THE COLD WAR, 1945 1991 THE UNITED STATES VS. THE SOVIETS Cold
War Vocabulary Review
Slide 2
THE POLICY OF CONTAINMENT, 1945 - 1991 Harry S Truman was the
President of the United States who insisted on this foreign policy,
which vowed to stop the spread of communism across the world the
Berlin Airlift, the Korean War, and several economic aid packages
were examples. The man who suggested it was George F. Kennan. He
was a diplomat working in Moscow, and he suggested that the Soviets
only understood the language of strength. They respected power, and
didnt really want to fight another war. He also suggested that
while the Soviets were convinced that communism was a good system,
it was fundamentally flawed and doomed to failure. Communism, he
stated, would die of natural causes quickly. Just dont let it
spread!
Slide 3
THE UNITED NATIONS (UN) ESTABLISHED The United Nations was
created by a charter signed in San Francisco in 1945. It was
intended to be a world peacekeeping organization the new and
improved version of the League of Nations! The United States joined
the organization, as did the Soviet Union. It was designed to give
the most powerful nations on earth the greatest power to rule; a
Security Council was established giving the US, the USSR, England,
France, and China veto powers. In 1950, the UN gave the United
States the authority to conduct the Korean War in order to preserve
the nation of South Korea, after it had been attacked by Kim Il
Sungs communist North Korean Forces. North Korea was supported by
both the USSR and Communist China (Mao had taken over China in 1949
shocking the West.)
Slide 4
THE TRUMAN DOCTRINE, 1947 Put that in your pipe and smoke it,
Stalin! The Truman Doctrine was created by Harry S Truman
immediately after World War II in order to halt Soviet aggression
in Europe. The Soviets were attempting to put communist governments
in place throughout Eastern Europe and the Middle East governments
which they could manipulate and control from Moscow. The Truman
Doctrine gave over $400 Million to Greece and Turkey to stop
communist rebels in those nations. As a result of the Truman
Doctrine, both Greece and Turkey remained capitalist, democratic
nations. In fact, both nations would eventually join NATO!
Slide 5
THE MARSHALL PLAN, 1949 After witnessing the success of the
Truman Doctrine, George C. Marshall a military leader from World
War II suggested that the United States must play a critical role
in the reconstruction of Europe in order to stop the spread of
communism. The Marshall Plan, unhatched in 1949, offered over $13
Billion to assist in the rebuilding of European nations after World
War II but they had to pledge to allow democratic institutions and
capitalism first! Using American money, Western Europe was rebuilt,
and new democracies emerged in Europe. The advance of the Soviet
Unions communist system was halted in its tracks.
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THE NORTH ATLANTIC TREATY ORGANIZATION (NATO), 1949 THE PRESENT
This American military alliance included Canada and major Western
European nations who were concerned about the threat of attack from
the Soviet Union. All of the nations which joined were pledge to
preserve democracy, capitalism, and individual rights. In addition,
they pledge to defend one another in the event of an invasion from
the Soviet Union. In response to this organization, the USSR
created a defensive alliance of its own: the Warsaw Pact.
Slide 7
MASSIVE RETALIATION Under Dwight D. Eisenhower, the United
States did not build up a huge Army to fight enemies. Instead, we
pledge to use nuclear bombs in the event that we were attacked by
the Soviet Union. While this strategy saved the United States of
America lost of money by lowering the cost of our nations military
spending, it was not a very enlightened policy! The fact is, not
every transgression in international politics can be responded to
with an atom bomb! If the Soviets had invaded France, would we have
dropped an atomic weapon on Paris?
Slide 8
MUTUALLY ASSURED DESTRUCTION (MAD) Mutually Assured Destruction
(MAD) the belief that the United States and the USSR would not
attack each other could not attack each other because to do so
would result in massive nuclear attacks which would destroy both
nations and the world. Many historians not that ironically despite
the constant fear of nuclear holocaust the Cold War was one of the
most peaceful fifty year periods in the history of the world. No
rational person would ever use such a heinous weapon, would
they?
