Transcript File

Events & Ideas #1
The Beginning of the Cold War
U.S. History
Unit 6
Contains One Crash Course Video:
• Episode #37 – The Cold War
Essential Questions:
• How did the different interests of the
United States and Soviet Union after
WWII cause each world power to
enter the Cold War?
• The United States put in place many
policies to protect the US and other
countries from the Soviets. What
were they and what did they do?
Beginning of
the Cold War
USA – Capitalist
Superpower
Soviet Union – Communist
Superpower
• Each side had different interests in the postWWII world.
• Americans looked to correct economic causes of
the world.
– The U.S. also wants democracy, individual
freedoms, and capitalism to spread.
• Soviets looked to protect its territory.
– They also supported the spread of
communism.
Beginning of
the Cold War
USA – Capitalist
Superpower
Soviet Union – Communist
Superpower
• Americans wanted economic stability to avoid factors
that contributed to dictatorships and WWII.
• Many Americans believed that the Great Depression
started WWII.
• Without the Great Depression, Hitler would not have
come to power.
• By 1945, FDR and advisors were convinced that economic
power was the key to a healthy non-warring Europe.
USA – Capitalist
Superpower
Beginning of
the Cold War
Soviet Union – Communist
Superpower
• Soviets had been invaded by Germany twice in 30 years.
• For the Soviets, security was much more important than
things like freedom, democracy or capitalism.
• For the Soviets, security meant space between herself
and Germany.
• Communism, the Soviets thought, was superior to
capitalism and would one day replace it.
• Lenin theorized that capitalist systems would see
communist systems as a threat and would attempt to
destroy them.
Crash Course Video
Episode #37:
• Complete the worksheet that goes with the
following video:
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9C72IS
MF_D0&list=PLqfqeCh72YERmVLH50u655gJC
Frs1XLpC&index=37
Yalta Conference
Feb. 1945
• Control of Poland disputed:
– Churchill wanted free elections
– Stalin wanted communist control
• FDR wants Russia to join fight in Pacific against
Japan.
• Russia becomes member of United Nations.
• Plans are made to divide up Germany after the war.
Postwar divisions in
Germany decided on
during the Yalta
Conference
Potsdam Conference
Aug. 1945
• Decisions made regarding:
– German demilitarization, reparations.
– Territorial disputes.
– Sovereignty Issues in Eastern Europe.
• Many Cold War disputes begin at Potsdam.
Cold War
• Definition:
– The state of political and
military tension after
World War II between
powers in the Western
Bloc and powers in the
Eastern Bloc.
Iron
Curtain
• Definition:
– The boundary that separated Europe into two separate
areas after WWII until the end of the Cold War.
• States behind the curtain were influenced by the Soviet
Union (militarily and economically) and were communist.
• Communist countries of Eastern Europe were called
satellite nations.
• Most states outside of the curtain were either
independent or influenced by the United States.
Countries of the Iron Curtain = red
NATO members = blue
Militarily neutral countries − gray.
Yugoslavia, although communist-run,
was independent of the Eastern Bloc..
Border fences between Eastern (Communist) and
Western (Democratic) Europe.
Crisis in Iran and
Turkey
The Dardanelles, a long narrow strait
dividing the Balkans (Europe) along the
Gallipoli peninsula from Asia Minor.
• April 1946: Stalin refused to remove Soviets troops from
Iran.
• Soviets also demanded joint control of Dardanelles.
• USS Missouri and the aircraft carrier Franklin D. Roosevelt
forced the Soviets to withdraw.
Truman Doctrine
• August, 1946 Greek
Communists threaten a
takeover.
Harry S. Truman
• Britain cannot afford to
continue supporting the
Greeks.
• Truman gets $400 million from
Congress to help the Greek
governments fight against
Communism.
Truman Doctrine
• By March 1947 - America would
support Greece and Turkey
economically and militarily to
prevent them from falling into
the Soviet “sphere of influence”.
• Many historians refer to this date
as the start of the Cold War.
