Transcript Week 15 Lesson 2 - The Fall of the Soviet Union

VA and US History
The Collapse of Communism
and the End of the Cold War
Lecture Notes:
Unit 8 Lesson 5
Standard VUS.13c,d
Bell Ringer
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Would you rather live in a Capitalist or a
Communist system…why?
Key Points
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American Cold War Military Efforts
Failures of Communism
The Fall of the Berlin Wall
The end of the Soviet Union
Kennedy Takes Office
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In President John Kennedy’s inaugural address, he pledged
that the United States would “pay any price, bear any burden,
meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order
to assure the survival and the success of liberty.”
What does Kennedy mean by Liberty?

Freedom to Vote?
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Or Freedom to Profit?
What were we really focused on
spreading around the world?
Quote of the Day
“During the Cold War era, millions of Americans
served in the military, defending freedom in
wars and conflicts that were not always
popular. Many were killed or wounded. As a
result of their service, the United States and
American ideals of democracy and freedom
ultimately prevailed in the Cold War struggle
with Soviet communism.”
--Virginia SOLs
American Cold-War Military

Millions of Americans have served in:
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The Vietnam War
The Afghan War
U.S.-backed military coups against governments in:
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Iran (1953)
Guatemala (1954)
Chile (1973)
And civil wars in countries such as:
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Angola (1970s)
El Salvador (1980s)
Nicaragua (1980s)
Soviets breath a sigh of relief…
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Stalin (brutal
dictator) dies in
1953
Khrushchev is his
replacement
Problem #1 - Wages
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To make the people happy…Khrushchev raises
wages.
Problem #2 - Scarcity
Problem #3 - Motivation
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Motivation in Capitalism?
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Motivation in Communism?
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Which is stronger?
Problem #4 – Military Spending
Problem #5 - Afghanistan – 1979 to 1988
Moral
Propaganda

The use of the phrase "evil
empire" by Reagan and
U.S. conservatives was
intentionally designed to
introduce a moral divide to
the Cold War, depicting the
Soviet Union and its allies
as acting in ways that were
evil and undermined
conventional moral ethos.
Problem #6 - Nationalism in Warsaw Pact Countries
Brezhnev Doctrine of the 1970s:
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"When forces that are
hostile to socialism try to
turn the development of
some socialist country
towards capitalism, it
becomes not only a problem
of the country concerned,
but a common problem and
concern of all socialist
countries."
The Sinatra Doctrine of the 1980s
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Mikhail Gorbachev used
jokingly to describe its policy
of allowing neighboring
Warsaw Pact nations to
determine their own internal
affairs. The name alluded to
the Frank Sinatra song "My
Way" --- the Soviet Union
was allowing these nations
to go their own way.
1989
Role of President Reagan
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=fvwp&v=WjWDr
TXMgF8&NR=1
Gorbachev
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Allows the satellite states
to leave the Union
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Keeps fewer secrets from
the Russian people
(glasnost)
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Allows private businesses
back into the Union
(perestroika)
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Negotiates with Reagan
to take down the “iron
curtain”
Independent Nations
Activity
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Gump