Cold War1945-1991

The Conferences

• Between Allies• Tehran– Stalin/FDR/Churchill aka Big Three (USSAR/GB/US)– 11/43– Decided how to end war w/G• Would attack G by way of invading Fr• Meant USSR would come through east E and have claim

to those countries in the future

The Conferences (con’t)

• Yalta– Big Three met 2/45– Free elections in Poland, rest of EE to be

determined– USSR attacks J, US gives islands plus warm water

ports in Manchuria to USSR– G must surrender unconditionally– G divided into 4 zones: Br/Fr/US/USSR

Conferences con’t

• Potsdam• Truman replaced FDR (died 4/45)• 7/45• Truman wants free elections in rest of EE• Stalin refuses as a way to protect USSR from

invasion

Cold War begins

• Churchill coins phrase “iron curtain;” communist countries exist behind an “ic.”

• Fear of communism spreading around the world, had to be stopped by democratic nations

• Superpowers: USSR and US had nuclear weapons and were seen as only being defeated by each other

• Truman Doctrine: US will give aid to any country threatened by communist expansion

• Marshall Plan: provided $ to rebuild war-torn Eur, including W. G., US loans money and Eur buys US goods to rebuild

Cold War terms cont

• Containment policy: communism was trying to expand and US did everything it could to contain C w/in its borders

• Berlin: divided into communist east and free west

• Berlin Airlift: USSR blocked road access to Berlin, US airlifts supplies for 1 yr to overcome blockade; 1st Cold War incident

Further Cold War

• United Nations: formed as org. that gave voice to all nations in the world– Controlled by Security Council (made decisions)– General Council made up of all nations

• Arms race: each side works to create more powerful weapons to defeat the other side– ICBM’s– Missile gap

• Deterrence: excuse for nuclear weapons—enemy will not attack if it knows the response will be a nuclear bomb

Cold War Alliances

• NATO – North Atlantic Treaty Organization– US/Can/GB/FR (off and on)/Italy, …

• Warsaw Pact– USSR and EE (satellite) nations

Korean War

• 1st Cold War• “Hot” war (actual fighting)• UN v. N. Korea/USSR/ and later Communist

China

USSR

• Khrushchev replaces Stalin– De-Stalinization – Berlin Wall built – Space race (‘57) Sputnik 1st satellite launched into

space; US behind USSR in SR– ‘56 Hungarian revolt against Soviet communism– ‘68 Czechs revolt– Both fail, brutally put down

Cuban Missile Crisis

• 1959 Fidel Castro overthrows Cuban gov’t and turns Cuba into a communist country

• Bay of Pigs: US attempts to support overthrow of Castro, fails• Oct. 1962• USSR/Cuba v US• Nuclear missiles from USSR to be installed in Cuba (that could

reach the Eastern US) in response to BoPs• 13 days• USSR “blinks” and removes missiles, Kennedy “wins”• Hot line installed• Khrushchev eventually out as USSR leader

Domino theory

• Like a line of dominos where the 1st is pushed over and the rest fall one by one, the US believes that one country will become communist, then the next, then the next, until only the US is left

• Vietnam War, Nicaragua– VW: 64-73 US and SVN v NVN and USSR– Johnson/Nixon v Ho Chi Minh– 1st war US loses despite its military superiority

End of Cold War

• RR president of US• Brezhnev leader of USSR• Détente: friendlier relations between US

/USSR• Gorbachev: new leader of USSR, last to lead

USSR before Cold War ends• Poland 1st nation to break away from USSR• USSR falls in 1991, Cold War over

Post Cold War

• Rise of independent nations not affiliated w/East (USSR) or West (US)

• Persian Gulf War• Iraq War• 9/11• Arab Spring