Transcript 20th Century Conflicts

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20
Century Conflicts
The Cold War, Korea, Vietnam
After WW2: What Happened?
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Germany split into East and West Germany.
• West Germany became democratic
• East Germany under the Soviet Union did not become
democracy.
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Japan occupied by US.
• Democratic government
• Ally of US.
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Marshall Plan provided massive financial aid to
rebuild European economies and prevent the
spread of communism.
What was the Cold War?
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The Cold War lasted from the end of World
War II until the collapse of the Soviet
Union. (Roughly 1949-1990)
 USA vs. USSR
 Truman : “containment of communism”
(don’t destroy communism, but keep it from
spreading)
NATO & The Warsaw Pact

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
was a defensive alliance between the US and
western European countries to prevent a Soviet
invasion of Western Europe.
 Soviet allies in eastern Europe formed the Warsaw
Pact
 Both sides had large military forces facing each
other in Europe for about 50 years.
NATO
Warsaw
Pact
Communist China
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The communist takeover in China shortly
after World War II increased American fears
of communist domination of most of the
world. The communist nations of China and
the Soviet Union eventually became rivals
for territory and diplomatic influence, a split
which American foreign policy under
President Nixon in the 1970s exploited.
Nuclear Arms Race

The Soviet Union matched the United States in
nuclear weaponry in the 1950s.
 Threat of nuclear war that would destroy both
countries was present throughout the Cold War.
 US Pres Eisenhower, adopted a policy of
“massive retaliation”
 M.A.D.  Mutual Assured Destruction
States with declared nuclear
arsenals
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United States (1945)
Russia (1949)
United Kingdom (1952)
France (1960)
China (1964)
Pakistan (1998)
India (1998)
North Korea (2006)
States with untested nuclear arsenals
– Israel (1979)
Korea, Vietnam, Cuba
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What do all three of these nations have
in common?
Korean War
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Early 1950s
American policy of
containment of communism
Communist N. Korea invaded
S. Korea
American military forces led
a United Nations
counterattack
Communist Chinese sided
with N. Korea
Ended in a stalemate with S.
Korea free of communism
Vietnam War

US containment of communism
 Communist government of N.
Vietnam attempted to install
through force communism in South
Vietnam.
 Military buildup in Vietnam began
under Pres. Kennedy. After
Kennedy’s assassination in 1963,
the buildup was intensified under
Pres. Johnson.
 US forces repeatedly defeated the
North Vietnamese forces, but could
not end the war on favorable terms.
Vietnam

Many people did not support the war in Vietnam.
 Pres. Johnson declined to seek re-election
 Pres. Nixon instituted a policy of
“Vietnamization,” withdrawing American troops
and replacing them with S. Vietnamese forces
while maintaining military aid to the South
Vietnamese
 S. Vietnamese troops proved unable to resist
invasion by the Soviet-supplied North
Vietnamese Army, and President Nixon was
forced from office by the Watergate scandal. In
1975, both North and South Vietnam were
merged under communist control
Cuba and the Cuban Missle Crisis

Fidel Castro led a communist revolution that took
over Cuba in the late 1950s. Many Cubans fled to
Florida and later attempted to invade Cuba and
overthrow Castro. This “Bay of Pigs” invasion
failed.
 In 1962, the Soviet Union stationed missiles in
Cuba, instigating the Cuban Missile Crisis.
President Kennedy ordered the Soviets to remove
their missiles and for several days the world was
on the brink of nuclear war. Eventually, the Soviet
leadership removed their missiles.
What do you think?
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Is the Cold War over?
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Why or Why not?
Cold War at Home
Fear of Communism
 McCarthyism
 Bomb Shelters, Nuclear Drills
 Alger Hiss, Julius & Ethel Rosenberg
 Foreign Policy = BIG issue in pres.
elections
 VA Economy goes way up
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Cold War Military
Unpopular Wars in USA
 Kennedy Assassination
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As a result of their service, the United
States and American ideals of
democracy and freedom prevailed.
Soviet Union Problems
Increasing Soviet military expenses to
compete with the United States
 Rising nationalism in Soviet republics
 Economic inefficiency
 Gorbachev “glasnost” and “perestroika”
(openness and economic restructuring)
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