The Cold War Begins

Section I Objectives

Describe the agreements the Allies reached at the Yalta and Potsdam Conference.

Explain how the Allies worked together after the war ended.

Examine why the Western Allies and the Soviet Union had differences in postwar Europe.

The World After War

How did the Allies try to Promote Peace

The United NationsPotsdam ConferenceWar crime trials

United Nations

Became official in June 1945, organization to keep the peace

Security Council to decide diplomatic, economic and military actions to settle disputes

Potsdam Conferencea) Truman (new president) met with Churchill and

Stalin

b) Agreed to divide Germany into 4 zones, each controlling one area along with France

War Crime Trials

a) Nuremberg Trials: tried high-ranking Nazi officers in Nuremberg, Germany

Why tensions in Europe Remained High:

Disagreement Over Germany

a) US wanted Germany to be united, independent country again

b) SU feared that if it united, they would invade again

SU stayed in Eastern Europe, helping to create communist “satellite states” loyal to the SU

US Britain feared this threatened democracy

Section 2 Objectives

Describe the purpose of the Marshall Plan and identify the result of the plan for Europe.

Examine the major events of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union from 1946 to 1951.

Explain the U.S. foreign policy changes that arose from the threat of communism in the postwar world.

Roots of the Cold WarAllies become Enemies

United States Soviet Union• Based on Free

enterprise and democracy

• Communist country where the government planned everything and the voters have no choices

United States and Soviet Union were the 2 most powerful nations in the world after WW2

Both wanted to spread their own systems.

This led to the COLD WAR: competition between US and SU for world power.

1st problem: Greecea) Communist rebels there rose up against

corrupt monarchy

b) Yugoslavia (communist neighbor) helped Greece

c) President Truman thought it was the Soviet Union

a) Truman Doctrine: US would give economic aid to help countries fighting communismHelped protect Greece, angered SU

Economic Assistance

a) US knew some Europeans thought communism would help solve their economic troubles due to WW2 (unemployment/homelessness)

b) George C. Marshall (US), Secretary of State set up Marshall Plan:

a) Offered friendly aid to help nations in Europe rebuild

b) Helped Western Europe recover; SU or satellites would not accept aid

c) Soviet Union thought it was the US way of making countries dependent on their aid, made matters worse between the two countries

Trouble in BerlinContainment: US policy to contain communism, or keep it from spreading

US would react to any SU aggressionUS viewed as defensiveSU viewed as offensive

Crisis in Germanya) United States, Great Britain, and France wanted

to unify Germany in 1948

b) Proposed joining together to create the country of West Germany

c) Had zones in Berlin they wanted included, although Berlin was located in Soviet controlled area

d) Soviets feared unified Berlin

1) Blocked all highway and rail traffic between Western Berlin and the rest of Western Europe

2) People there had less than 40 days worth of supplies, were scared of communist takeover

Berlin AirliftUnited States and Great Britain helped

1. Flew supplies in by plane every minute for weeks

2. Lasted for 321 days

3. To avoid war, Soviet Union finally lifted the blockade

Germany was divided into two nations

1. Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany)

2. German Democratic Republic (East Germany)

Choosing Sides1. US not the only country worried about the

Soviet’s growing military strength

2. US, Canada, Iceland and 9 Western European nations formed a military alliance in 1949: North American Treaty Organization (NATO)

Promised to defend one another

3. Soviet Union joined with Eastern European nations and formed their own alliance: Warsaw Pact

4. Soviets exploded their own atomic bomb

5. Nuclear threat was growing more intense

Section 3 Objectives

Identify the steps the U.S. government took to help returning veterans.

Explain the problems the U.S. economy faced in the postwar period.

Describe the problems that Truman faced in the 1948 presidential election and analyze why he won.

The Truman EraReturning to Peace

Truman believed the US needed a strong economy to compete with the Soviet Union

Millions of Americans served in the armed forces and needed jobs when they came back

(-) Women who took over were encouraged to give the men back their jobs. Were not happy.

