Chapter 18Cold War ConflictsI. Origins of the Cold War

A. Former Allies Clash1. The U.S. and the U.S.S.R.

were Allies at the end of World War II.

(Union of Soviet Socialist Republics)2. Problems had been

developing between these two nations both before and during World War II.

a. The economic and political systems were incompatible.1) The USSR practiced Communism-the government owned all property and industry, no opposition was allowed to the government, personal freedom was restricted.

2) The US believed in Democracy-private ownership of property and businesses, free elections, personal freedoms guaranteed.b. The USSR had signed a nonaggression pact with Germany in 1939.c. The US did not officially

recognize the existence of the USSR until 16 years after the Communist revolution.

d. The leader of the USSR distrusted the other Allies. (the US had kept the atomic bomb a secret)3. In April of 1945 representatives from 50 nations met in San Francisco and agreed to form an international peacekeeping body.a. the charter of the United Nations was approved in June of 1945 .

b. The UN headquarters was built in New York City.

1. Truman’s first meeting with world leaders after he became president was a wartime conference of the Big Three at Potsdam, Germany:

B. The Potsdam Conference

c. The UN became a forum where both the US and the USSR tried to spread their influence to other nations.

b. US-Harry Truman

a. Great Britain-Clement Atlee

c. USSR-Joseph Stalin

2. At Potsdam, the US and GB demanded that the Soviet Union allow free and democratic elections in Poland and other Eastern European nations.3. Soviet armies already occupied those countries so Stalin refused.

4. Stalin began to take control of the governments in these nations.5. These countries became

known as Soviet satellite nations dependent upon and dominated by the Soviet Union.

6. Stalin turned Soviet industry to production of weapons because he believed a war between Communism and capitalism was inevitable. (USSR and US)

C. The Policy of Containment

1. American officials adopted a policy of containment against Communism.2. Containment meant to block the spread of Communist influence by forming alliances and supporting weaker nation.3. Winston Churchill, former prime minister of GB, said in a speech that an iron curtain had descended across the continent of Europe.

4. Behind the iron curtain the nations in Eastern Europe had fallen under the domination of the Soviet Union.5. Stalin called Churchill’s statement a call to war.

D. The Cold War1. The term Cold War refers to the increasing state of tension and hostilities between the two world superpowers-the US and USSR.

2. These hostilities often stopped short only of military confrontation.3. The Cold War lasted until the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991 and dominated world affairs.

4. The US created several programs to try to stop the spread of Soviet domination.a. The Truman Doctrine stated that the US should support free people throughout the world who were resisting takeovers by outside pressures.b. The Marshall Plan provided billions of dollars in aid to provide stable governments in Europe to resist Communism.

E. The Struggle over Germany1. At the end of World War II, Germany was divided into four zones, each zone occupied by an allied nation. (France, GB, US, USSR)2. In 1948, France, GB, and the US joined their three zones into one nation. 3. Berlin, the capital city was deep within the Soviet zone of occupation, and had also been divided into four zones.

4. When the Allied zones rejoined, the Soviet Union cut off all highway, water and rail traffic into their zone.5. Democratic West Berlin was now totally cut off from the rest of the world by the Soviets.a. no supplies could get in or out and the city faced starvation.b. Stalin believed this would force the Western nations to give control of the city to the Soviets.

6. West Berlin contained 2.1 million people and would have run out of food and fuel within five weeks.7. American and British officials began the Berlin Airlift in an attempt to break the blockade.a. every day for 327 days, American and British supply planes flew supplies, food, and medicine to West Berlin.b. a supply plane landed every three minutes 24 hours a day.

8. American prestige around the world rose and Soviet prestige dropped.

9. In May of 1949, the Soviets gave up and lifted the blockade.10. The western part of

Germany formed its own nation called West Germany with its capital of Bonn.11. The Soviet Union turned its zone into East Germany with Berlin as its capital.

F. NATO is formed.1. The Berlin blockade increased Western Europe’s fear of Soviet aggression.

2. Ten of these nations joined with the United States and Canada in April of 1949 to form a mutual defense agreement. (NATO)a. Belgiumb. Denmarkc. France

e. Iceland

d. Great Britain

f. Italy

g. Luxembourgh. the Netherlands

i. Norway

j. Portugal

4. This was the first time that the US had entered into a military alliance during peacetime.

3. Members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) promised that an attack on any one member would be considered an attack on all.

II. The Cold War Heats UpA. Civil War in China

1. A Civil War had started in China over Communism.

2. They stopped their civil war in 1937 and united to fight the Japanese.3. After the war the country separated again:

a. North-Communist led by Mao Zedong (Tse-tung)

b. South-Nationalists (Democratic) led by Chiang Kai-shek.4. The US supported the Nationalists because they were fighting Communism.5. Eventually the Nationalists were driven from China and fled to the island of Formosa and formed the country of Taiwan.

B. War in Korea1. When World War II ended Korea was occupied by both the Soviets and the Americans.

2. The Soviets occupied territory north of the 38th parallel and the Americans south of the 38th parallel.3. Both the US and the Soviets created new governments in their territories:

a. North Korea-Communist-Kim Sung Lee-Pyongyang.

b. South Korea-Democratic-Syngman Rhee-Seoul

4. In 1949 both the Soviet Union and the US withdrew their troops from Korea.

5. In 1950 North Korea invaded South Korea starting the Korean War.

6. President Truman ordered supplies and naval and air support to prevent South Korea from falling to Communism.7. The UN also voted to send troops and other forms of aid to South Korea.a. 16 nations sent troops but the US provide 90% of the forces.b. The UN and South Korean forces were commanded by General Douglas MacArthur.

