COLD WAR

1945-1991

What is a Cold War?A period of Diplomatic hostility among nations

without direct armed conflict

USA

USSR

Communism Spreads

• Starting in the 19th century, groups affiliated with communism gained power throughout regions of the world.

• Russia, China, Korea, Vietnam, and Cuba eventually become communist.

• (Like democracy spread beginning in the 18th century.)

Cold War begins • 1. During the communist revolution in Russia,

the US worked to defeat the communists.

• 2. In WWII, the Soviet army drove the Germans back across Eastern Europe. Other Allies raced to beat the Soviet Army to Berlin.

• 3. USSR occupied several countries along its western border and considered them a necessary buffer or wall of protection from the west.

• 4. Stalin installed Communist governments in Albania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Poland, and Yugoslavia.

• 5. Early in 1946 Stalin declared that communism & capitalism could not exist in the same world. War between the U.S. & U.S.S.R. seemed certain.

“From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic an iron curtain has descended across the continent.”

• - Winston Churchill March 5, 1946

• A promise made by U.S. President Truman to provide military and economic support to all countries that rejected communism

• This policy of stopping any further spread of communism became known as the policy of “containment”

THE U.S. RESPONSE1948 - The Truman Doctrine

1947 -The Marshall PlanWhat was it?• A U.S. program of economic aid to European

countries to help them rebuild after WWII.

• Provided food, machines, and other materials to European nations to help stabilize Europe.

Which country received the most aid from the United States?

Why would Great Britain and France receive the most aid?

The Marshall Plan

Evaluate the two photos. What significant changes have occurred in the second photo?

The Marshall Plan

SOVIET RESPONSE BERLIN BLOCKADE

1948- Soviets closed all road and rail links to Berlin. The Western allies began a massive airlift to feed the West Berliners.

How do you Fight a Cold War?

• Have the threat of force and power – Arms, technology, & influence

– NATO (US) & Warsaw Pact (USSR) were the two main military alliances

• Use Propaganda – create hatred and paranoia of the other side

• Send economic aid to weaker nations to spread influence and gain allies

• Support allied nations in conflicts to protect interests or agitate other side (sponsor wars)

COLD WAR

EVENTS

COMMUNIST CHINA 1949Mao and the

Communists founded the People’s Republic of China (not recognized by the US)

KOREAN WAR 1950 - 1953After World War II Korea was

divided, along the 38th parallel, into North Korea, occupied Soviet forces and South Korea occupied by American forces.

North Korean forces, seeking to unify the country under communist rule invaded the south in 1950. Commanded by General Douglas MacArthur, UN forces prevented a northern takeover of South Korea. An Armistice was signed in 1953.

1959 - CUBAN REVOLUTION

BAY OF PIGS INVASION 1961

In 1959 Fidel Castro seized power in Cuba. He nationalized businesses and executed opponents, transforming Cuba into a Communist state.

He threatened to spread Communism to other Latin American countries.

In 1961 U.S. trained Cuban exiles unsuccessfully invaded Cuba at the Bay of Pigs.

Berlin Wall 1961

• The East German Government built a dividing wall in Berlin to separate East and West Berlin.

CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS 1962 In 1962 the United States discovered

that Cuba was secretly building bases to install Soviet missiles with nuclear warheads. After President Kennedy ordered a naval blockade of Cuba and threatened and invasion, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the missiles for a pledge that the U.S. would not invade Cuba.

VIETNAM WAR 1954-1975 When the French withdrew from

Indochina in 1954, Vietnam was divided. Ho Chi Minh Founded Communist North Vietnam, while South Vietnam established ties to the West.

Communists known as Vietcong began a guerrilla war in South Vietnam with North Vietnamese support.

The U.S. entered the conflict to resist communism. Although the U.S. had superior technology, and used 500,000 soldiers it could not defeat the North Vietnamese (and its aid from USSR).

In 1973 U.S. troops withdrew under the Paris Peace Accords. In 1975 the South fell to the North.

ARMS RACE

The United States developed the Atomic Bomb during WWII. Soviet scientists developed one in 1949.

For 40 years the superpowers spent huge amounts of money to develop more & more powerful weapons. This raised the tensions between the two countries. It also raised the fears among many people that the superpowers might become involved in a conflict that would destroy the world.

Nuclear Weapons: Who Has What?

HISTORY OF NUCLEAR WARHEAD STOCKPILES -- 1945-1995NOTE: Totals are estimates. Lists include strategic and non-strategic warheads, as well as warheads awaiting dismantling

1945 1955 1965 1975 19851995

UNITED STATES 6 3,057 31,265 26,675 22,94114,766

SOVIET UNION 0 200 6,129 19,443 39,19727,000

BRITAIN 0 10 310 350 300 300

FRANCE 0 0 32 188 360 485

CHINA 0 0 5 185 425 425

Source: National Resources Defense Council

SPACE RACE The super

powers also competed in space.

In 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, a satellite, into orbit around the Earth.

Soon after the United States established NASA. The race was on.

In 1958 the U.S. launched its own first satellite. In 1961, the Soviets sent the first man into space.

In 1969 the U.S. was the first nation to put a man on the moon. Both the Soviets and Americans explored the use of satellites for military purposes.

Who won the Cold War?

The U.S.A.!Beginning in the late 1980s,

the Soviet Union began to fall apart.

Its satellites and republics became independent.

A “new” government took control of Russia

Why did the U.S. win? The Soviet Union’s economy

suffered as the government spent money to keep up with the U.S.

Lack of freedom and opportunity within the Soviet Union and Soviet controlled nations.

People in the USSR pushed for change.

Positive Results of the Cold War

The US and USSR competed in space exploration and military technology which had some attached results.

The US and USSR kept part of the world “stable” with their alliances.

Some sectors of the US and USSR gained economically from Cold War spending.

Alliances with US and USSR gave some economic benefits to other nations- economic and military aid

Negative Results of the Cold War

caused the Red Scare and anti-Americanism

Possibility of nuclear war Civil wars and other conflicts

were made worse by US and USSR involvement.

The US and USSR supported BAD governments & leaders who opposed their rival.

Money spent on the Cold War was money not spent on US and Soviet problems.