(+) GI Bill of Rights: offered veterans affordable homes, business loans, and financial aid to go to college.

The 1948 Election

Republicans nominated Thomas DeweyDixicrats: Southern Democrats who were upset with Truman for favoring civil rights

Many Americans questioned Truman’s ability to be re-elected.

Shocking many people:

Truman beat Dewey

Truman had the support of unions and African Americans

Fair DealA series of reform programs

a)Congress approved the expansion of the Social Security System and raised minimum wage

b)This helped the economy get back on track

Section 5 Objectives

Analyze what caused the new Red ScareExplain how the government responded to the perceived threat of communism in the United States.

Identify the role Senator Joseph McCarthy played in the new Red Scare.

Cold War FearsA New Red Scare

1. 1st Red Scare: just after WWII (1918)

2. New Red Scare: started in the 1930s-1980’s

1. 1st cause: US Communist Party

2. 2nd cause: Soviets gaining control after WW2

3. 3rd cause: Communist came to power in China & North Korea

3. Hollywood made 40 anticommunist movies between 1948-1954

1. Invasion of the Body Snatchers

Communist Investigations1. House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC)

to look into disloyalty and harmful foreign influences in the US

2. 1947 began a series of hearings examining suspected Communist in the movie industry

3. Even though didn’t find widespread communist activity, executives in film, radio and tv started blacklisting

1. Blacklisting: refusing to hire someone suspected of being communist

4. Group of 10 writers who refused to cooperate with HUAC, known as the Hollywood Ten

5. This ruined people’s careersa) Carried over to the government: Loyalty Review

Board: checked backgrounds of thousands of federal workers

b) FBI, schools, state, and local government offices

6. Internal Security Act 1950• Made suspected communist groups register with the

government• Gave the government the right to arrest anyone

suspected of disloyalty during times of national emergency

Julius & Ethel Rosenberg

• Put on trial for spying• Found guilty of passing secret atomic weapons info to the

Soviet Union• Executed in June 1953• Divided many Americans: some thought they were victims

of the Red Scare, others thought they deserved it

McCarthy’s CampaignWisconsin Senator Republican Joseph McCarthy

Blamed the spread of communism on the traitors in the United States

McCarthyism: made serious accusations without providing proof

Why did people believe him?

a) Believed in their officials

b) Scared to look “soft on communism”

c) He gave them the explanations they were looking for

McCarthy’s DownfallArmy-McCarthy Hearings

Senators held televised hearings to investigate the charges that there were Communist in the US militaryMcCarthy was finally condemned in 1954 for “conduct

unbecoming of a senator”His lies had already destroyed peoples lives.

The Korean WarCommunist China

1. Monarchy fell Civil War between Nationalists and Communists

2. Mao Zedong takes 100,000 men on Long March

3. Mao Zedong drove the Nationalists (US supported) off the mainland

People’s Republic of China

4. US scared People’s Republic of China would join with Soviet Union

Cold War In Asia1. US sends Eisenhower to Japan to help rebuild and set up

constitution (Japan could not fight in wars)

2. 1945 Korea is divided North- Democratic People’s Republic or Korea (Soviet) South- Republic of Korea (United States)

3. 38th Parallel

4. 1949 North invades the South

War in Korea1. 15 Nations along with UN and US offered troops to help

the South Koreans Douglas McArthur-leader

2. Things got worse when China started helping North Korea McArthur wanted to invade China Truman said no and fired him

3. Things looking bad in Korea

Election of 1952Alali Stevenson ( Dem)

vs.

Dwight Eisenhower (Rep)

Eisenhower wins, Nixon becomes vice-president

End of WarEisenhower pushed for peace

Process was slowThreatened with Atomic Bomb

1953 signed the “cease fire” (stop fighting) agreementCountry remained divided

North remains CommunistSouth remains Democratic