminist movement was on
the rise in the 1960s
 National Organization for
Women (NOW)
 Fought for equality for
women
 This movement was led by
progressive women who
wanted an end to
discrimination
Culture of the Sixties
 Hippie Culture
 Began in the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco
 Lived a lifestyle counter to the mainstream
 Art
 Pop Art: Characterized by bright, simple, commercial looking
images
 Rock Music
 Beatles
 Woodstock Music Festival
 Attitudes
 “Do your own thing”