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Cold War
Key Question: What is the Cold War?
Definition:
Details:
1. It was a state of tension between the
There was no actual fighting between these
United States and the Soviet Union
two nations. The world was divided into
two armed camps, triggering a rivalry over
ideology and national security. There was
a space race and an arms race.
2. It was the central organizing principle in It lasted for 40 years
foreign affairs
Berlin Wall Goes Up
http://www.cs.utah.edu/~hatch/images/europe/berlin.buildwall.jpg
Origins
Key Question: What are the origins of the Cold War?
1. Differences in goals and ideologies between the United States and the Soviet
Union (the two superpowers).
2. United States: democratic and
Soviet Union: dictatorial and communist.
capitalist
3. Soviet Union dominated Eastern
This provided a buffer between West
Europe
Germany and the Soviet Union
4. United States adopted the policy of To stop the spread of communism
containment
5. United States and its allies formed a The Soviets responded by forming its own
military alliance called NATO. It
alliance called the Warsaw Pact. It included
was created to discourage an attack all of the Soviet-controlled Eastern Europe.
by the Soviet Union on Western
Europe.
Ideologies
Communism
Democracy
Businesses owned in common by the
people and operated by the government
Businesses are mainly owned by private
individuals and shareholders
Government sets production goals, wages,
prices
Supply and demand set production, wages,
and prices
Goods and services shared equally to all
Goods and services distributed according to
one’s ability to pay
Conflict
Key Question: What were the major conflicts after World War II?
Conflict:
Outcome:
1. South Korea and the United States
Ended in a stalemate
resisted North Korean aggression
2. Cuban Missile Crisis occurred
Ended with the Soviets removing the
when the Soviet Union placed
missiles in response to a United States’
nuclear missiles in Cuba.
blockade
3. The United States intervened to
Ended with a cease-fire agreement in which
stop the spread of communism in
United States’ troops withdrew
South Vietnam.
Want the Details? Read on…
What were the major conflicts and confrontations in the post World War II era?
 In 1950 the Korean Peninsula was divided between a Soviet-backed government
in the north and an American-backed government in the south along the 38th
parallel. Each half hoped to reunite the country under its own rule. China became
a communist nation and allied itself with the Soviet Union. When China and the
North Koreans invaded South Korea, South Korea and the United States
resisted Chinese and North Korean aggression. The United States fought as a
member of the United Nations. The three-year conflict ended in a stalemate.
 The Cuban Missile Crisis occurred in 1962 when the Soviet Union placed
missiles in Cuba. It was the closest that the world ever came to nuclear war.
Soviet missiles were only powerful enough to be launched against Europe but
U.S. missiles were capable of striking the entire Soviet Union. By placing
missiles in Cuba, the Soviets believed they would have the same missile power as
that of the United States. When spy planes captured photos showing missiles
being built, the United States placed a blockade around Cuba. The Soviets
removed the missiles in response to a U.S. blockade.
 The United States intervened to stop the spread of communism from North
Vietnam into South Vietnam in 1958. This process was known as the Domino
Theory. (Like the game of Dominoes, if one falls, it bumps into the next one
which also falls…) The United States was convinced that if South Vietnam fell to
communism, then so too would all of its neighbors. Americans were divided
over whether the United States should be involved militarily in Vietnam.
Scenes from the war were shown on the nightly news which had a great impact on
public opinion. The conflict ended in 1973 with a cease-fire agreement in
which U.S. troops withdrew. Two years later, the country united under
communism.
What Happened Forty Years Later?
Key Question: What happened when communism collapsed in Europe?
1. The Soviet Union broke up into independent countries
2. The Berlin Wall was torn down