TheCold War:

Political and Military Tensions between US and USSR: 1946-1991

TheCold War:

Political and Military Tensions between US and USSR: 1946-1991

Origins of the Cold War:

1. The Russian Civil War; (1918-1920)tension between US and

USSR• US backed White Army• Lenin’s Red Army took control

2. Casablanca Conference: – Invasion of Italy

3. Worldwide spread of communism

US and USSR both had very different views on the world and

their own interests

Soviet & Eastern Bloc

Nations[“Iron

Curtain”]

US & the Western

Democracies

GOAL spread world-wide Communism

GOAL “Containment” of Communism & the eventual collapse of the Communist world.

• USSR: 1. Wanted to rebuild their

country • Stalingrad, Leningrad, other

cities devastated– Stalin believed German reparations

were due to his country

2. Wanted to Protect their own interests

3. Wanted to keep Germany weak • Established border/satellite

nations friendly to Communist goals

– Under soviet control

4. Believed that Communism was a superior economic system and would replace capitalism

• US:1. Wanted democracy and

economic opportunities to all nations in Europe and Asia

2. Wanted markets for American goods.

3. Believed that strong economies prevent war• US was convinced that the

Depression allowed Hitler to come to power and that sealing off nations to trade causes wars

Cold War: pitted the US against the USSR for control of World

trade and markets• 1st World- US and its allies• 2nd World- USSR and its allies• 3rd World- Developing nations that

USSR and US both wanted as allies– Competition for these 3rd world

nations led to wars and lasting animosity towards the USSR and the US

– US and USSR never went to war directly against each other• Used 3rd world nations to gain

ground and push own agendas

1. China - 1945 to 1960s2.  Italy - 1947-19483. Greece - 1947 to early 1950s: 4. The Philippines - 1940s and 1950s5. Korea - 1945-19536. Albania - 1949-19537. Eastern Europe - 1948-19568. Germany – 1950s9. Iran – 195310. Guatemala - 1953-195411. Costa Rica - Mid-1950s12. Syria - 1956-195713. Middle East - 1957-195814. Indonesia - 1957-195815. Western Europe - 1950s and 1960s: 16. British Guiana - 1953-196417. Soviet Union - Late 1940s to 1960s18. Italy - 1950s to 1970s19. Vietnam - 1950-197320. Cambodia - 1955-197321. Laos - 1957-197322. Haiti - 1959-196323. Guatemala – 196024. France/Algeria - 1960s25. Ecuador - 1960-196326. The Congo - 1960-196427. Brazil - 1961-196428. Peru - 1960-196529. Dominican Republic 1960- 1966

30. Cuba - 1959 to 1980s31. Indonesia – 196532. East Timor – 197533. Ghana – 196634. Uruguay - 1964-197035. Chile - 1964-197336. Greece - 1964-197437. Bolivia - 1964-1975: 38. Guatemala - 1962 to 1980s: 39. Costa Rica - 1970-197140. Iraq - 1972-1975: 41. Australia - 1973-1975: 42. Angola: 1975 to 1980s43. Zaire - 1975-1978: 44. Jamaica - 1976-1980: 45. Seychelles - 1979-1981: 46. Grenada - 1979-1984: 47. Morocco - 1983: Suriname - 1982-

1984: 48. Libya - 1981-1989: 49. Nicaragua - 1981-1990: 50. Panama - 1969-1991: 51. Bulgaria 199052. Albania 199153. Iraq - 1990-1991: 54. Afghanistan 1979-199255. El Salvador - 1980-1994:56. Haiti- 1986-199457. Iraq- 2003-2011

58. Afghanistan: 2001-2011

Yalta Conference: Churchill, Stalin and FDR:

Feb 1945

• Yalta: – Plan the postwar world

1. Divide up Germany to rebuild– Four Zones of

Occupation• Britain, France, US

and USSR– Berlin would be

divided the same – Problems:

• Berlin was in the USSR’s zone

• USSR wanted reparations and Germany weakened

2. Elections in Poland: • US and Britain wanted it free to choose own gov’t

• USSR wanted it to remain Soviet occupied and set up communist gov’t–Compromise: Soviets would set up gov’t but promised to hold free election in the near future

