Origins of the Cold War

FDR & the United Nations

• April 12, 1945 – FDR dies and Harry Truman becomes president of the United States

• June 26, 1945 – Representatives from 50 nations sign a the charter establishing the United Nations– The U.N. is intended to promote peace and

international cooperation.

Former Allies Clash• USA & USSR – Ideological opposites– Communism v. Capitalism/Democracy– Suspicions grow during the war;• USSR former allies of Hitler/Germany• USSR resents delay in opening 2nd front in France• Stalin upset U.S. kept atomic bomb a secret

• The Potsdam Conference, July 1945– It becomes clear that Stalin is not going to allow

free elections in Poland;

The Iron Curtain• After suffering heavy losses during the war,

Soviets feel justified in claiming Eastern Europe:– Satellite Nations – Soviet controlled communist

governments are installed in Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, Yugoslavia & Poland;• These nations act as a buffer between the U.S.S.R. and the

West

– Europe is divided into two political regions, separated by an “Iron Curtain” • Communist Eastern Europe• Democratic Western Europe

The Cold War Begins• In response to the Soviet threat, the U.S.

decides to pursue a policy of containment– Taking measures to prevent the further spread of

communism around the world.

• These conflicting goals led to a state of hostility between the U.S. and Soviet Union known as the cold war– No direct battlefield confrontation– Lasted until 1991

The Truman Doctrine

• In 1947, President Truman announced what would become known as the Truman Doctrine:– The policy of providing economic and military aid to

free nations threatened by internal/external opponents

– Marshal Plan – The plan to provide economic aid to European nations in order to assist with rebuilding after WWII

**Prevent the further spread of communism by helping countries become economically stable**

The First, Second and Third World

Cold War Conflicts• 1948-1949 – Soviets blockade West Berlin– Berlin Airlift delivers food/supplies to West Berlin

• 1949 - Formation of the NATO defensive alliance– 1955 USSR & 8 Eastern European nations form the

Warsaw Pact• May, 1949 – China falls to the communists– People’s Republic of China established under the

leadership of Mao Zedong• June 1950 – North Korea invades the South,

beginning the Korean War– N. Korea supported by China and Soviet Union– S. Korea supported by the U.N and United States