Transcript History of the Cold War

Historical Intro to Alas Babylon
http://users.humboldt.edu/ogayle/sed741/
SEDColdWar.html
Consequences of WWII

 Enormous human and economic costs.
 Germany divided into occupation zones by the Allied powers

Berlin - which was within the Soviet occupation zone - was divided among the
Allies
 An "iron curtain" was drawn as Stalin expanded the USSR by installing proSoviet governments in Bulgaria, Hungary, and Romania; supporting
communist governments in Albania and Yugoslavia; and barring free elections
in Poland.
 The creation of two visions of the post war world, both of which will contribute
to the Cold War era:
 the American/Western vision in which a strong world organization would be
created to deter aggression (the United Nations) and collective security would ensure
that member nations would not appease future aggressor nations.
 The Russian vision in which the USSR would be treated as a major world power,
Germany's power would be reduced through division and demilitarization; and
Russia would be surrounded by "friendly" governments in neighboring east
European states that embraced socialism.
 Introduction of nuclear weaponry and escalation of arms race - another
characteristic of the Cold War era.
Myth vs. Reality

http://education-portal.com/academy/lesson/the-cold-war-definition-causesearly-events.html#lesson
 Common Belief - The Cold War was the postwar economic and ideological
global rivalry between the United States and the Soviets during which each
side fought - without engaging in military warfare - to reshape the world
to conform to its own image. Both sides used all their resources - short of
war - to keep the other side from achieving its postwar goals.
 In reality - During the 45 year-period of the Cold War, the Americans and
Russians were involved in dozens of "hot wars" around the globe (Korea,
Cuba, Vietnam, El Salvador, Honduras, etc.) But because these were not
wars in which the U.S. and Soviets were officially at war with one another,
each nation could use the Cold War rhetoric to justify their involvement
elsewhere.
 Thus, the Cold War witnessed a political, social, economic, and military
rivalry between the U.S. and the Soviet Union - a rivalry that dramatically
affected American foreign policy as well as American domestic policy.
Two Phases of the Cold
War

 International Phase: 1945 to 1991 - when foreign
policy was shaped by U.S./Soviet tensions that
erupted in a series of proxy wars
 Domestic Phase: 1954 to 1991 - when the U.S. was
wracked with anti-communist hysteria
International Phase

Both the USSR and the United States contributed to the Cold War
through a variety of policy decisions and actions.
 Soviet Actions Contributing to the Cold War
 Soviet control over Poland, Bulgaria, Rumania, and Hungary
(early 1946)
 Stalin's "inevitability" of future wars thesis (Feb. 1946)
 Stalin's order that satellite nations end trade with Western
nations (mid-46)
 Soviet refusal to halt work on nuclear weapons (June 46)
 Molotov Plan to incorporate Eastern Europe economies into
Soviet system (1947)
 Soviet overthrow of Czech government and installation of
communist government (Feb. 1948)
International Phase
(American Actions)

American Actions
 Policy of Containment (1947) - In January 1947, George
Kennan - U.S. Ambassador to the USSR - submitted a
report to the U.S. Defense Secretary using the word
"containment" for the first time: "In these circumstances
[that the Soviets were in a perpetual war with capitalism]
it is clear that the main element of any United States
policy toward the Soviet Union must be that of long-term,
patient but firm and vigilant containment of Russian
expansive tendencies." Containment fostered an
ideological opposition to communism by creating a "us
versus them" theme that divided the world into
democratic versus autocratic governments.
International Phase
(American Actions)

 Truman Doctrine (March 1947). Pledged the US to containing
communism in Europe and elsewhere and impelled the US to
support any nation with both military and economic aid if its
stability was threatened by communism or the Soviet
Union. Became the foundation of Truman's foreign policy and
places the U.S. in the role of global policeman.
 Marshall Plan (June 1947). Designed by General George Marshall
who became Truman's Secretary of State, the Marshall Plan
pledged economic aid to help rebuild war-torn Europe. After
several meetings with Stalin, Marshall became convinced that a
weak, starving, disheartened Europe was precisely what Stalin
wanted because it would offer the best recruitment for
communism. The Marshall Plan's primary goal was to stop the
socialist and communist electoral bids for power in northern and
western Europe while, at the same time, promoting democracy
through the economic renewal of Europe. Sixteen nations signed
the Marshall Plan and consequently, industrial production in those
nations rose by 200% between 1947-52. Became the cornerstone of
the US use of economic policy to contain communism.
International Phase
(American Actions)

 National Security Act (July 1947). Laid the
foundation for expanded military forces and
surveillance agencies within the federal government
and was the first step in the creation of permanent,
large-scale military spending as the basic stimulus
for economic growth in America (the military
industrial complex.) The goal was to keep the
nation in a ready state of preparedness for war. It
became the first program of peacetime military
preparedness in US history. The NSA
Significant events of the
international phase

 The Berlin Blockade and Airlift - end of the blockade cleared the way for the
Western powers to merge their occupation zones into a single nation - West
Germany.
 The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) - Ten western European
nations, the U.S., and Canada formed a military alliance declaring that "an
armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America shall be
considered an attack against all of them." In response, the Russians formed the
Warsaw Pact in 1955.
 The Iron Curtain - After the Berlin blockade cleared the way for the western
powers' creation of West Germany, the USSR countered by establishing the
German Democratic Republic in their sector, thus creating what Winston
Churchill called an "iron curtain" between free and unfree Germany and the
free and unfree worlds.
 The Nuclear Race - In January 1950, Truman ordered his scientific advisors to
develop a fusion-based hydrogen bomb hundreds of times more powerful than
the atomic bomb. In November 1952, the U.S. exploded its first H-bomb in the
Marshall islands. The Soviets exploded their first H-bomb 9 months later.
 The Korean "Conflict" - June 1950-July 1953
Significant events of the
international phase

 The Cuban Missile Crisis - October 1962. In his speech to the nation on
October 22, 1960, President Kennedy told the American people, "This
government, as promised, has maintained the closest surveillance of the
Soviet military buildup on the island of Cuba. Within the past week,
unmistakable evidence has established the fact that a series of offensive
missile sites is now in preparation on that imprisoned island. The
purpose of these bases can be none other than to provide a nuclear
strike capability against the Western Hemisphere."
 Vietnam - 1954 - 1973.
 Sputnik - 1957. The USSR launched Sputnik in October, 1957. The 23
inch satellite travelled at 18,000 miles per hour, took 96.2 minutes to
complete an orbit, and emitted radio signals that were monitored by
amateur radio operators throughout the world. The signals continued
for 22 days until the transmitter batteries ran out. Sputnik burned up on
January 4, 1958 when it fell from orbit upon reentering Earth's
atmosphere. It had traveled about 37 million miles during its three
months in orbit.
 Fall of the USSR - 1991
Domestic Phase

 At the same time that the international arena was wracked by the
Cold War, the U.S. experienced and internal period of domestic
turmoil often referred to as the second American Red Scare.
 He May Be A Communist http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWeZ5SKXvj8
 More Doctors Smoke Camels http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PybgH_ItUik&feature=relate
d
 The Trouble with Women - 1959 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOxGRuKFwJg&feature=rel
ated
 The Threat of Communism - Propaganda
Film http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ss0yaO6VJvU&feature=r
elated
Domestic Phase

 Three factors that began in federal circles launched
the Second Red Scare - a period of hysteria that
occurred within the United States throughout the
Cold War era: President Truman's anti-communist
beliefs and rhetoric; Congressional anti-communist
actions; and Senator Joe McCarthy's "Witch Hunt."