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Unit 8 America in the Cold War Era and Beyond
GPS 20 - The student will analyze the domestic and international
impact of the Cold War on the US.
A. Describe the creation of the Marshall Plan, US commitment to Europe, the
Truman Doctrine, and the origins and implications of the containment
policy. [778 – 782, 784 – 786]
B. Explain the impact of the new communist regime in China, the outbreak of
the Korean War, and how these events contributed to the rise of Senator
Joseph McCarthy. [786 – 789, 793 – 795]
C. Describe the impact of competition with the USSR as evidenced by the
launch of Sputnik I and President Eisenhower’s actions
D. Describe the Cuban Revolution, the Bay of Pigs and the Cuban Missile
Crisis. [848 – 850]
E. Describe the Vietnam War, the Tet Offensive, and growing opposition to the
war. [Ch. 30]
F. Analyze the anti-Vietnam War movement. Ch. 30]
G. Describe the foreign policy decisions of President Richard M. Nixon
involving the Vietnam War, détente with the USSR and his trip to China and
Ford’s continuation of many of those polices.
H. Explain the Carter administration’s efforts in the Middle East including the
Camp David Accord, his response to the 1979 Iranian Hostage crisis as well
as his foreign policies and decisions. .[967 – 969]
I. Describe the foreign policy decisions and international events that
occurred during Ronald Reagan’s presidency that helped lead to the
collapse of the Soviet Union and the victory of the United States in the Cold
War.
J. Explain why George Bush ordered Operation Desert Shield and Desert
Storm and how those military operations was perceived by various parts of
the Arab World
K. Describe the foreign policy decisions and international events that
occurred during President Clinton’s presidency.
L. Analyze the response of President George W. Bush to the attacks of
September 11, 2001 on the United States, the war against terrorism, and the
subsequent American interventions in Afghanistan and Iraq.
EQ 142 - How did Truman deal with the USSR and other foreign problems after World War
II?
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Cold War – def = era of confrontation and competition between the United States
and the Soviet Union that lasted from 1946 to 1990.
Yalta Conference
o Conflict over Poland
 USSR – “matter of life and death”
 USA/Britain – Free and Sovereign Poland
 Compromise – Soviet friendly government, free elections soon
Declaration of Liberated Europe
Germany – West Germany key to defending Europe
o Divided in two parts free/communist, Berlin divided in two parts
free/communist
o Soviet lies – Truman Decisions
Truman’s Actions
o Potsdam Conference
 No appeasement of Stalin/communism
 German reparations/atom bomb threat
o Iron Curtain Speech – Winston Churchill
 Communist takeover of Eastern Europe – satellite nations
 disregard of Declaration of Liberated Europe
Long Telegram
o George Kennan – “a long term, patient but firm and vigilant containment of
Russian expansive tendencies”
o Containment – keeping communism within its present territory through
the use of diplomatic, economic, and military actions.”
o Truman Doctrine – to aid, “free peoples who are resisting attempted
subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures.”
o Marshall Plan – European Recovery Plan = American aid to help rebuild
Europe and the world after WW II
o Berlin Airlift
 Soviet Blockade of West Berlin
 11 months, every 5 minutes, US cargo plane, 2 million tons
 NATO – first time in US history, US pledges military support to
Western European nations
EQ 143 - How did “losing China” affect US politics and society?
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Failure of Truman/Democratic Party policies
o “losing China” means [according to Republicans] – Truman and the
Democrats failure of containment policy when China became
Communist
o September 1949 – Soviet Union tests atomic weapons
o 1950 USSR and China sign treaty of friendship and alliance
Political Impact
o Truman and Democrats unpopular – 1950 Election of Eisenhower/
Republican Party controls Senate
o Rise of political power of Joseph McCarthy
Social Impact
o Hollywood Ten, Black list, Bomb shelters, Second Red Scare
o Rise of conservative sentiments / social conformity
West Germany key to defending Europe - Japan key to defending Asia
EQ 144 - Why did over 50,000 American soldiers die in the Korea War?
