The Cold War (1945 – 1973)

The U.S. vs. The Soviet Union

Democracy vs. Dictatorship

Capitalism vs. Communism

U.S. vs. Them for 45 Years!

The Soviet Union or USSR

• The Russian Revolution (1917)

• Joseph Stalin – Brutal Dictator (1924 – 1953)

• US Ally in WW 2• Promoted the

spread of Communism – world-wide revolution

• Break up began in 1989

The United Nations• April 1945 – 50 nations

met in SF,CA• Based in NYC, NY• General Assembly and

Security Council – 5 Permanent Members had veto power (US, USSR, Britain, France, ROC

• World Court• Goal is to keep world

peace• It was an arena for the

Cold War• 192 Members today

Soviet Satellite States• By 1945 -all

countries occupied by Red Army remained under Soviet control

• Free elections never held as promised

• Yalta (2/1945) & Potsdam (7/1945) Conferences = Failure

The “Iron Curtain”• Winston

Churchill coined the term

• It refers to the division between the free world and the communist world – West vs. East

• Extended from Baltic Sea to Adriatic Sea

The Truman Doctrine• 1947 – Communist

forces tried to control Greece and Turkey

• Congress gave $400 M to put down rebellions

• Containment became new foreign policy of US

• Goal = Stop the spread of communism!

The Marshall Plan (1948-52)

• Congress - $13 B in grants to aid nations in Western Europe

• Containing Communism was the main goal!

• Showed economic power of USA!

• Food, Fuel, Resources, Machinery, even Mules!

Containment & Marshall Plan

East and West Germany• 1945 – 1989• Symbol of Cold

War!• W Ger = democratic

(US, FR, UK zones)• E Ger (USSR) =

communist• Berlin Divided!

Which Germany is the city in?

The Berlin Airlift (1948-49)

• Stalin wanted W. Berlin; 1948 he blockaded it

• US +UK flew 1000s of missions to supply 2 M citizens

• USSR backed down

• 1st Victory of Cold War!

NATO and the Warsaw Pact

• North Atlantic Treaty Organization (1949) – U.S. and its allies formed a military alliance to counter Soviet expansion

• Warsaw Pact (1955) – Military alliance between USSR and its satellite states to defend each other if attacked by NATO

The Berlin Airlift and Formation of NATO

Exit Slip – The Cold War Begins!1. What nation did the U.S. oppose during the

Cold War?

2. What was President Truman’s policy on stopping the spread of communism?

3. East Berlin or West Berlin: Who did the U.S. and British help during the Berlin Airlift?

4. What was the name of the huge 1948 U.S. economic plan to help rebuild the war-torn nations of Western Europe?

The U.S. and U.S.S.R. Compared

• Capitalism/ Democracy

• Free Elections• Private Property• Economic and

Religious Freedom

• Respect for Individual Differences

• Communist Dictatorship

• One-party System• Command Economy• Looked to Expand

and Gain Territory• No Private

Property or Religious Freedom

• Oppression

Civil War in China (1927-37; 1945-49)

• Mao Zedong established PRC in 1949 (communist)

• Jiang Jieshi fled to Taiwan & established Nationalist China or ROCOT (non-communist and support U.S. today)

The Korean War (1950-53)

• N. Korea = Communist; ruled by Kim Il Jong

• S. Korea = US Ally; President Syngman Rhee

• Divided after WW 2 at the 38th Parallel

• June 1950 N invades S• UN/ USA comes to aid• Sept 1950 General

MacArthur launches surprise attack at port of Inchon

• North Korea is quickly driven back to the 38th

The Korean War Begins

The Korean War (1950-53)

Korean War Summary

The Korean War Continued…• MacArthur commands UN forces

and drives N of 38th parallel to border with China by Nov 1950

• This provokes the PR of China & they enter the war

• Apr 1951 -MacArthur fired for insubordination because he criticized President Truman for not invading PRC

• Nov 1952 – President Eisenhower elected; he visits S Korea

• July 1953 – War ends in stalemate – 38th parallel

• 37,000 U.S. troops KIA• Korea is still divided today “Old soldiers never die, they

just …….” General MacArthur

President Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953 – 1961)

• His election due to Korean stalemate; D-Day mastermind

• Sept 1949 – USSR gets A-bomb• 1952 – U.S. tests H-bomb• Arm’s Race and MAD theory to

prevent nuclear war• Containment and Domino Theory

to stop communism• Sec. of State John Foster Dulles –

policies of massive retaliation and brinkmanship = use of force and taking risks toward war to keep peace

House Un-American Activities Committee

• 1938 HUAC created• 1947 Movie Industry

and “Hollywood Ten”• Ten sentenced to

prison and blacklists appeared

• Hollywood backed away from controversial subjects

• 2nd Red Scare results and Free Speech restricted!

