The United States in the Cold WarChapter 25

Roots of the Cold War

• An Iron Curtain divided Eastern and Western Europe– Eastern side under the influence of Soviet

Communism– Western side under the influence of United States

and democracy

Roots of the Cold War

• Containing Soviet Expansion– President Truman declared that the U.S. would

stop the spread of communism (Containment)• Following WWII most of Europe lay in ruins

and communist parties started to gain strength

Roots of the Cold War

• To combat the Problem the Secretary of State George Marshall proposed the Marshall Plan– Provided economic assistance to European nations– 16 countries were given more than $12 billion• France, Italy, Western Germany

The Roots of The Cold War

• Berlin Airlift

The Roots of The Cold War

• Berlin Airlift– June 1948 Soviet Union set up a blockade around

Berlin– Prevented the western powers ability to deliver

supplies to western Berlin– West responded with a massive airlift• For a year the west dropped supplies from the air

– Soviets called off the blockade in May of 1949

The Roots of The Cold War

• United States entered into North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to guard against Soviet Attack

• Soviet Union created the Warsaw Pact with Eastern Europe

The Roots of the Cold War

• Shock of 1949– September of 1949 Soviet Union exploded a

atomic bomb– Final months of 1949 China become Communist

A Changing Society

• Election of 1948– Truman wins the Election against Thomas Dewey

A Changing Society

• Election of 1952– Dwight D. Eisenhower beat Adlai Stevenson

A Changing Society

• Throughout the 1950s America had a high standard of living– end of 1950s 6 out of 10 American families owned

a home, 3 out of 4 had cars

A Changing Society

• Baby Boom– Following WWII their was an increased birthrate– Increased demand for food, housing, and

manufactured goods

A Changing Society

• During the 1950s, Americans started leaving the city and moving to the suburbs

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The Korean War

• Following WWII, Korea was divided at the 38th Parallel

The Korean War

• June 25, 1950 North Korea (supplied by Soviet Union) invaded South Korea

• Fearing that Korea would fall to Communism, President Truman urged the United Nations to send a military force to Korea– 16 nations sent troops (90 percent were

American)

The Korean War

• North Korea was able to push into South Korea and reach Seoul (South Korean Capital)

• UN Forces were outnumbered and poorly supplied– North Korea was able to push UN Forces to the tip

of the Korean Peninsula

The Korean War

• September of 1950, UN Forces launched a counterattack that was able to push North Korea back across the 38th Parallel

The Korean War

• Fighting continued for 3 years– July 1953 both sides agree to cease-fire– The border between the warring sides stood

where it had been before the war– There is a demilitarized zone that still divides the

country

The Korean War

• War’s toll– Two million Koreans– 30,000 Americans killed– Thousands of soldiers from other nations

Fears at Home

• Many Americans worried that Communists were in the United States.

Fears at Home

• McCarthyism

Fears at Home

• McCarthyism– 1950, Senator McCarthy stated that he had the

names of communists who worked in the government

– These charges earned him a large following – 1954 McCarthy made false accusations against the

U.S. Army• Americans soon realized that McCarthy did not have

any evidence to support his claims

Whittaker Chambers

Alger Hiss

The Arms Race

• In the 1950s the Soviet Union and U.S. competed to see which country could build the most powerful weapons.– 1952-U.S. developed first Hydrogen Bomb– 1953 Soviet Union developed H-bomb

The Arms Race

• No country wanted to use nuclear weapons and risk a counter attack (M.A.D.)– Nations instead stockpiled nuclear weapons

The Arms Race

• U.S. and Soviets also competed in the space race– October 1957 the Soviets launched Sputnik– U.S. created National Aeronautics and Space

Administration

Emerging Nations

• Many countries following WWII gained their independence– Both the Soviet Union and U.S. made efforts to

win influence in those nations

Emerging Nations

• 1959, Fidel Castro led a successful Communist revolution in Cuba

• John F. Kennedy and the U.S. were worried due to how close Cuba is to the United States.

Emerging Nations

• Bay of Pigs– JFK was determined to stop Cuba from being

communist– U.S. was to help Cuban Rebels overthrow Castro• U.S. troops never arrived and the rebels were quickly

stopped

Cuban Missile Crisis

• 1962 aerial photographs showed the Soviets were building nuclear missile in Cuba

• In response President JFK order a naval blockade of Cuba– U.S. navy was told not to allow and Soviet ship

into Cuba

Cuban Missile Crisis

• For 13 days people hoped that an encounter between the two superpowers could be avoided

• At the last moment approaching Soviet ships approaching the blockade turned back

Cuban Missile Crisis

• Khruschev agreed to remove the Missiles• U.S. agreed not to invade Cuba

“We were eyeball to eyeball, and I think the other fellow just blinked”

-Secretary of State Dean Rusk