Transcript The Cold War: A Global Struggle

The Cold War: A Global Struggle
Two Superpowers Emerge after WWII
– United States
– Soviet Union
– Superpower: a country that is a world leader in
many areas and has multiple influences throughout
the world.
– The nation of Israel was also established after
WWII.
After Yalta Conference, there was an
agreement to govern Germany jointly.
– Divided Germany into four occupational zonesFrance, Great Britain, United States, and Russia
The Cold War: Origins
The Cold War set the framework for 45 years after the
end of World War II.
Influenced American domestic politics, foreign affairs,
and the role of the government in the economy after
1945
The Cold War: A fight between democracy and
communism
– American: western nations’ belief in democracy,
individual freedom and a market economy
– Soviet: belief in a totalitarian state and socialism.
Totalitarian Government: A highly centralized
government that does not allow opposition and
maintains total control.
High Tension Times
Europe and The United States
The end of World War II found Soviet forces
occupying most of Eastern and Central Europe and
the eastern portion of Germany.
Germany partitioned into East and West Germany.
– Caused a lack of political, social and economic unity
West Germany: became democratic and resumed
self-government after a few years of American, British,
and French occupation.
East Germany: remained under the domination of the
Soviet Union and did not adopt democratic institutions.
Joseph Stalin: believed that the people of
Eastern Europe could have democracy, only
after they had been taught the principles of
socialism.
– Socialism: goal in which property and the
distribution of wealth are subject to control by the
community for the purposes of increasing social
and economic equality and cooperation.
Joseph McCarthy: U.S. Senator from
Wisconsin.
– McCarthyism: theory that many Americans were
involved with the Communist Party
– Used scare tactics to promote anti-communist ideas
The Red Scare
McCarthyism- Joseph McCarthy- and others
charged conspiracy theories against people
involved with the Communist party. (Red Scare)
– Heightened fears of communist influence on
American institutions and espionage by Soviet
agents.
– Thousands of Americans were accused of being
Communists or communist sympathizers
– Subject of aggressive investigations and
questioning before government
Most investigations led by Joseph McCarthy
– Primary targets---government employees, those in
the entertainment industry, educators and union
activists.
McCarthyism Continued…..
McCarthyism was a
widespread social and
cultural phenomenon
that affected all levels of
society.
Source of a great deal
of debate and conflict in
the United States
FBI Investigations led by
J. Edgar Hoover: one
of the nation's most
fervent anti-communists
Sen. McCarthy
FBI Corruption
Used illegal undercover operations to harass
and disrupt Communist and other dissident
political groups.
Hoover Becomes Radical
– Hoover frustrated with Supreme Court
– Formed “dirty tricks” program named COINTELPRO
– Program Actions include: planting forged
documents to create the suspicion that a key
person was an FBI informer, spreading rumors
through anonymous letters, leaking information to
the press.
– COINTELPRO remained in effect until 1971
The Ideological Struggle
Soviet &
Eastern Bloc
Nations
[“Iron
Curtain”] GOAL  spread
world-wide
Communism
Ideas of Cold War:
 Espionage [KGB vs. CIA]
 Arms Race [nuclear escalation]
US & the
Western
Democracies
GOAL 
“Containment” of
Communism & the
eventual collapse
of the Communist
world.
[George Kennan]
 Competition for the minds and hearts of Third World
peoples [Communist govt. & command economy vs.
democratic govt. & capitalist economy]  “proxy wars”
 Alliance Struggle [NATO vs. Warsaw Pact]
The “Iron Curtain”
From Stettin in the Balkans, 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
Post-War Germany
Truman Doctrine
Civil War in Greece.
Turkey under pressure from the USSR for
concessions in the Dardanelles.
“The U. S. should support free peoples
throughout the world who were resisting
takeovers by armed minorities or outside
pressures…We must assist free peoples to
work out their own destinies in their own
way”.-----President Truman
The U.S. gave Greece & Turkey $400 million
in aid.
The Marshall Plan
“European Recovery Program”
– After WWII, Europe was in shambles and in need
of help.
“The U. S. should provide aid to all European
nations that need it. This move
is not against any country or doctrine, but
against hunger, poverty, desperation, and
chaos.”---Secretary of State, George Marshall
$12.5 billion of US aid to Western Europe
extended to Eastern Europe & USSR, [but this
was rejected].
– The Soviet Union and communist Eastern Europe
decline U.S. aid, citing "dollar enslavement."
Berlin Blockade and Airlift
Berlin Blockade- 1948 Soviets
blockaded the East German
border to all land and water
traffic into Berlin from the
West—June 1948
Berlin Airlifts- These were
provided to bring food to the
people of West Berlin
From June 1948 to May 1949,
U.S. and British planes airlift
1.5 million tons of supplies to
the residents of West Berlin.
After 200,000 flights, the Soviet
Union lifts the blockade.
The Nuclear Arms Race
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The Soviet Union
exploded its first Abomb in 1949.
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Now there were two
nuclear superpowers!
United Nations
United Nations: was
formed near the end of
World War II to create
a body for the nations
of the world to try to
prevent future global
wars.
UN would serve as
peacekeepers, not
war makers
Key Terms and Ideas of Cold War
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) - 194912 Members- If one nation was attacked the other
nations would unite with action against the aggressor
Warsaw Pact- - Communist agreement that ensured
safety of members.
Market Economy- Economy based on capitalism
principles performed by democratic allies
Command Economy- Economy based on
government control performed by communistic allies
Welfare System- A state in which the government
undertakes primary responsibility for the social welfare
of its citizens
European Economic Community- Abolition of tariffs
and import quotas- British was not in group
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (1949)
 United States
 Belgium
 Britain
 Canada
 Denmark
 Luxemburg
 Netherlands
 Norway
 Portugal
 France
 1952: Greece &
Turkey
 Iceland
 1955: West Germany
 Italy
 1983: Spain
Warsaw Pact (1955)
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U. S. S. R.
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East Germany
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Albania
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Hungary
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Bulgaria
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Poland
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Czechoslovakia
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Rumania
U.S. Involvement in Korea
The U.S. government’s anti-Communist strategy of
containment in Asia led to America’s involvement in
Korea. North- Communist South- Democratic
Containment: foreign policy strategy of the United
States in the early years of the Cold War.
– Policy was to stop the “domino effect” of nations
moving politically towards Soviet Union-based
communism, rather than European-American-based
capitalism.
– Communism: ideology that promotes
establishment of a classless, stateless social
organization based on common ownership of the
means of production
Korean War: 1950-1953
Korean War: North Korea (Democratic People’s
Republic of Korea, DPRK) vs. South Korea (Republic
of Korea, ROK)
A Test of Containment Policy
– Goal of U.S.- avoid communist takeover of South Korea.
– U.S. pledged to protect the rights of South Koreans and stop
communist invaders (North Korea)
– South Korea remains democratic
Results of Korean War:
– North Korean invasion of South Korea ended
– US–UN invasion of North Korea repelled
– Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) established, little territorial
change at the 38th parallel border
– Technically war is still going on today