3. United Nations

• Truman becomes president April 13, 1945– Strongly anti-

communist• Believed that

WWII had begun b/c Britain had appeased Hitler

“We must stand up to the Soviets”

Potsdam Conference: July 1945: Truman and Stalin

• Stalin continues to insist on German reparations– Truman convinces USSR to accept

resources (mainly agricultural) from other Zones instead of monetary reparations

– Soviets are already stripping their zone of all resources

• Truman insists on free elections in Poland– Let it “slip” that US had

successfully tested the Atomic bomb

• Soviets begin to dominate Eastern Europe:– USSR Begins to establish

satellite nations– Poland, Albania, Bulgaria,

Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania; all dominated by USSR and Soviet-friendly leaders in charge

– East Germany is controlled by USSR

– Yugoslavia becomes communist but not a true satellite

The “Iron Curtain”

From Stettin in the Balkans, to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the Continent. Behind that line lies the ancient capitals of Central and Eastern Europe. -- Sir Winston Churchill, 1946

• Feb 1946: Stalin predicts ultimate triumph of communism over capitalism

• March 1946: Truman calls on Americans to stop the spread of communism

• Both sides took this as a threat; beginning of Cold War

The Ideological StruggleSoviet &

Eastern Bloc Nations[“Iron

Curtain”]

US & the Western

Democracies

GOAL spread world-wide Communism

GOAL “Containment” of Communism & the eventual collapse of the Communist world.

METHODOLOGIES:

Espionage [KGB vs. CIA]

Arms Race [nuclear escalation]

Ideological Competition for the minds and hearts of Third World peoples [Communist govt. & command economy vs. democratic govt. & capitalist economy] “proxy wars”

Bi-Polarization of Europe [NATO vs. Warsaw Pact]

The Early Cold War Years:

• Containment Theory: to recognize nations already lost to Soviets but prevent it from spreading further

• How to end communism:1. Communist System was

flawed; would decay and crumble from within

2. Aggressive actions needed for taking back Eastern Europe

Truman Doctrine [1947]• Protect Turkey and Greece from Communists (1st challenge to containment)• Britain had been giving aid, but

could not continue• Truman asked Congress for $400

million to aid Greece and Turkey• Wanted to give people a choice in

their gov’t, not have one forced upon them

“The U. S. should support free peoples throughout the world who were resisting takeovers by armed minorities or outside pressures…We must assist free peoples to work out their own destinies in their own way.”

Marshall Plan [1948]

1. “European Recovery Program.”

2. Secretary of State, George Marshall

3. The U. S. should provide aid to all European nations that need it.This move is not against any country or doctrine, but against hunger, poverty, desperation, and chaos.

4. $12.5 billion of US aid to Western Europe; also extended to Eastern Europe & USSR, [but this was rejected].

5. Goal: help war-torn nations so they might create stable democracies and achieve economic recovery

•Results:• Economies recovered; trade increased;

Communist influences dropped off

Berlin Crisis: • 1948: US, Britain and France

combined German occupation Zones: Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany)– They had become convinced that

Stalin was not going to re-unify Germany

– 1949 Soviets created German Democratic Republic (East Germany)

• Berlin lay in Soviet Zone– But West Berlin was considered part

of West Germany. 1000s of Eastern Europeans fled to West Berlin to flee Communist control

• Stalin also convinced that no reparations were coming

• June 1948 Berlin is blockaded– Stalin hoped Allies would

abandon Berlin– Truman wanted West Berlin

free, but did not want a war• Berlin Airlift: 11 months; hourly

food and supplies flown into West Berlin.

• Showed US commitment to containment and to Berlin

• May 1949, Stalin lifted blockade

Berlin Airlift

Berlin Blockade & Airlift (1948-49)

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (1949)

United States

Belgium

Britain

Canada

Denmark

France

Iceland

Italy

Luxemburg

Netherlands

Norway

Portugal

1952: Greece & Turkey

1955: West Germany

1983: SpainUS also joined SEATO, OAS, etc..

Warsaw Pact (1955)

} U. S. S. R.

