The Cold War

Unit 9

I. Cold War: Superpowers

Face Off

A. Allies Become Enemies

1. At the Yalta Conference, Churchill, FDR, and Stalin

agreed to divide Germany into occupation zones.

Stalin promised to have free elections in E. Europe.

A. Allies Become Enemies

2. The United Nations was created in June 1945. The

international organization was designed to keep peace.

A. Allies Become Enemies

3. After WWII, US and USSR

split sharply. US became

the richest and most

powerful country, and USSR

suffered substantially.

B. Eastern Europe’s Iron

Curtain

1. As WWII was near its end, Stalin installed Communist

gov’ts in bordering countries to serve as a buffer. Truman

and Stalin clashed at Potsdam, creating clear conflicts

between communism and capitalism.

B. Eastern Europe’s Iron

Curtain

2. Europe was divided

between East and West.

Even Germany was split.

Churchill said an “iron

curtain” separated

democratic W. Europe and

Communist E. Europe.

C. US Tries to Contain Soviets

1. Truman’s aim to stop the expansion of communism

was called containment. Truman’s support for countries

rejecting communism, such as Turkey and Greece, was

called the Truman Doctrine.

C. US Tries to Contain Soviets

2. US Sec. of State George

Marshall created the Marshall Plan

to give food, supplies, and aid to

rebuild W. Europe (and fight

communism…).

C. US Tries to Contain Soviets

3. In the hopes of kicking the out the allies, USSR blocked off W. Berlin. The US organized the Berlin airlift to provide supplies to W. Berlin. USSR ended the blockade in 1949.

D. The Cold War Divides the

World

1a. Until 1991, the Cold War between US and USSR

was a struggle over political differences that divided

most of the world.

D. The Cold War Divides the

World

1b. US and its Western allies, joined NATO in 1949. USSR and

its Eastern allies formed the Warsaw Pact in 1955. By 1961, E.

Germany built the Berlin Wall separating W. and E. Berlin.

D. The Cold War Divides the

World

2a. An arms race began after

USSR dropped its first A-bomb in

1949. By 1953, US and USSR

had hydrogen bombs.

D. The Cold War Divides the

World

2b. Sec. of State John Foster Dulles under new US Pres.

Eisenhower promoted brinkmanship, threatening massive

retaliation without actually going to war. The ongoing arms

race basically guaranteed mutually assured destruction.

D. The Cold War Divides the

World

3a. The Cold War also caused a space race. Soviets launched a satellite named Sputnik 1 into space in 1957. The US launched its own in1958.

D. The Cold War Divides the

World

3b. The US CIA began spy flights over the USSR

using U-2 planes. In May 1960, Soviets shot

down a U-2 plane, capturing the pilot.

II. The Korean War

A. War in Korea

1. After WWII, Korea was

divided at the 38th parallel.

North = Communist. South =

Non-Communist.

A. War in Korea

2. In 1950, N. Korea invaded S. Korea. US and UN

troops led by Gen. MacArthur helped SK.

A. War in Korea

3. MacArthur’s troops were able to push the NKs out of

SK. Once his troops invaded NK, China joined the war

and quickly pushed UN troops to SK.

A. War in Korea

4. The Korean War ended in a stalemate in 1953. NK

allied with China and SK allied with US.