Slide 9
BRINKSMANSHIP John Foster Dulles claimed that the United States
would be willing to go to the brink of war even nuclear war to stop
the spread of communism. This type of foreign policy was called
brinksmanship. On more than one occasion, this style of foreign
policy resulted in games of nuclear chicken. The most frightening
moment in American history when brinksmanship was being played was
the Cuban Missile Crisis. Both sides attempted to force the other
to back down with posturing and threats. Fortunately, both
Khrushchev and Kennedy were looking for exit strategies, and the
world survived barely!
Slide 10
SOVIET PREMIER NIKITA KHRUSHCHEV He was the leader of the
Soviet Union during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Eventually, he
decided not to challenge John F. Kennedys resolve and removed the
nuclear missiles he had place in Cuba. But Nikita Khrushchev was
always known for his angry rants against the United States and
capitalism. During on famous speech before the United Nations, he
took off his shoe, pounded it upon the lectern from which he spoke,
and declared, We will bury you! Despite his hostile exterior,
Khrushchev knew when to back down.
Slide 11
THE DOMINO THEORY 1960S According to this theory, if a country
fell to communism, nearby countries would also topple, like a row
of dominoes standing on end. China falls to communism, then Korea
falls, then Vietnam. The United States allowed this paranoia to
influence our policy specifically towards Vietnam in the 1960s.
Study the map for a paranoid view.
Slide 12
THE ARMS RACE Both the United States and our archenemy, the
Soviet Union, created vast supplies of weapons with great
destructive power nuclear missiles and H- Bombs Since both sides
were pledge to use their weapons should the other execute a first
strike against them, the arms race was a very frightening time. If
the thousands of missiles each nation had ready to fire had ever
been launched, nuclear holocaust might easily have ended life on
Earth.
Slide 13
SPUTNIK THE SOVIET SATELLITE This was the first artificial
satellite ever launched into space by the Soviet Union in 1957.
Although Sputnik really didnt do much of anything a blinking light
and a faint beep beep it still shocked Americans sensibilities. We
didnt have one of those! The true significance of the satellite was
not what it did, but how it got into space. If the Soviets could
launch a satellite into outer space, then surely their rocket
technology must be ahead of ours. Americans responded to Sputnik by
investing millions of dollars into math and science education and
into developing the National Aeronautics and Space Administration:
NASA.
Slide 14
THE SPACE RACE The competition between the United States and
the USSR to launch satellites, orbit the earth, and reach the moon
was referred to by this title. Although the Soviets got off to a
quick start placing Sputnik into space in 1957 and putting the
first man into space, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin the United
States quickly caught up and surpassed our rivals. After President
John F. Kennedy challenged Americans to put a man on the moon and
return him safely to the Earth before the end of the decade we did
it! Neil Armstrong was the first man on the moon in July of 1969.
The man to the right, though, was the second man on the moon: Buzz
Aldrin.
Slide 15
DTENTE THE LATE 1960S AND 1970S The easing of tensions between
the United States and the USSR which took place during the early to
middle 1970s a French word. After the horrifying anxiety of the
Cuban Missile Crisis in 1963, it became clear to both sides in the
Cold War that tension needed to be relaxed! During the late 1960s
and throughout much of the 1970s, Americans and our Soviet rivals
attempted to make friendly! SALT Treaties Strategic Arms Limitation
Treaties were signed by both Richard Nixon and Jimmy Carter, in an
effort to reduce the number of atomic weapons both sides had ready
to use.
Slide 16
MIKHAIL GORBACHEV Mikhail Gorbachev became the leader of the
USSR in 1985, and after meeting repeatedly with President Ronald
Reagan, US-Soviet Relations improved dramatically. He remained in
power while Eastern European nations gave up their communist
governments and economic systems in the late 1980s. Today, most
historians credit Gorbachev for taking the first steps towards
peace with the United States and Reagan for taking Gorbachev at his
word and working with him. In the late 1980s, the Soviets grip on
Eastern Europe was loosened. In 1991, the Soviet Union collapsed
Russia was restored and fifteen smaller republics gained
independence: Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and
Georgia, among others. Although the world seemed safer after the
demise of our old rival, new dangers quickly emerged.