} Albania

} Bulgaria

} Czechoslovakia

} East Germany

} Hungary

} Poland

} Rumania

China falls to Communists:

• Civil War between Mao Zedong’s Communists and Chaing Kai Shek’s Nationalists

• 1949: China becomes communist: People’s Republic of China

• Nationalists flee to Taiwan and establish the Republic of China

• US and UN recognize the nationalists as official gov’t

Mao’s Revolution: 1949

Who lost China? – A 2nd } Power!

The Arms Race:} The Soviet

Union exploded its first A-bomb in 1949.

} Now there were two nuclear superpowers!

} 1952: US successfully tests Hydrogen bomb

• US creates the Federal Civil Defense Administration– info on how to

survive a nuclear attack

The Korean War: A “Police Action” (1950-

1953)• Korea had been occupied by Japan since Russo-Japanese War in 1905.– After WWII American and

Soviet forces entered Korea to disarm Japanese troops and set up a new gov’t

– 38th Parallel divided the country:

– USSR/Communist to the North

– US/ Democracy to the South

– Both countries agreed to withdraw from the country and did so in 1949

“Domino Theory”?

• USSR trained and supplied N. Korean army

• June 25, 1950 North Korea invaded South Korea

• United Nations authorized the use of force to protect the South Korean Government. – UN was able to do

this b/c USSR was boycotting, could not use veto power

• N. Korean troops had almost all of Korea when MacArthur and his United Nations troops attacked at two points on Sept 15, 1950– Pusan and Inchon

• MacArthur quickly pushed N.K. troops back across 38th parallel and swept them back almost to Chinese border

• China responds by sending 1000s of troops into N. Korea and pushes UN troops back across the 38th parallel

• MacArthur wanted to attack China directly (use atomic bombs)– Truman did not want to risk

extending the war– MacArthur called him a coward– Truman fired MacArthur

• War dragged on for 2 more years

• Neither side gaining advantage

 

The Cold War and American Society

The Red Scare of the 1950s

• Fear that communists had infiltrated the government; later to general fear that communists were trying to corrupt American life

• Anyone suspected of being communist or a communist supporter could be jailed or forced to leave the country

• Loyalty Review Program: – Federal gov’t screen all

employees, new and old employees

• 1947-1951 over 6 million employees screened– Loyalty hard to define– @2000 quit under pressure– 212 fired for “questionable

loyalty”

• HUAC- House Un-American Activities Committee– Established in 1938 to investigate

disloyalty in WWII– Now responsible for finding

communists in gov’t and Hollywood

– Movies could influence large #’s of people• HUAC claimed that many Hollywood

figures had communist leanings that affected their movies

– Many in Hollywood had been members of the Communist party of America

– Some had produced pro-Soviet movies during the war at the gov’t request• Now called

traitors

• Hollywood Ten– Top Hollywood producers/actors/directors

accused of being communist spies– At hearings used 5th, held in contempt, served a

year, most blacklisted

• By 1951, 324 actors had been fired and were no longer permitted to work in movie industry

Julius and Ethel Rosenberg

»1950 accused of passing atomic secrets to Soviets

• Convicted of espionage and executed

• Many believed they were innocent– Project Verona proved

they were guilty– Documents not

released until 1995

Are We Losing the Cold War???

• 1949-1950- 1. USSR develops atom bomb 2. China Falls to communism 3. Spies found in America

Americans wanted Gov’t to be tough on Communism

Senator Joseph McCarthy:• accused Secretary

of State in Truman’s cabinet of “protecting” Communists– 205 known

communists in state department

– Never produced the documents

• Fired up Americans that the Democrats were not protecting the US

• McCarthy’s whole career was based on fear and accusations.– 1952 elections:

• Republicans controlled both houses and the presidency.

• McCarthy continued his witch hunts; the search for disloyalty based on flimsy evidence and irrational fears

• Many disapproved of McCarthy’s tactics– Feared challenging him would

make them look guilty

• Army-McCarthy hearings:• 1954- McCarthy began to look for spies

in the US Army• Army did own investigations and found

no spies• McCarthy did not buy it, wanted

televised investigation

» 6 weeks of televised debates showed McCarthy as a bully, own to further his career and destroy others.

