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– The opposing economic and political
philosophies of the democratic United States
and the communist Soviet Union led to a nearly
half century conflict known as the Cold War .
• A continuing state of
tension & hostilities
between the United
States and Soviet Union
– 1945-1991
– differences in political and
economic philosophies
– Ended in 1991 with
collapse of communist
government in the Soviet
Union
Competing Philosophies of the Cold War
The United
States
Soviet Union
Capitalist economic system; private
ownership of the means of
production
Communist System; Command
economy; state control of the
means of production; wealth
shared
Representative democracy where
people elect representatives from
competing political parties
Communist Party established
totalitarian government with no
opposing political parties
Competing Aims of the Cold War
The United
States
Soviet Union
Encourage democracy in other
countries to prevent spread of
communism
Encourage the spread of
communism throughout the world
Gain access to raw materials and
markets to fuel industry
Rebuild Soviet economy using
Eastern Europe's industrial
equipment and resources
Rebuild European governments to
promote stability and create new
markets for U.S. goods
Control Eastern Europe to protect
Soviet borders and balance U.S.
influence in W. Europe
• The Yalta Conference
(Feb. 1945)
– Meeting between Allies
to make post war plans
– Decided Germany would
be divided into 4 zones
– Free elections would be
held in occupied zones
• New governments would
be determined by the
people
• Stalin kept his
troops in Eastern
Europe
– Cancels elections
– Sets up communist
governments in
territories
captured by the
Soviet troops
• Described an imaginary
line that divided the
communist countries of
Eastern Europe with the
free countries of
Western Europe
“From Stettin in the Baltic, to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron
curtain has descended across the continent. Behind that line
lies the ancient capitals of Central and Eastern Europe.”
-- Sir Winston Churchill, 1946
• What is the difference between a “cold
war” and a “hot war”?
• What was the purpose of the Yalta
Conference?
• What did the Iron Curtain refer to?
– The United States and the Soviet Union had
cooperated to win WWII but conflicts in ways
of thinking and mutual distrust led to the
development of the Cold War.
– Containment
– What is the difference between a “cold war”
and a “hot war”
• Western Democracies
feared the spread of
communism
– Stalin had established
satellite nations of the
Soviet Union in E. Europe
• Communist governments
under the influence of the
Soviet Union
– Stalin began putting
pressure on Greece and
Turkey
• U.S. President Harry
Truman established the
Truman Doctrine in
1947
– Economic and military
program designed to
block Soviet influence
and expansion of
communism
– United States would try
to contain communism to
areas already under
Soviet control
• The United States
pledged to provide
assistance to any
nation resisting Soviet
and communist
expansion
– Provided $400 million
to Greece and Turkey
to resist communism
• U.S. Plan to provide
massive economic aid
to help European
nations rebuild after
WWII
– Developed by Sec. of
State George Marshall
– strengthen democratic
governments
– Provide stability
– Lessen the appeal of
communism
• What was President Truman’s policy for
dealing with spread of Communism?
• What was the Marshall Plan?
• What was the western response to
Stalin’s blockade of Berlin?
– During the Cold War, the Soviet Union and the
United States competed for power and
influence with confrontations between the East
and West becoming increasingly severe.
– Blockade, Defense Pact, Repression
– What was President Truman’s policy for dealing
with spread of Communism?
• Stalin blocked all
road and rail traffic
into French, British,
and U.S. controlled
sections of Berlin in
1948
– Berlin was located in
Soviet controlled
section of Germany
– Control of city was
divided between
Allies
• Western nations
responded by
flying in supplies
to Berlin
– 2,250,000 tons of
goods including
food and coal were
delivered by air
• Stalin was forced
to lift the
blockade
• Federal Republic of
Germany formed in
1949 (West Germany)
– Formed in areas
occupied by Britain,
France, and U.S.
– W. Germans wrote a new
constitution and setup a
democratic government
– Received American help
to rebuild economy
• Stalin feared a
strong, united
Germany
–Wanted to keep
Germany divided
• East German
government built a
wall between East
Berlin and West
Berlin in 1961
– Keep E. Germans
from fleeing to the
West
– E. German soldiers
ordered to shoot
anyone trying to
escape
• North Atlantic Treaty
Organization
 United
States
 Belgium
 Britain
 Canada
 Denmark
 France
 Luxemburg
 Netherlands
 Norway
 Portugal
 1952: Greece &
Turkey
 Iceland
 1955: West
Germany
 Italy
 1983: Spain
– United States and
other European
democracies formed
mutual defense pact in
1949
• Mutual defense
pact between the
Soviet Union and
its satellite nations
in 1955
U. S. S. R.
East Germany
Albania
Hungary
Bulgaria
Poland
Czechoslovakia
Romania
• Soviets used
military force to
crush revolts and
opposition to
communist control
of Eastern Europe
– Hungarian Revolt
(1956)
– Czechoslovakian
Revolt (1968)
• The United States
and the Soviet Union
built more and more
nuclear weapons in an
effort to surpass
each others military
strength
– Soviet Union developed
an atomic bomb in 1949
• Started the nuclear
arms race
32,040
warheads,
1966
45,000
warheads,
1986
• The Soviet Union
launches Sputnik in
1947
• The first man
made satellite
• Americans feared
that the U.S. was
falling behind the
Soviets in science
– NASA created in
response to the
Soviet’s launch of
Sputnik
• How did the western democracies
respond to Stalin’s blockade of West
Berlin?
• What was the purpose of NATO?
• What was the Warsaw Pact?