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After WWII Korea divided into free/democratic South Korea and
enslaved/communist North Korea along 38th Parallel
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June 25, 1950 North Korea invades South Korea
o President Truman’s perspective – invasion a test of containment
policy
o President Truman obtains UN Security Council approval to
intervene militarily
o US and UN troops push North Korean passed 38th Parallel to
border with China, China intervenes
o General MacArthur, hero of US forces in Philippines, sought
expansion of war against China, Truman wanted limited war –
afraid of possible atom bomb exchange
 MacArthur fired by Truman – civilian control of military
 MacArthur receives hero’s welcome
o US troops died to prevent the spread of Communism
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Effects of Korean War
o US begins military buildup
o US signs defense alliances with various nations
o US begins support of French in Vietnam
EQ 145 - How did Senator Joseph McCarthy rise to prominence and then fall into
disrepute?
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New RED SCARE
o Soviet official Igor Gouzenko defects to US with documents
revealing “a massive effort by the Soviet Union to infiltrate the
organizations and government of Canada and the United States
with the specific goal of obtaining information about the atomic
bomb.”
o Alger Hiss and the Rosenburgs
o Soviet Union explodes atom bomb, China becomes communist
o State/local governments, universities, businesses, unions, churches
o Senator Joseph McCarthy, Republican Wisconsin
 List of 205 names in State Department
 Fear of communism wins McCarthy election
 Def. - McCarthyism – damaging reputations with vague and
unfounded charges
 Downfall – Army-McCarthy hearings – censure
EQ 146 - How did President Eisenhower deal with the USSR and other foreign
problems during the 1950s?
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Eisenhower’s Goals
o Strong Economy to show superiority of American way of life
o Domino Theory of Communism
o Massive Retaliation – willingness to use atomic weapons
/Brinkmanship
o Cut down military – conventional forces
o increase nuclear weapons – from 1000 to 18000
 B -52 bomber
 ICBMs
 Submarines – nuclear powered
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Covert operations – CIA
o U2 incident
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Eisenhower’s warnings – military industrial complex
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Sputnik
o creation of NASA
o National Defense Education Act – more math/science, foreign
languages
EQ 147 - How did President Kennedy deal with the Soviet Union early part of the
1960s?
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Kennedy’s Flexible Response – move away from reliance on atom
bomb/brinkmanship
o Buildup of conventional forces
o Willingness to fight limited wars to stop spread of communism
o Use of Special Forces – Foreign Aid expansion – Peace Corps
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Cuban Missile Crisis – Fidel Castro
o Bay of Pigs Fiasco – Kennedy and US weak
o Berlin Wall built October 22 – Kennedy TV speech – Soviet
missiles in Cuba
o US naval blockade – quarantine of Cuba
o Fear of possible nuclear war – Cuban Missile Crisis
 treaty to ban testing of nuclear weapons
 Soviet Arms buildup matched by US buildup
EQ 148 - Why did over 50,000 American soldiers die in Vietnam?
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Goal in Vietnam similar to Korean War – stop the spread of communism
Background Info – Vietnam War
 Before WWII Indochina – French colony
 WWII Indochina occupied by Japan
 After WWII French Troops assert colonialism Indochina
 Ho Chi Minh –
 Communist, Vietminh – US helps,
 Declares independence
 US supports French colonial claims because of communist
threat/domino theory
 French defeated - Geneva Accords – 1956 No Election - US
intervenes
o Steps toward Vietnam –Democrats fear of “losing Indochina”
 Step 1 - Vietcong vs South Vietnam – US aid to South
Vietnam
 Step 2 – Vietcong Terrorism working - Kennedy increases
aid to South Vietnam / Support of unpopular leader Diem
 Step 3 - Vietcong attack on US ships - Johnson’s Gulf of
Tonkin Resolution – “take all necessary measures to repel
any armed attack against the forces of the United and to
prevent further aggression.”
 Step 4 – Vietcong attack US bases – North Vietnam bombed
– Johnson popularity rises
 Step 5 1965 first US combat troops 180,000, 1966 360,000
 Step 6 Vietcong tactics – ambushes, booby traps, guerilla
tactics, terrorism, Ho Chi Minh Trai – no full scale invasion of
North Vietnam/fear of China attack – strategy war of attrition
EQ 149 - Why did public opinion toward the Vietnam War dramatically change after
the Tet Offensive?
