The Cold War1949-1969

Pre-Cold War Events1939- Hostile relationship between the US and the Soviet Union increase.

~ The Soviet Union and Germany sign the Nazi-Soviet Pact which allows Nazi Germany the permission to invade Poland without any confrontation with the Soviet Union.

The United States dropped the Atomic bomb on Japan after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. ~This was the US attempts at ending the Second World War and getting back at

the Japanese for their attack on Pearl Harbor. This was the first international use of the atomic bomb and after the Soviet Union saw the destruction the arms race between the US and the Soviet Union began.

North Atlantic Treaty Organization- 1949

NATO was created in Berlin as an intergovernmental military alliance, it was used in order to create a system of collective defense which could be used internationally and protect against an attack from an extremely external nation.

Flag of NATO

Countries which participated in NATE

Cold War 1949-1969First Events:Increasing tensions between the United States and Soviet Union1949- The Soviet Union tested the A-bomb creating the initial tensions between the US and the Soviet Union In response to the Soviet actions, the United States tested their H-bomb in 1952. While the US and the Soviet Union were in a non-violent arms race with each other, globally there was conflicts in both Vietnam and Korea over the spreading of communism. The wars were preventative measures for the Us policy of containment created by President Dwight D. Eisenhower.

McCarthyism: 1950Senator Joseph McCarthy, from Wisconsin, created the Second Red Scare of the United States. He was a US republican Senator from 1947 to his death in 1957. In 1950, McCarthy fabricated the Red Scare by blaming other Senators and government officials of being communist spies.

McCarthy practiced anti-communist policies, and blamed his fellow colleagues of disloyalty, subversion and treason without probably cause. The second red scare was characterized as heightening fears of communist influence of American society and the espionage by Soviet agents.

This is a cartoon appearing in the US during the time of the Second Red Scare and on the cover of a propaganda magazine. This was published by the Catechetical Guild Educational Society who was hoping to warn America of the dangers of the communism spreading and it take over.

Soviet Relations with CubaThe Soviet Union was looking for ways to expand their borders. Since Cuba was becoming communist under the leadership of Fidel Castro. Khrushchev, the leader of the Soviet Union under communism, looked for a place to put their nuclear missiles. At the same time, Castro sought to better their relations with the Soviet Union. Both countries agreed to help each other out and adhere to each others policies regarding communism.

U2 Incident- 1960US spy plane shot down Soviet Union airspace. Initially the US denied the planes paths and intentions but when surveillance came from the Soviet Union it was clear that the US made a clear attempt to shoot down the plane.

U2 plane similar to what was shot down.

U2 wreckage

Bay of Pigs Invasion- 1962Lead by President JFK in order to overthrow Castro. JFK gathered groups on radicals who were in favor of over throwing Castro but when the group arrived to the Bay of Pigs in Cuba, Castro and his men were awaiting the group and defeated JFK’s men.

Cuban Missile Crisis- 1962JFK was made aware that Cuba has high performance missiles pointing in the direction of the US border and was in place by the Soviet Union. JFK set up a naval blockade in Cuba in hopes to prevent the reshipments of missiles via the Soviet Union. Since the US naval blockade was so strong, Khrushchev turned around his fleet and returned to the Soviet Union with the missiles.

US plane flying over Soviet vessel.

Missile as seen in Cuba placed by the U.S.S.R

The US and Soviet Union attempted to agree on the elimination of warfare in order to eliminate competition and fear. Primarily, the US and the Soviet Union first agreed that if the Soviet Union would remove the missiles from Cuba, the US would eliminate their arms from Italy and Turkey. The Soviet Union removed the missiles from Cuba, but the US failed to remove their arms.

Post Cold War Agreements

Nuclear Warfare similar to that of the US arms in Italy and Turkey which were never removed.

Limited Test Ban TreatyIn 1963, the Soviet Union and the US draw an agreement of the Limited Test Ban Treaty which prohibited all test detonations of nuclear weapons except for underground. It was developed to slow the arms race along with decreasing the nuclear fallouts in the atmosphere. The treaty was signed by three “Original Parties”, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom and the United States all signed the treaty in Moscow on August 5, 1963. The initiative for the treaty was the concern of nuclear fallout in the atmosphere and the testing methods for the new nuclear products become more extreme as the products became more advanced.

JFK signs the Limited Test Ban Treaty in the Treaty room in the White House on October 7, 1963.

Primary SourcesExcerpt from the "Iron Curtain Speech" (also known as the "Sinews of Peace speech"), March 5, 1946Reprinted from 'Iron Curtain' Speech Fifty Years Later,published in 1999"From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the Continent. Behind that line lie all the capitals of the ancient states of Central and Eastern Europe.… All these famous cities and the populations around them lie in … the Soviet sphere and all are subject … to Soviet influence … and … [an] increasing measure of control from Moscow."On March 5, 1946, wearing his top hat and cape and smoking a cigar, former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill (1874–1965) traveled with U.S. president Harry S. Truman (1884–1972; served 1945–53) to the American Midwest to Fulton, Missouri. In Fulton, he visited the campus of small...-Winston Churchill

This speech is in regards to the spreading of communism throughout Europe after the Second World War and the potential harm which could occur if countries allow Communism to take over. His “Iron Curtain” speech is often parallel to Eisenhower’s policies of containment in the United States.

Excerpt from "Crimes of Stalin Speech"Published in A Treasury of the World's Great Speeches, published in 1954"After Stalin's death the Central Committee of the Party began to implement a policy of explaining concisely and consistently that it is impermissible … to elevate one person, to transform him into a superman possessing supernaturalistic characteristics akin to those of a god. Such a man supposedly knows everything, thinks for everyone, can do anything, is infallible in his behavior."On the night of February 24, 1956, during the Twentieth Congress of the Communist Party being held at the Kremlin, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev (1894–1971) ordered a select group of delegates to a secret meeting under tight security. The Kremlin was a centuries-old fort in Moscow that was used as the headquarters of the Communist Party. As the delegates approached...-Nikita Khrushchev

In this except from his published work, Khrushchev discusses the impact of Stalin. Overall Khrushchev is not a supporter of Stalin and the regime he made while in power. However, he does not the positive impact of Stalin’s power on the Soviet Society.

Excerpt from "Radio and Television Report to the American People on the Soviet Arms Buildup in Cuba, October 22, 1962"Originally published in Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: John F. Kennedy, 1962, published in 1963"It shall be the policy of this Nation to regard any nuclear missile launched from Cuba against any nation in the Western Hemisphere as an attack by the Soviet Union on the United States, requiring a full retaliatory response upon the Soviet Union."

President John F. Kennedy (1917–1963; served 1961–63) addressed the American people on the evening of Monday, October 22, 1962, to inform them about the crisis in Cuba. He explained the United States had undeniable evidence that Soviet missiles were in place in Cuba to provide "nuclear strike capability against the Western Hemisphere," consisting of North, Central, and South...-John. F. Kennedy

In this speech on television in 1962, JFK discussed the events which were taking place in Cuba. Cuba was filled with Soviet nuclear missiles and were facing the US border. He was attempting to gain support and reassure that he along with his government officials were handling the problem.

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