Transcript Origins of the Cold War

Origins of the Cold War
Cold War/Russian Revolution
I. Cold War
A. Definition: An indirect conflict between the Soviet
Union and the United States over ideological
differences.
B. Russian Revolution:
1. Czar Nicholas II and World War I: unpopular, steps
down. He and family are executed.
2. Bolshevik Revolution: revolt ed by Vladimir Lenin
overthrew the provisional Russian Government.
3. Civil War (1917-1922): Won by the Reds, Lenin
takes over, installs a communist system in the
new United Soviet Socialist Republic (U.S.S.R.)
also known as the Soviet Union.
Capitalism vs Communism
C. Capitalism vs Communism
Communism: A doctrine based on the Socialist Theory of
Karl Marx; a totalitarian system of government in
which a single authoritarian party controls the means
of production. The collective, or state ownership of
business will provide for the needs of the whole.
Capitalism: An economic system in which businesses
are privately owned and compete for their own
economic gain, where prices, production, and the
distribution of goods are determined mainly by
competition in a free market.
Russian Civil War
D. United States vs. U.S.S.R. (pre-World War II)
1. Lenin speaks of spreading Communism around the
world.
2. Treaty of Versailles:
a. Bolsheviks, despite being allied with Great Britain
and France, broker a separate peace with
Germany in 1917, a year before the war ended.
b. mired in Civil War, the allies do not invite Russia
to the peace conference.
1.) looses part of Russia to create Poland
2.) Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia are carved out
of Russia.
c. U.S. and Great Britain send troops to fight for the
“Whites” and against the “Reds” led by Lenin.
d. The “Reds” win.
Uneasy alliance
3. Non-recognition:
a. U.S. refused to recognize the U.S.S.R.
b. FDR finally recognizes the Soviet Union in 1933
4. Uneasy alliance:
a. Hitler’s Germany rises to power in the 1930s.
b. German-Russo non-aggression pact (1939):
agreement to carve up Poland and regain
territory lost in the Treaty of Versailles without
war between the two.
c. September 1, 1939: Germany invades Poland.
World War I begins!
d. Soviet Union invades Poland two weeks later
followed by invasions of Latvia, Lithuania, and
Estonia.
Beginning of WW II
e. 1940: Germany invades the Soviet Union
f. December 7, 1941: Japanese invade Pearl
Harbor. U.S. declares war the next day.
g. December 10, 1941: Germany, allied with Italy an
Japan, declares war on the United States.
h. The United States and the Soviet Union now
have a common enemy in Adolph Hitler’s
Germany.
“The enemy of my enemy is my friend”
Vladimir Lenin (d. 1924)
Josef Stalin (1924-1953)
Uneasy Allies
E. United States vs. U.S.S.R. during World War II
1. Heavy toll: Soviets suffer great losses and destruction
during the German advance.
2. Big 3: Josef Stalin, Winston Churchill, and FDR
3. Second Front:
a. Stalin wanted the allies to open a second front in
France to take the pressure off his people –
Churchill, FDR choose to invade Africa and
Italy first.
b. Soviet Deaths:
29 million dead (military and civilian)
4. Invasion of France, June 1944.
5. Wartime Meetings: Tehran (1943), Yalta (Feb. 1945),
and Potsdam (July 1945)
Atlantic Charter
II. Atlantic Charter
A. What is the Atlantic Charter and it’s principle features?
Churchill and Roosevelt meet to set down common
principles in national policy that they base their hopes
for a better future in the world.
- rights of countries to choose own government; self
government restored to those deprived in WWII.
- freedom of the seas
- full collaboration among states for economic
benefits to all countries
*** 60 Countries sign it ***
Polish Objections to the Atlantic Charter
B. Polish Objections to the Atlantic Charter
1. Will the displaced peoples have a voice?
2. What will the territorial boundaries be?
3. Self-Determination through Democracy.
The Poles want the Germans out!
4. Poles want a voice.
III. Post War Goals of the Big 3
Post War Goals – Great Britain
Winston Churchill
- Keeping Britain’s stature in the world
as a Colonial power
- Containing Communism while
Spreading Democracy
- Keep Germany on the side of the
western allies (democracy)
Post War Goals – United States
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
- Spreading Democracy
- strong trade ties with Europe – Freedom of the
seas
- Avoid mistakes of WWI – Collective Security; the
formation of the United Nations.
- Saw himself as the fulcrum in the alliance of the
Big 3.
Post War Goals – Soviet Union
Josef Stalin
- Creating their own sense of collective security
A sphere of influence favorable to Communism
• a territorial buffer zone to thwart future invasion
• an ideological sphere of countries with similar ideals about
government.
- No more German democracies; annihilation of
Germany.
Soviet Mistrust of the U.S.
1. Limited Diplomacy with the west.
2. Theodore Roosevelt intervening in the war with
Japan in 1906.
3. Capitalism vs. Communism
4. U.S., G.B. sent troops during Russian civil war in
1920
5. U.S. policy of non-recognition (1922-33)
6. Intense anti-Russian sentiment in the 1920s (Red Scare)
7. U.S. failure to open a second front in Europe during
WWII.
Soviet Mistrust of the U.S. 2
7. Poland.
8. German reunification
9. Overtures by Patton to “finish the job”
10. Failure to include the Soviets (making of the A-bomb)
11. Failure to provide loans to the Russians
12. U.S. build up after the war.
Henry Wallace
FDR VP (1941-44), Truman Secretary of Commerce
-Nuclear Weapons are cheap and easy. They
won’t keep the peace, but cause more conflict.
-Russians have deep rooted fears – some caused
by the United States.
Henry Wallace
- Suggestions
1. Should “appease” the Soviets with a treaty.
ex.) give access to nuclear energy, give up Eastern Europe.
2. Lessen the Rhetoric
3. Don’t be so unilateral – work with the United Nations
Quotes
“The Russians obviously see themselves
as fighting for their own existence in a
hostile world.” - Henry Wallace
“(The Russians are)…a malignant
parasite that feeds on diseased tissue.
- George F. Kennan (U.S. Embassy, Moscow)
Kennan’s Long Telegram
February 22, 1946
(stationed at U.S. Embassy in Moscow, 1944-46)
1. Soviet goal to undermine military and
political potential of western powers
2. Violent efforts will be made to weaken
the colonies of western powers.
George F. Kennan
3. Remove all governments that stand in the way of Soviet Purpose
4. Work to destroy all forms of independence and western morale
5. Set western powers against each other.
6. Soviet efforts will be negative and destructive in character,
designed to tear down (democracies).
http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Sources_of_Soviet_Conduct
http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Long_Telegram
Containment Policy
• Crisis in Greece and Turkey
• Truman Doctrine
• Marshall Plan
• NSC-68
• North Atlantic Treaty Organization
(NATO)
Cold War Europe
A Divided Germany
Berlin Airlift
June 25, 1948: Soviets announce they will no longer
supply western zone with food and electrical power.
They also deny land access to West Berlin. In effect,
the Soviets were blockading West Berlin.
West Berliners were in need of supplies. Life was
hard as a result of this blockade.
All trees in the city were chopped down and used for
fuel and scavenged garbage for food.
The United States, Great Britain, and France were
forced into action…
“Operation Vittles”
Allied response was a massive
15 month relief effort.
Planes would take off from
allied West Germany and fly
into West Berlin. A plane
would land every three
minutes
Average: 8,000 tons/day
United States efforts:
A total of 189,963 flights that
carried 1,783,573 tons of food,
coal, and other supplies.
The Blockade ended May 11, 1949
The airlift ended Sept. 30, 1949
Propaganda