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THE COLD WAR

WHAT WAS IT?

The Cold War: A period of tension, competition, and

hostility between the United States (and their allies)

and the Soviet Union (and their allies) following World

War II

ORIGINS

• The division of

Germany

• Great Britain, France,

and the U.S. were all

Democratic nations

• The Soviet Union was

a Communist nation

DEMOCRACY V. COMMUNISM

Democracy

• The people elect

representatives who

make the decisions

Communism

• The government

controls everything

• “Common ownership”

• No social classes exist

• Everyone pulls his/her

weight and is equal

ORIGINS

• Stalin’s deception

• Vowed to allow free elections in eastern Europe

• Instead created pro-Soviet (Communist) governments

ORIGINS

• The Berlin Airlift• The Western Powers

(Great Britain, France, the U.S.) merged their territory in Germany

• Stalin blocked access to Berlin (located in the eastern half of the country)

• The Western Powers airdropped supplies (food, fuel, equipment) into the city

THE IRON CURTAIN

• The Iron Curtain: the boundary between the Democratic nations of the West and the Communist nations of the East

“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. Warsaw, Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Budapest, Belgrade, Bucharest and Sofia, all these famous cities and the populations around them lie in what I must call the Soviet sphere, and all are subject in one form or another, not only to Soviet influence but to a very high and, in some cases, increasing measure of control from Moscow.” –Winston Churchill

PRESIDENT TRUMAN

• War strategy: Containment• Stop the spread of

Communism

• The Truman Doctrine: Truman’s promise to aid people fighting to maintain Democracy

• The Marshall Plan: $13 billion given to western and southern European countries rebuilding after World War II

VIDEO

NATO V. THE WARSAW PACT

NATO

An agreement between

the U.S., Canada, and 10

European countries to

protect each other if

attacked

The Warsaw Pact

The Soviet response to

NATO which created an

alliance between 8

communist countries

NATO V. THE WARSAW PACT

THE RED SCARE

• The House Un-American Activities Committee• 4 million government

workers underwent loyalty checks

• The Hollywood blacklist

• Joseph McCarthy• Claimed that 205 members

of the government were Communists

• Launched a hunt for Communists in the U.S.(McCarthyism)

• Army-McCarthy hearings accused the U.S. Army of “coddling Communists”

THE HOLLYWOOD BLACKLIST

JOSEPH MCCARTHY

ARMY-MCCARTHY HEARINGS

ACTIVITY: THE TRUMAN DOCTRINE

The Truman Doctrine "At the present moment in world history nearly every nation must choose between alternative ways of life. The choice is too often not a free one. One way of life is based upon the will of the majority, and is distinguished by free institutions, representative government, free elections, guarantees of individual liberty, freedom of speech and religion, and freedom from political oppression. The second way of life is based upon the will of a minority forcibly imposed upon the majority. It relies upon terror and oppression, a controlled press and radio, fixed elections, and the suppression of personal freedoms. I believe that it must be the policy of the United States to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures. I believe that we must assist free peoples to work out their own destinies in their own way. I believe that our help should be primarily through economic stability and orderly political process." -- President Harry S. Truman, March 12, 1947 in an Address Recommending aid to Greece and Turkey.

Discussion Questions 1. Who is Truman addressing? 2. What is Truman asking for? 3. What are the first and second "ways of life" that Truman refers to? Give textual examples of the differences Truman mentions between these two “ways of life.”4. Who is President Truman referring to when speaking of the two different "ways of life"? 5. Give a modern day example of a country that lives by the first "way of life". 6. Give a modern day example of a country that lives by the second "way of life". 7. How are the conditions (quality of life) in these two countries (from questions 5 & 6) different?

ACTIVITY: THE TRUMAN DOCTRINE

Extract from Oral History Interview with CLARK M. CLIFFORD Assistant to White House Naval Aide, 1945-46; Special Counsel to the President, 1946-50. Washington, D. C. March 16, 1972 by Jerry N. Hess. "We weren't concerned about markets; we were concerned about preventing Soviet control of larger areas of the world than they already controlled. When the Second World War ended, France was decimated. England was almost brought to its knees, you'll remember, and if Hitler had moved at one time, he could have probably brought them to their knees. The Soviet Union had gone through the most traumatic experience of its career. I read that in the Second World War it's estimated that the Soviet Union lost between twenty-five and thirty million men. So I think they were just determined that it was never going to happen to them again. But an enormous vacuum had been left in the free world by the end of World War II, and the Soviet Union was determined to move into that vacuum. Now, that was the basis of the Marshall plan when we were thinking about reviving Europe. At the time the Soviets were pressing and searching and trying to find every soft spot where they could insert themselves. That was the reason for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization; it was the reason for the Truman Doctrine."

Discussion Questions

1. What does Clifford mean when he says, "an enormous vacuum had been left in the free world by the end of World War II?"

2. Why would the Soviet Union be determined to avoid another conflict as devastating as World War II?

3. What does Clifford say was the main reason for NATO and the Truman Doctrine?

4. What does NATO stand for?

5. Compare Truman's address in the previous reading with Clifford's statements in his oral history. Make a list of similarities and differences between the two sources of information. What can you conclude from this comparison?

