Transcript Rationale - Wright State University

Rationale

The context of this unit is the successes and failures of the United
States in providing leadership for the post-war world. These three
decades began with great confidence: abroad, the nation led the free
world in an epic struggle with the Soviet Union; at home, Americans
enjoyed prosperity fueled by new technologies. After 1963, however,
much of the confidence and promise of the postwar period unraveled.

The United States became entangled in the Vietnam War, sparking
division and protest at home and questions about our leadership role
abroad. Finally, the death of President Kennedy, the quagmire of
American involvement in Southeast Asia, the decision of President
Johnson not to run for a second term in the face of growing criticism of
the war, the Watergate break-in and cover-up, and the resignation of
President Nixon left Americans questioning themselves and their role
in the world.

Students will be interested to know that their parents were children and
students during these decades. Parents and community members may
be used as resources for this unit, and they can relate what it was like
to grow up during these years.
Objectives:
Students will be able to:
 Recognize the hatred which existed between the United States and the
Soviet Union before and during the outbreak of the Cold War era.
 Recognize and describe how the relationship between the United
States and the Soviet Union is depicted in movies.
 Define the concept of “cold war.”
 Explore the major historical/ political events occurring during this
era that were directly related to the cold war.
 Discuss the dangers of the cold war
 Describe major Communist actions and the United States reactions to
them.
Outline for Today’s Class:

Define Hatred..

Watch a short clip from a movie and reflect on what the clip meant to us.

Define the cold war.

Soviet Expansion and why?

Policy of containment and the Truman Doctrine?

The Marshall Plan?

The Berlin Airlift?


Military Alliances.

The Cuban Missile Crisis
The Korean War
What is Hatred?
Do you have hatred towards
anyone?
If so, could you describe what
it feels like?
Major Things To Look For Which Symbolize
Hatred, Power, & Struggle:

The strength of both boxers.

The way the boxers look at one another.

How both fighters continue to fight after each round has ended.

How both boxers pound on each other.

The soviet fans.

The outcome of the Match.
Reflection of Rocky IV:

How did you feel when watching the movie
clip?

Explain one of the main points that
symbolized hatred, power, and struggle.
Containment & The Truman Doctrine

In response to soviet expansion in Eastern Europe, George Kennan, a U.S.
diplomat, urged a policy of containment. The U.S., he said, should contain the
Soviet’s within their current boundaries by applying political, economic, and, if
necessary, military pressure whenever the Soviets tried to expand.

Fearing that the communists were going to win the Greek Civil War and
overthrow the Greek government, U.S. President Harry Truman proclaimed the
Truman Doctrine. The Truman Doctrine stated that the U.S. would “support free
people resisting attempted subjugation (domination) by armed minorities or by
outside pressures.”

Congress approved $400 million in economic assistance to Greece and
Turkey. With this aid, the Greek government defeated the communists and the
Turks were able to withstand Soviet pressure.


The Marshall Plan
The United States responded to
the threat of communist expansion
with large scale economic aid to the
war-ravaged nations of Europe.
Recovery from the war was proving
to be extremely difficult. After a
trip to Europe in 1947, Secretary of
State George Marshall who is shown
here, feared that nations that could
not deal with the problems of
hunger, poverty, desperation, and
chaos were in danger of revolution
and collapse.
Therefore in June 1947, George Marshall proposed that the United States
organize and fund a program of European recovery (a.k.a. THE MARSHALL
PLAN). Under this program, all European nations, including those in the Soviet
blocs, were invited to participate. Czechoslovakia and Poland seemed to be very
interested, but it became clear that the USSR would not allow them to participate.
The Soviets attacked this plan as “Yankee Imperialism” and no soviet blocs took part
in the plan.
The Marshall Plan cont…

Between 1948 and 1952, the United States poured $12 billion of aid into
Western Europe.

The Marshall Plan holstered the governments and economics of Western
Europe and stimulated industrial growth, and therefore, reduced the danger of a
communist revolution.
The Berlin Airlift

In 1948, the cold war came close to becoming a “hot war!” The Soviet Union
wanted to prevent the U.S., Britain, and France from combining their 3 German
Occupational zones into one zone. The Soviets feared this combined zone would be
the first step toward a strong, reunified Germany which would threaten Soviet power.

June, 1948: Soviets stopped all road, rail, and river traffic through East Germany
into West Berlin in hope that this would force Western powers to give up Berlin.
President Truman ordered an immediate airlift of food and other supplies into West
Berlin. When winter came, extra planes were added to bring coal. This airlift
continued until May 1949, when the Soviets lifted their blockade.

Berlin continued to be a focus of the cold war because of its location within East
Germany. Between 1949 and 1961, thousand of East Germans fled into West Berlin.
In 1961, the East German government built a wall (known as the Berlin Wall)
between East and West Berlin to stop the flow of people. War seemed possible, but
the crisis soon passed!
Military Alliances:

By 1949, Europe was clearly divided into 2 camps. One, led by the USSR
championed communism. The other, led by the United States, favored democracy.
This split was reflected in the military alliances that formed.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was formed in April,
1949. Representatives of the United States, Canada, and 10 other Western
European nations signed a mutual defense treaty in which it’s members agreed to
go to the aid of any other member who was being attacked by an outsider. Greece
and Turkey joined in 1952 and West Germany joined in 1955.

The Soviet Union responded by creating it’s own alliance, the Warsaw Pact.
This alliance included the Soviet Union and seven other Eastern European
nations that agreed to provide immediate assistance if any of them went to war.
The Korean War

In 1950, war broke out between North and South Korea. Russian troops
occupied the northern zone and established a communist government under
Kim Il-Sung. In the southern zone, American forces supported a noncommunist government under Syngman Rhee. The United States
convinced the UN to approve a “police action” to stop the North Korean
invasion. The United States furnished most of the military forces that
fought under the UN banner in Korea.
The Korean War cont…

After a bloody three years of fighting, an armistice was signed
by the North Koreans and the United States in July of 1953. This
agreement restored the boundary between North Korea and South
Korea at the 38th parallel.
The Cuban Missile Crisis

In 1962, a crisis over Cuba threatened to explode into a nuclear war
between the United States and the Soviet Union. In October of 1962,
President Kennedy revealed that the USSR was building missile launch pads
in Cuba. The U.S. demanded that the missiles be dismantled. The soviets
declined the request by the U.S., so in response, the United States imposed a
naval blockade on Cuba to prevent soviet ships from bringing more missiles
to Cuba. Soviet ships approached Cuba, but turned back just as they
approached the blockade. Krushchev, the Soviet premier, ordered the
missiles bases dismantled which ended the crisis.
The Cuban Missile Crisis cont…

At about the same time the Cuban
missile crisis was being resolved; the
United States was becoming
involved in a war in Southeast Asia.
President Kennnedy sent military
advisors and equipment to the
government of South Vietnam, who
were fighting communist guerillas.
America’s involvement with Vietnam
developed into a full fledged “War,”
as we will read about later in the
quarter.
Review of Today’s Class:

Define Hatred..

Watch a short clip from a movie and reflect on what the clip meant to us.


Define the cold war.

Policy of containment and the Truman Doctrine?

The Marshall Plan?

The Berlin Airlift?

Military Alliances.

The Korean War

The Cuban Missile Crisis
Soviet Expansion and why?