 Credibility Gap
o 1965 – 66 percent approval ratings of policy in Vietnam
o 1967 General Westmoreland enemy on brink of defeat
 Antiwar Movement
o Teachins – university professors/students against war
o Anger at Draft system - college students vs. minorities
 MLK
 Muhamad Ali
 Draft dodgers/dissenters
 “Television War”
o Evening News
o Walter Cronkite – “bloddy stalemate” aftet Tet Offensive
 1968 Tet Offensive
o Military disaster/defeat for Vietcong
o Major Political victory – public shocked at attack and mounting US
losses – General Westmoreland’s request for more troops
EQ 150 - How did student led organizations and other groups grow in opposition to
the war?
 Massacre at My Lai
o November 1969 200 unarmed South Vietnamese
o Vietnam Veterans against the war – John Kerry
o May 1970 Cambodia Invasion – Kent State
 Pentagon Papers – active deceit of Congress/public about Vietnam war
EQ 151 - How did the anti-Vietnam War movement affect US policy and society?
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Legacy of Vietnam
o South Vietnam Falls, Killing fields of Cambodia
o 58,000 US dead, cost of war killed LBJ’s Great Society
War Powers Act – limiting presidential powers as commander in chief
Vietnam Vet’s psychological problems
Lack of confidence in US Government
Lack of trust/respect for government
First defeat in US history – Shook confidence in American Institutions
EQ 152 - Why did Nixon visit China and why did this visit shock everyone?
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Nixon’s Background
o Vice President of Eisenhower
o Lost close election to JFK
o Staunch Anti-communist – Alger Hiss accuser
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Henry Kissinger’s influence
o National Security Advisor for Nixon
o Helped shape Nixon’s foreign policies
Sought a gradual approach to withdrawing from Vietnam
Sought to diminish America’s Anti-communist crusade
Sought a practical approach “Real politik”
o Negation and engagement rather than confrontation
Détente – Nixon’s foreign policy approach
o A relaxation of tensions between the US and USSR/China
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“We most understand that détente is not a love fest. It is an understanding between
nations that have opposite purposes, but which share common interests, including the
avoidance of a nuclear war. “ – Nixon
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Purpose of Nixon’s Visit to China
o Implement Détente ideas
o Play China and the USSR against each other
o Get Soviet Union to be more accommodating toward US
EQ 153 - How different was Nixon’s foreign policy of Détente with the Soviet Union
from earlier president’s approach with the Soviet Union?
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Earlier approaches – Confrontations by Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, and
Johnson
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Nixon Summits with Brezhnev
o First time since World War II a US president visits Soviet Union
o Signed SALT I treaty [Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty]
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a plan to limit nuclear arms
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Agreement to increase trade and exchange scientific information
The United States and the Soviet Union had their best relationship of the whole Cold
War Period during Nixon’s presidency.
EQ 154 - How did President Carter try to bring peace to the Middle East?
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Carter’s Foreign Policy – “our commitment to human rights must be absolute… the
powerful must not persecute the weak, and human dignity must be enhanced.”
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1978 Camp David Accords – Carter’s Greatest foreign policy achievement
o Historic peace treaty between Egypt and Israel
o First ever between an Arab and Israel nation
o Carter brought Egytian Anwar Sadat and Israel President Menachem Begin
together to talk peace
o First Step to achieving peace in the Middle East
EQ 155 - How did President Carter respond to the Iranian Revolution and Hostage
Crisis?
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Iranian Hostage Crisis = Carter’s Greatest foreign policy failure
Iran
o US support of anti-communist Shah of Iran
o Islamic Clergy of Iran foments protests
o Ayatollah Khomeini
 US embassy – 52 Hostages – 444 days
US Freezes Assets of Iran
Unsuccessful negations for release of hostages
Failed Rescue attempt
Every newspaper, newscast reminded Americans about hostages
EQ 156 - How did President Reagan’s foreign policy decisions lead to the collapse of
the Soviet Union and victory in the Cold War?
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Peace Through Strength – rejection of containment and détente
o Viewed Soviet Union as “the focus of evil in the modern world” – “an evil
empire”
o Military buildup – largest peacetime buildup in American history
 If USSR tried to match US military buildup, this would put pressure
on USSR economy force communists to reform or collapse
“The Soviet Empire is faltering because rigid centralized control has destroyed
incentives for innovation, efficiency, and individual achievement. But in the midst of
social and economic problems, the Soviet dictatorship has forged the largest armed
force in the world. It has done so by preempting the human needs of its people and in
the end, this course will undermine the foundations f the Soviet System. “ Reagan
“Mr. Gobachez, tear down this wall” Reagan
EQ 157 -
Why was President Reagan considered a great president by so many
Americans and a lousy president by so many Americans?
