The Cold War

United States vs. Soviet Union

Conference at Yalta• Germany divided into 4 zones controlled by USA, USSR, Britain

and France.• USSR felt that USA had waited until last possible minute to

launch War in Europe. • Stalin felt that they had fought Germans by themselves and

won at Stalingrad.• Therefore, the USSR should get to carve up the map too!

Reconstruction of Germany

• West Germany will emerge as an economic power in postwar Europe…supported by Western European nations.

• Berlin divided into Eastern and Western parts.

Post War Differences

• USA fought WWII to protect it’s vision of American Dream.

• Share Democracy with the World.

• Promote American economic interests!

• Create worldwide markets for American products.

• Dictatorship• Communism• Wanted to spread

communist influence throughout the world.

UNITED STATES SOVIET UNION

The Iron Curtain• 1946 - Winston Churchill

gave a famous speech in which he denounced the goals of the Soviet Union.

• He claimed that we could not allow the Soviet Union to create an Iron Curtain in Europe.

• That Iron Curtain would separate the capitalist West from the Communist East.

United Nations• April of 1945 - delegate

from 50 nations meet in US to form alliance designed to be a peacekeeping force for the World.

• Goals:– settle disagreements

peacefully– Stop war before it starts– Protect interests of

member nations.

• Five countries dominate: USA, USSR, GB, FR and CHINA

Containment• USA wanted to control

Soviet Union without war.

• Goal: Keep Soviet Union from expanding and becoming powerful.

• Policy for preventing the spread of communism

• Method to achieve this:– Marshall Plan

Marshall Plan• Named for George C. Marshall, US Secretary

of State.• 1947 - US will provide economic aide to

countries that have an economic plan of development.

• Western European nations received $13 billion over a four year period!

• US received strong trading partners in Europe.

• USA airlifted supplies, food and medicine into West Berlin in 1948 because Soviets were trying to take over.

Berlin Airlift• Berlin had been divided up

in 1945.• Soviets wanted to control

the entire city.• The city itself was located

inside of the Soviet zone but was important because it had been the capital.

• US felt it was important to control the city.

• Berlin was divided into East West sections.

Characteristics of the Cold War (1948-1989)

• NATO vs. Warsaw Pact• Korean Conflict• Vietnam War• Berlin and the Berlin Wall• Cuban Missile Crisis• Nuclear Weapons and DETERRENCE• Collapse of the Soviet Union and

Eastern Europe.

Formation of NATO

North Atlantic Treaty Organization

• 1949 - Twelve Nations in the Alliance, led by the United States said that an attack against one would be an attack against all of them.

Warsaw Pact

• Would counter the alleged threat from NATO.

• Members countries: Soviet Union and Eastern European states.

KOREA• Korea - occupied by the

Japanese for Decades.• Had hoped for it’s

independence once Japan was defeated.

• USSR set up a govt. north of the 38th Parallel.

• USA did the same in the South.

• 38th Parallel served as dividing line!

June 1950• Communist Northern

forces cross the 38th parallel in effort to unify country under one govt.

• Truman takes this for act of USSR aggression.

• USA asks for help from UN and gets unanimous approval for military exercise in Korea.

• UN Forces were to drive Communists from the country.

Douglas MacArthur• US Commander in Korea.• Wanted to attack the

North and split their forces in half.

• Did it and then proposed attacking China.

• Truman refused.• MacArthur criticized

Truman in public and Truman fired him for insubordination in 1951.

“ Since I took the oath at West Point, the hopes and dreams [of

youth] have all vanished! But I still remember the refrain of one of the most popular barracks ballads of the day, which proclaimed most

proudly that old soldiers never die, they just fade away!”

General Douglas MacArthur

April 19, 1951 four days after he was fired by Harry S. Truman.

Korean War ends 1953• Border were almost exactly the same as in 1951.• 54,000 American soldiers killed in Korea.• 1/3 of US budget now consumed by defense spending.• US would continue the pattern again just a few years

later.

COUNTRY Dead WoundedRepublic of Korea 592,000 1.3 million

United States 54,000 104,000All others 6,000 100,000

Total 623,000 1.5 million

Vietnam• Domino Theory - policy of

Eisenhower administration.– Says that if one S.E. Asia nation

falls to communists then they all will.

– Vietnam - country divided at 17th parallel between communists in North and capitalists in South. US Support.

BERLIN AND THE BERLIN WALL

• City is divided among democratic West and communist East

• Berlin Wall divided the city.

Cuban Missile Crisis• US got involved in

affairs of Latin American countries in the 50’s as well.

• US did not support Castro’s takeover of the Cuban government in 1959.

• Castro relied on the support from the Soviets.

Bay of Pigs

• The Bay of pigs purpose was to try and take Castro out of power and dethrone the communist government.

• Date: April 17, 1961• Called Bay of Pigs

because of the place where it happened; a small bay in southern Cuba

• Looked good because the army was well prepared and ready to fight with lots of supplies.

The Significance of the Bay of Pigs:

• America stranded soldiers in Cuba • Castro’s popularity was at an all time high • Embarrassment to the United States and

President Kennedy

Missile Crisis

• The Soviet Union puts missiles in Cuba • This makes the United States nervous • The U.S. puts up a blockade • President Kennedy announces that the United

States will attack if the missiles are not removed • Soviets back down and remove the missiles

twelve days later • This embarrassed Castro greatly for he was being

used by the Soviet Union

Nuclear Weapons and Deterrence

• Deterrence – was an idea that a country would need large weapons to protect itself and that if they had these weapons, no one would attack you.

• As a result, build up of nuclear weapons increases.

The Collapse of Communism

• Official date – 1989• What contributed to this collapse?

– Soviet economic collapse– Nationalism in Warsaw Pact countries

(Poland, Czechoslovakia)– Tearing down of the Berlin Wall (November

9, 1989). Germany reunited under Democratic government.

– Official end of the U.S.S.R. – 1991 coup of Gorbachev. Taken over by Boris Yeltsin.

• Established the C.I.S. – Commonwealth of Independent States.