C. The US Fights in Korea1. The North Korean Army was unstoppable at first.

2. They pushed the UN forces back into a small zone around Pusan in SE South Korea.

3. In September of 1950 MacArthur launched a counterattack trapping North Korean troops between two UN forces.

4. Half of the North Korean army surrendered and the other half fled back across the38th parallel.5. The UN forces had to decide whether to invade into North Korea to unify the country

6. The UN told MacArthur to advance into North Korea and reclaim the country. (as far as the Chinese border)

7. Chinese leader Zhou Enlai warned that China would not let Americans advance that far.8. In November of 1950 300,000 Chinese troops crossed the border forcing UN forces to retreat.9. For the next two years the Korean War was a stalemate fought around the 38th parallel.

a. to invade into southern China.b. to blockade Chinese ports.

10. General MacArthur called for the US to extend the war to include China:

c. use atomic bombs on Chinese cities.

11. President Truman did not want to invade China-they had an agreement with the Soviet Union-attacking China could set off World War III.

12. MacArthur wrote to newspapers, magazines, and Republican leaders in an attempt to gain support for war against China13. Truman with unanimous approval of the Joint Chiefs of Staff relieved MacArthur of command.14. In November of 1951 the Soviet Union suggested a cease-fire.

15. Truce talks to end the war lasted two years and had two main points:a. location of a cease fire line. (38th parallel)

b. creation of a demilitarized zone between the two countries.16. Results of the Korean War.a. Korea is divided into North Korea and South Korea.

c. US still has 37, 000 troops stationed in South Korea.

b. 54, 000 Americans were killed.

III. The Cold War at Home.

A. Fear of Communist Influence.1. In the late 1940s and early 1950s an anti-Communist hysteria gripped the US.

2. This widespread fear of Communists or “Reds” became known as the Red Scare or the Great Fear.3. In response to the Red Scare, President Truman created the Loyalty Review Board which investigated government employees and dismissed those found to be disloyal to the US government.

4. The House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC) also investigated disloyalty to the US.5. The HUAC became famous for its investigations into Hollywood’s movie industry.6. The HUAC subpoenaed 43 witnesses from the film industry.

8. Ten witnesses were termed “unfriendly”-they refused to answer the committees questions because they believed the investigations was unconstitutional.

7. Most of these were considered to be “friendly” witnesses-they cooperated with the investigation and agreed that Communists had infiltrated the film industry.

9. These ten became known as the Hollywood Ten and were sent to prison.

10. In all over 500 actors, writers, producers, and directors were found to have a Communist background and blacklisted.

B. Spy Cases in the US1. During this period two cases of spying in the US added to the fear of Communism.

2. The first case involved a former State Department official named Alger Hiss.

a. a former Communist spy accused Alger Hiss of selling secret documents to the Soviet Union.

b. Hiss could not be tried for espionage but he was convicted of perjury and sent to jail.

c. Congressman Richard Nixon gained national fame for pursuing the charges against Hiss.3. The second case was intensified by international event.4. In September of 1949, the Soviet Union exploded an atomic bomb.

5. Experts predicted that this was 3-5 years ahead of what they should be able to do.

6. Most people believed the Soviets had stolen secrets of how to build the bomb from the US.7. This suspicion was confirmed in the Rosenberg case.a. a British physicist admitted giving the Soviet Union information about the American atomic bomb.

b. he implicated Ethel and Julius Rosenberg who belonged to the American Communist Party.c. they were found guilty and given the death penalty.

d. they were executed in the electric chair in 1953 becoming the first US civilians to be executed for espionage.

C McCarthy’s Witch Hunt

1. The most famous anti-Communist activist was Senator Joseph McCarthy.

2. McCarthy use fear of Communism as an issue to be reelected in 1952.3. McCarthy made one accusation after another about Communists taking over the government.

4. These attacks on suspected communists became known as McCarthyism.5. He accused government officials and especially the Democratic Party of being Communist.6. He never produced any evidence to support his charges.7. A televised Senate investigation cost him public support and he was condemned by the rest of the Senate.

IV. Two Nations on the Edge.A. Brinkmanship Rules US Policy1. After the Soviet Union successfully exploded an atomic bomb in 1949, the US began work on a more powerful weapon.2. The H-bomb or hydrogen bomb would be 67 times more powerful than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima.

3. Within one year after the first successful US H-bomb, the Soviets had developed one of their own.4. The arms race had begun.

5. The US developed a policy of brinkmanship to deal with the possibility of nuclear war.

6. The US would promise to use all of its force including nuclear weapons against any aggressor.

7. We would be willing to go to the brink of war if necessary to keep peace.B. Other Important Events, Terms, People of the Cold War.

1. CIA-Central Intelligence Agency created to gather information about governments abroad.2. Warsaw Pact-agreement between the Soviet Union and its satellite nations.

3. Nikita Kruschchev-head of the Soviet Communist Party during the Cold War.

4. 1957-the Soviets developed ICBMs-Intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of traveling great distances.5. 1957-the Soviets launch the first satellite into orbit-Sputnik I.

6. U2 incident-in 1960 an American U2 spy plane was shot down 1300 miles inside of Soviet territory-The American pilot Francis Gary Powers was captured by the Soviets.