Transcript The Cold war

The Cold war
&
The 1950s
Unit 16
Post WWII events…the
conferences
Tehran Conference (1943):
 Allies agreed to split Germany after war
Bretton Woods Conference (1944):
 Allies agreed to set up IMF and an international
monetary system after war
Yalta Conference (Feb. 1945):
 Stalin wants to expand soviet empire
 U.S. calls for the creation of the U.N.
Post WWII events…the
conferences
Potsdam Conference (July 1945):
 U.S. calls for free elections in all of Europe;
Stalin rejects
 All agree to hold criminal trials for war crimes
Discuss…
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How will these conferences shape a post
war world?
The Cold war begins…
US diplomatic actions
Define and evaluate each of the following
Atomic Diplomacy (1945-1949)
Truman Doctrine (1947)
Marshall Plan (1947)
Containment (1947)
Berlin airlift (1948)
New Alliances
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1945: Creation of the United Nations
1949: Formation of the North Atlantic
Treaty Organization (NATO)
1955: Warsaw Pact signed
Arms Race
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1949: Soviets test first atomic bomb
1952: UK test first atomic bomb
1952: US tests first Hydrogen bomb
1953: Soviets test first Hydrogen bomb
Results…Introduction of Mutually Assured
Destruction
Atomic Bomb figures
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WW II ATOMIC BOMBS:
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1952 “HYDROGEN” BOMB:
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1000 TONS OF TNT = 1 “KILOTON”
WW II BOMBS = 13,000 TONS = 13 KILOTONS
1 MIL. TONS OF TNT = 1 “MEGATON”
HYDROGEN BOMB = 3 MIL. TONS OF TNT = 3
MEGATONS
1955: U.S. HAD 30,000+ MEGATONS OF
NUCLEAR WEAPONRY
20-KILOTON BLAST ESTIMATE
Korean War
(1950-1953)
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1949: North Korea becomes Communist
1950: North Koreans invade South Korea
N. Korea pushes south to Pusan
MacArthur takes US/UN forces north to Chinese border
Chinese push US and S. Korea south to Pusan border
1953: Armistice signed…38th parallel settled as the
border
Post War Economy
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Lack of wartime products causes a brief
recession (1948-1950)
Major disputes over labor
1944: GI Bill passed…
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Aid for education, home purchasing, small
business loans
Short term impact?
Long term impact?
1950s economy
Major boost in GDP and GNP fueled by:
 Government & Defense spending
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Growth of the middle class
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1940: 1.6 billion (17.5% of fed budget)
1960: 48.1 billion (52.2% of fed budget)
1955: 60% of pop
Consumerism
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Impact: Service industries received largest boost
1950s economy
How will the economic progress impact:
 American politics
 American families
 American education
1950s society
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Baby boom
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1945 US Pop: 139 million
1950 US Pop: 152 million
The American family…how has the role of
women changed since the days of WWII?
1950s society
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Consumerism
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Housing
Suburban sprawl…Levittowns
TV
Materialism (McDonalds)
Impact on society and politics?
 Elvis (link 1 & link 2)…notice the
difference?
1950s Politics…Eisenhower
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“We like Ike”
WWII hero and 1st 5 star General
Policies:
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Interstate highway system
Balance the budget
Stabilize the economy
Build up for cold war
Control labor unions
1950s
Politics…McCarthyism
A hunt for “card carrying
communists”
 The Congressional Committee targeted
people suspected of being members of the
communist party
 Publicly humiliated innocents citizens
 Very harsh on Hollywood
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Space Race
Key questions:
1. What fueled the race to space?
2. How did US react to Sputnik?
3. Why has the US cut back on their space
program?
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The Space Race
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1957: Russians launch Sputnik
1958: NASA begins training for the Mercury
7 project
April 12 1961: Russians launch Yuri
Gagarin into space
May 5 1961: US launch Alan Sheppard into
space
Space Race
Key questions:
1. What fueled the race to space?
2. How did US react to Sputnik?
3. Why has the US cut back on their space
program?
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