Transcript The Cold War Part 1

The Cold War 1945-1990
United States (US) vs. Union of Soviet Socialist
Republics (USSR)
Democracy vs. Communism
Capitalism vs. Socialism
The Cold War: Part I
Background of Conflict
US/USSR Relationship during WWII
• Before the end of World War
II, Stalin, Churchill and
Roosevelt met at Yalta to
plan what should happen
when the war ended. They
agreed on many points:
1. The establishment of the
United Nations
2. Division of Germany into four
zones
3. Free elections allowed in the
states of Eastern Europe
(Poland)
4. Promise to join the war
against Japan
Winston Churchill (England),
Franklin Roosevelt (US) and Joseph
Stalin (USSR) meet in Yalta in 1945
to decide the fate of post-war
Europe.
Wars: HOT vs. COLD
• HOT war- actual fighting
between two forces.
• COLD war- still a conflict but
more of ideas than actual
battles. Fighting still occurs
but not between the two major
enemies.
Cold War Characteristics
• A conflict of ideas without actual battlefields or armies facing off
• Political, strategic, economic, and ideological conflicts
between the US and USSR (eventually spread throughout
the world)
• War of ideologies: Capitalist Democracy vs. Communism
• Struggle that contained everything short of war
• Competing social and economic ideologies
BELLWORK
1. What is the difference between a "hot" and
"cold" war?
2. List three characteristics of a Cold War.
3. What was the Red Scare?
4. Why was Stalin allowed to control Poland?
5. THINKER: In your opinion, why couldn't the
US and USSR remain allies? Why did
another war happen when it was supposed
to be prevented?
Six major strategies were used
by both sides:
•1.
•2.
•3.
•4.
•5.
•6.
1.
Brinkmanship,
Espionage,
Foreign aid,
Alliances,
Propaganda,
Surrogate wars.
3.
2.
4.
6.
5.
Development
of the Cold War
• The Cold War (1945-91) was one of perception
where neither side fully understood the
intentions and ambitions of the other. This led to
mistrust and military build-ups.
• United States
– U.S. thought that Soviet expansion would
continue and spread throughout the world.
– They saw the Soviet Union as a threat to their
way of life; especially after the Soviet Union
gained control of Eastern Europe.
Cold War Goals for US
• Promote open markets for
US goods to prevent
another depression
• Promote democracy
throughout the world,
especially in Asia and
Africa.
• Stop the spread of
communism
–“Domino Theory”
Development
of the Cold
War
• Soviet Union
– They felt that they had won World War II. They
had sacrificed the most (25 million vs. 300,000
total dead) and deserved the “spoils of war.” They
had lost land after WWI because they left the
winning side; now they wanted to gain land
because they had won.
– They wanted to economically raid Eastern Europe
to recoup their expenses during the war.
– They saw the U.S. as a threat to their way of life;
especially after the U.S. development of atomic
weapons.
Cold War Goals for USSR
•Create greater security for itself
– lost tens of millions of people in WWII and
Stalin’s purges
– feared a strong Germany
•Establish defensible borders
•Encourage friendly governments on its borders
•Spread communism around the world
Excerpt from Winston
Churchill’s “Iron Curtain
Speech.”
“From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the
Adriatic an iron curtain has descended
across the Continent. Behind that line lie
all the capitals of the ancient states of
Central and Eastern Europe. Warsaw,
Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Budapest,
Belgrade, all these famous cities and the
populations around them lie in what I must
call the Soviet sphere, and all are subject
in one form or another, not only to Soviet
influence but to a very high and, in some
cases, increasing measure of control from
Moscow.”
***Notice location of
Greece and Turkey: This
will become a key issue!
Cold War Policies: Truman Doctrine
•1947: British help Greek government
fight communist forces.
–They appealed to America for aid,
and the response was the Truman
Doctrine.
– America promised it would
support free countries to help fight
communism.
– Greece received large amounts of
arms and supplies and by 1949 had
defeated the communists.
•The Truman Doctrine was significant
because it showed that America, the
most powerful democratic country, was
prepared to resist the spread of
communism throughout the world.
• Spent over $400 million
Cold War Policies: Containment
• Definition:
– By applying firm diplomatic, economic,
and military counter pressure, the United
States could block Soviet aggression.
– Goal was to stop communism from
spreading!
• Formulated by George F. Kennan as a way
to stop Soviet expansion without having to
go to war.
• The Containment Doctrine would later be
expanded in 1949, which called for a
dramatic increase in defense spending
– From $13 billion to $50 billion a year, to
be paid for with a large tax increase.
– served as the framework for American
policy over the next 20 years
National Defense Budget [1940-1964]
Cold War Policies: Marshall Plan
In 1947, US Secretary of State Marshall
announced the Marshall Plan.
– Massive economic aide for Europe to
help it recover from the damage caused
by WWII. (Total spent = $17 billion)
There were two motives for this:
1. Helping Europe to recover economically
would provide markets for American
goods  benefits US economy and
industries
2. A prosperous Europe would be better
able to resist the spread of communism.
Secretary of State George
Marshall.
A poster promoting the Marshall Plan
Countries Receiving Marshall Plan Aide
Dividing
Germany
• U.S., Britain, and France
merged their zones in 1948
to create an independent
West German state.
• June 1948: Stalin decided
to gain control of West
Berlin, which was deep
inside the Eastern Sector
– Cuts road, rail, and
canal links with West
Berlin; hoping to starve
it into submission.
Berlin Airlift
• The U.S. began a massive airlift of supplies that lasted
almost a year. (7,000 tons a day)
• In May 1949 Stalin lifted the blockade, conceding that
he could not prevent the creation of West Germany.
• Thus, the creation of East and West Germany
A plane flies in supplies during the Berlin Airlift.
The Berlin Crisis: June 1948-May 1949
• West Berlin, was an
outpost of Western
democracy and
economic success deep
within the communist
zone – like a capitalist
island within communist
East Germany
• It was felt by both sides
that Berlin could act as
the trigger for general
war between capitalist
and communist countries
North Atlantic Treaty Organization & the
Warsaw Pact
• Stalin’s aggressive actions accelerated the American
effort to use military means to contain Soviet
ambitions.
• The U.S. joined with Canada, Britain, France,
Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg to
establish NATO, a mutual defense pact in 1949.
• When West Germany joined NATO in 1955, the Soviet
Union countered by creating its own alliance system in
eastern Europe– the Warsaw Pact (1955)
NATO: North Atlantic Treaty Organization
NATO flag
• In 1949 the western nations
formed the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization to coordinate their
defense against USSR.
• Pledged signers to treat an attack
against one, as an attack against all
•It originally consisted of:
–America
- Holland
–Belgium
- Italy
–Britain
- Luxembourg
–Canada
- Norway
–Denmark
- Portugal
–France
• When West Germany joined in
1955, the Soviets responded…..
Warsaw Pact
• Warsaw Pact: organization of communist states in Central and Eastern
Europe.
•Established May 14, 1955 in Warsaw, Poland in response to NATO
•Founding members:
–Albania (left in 1961)
–Bulgaria
–Czechoslovakia
–Hungary
- Poland
- Romania
- USSR (founding member)
- East Germany (joined in 1956)
Greatest extent of Warsaw Pact