» Lost credibility» Senate voted to Censure

McCarthy (10)

» Faded from view, died 1957

• Eisenhower:– Elected in 1952

• continue containment

• keep distance from major Soviet conflicts

• end the Korean War

Key to winning the Cold War:

• Strong economy and strong military

• Show that free enterprise produces a better and more prosperous economy

• Maintaining a large standing army was too expensive; build more atomic bombs and not be afraid to use them– Contain communism by

threatening to use Nuclear weapons= massive retaliation

 

New Military Technology• B-52 bombers

– Could fly across continents

– Drop nuclear bombs anywhere in the world

• ICBMs- Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles

• Submarines that could launch nuclear missiles

Sputnik I (1957)

The Russians have beaten America in space—they have the

technological edge!

• US Reacts!• NASA:

– National Aeronautics and Space Administration

– research rocket science and space exploration

• NDEA: – National Defense Education

Act– provided funds for education

and training in science, math and foreign languages

• The Space Race• 1957• Oct. 4 - USSR launches Sputnik 1.• Nov. 3 - USSR launches Sputnik 2 which carried a small dog named Laika into orbit. • 1958• Jan. 31 – Explorer 1, the first American satellite to reach orbit, is launched. It carried

scientific equipment that lead to the discovery of the Van Allen radiation belt.• 1960• Aug. 18 - The US launches Discoverer XIV, its first camera equipped spy satellite.• 1961• Apr. 12 – Soviet Yuri Gagarin orbits the Earth once and becomes the first man in

space.• May 5 - Alan B. Shepard becomes the first American in space.• 1962• Feb. 20 – American John Glenn orbits the Earth three times.• 1963• Jun. 16 - Soviet Valentia Tereshkova becomes the first woman in space.• 1965• Mar. 18 – Soviet Alexei Leonov spends 12 minutes outside of his Voskhod spacecraft

performing the first spacewalk.• 1966• Feb. 3 – USSR Luna 9 becomes the first spacecraft to land on the Moon• 1968•  Sep. 15 - USSR Zond 5 is launched. It carried a biological payload (including two

turtles) around the Moon and returned to Earth six days later.•  1969• Jul. 20 – Americans Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin become the first men to

walk on the Moon while crewmate Michael Collins orbits around the Moon alone.

• Eisenhower’s Foreign Policy:

• Brinkmanship: willingness to go to the brink of war to force the other side to back down

Foreign Hot Spots in Eisenhower’s Presidency:

 Asia: • Korea-

– war ends in 1953, but remains divided• Taiwan-

– 1954-China threatened to take two Taiwanese Islands from nationalists

– Eisenhower threatened; China backed down• Vietnam-

– 1954-Communism gaining ground against the French

– US begins sending advisors– Domino Theory

• The Americas:–Cuba: 1958-

Castro overthrows dictator Batista• CIA reports that Castro is pro-communist

• Eisenhower cuts ties

• Castro turns to USSR for help

• Middle East– Suez Canal: Egypt began accepting

aid and weapons from USSR and other communist nations

– Britain, France and Israel attacked; wanting control of the Suez Canal

– Egyptian leader Nasser thought canal should in Egypt’s hands

– United Nations condemned actions of GB, FR and Israel

– Britain and France backed down– Egypt and other Arab nations began

accepting more Soviet aid

The Suez Crisis: 1956-1957

• Israel: – 1948 became a nation– Supported by US– Arab neighbors supported by

USSR– Israel began invading

neighboring countries and Palestinian territories

• Iran: – 1953- pro-communist leader

was elected in Iran– CIA organized an overthrow

and restored former leader

 • Eisenhower Doctrine: US

would use any force to safeguard the independence of any country in the Middle East against Communist Aggression

• US/USSR tensions continue– 1960 summit btwn Khrushchev

and Eisenhower– to discuss Berlin, East

Germany, Poland, Hungary (uprisings in 1953 and 1956)

– US U2 Spy plane shot down– Summit breaks up

U-2 Spy Incident (1960)

Col. Francis Gary Powers’ plane was

shot down over Soviet airspace.

Was sentenced to 10 years in Soviet

Prison

Was exchanged in “Spy Swap” in

1962

Cold War Continues……

…