6. What influence does the Truman Doctrine have on American foreign policy today?

THE KOREAN WAR

• The 38th Parallel: a boundary between the Soviet-backed Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) and the Republic of Korea (South Korea)• Created after WWII (Japan

had owned Korea)

• Half went to the Soviets, half to the U.S.

• More than 10,000 soldiers from both sides had died before the war even began due to crossing the border

What is ironic about the name “Democratic People’s Republic of Korea?”

SOUTH KOREA

NORTH KOREA

WAR!

• June 25, 1950:

75,000 North Korean

soldiers crossed the

38th Parallel

• In response, the

United States sent

soldiers

AMERICAN PARANOIA

• Americans feared this was the first step in the Communists plan to take over the world

“If we let Korea down, the Soviets will keep right on going and swallow up one place after another.” – Harry Truman

THE STRATEGY

• Plan #1: attempt to force North Korea back across the 38th Parallel• FAILURE!

• The North Korean Army: well-disciplined, well-trained, well-equipped

• The South Korean Army: Frightened, confused, and prone to fleeing

• Plan #2: Liberate ALL of Korea (even North Korea) from the Communists• SUCCESS!

• At first…

• Communist China feared the U.S. would come for them next and joined the North Koreans

COMMUNIST CHINA

THE DILEMMA

• Solution #1: Keep fighting

• The problem: The Soviets might step in, starting a nuclear war

• Solution #2: Agree to peace

• The problem: This would be a clear sign of weakness and show that Communism was winning

General MacArthur’s plan

President Truman’s plan

THE OUTCOME

• After two years of negotiations, they agreed to end the war• South Korea gained an

extra 1,500 square miles of territory

• It created a 2-mile wide “demilitarized zone” that still exists today

• Though it only lasted 3 years, nearly 5 million people died (40,000 Americans)

DEMILITARIZED ZONE

DEMILITARIZED ZONE

THE KOREAN WAR

“If the best minds in

the world had set out

to find us the worst

possible location in

the world to fight this

damnable war, the

unanimous choice

would have been

Korea.”

VIDEO

ACTIVITY: THE KOREAN WAR

5th Recording

1. Why does Truman say the United States did not occupy all of Korea after World War II?

2. Truman says that atomic weapons were not used in Korea when the Chinese crossed the Yalu River. Why did Truman insist atomic weapons should not be used?

3. Truman speaks of the aggression of the 1920’s and 1930’s in these recordings. Name two of the aggressor nations Truman is referring to.

4. How does Truman feel about war atrocities and the accountability they should face?

5. Discuss how Truman believed his experiences as a World War I veteran help guide his decisions as Commander and Chief.

6. After listening to the recordings of President Truman, name and describe at least two decisions you believe were positive and beneficial. Name and describe at least two decisions you believe were negative and detrimental. Explain your answer. This question is graded with a higher score.

6th Recording

1. Truman states that McArthur was too busy to come to the United States. Where did Truman meet McArthur?

2. Some of the “boys” told Truman that McArthur failed to show him respect. Although, Truman did not care that McArthur failed to show him respect, what was the disrespectful action?

3. Truman was afraid of what future event, if we fought a war in China?

4. How does Truman describe McArthur’s personality?

5. How would you have dealt with the McArthur controversy if you were in Truman’s shoes?

DWIGHT EISENHOWER

• War strategy: Brinkmanship• The U.S. would raise tensions with

Communist nations, even threatening to go to war to fight Communism

• The Soviet Union created its first atomic bomb, which began an arms race with the U.S.• The U.S. built the world’s

first H-Bomb (hydrogen bomb)

• 3 years later, the Soviet Union created their own

NIKITA KHRUSHCHEV

• Strategy: De-Stalinization• The process of undoing

what Stalin had done• Freed political enemies• Renamed Stalingrad to

Volgograd• Reduced the “status” of the

dictator• Preferred peaceful relations

with the West• Hated Chinese dictator

Mao Zedong

• Approved the construction of the Berlin Wall

THE SPACE RACE

• The Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the world’s first space satellite

• Eisenhower responded by creating NASA and pouring billions of dollars into space research

• Before the U.S. could respond, the Soviet Union sent the first animal (a dog!) and the first person (Yuri Gagarin) into space

YURI GAGARIN

VIDEO

ACTIVITY: THE SPACE RACE

• View the timeline of the space race.

• Develop two arguments (one per partner) supporting why you believe the United States won the space race.

• Develop two arguments (one per partner) supporting why you believe the Soviet Union won the space race.

• Group 1: Support the U.S. winning

• Group 2: Support the U.S.S.R. winning

• Group 3: Compare and contrast the U.S. and the U.S.S.R.

ASSIGNMENT

Now that you have become familiar with both sides

of the argument, “Who ‘won’ the Space Race?”, you

are to write a 2-3 page response (double spaced)

picking one side, either American or Soviet,

explaining why you think that side won. Use at least 3

examples of accomplishments the side you picked

achieved, and explain why each accomplishment

helped that side win.