Reagan – Great President
 Economic Crisis of the 1970s solved
 Cold War Won
o Star Wars
o Peace through Strength – largest peacetime military buildup in US history
o Reduced number of nuclear weapons – START
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Personal Qualities
o Grace under fire
o Humor
o Articulation of convictions
o 1984 Biggest Electoral Victory in US History
“In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem. Government is the
problem.” Reagan
Reagan – Worst President
 Economic Policies
o Biggest Budget Deficits in History – Lower taxes on the rich
o Gap between Rich and Poor Grew - Reaganomics
o Deregulation of industries
 Cold War policies - Nuclear tensions with USSR increase
o Aid to Afghan Rebels – “Charlie Wilson’s War”
o Invasion of Grenada
o Iran – Contra Scandal
o Gorbachev not Reagan responsible for Cold War’s end
Great Political Divide – Liberalism vs. Conservatism
EQ 158 - Why did President George Bush order Operation Desert Shield and Desert
Storm in 1990 and 1991?
 Most serious crisis faced by President Bush I in the Middle East
o August 1990 Saddam Hussein invades oil rich Kuwait
o US fears Iraq invasion of Saudi Arabia
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US led United Nations coalition
o Economic sanctions
o Threat of war if Iraq refuses to leave Kuwait
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Operation Desert Shield – defense of Saudi Arabia
o Buildup of US forces in Saudi Arabia – [cited by Osama Bin Laden as
reason for 9/11 attacks]
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Operation Desert Storm – liberation of Kuwait
o January 16, 1991 – Bombing of Iraq and Iraqi forces in Kuwait
o February 1991 – Ground war begins
 100 hours of ground battle – fastest military victory since German
advances in Europe
EQ 159 - How did President Clinton deal with foreign problems during his
presidency?
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Intervention in Haiti
o Use of US Military and United Nations troops
o Jimmy Carter brokered peace deal
o Democratically elected Haiti government reinstituted
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Peacekeeping in Bosnia and Kosovo
o US led joint NATO action to stop “ethnic cleansing”
o Dayton Accords – Peace Plan between Serbia and Bosnia
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Saddam Hussein defiance
o Clinton orders cruise missile attacks
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Middle East Peace Plan
Northern Ireland Peace Plan
Terrorists Attacks during Clinton Term
o Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania
o USS Cole
 Acts of Criminal not of acts of War
 Clinton orders cruise missile attacks on Al Qaeda bases
Somalia
o US troops assist/protect
o “Black Hawk Down”
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EQ 160 - Why is NAFTA considered one of President Clinton’s greatest
achievements?
 North American Free Trade Agreement – Mexico, Canada, US
o Rose exports to Mexico and Canada
o Unemployment rates lowered, wages rose
o Biggest economic expansion in US History
o Reduced deficit – balanced budget – government surplus
EQ 161 - Why did terrorists attack America on 9/11?
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Operation Desert Shield/Storm
o Infidels in Saudi Arabia
US support of unpopular authoritarian regimes
o Shah of Iran
o Egypt’s Mubarek
US support/favoritism of Israel
Lack of a Palestinian state
US unsuspecting of Terrorist’s attacks as act of war
Open Society – Soft Targets
EQ 162 - How did President George W. Bush respond to the terror attacks of 9/11?
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9/11 more Americans died in attacks than at Pearl Harbor or on D-Day
Citizen’s Response
o Firefighters and others go to help, 1 billion donated to help
o Patriotism soars – flags everywhere – “God Bless America” sang by
Congressional representatives
 Government Response
o All Flights grounded, Armed Forces alert
o NATO clause activated
o Sept 14 Bush declares National Emergency
 Afghanistan / Taliban – bin Laden
o Bush sends ultimatum
o Bush declaration – nations that support terrorism = enemy of US
“…this will be a war like none other our nation has faced. [Enemy] is a global network
of terrorist organizations and their state sponsors, committed to denying free people the
opportunity to live as they choose.” Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfield
 Bush Response
o Cut off terrorist funding
o Creation of Office of Homeland Security
o USA Patriot Act
o War in Afghanistan
o Axis of Evil – Iraq, Iran, North Korea