• Philosophy used later for
rationale to contain Communism
• Definition:
– the principle that the US should give support to
countries or peoples threatened by Soviet forces or
communist uprising, the communists saw it as an
open declaration of the Cold War
Truman
Doctrine
• Definition:
– June 1947 -a program by which the
U.S. gave large amounts of economic
aid to European countries to help
them rebuild after WWII.
• Economic aid was offered but political
“strings” were attached.
• Aid was offered to the Soviet Union but
they refused the conditions and
influenced other eastern bloc nations to
reject the aid.
• Goal was to avoid the post-WWI
economic depression that led to political
instability and the rise of dictators and
encourage democracy and a free-market
economy.
Marshall
Plan
General, Secretary
of State,
Secretary of
Defense
George C. Marshall
Marshall Plan
• Post WWII European
economies were ruin and
people were starving.
• The Marshall Plan sent
billions of dollars worth of
supplies, machinery, and
food into Western Europe.
• The United States economic
support gave European
counties the badly needed
recovery
• This recovery weakened
the appeal of communism.
Bombed out Hamburg,
Germany in 1943.
United States – Open Bank Account?
• How much money did the U.S.
government give in aid to other
countries in 2012?
• Military aid: 17,000,000,000
• Economic aid: 31,000,000,000
• Total: 48.4 billion
Containment
• Definition:
– To keep communism within
its present territory
through the use of
diplomatic, economic and
military actions
• New foreign policy objective
and strategy throughout the
Cold War 1946 - 1991
Fair Deal
• Truman is re-elected (or elected
for the first time since he took
over when FDR died)
• Definition:
– an ambitious set of proposals
put forward by U.S. President
Truman to put into place his
plan for the postwar domestic
agenda for the U.S.
• Legal minimum wage to $.75
• Extended Social Security to 10
million more people.
“Every individual…
has a right… to a
fair deal”
McCarthyism
1950–54
• Definition:
• a intense campaign against
alleged communists in the US
government and other
institutions carried out under
Senator Joseph McCarthy
Senator Joseph R.
McCarthy
• Many of the accused were
blacklisted or lost their jobs,
although most did not in fact
belong to the Communist Party.
The Hollywood 10 with
their attorneys
McCarthyism
• Loyalty review program to screen
all federal workers.
• McCarran Act makes it illegal to
conspire with communists.
• McCarthy conducted a witch-hunt
for communists.
House Un-American
Activities Committee
(HUAC)
• Formed in 1938 to investigate both Communist and
Fascist activities in the U.S.
• FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover was not satisfied with
Loyalty Review Program.
• Encouraged that the HUAC hold public hearings on
communist activities.
• Definition:
– (1938–75) A committee of the U.S. House of
Representatives, created to investigate disloyalty
and subversive organizations - specifically those
related to communism.
Alger Hiss
• A lawyer and government official
• Accused of being a Communist and spy by
another communist, Whittaker Chambers
Convicted of perjury – served 3 years
Chambers testifying before the HUAC with Hiss observing (circled
to the left). Hiss testifying his innocence
Ethel and Julius Rosenberg
• American citizens convicted and
executed for conspiracy to commit
espionage related to passing
information about the atomic
bomb to the USSR
• Julius also passed the Soviets a
proximity fuse and recruited his
brother-in-law to pass along secrets
from Los Alamos
Soviet Spies
• David Greenglass (Ethel’s brother)
worked at Los Alamos and passed
documents to Gold – convicted, served 9
½ years
• Harry Gold was a chemist and delivered
documents to Klaus Fuchs – convicted,
served 14 years
• Klaus Fuchs a German refugee physicist
working for the British portion of the
Manhattan Project passed the
documents to the Soviets throughout
WWII –convicted and served 9 years
Answer the Essential Questions in
five or more complete sentences:
• How did the different interests of the
United States and Soviet Union after
WWII cause each world power to
enter the Cold War?
• The United States put in place many
policies to protect the US and other
countries from the Soviets. What
were they and what did they do?