McCarthyism & The 2nd Red Scare

• Feb 1950 Sen. Joseph McCarthy (R-WI) gave a speech in WV

• Charged that 57 State Dept employees were communists, but he provided no evidence or names

• Many people were ruined politically and financially

• 1954 he attacked the army and lost credibility; Apr – June 1954 hearings were televised and he was finished politically

• End of Korean War helped end the Red ScareMcCarthyism 101

The Hollywood Ten

The Cold War at Home• Fallout Shelters• Federal Civil Defense

Administration – Be Prepared!

• Air Raid Drills/ Sirens• Bert the Turtle• Bert the Turtle (Full 9

Min)

Sputnik I (Oct. 4, 1957)• USSR shocks world by

launching 184 lb. transmitter satellite

• Nov 1957–Laika the “space dog”- Sputnik 2

• Jan 1958 - US responds with failed Vanguard project

• We feared falling behind and losing the Cold War

The Cold War and the Space Race

• National Aeronautics and Space Administration (1958)

• National Defense Education Act (1958)

• Mercury, Gemini, & Apollo programs established 1961 by J.F.K. to beat the U.S.S.R. to the moon by 1970

• Apollo 11- July 20, 1969!

John Glenn

Exit Slip – The Cold War in Asia and Space

1. As a result of the Korean War, North and South Korea remain divided at the _______?

2. He was the U.S. President at the end of the Korean War and announced the Cold War policy of Massive Retaliation?

3. Wisconsin senator whose baseless accusations about communism began a new Red Scare and cruelly cost many Americans government jobs?

4. This Russian satellite was the first to orbit the earth in 1957?

Kennedy wins the Election of 1960

• Four televised debates made the difference

• JFK won by less than 120,000 votes out of 68 million cast, but 303 – 219 in the EC

• JFK vs. Nixon Debates• Nixon wins in 1968 &

1972 after losing the Gov. Race in California. *What scandal is Nixon remembered for?

JFK’s “Flexible Response” Strategy

• Established special forces to allow U.S. to fight any type of conflict.

• Peace Corps (1961) to better relations with “Third World”

• Alliance for Progress to promote economic assistance to Latin America

Nikita S. Khrushchev Succeeds Stalin

• Stalin died Mar 5, 1953

• Khrushchev was not as cruel as Stalin, but he could be harsh

• Crushed anti-USSR uprising in Hungary in 1956

• Khrushchev and Eisenhower met & began move toward “peaceful coexistence”

The Berlin Crisis (Aug. 1961)• Khrushchev wanted West

Berlin under USSR control since 1958

• USSR was concerned about flow of East German youth, skilled technicians, and intellectuals leaving for West Berlin.

• JFK & Khrushchev met in Vienna, but it was very heated.

• Berlin Wall (Aug 61 - 89) became most visible symbol of the Cold War & powerful propaganda tool for U.S.

Fidel Castro Leads Cuba

• 1959 - Castro became communist dictator of Cuba (His brother Raul replaced him in 2008 but he is still alive).

• He nationalized U.S. property and accepted economic & military aid from the U.S.S.R.

• Thousands of wealthy & middle-class Cubans fled to Florida & eastern U.S. cities.

Bay of Pigs Invasion (Apr. 17, 1961)

• 1961 –Ike wanted the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to plan invasion of Cuba to overthrow Castro

• JFK ordered it• 1100/ 1400 Cuban

exiles were captured or killed

• A failure for U.S. & embarrassment for JFK!

The Cuban Missile Crisis

(October 14 – 28, 1962)• Aug & Sep 62 – U.S.

learns that USSR is putting nuclear missiles in Cuba; confirmed Oct 15!

• Oct 22 JFK told Americans on TV his decision to blockade Cuba to keep USSR from finishing missile sites

• but it is the closest we have been to a nuclear war!