The Cold War

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The Cold War

• United States vs. Soviet Union

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Conference at Yalta

• Germany divided into 4 zones controlled by USA,
  USSR, Britain and France.
• USSR felt that USA had waited until last possible
  minute to launch War in Europe.
• Stalin felt that they had fought Germans by
  themselves and won at Stalingrad.
• Therefore, the USSR should get to carve up the
  map too!

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Reconstruction of Germany

• West Germany will emerge as an economic power in
  postwar Europesupported by Western European
  nations.
• Berlin divided into Eastern and Western parts.

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Post War Differences
UNITED STATES
SOVIET UNION

• USA fought WWII to protect its vision of
  American Dream.
• Share Democracy with the World.
• Promote American economic interests!
• Create worldwide markets for American products.

• Dictatorship
• Communism
• Wanted to spread communist influence throughout
  the world.

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The Iron Curtain

• 1946 - Winston Churchill gave a famous speech in
  which he denounced the goals of the Soviet Union.
• He claimed that we could not allow the Soviet
  Union to create an Iron Curtain in Europe.
• That Iron Curtain would separate the capitalist
  West from the Communist East.

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United Nations

• April of 1945 - delegate from 50 nations meet in
  US to form alliance designed to be a peacekeeping
  force for the World.
• Goals
• settle disagreements peacefully
• Stop war before it starts
• Protect interests of member nations.
• Five countries dominate USA, USSR, GB, FR and
  CHINA

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Containment

• USA wanted to control Soviet Union without war.
• Goal Keep Soviet Union from expanding and
  becoming powerful.
• Policy for preventing the spread of communism
• Method to achieve this
• Marshall Plan

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Marshall Plan

• Named for George C. Marshall, US Secretary of
  State.
• 1947 - US will provide economic aide to countries
  that have an economic plan of development.
• Western European nations received 13 billion
  over a four year period!
• US received strong trading partners in Europe.
• USA airlifted supplies, food and medicine into
  West Berlin in 1948 because Soviets were trying
  to take over.

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Berlin Airlift

• Berlin had been divided up in 1945.
• Soviets wanted to control the entire city.
• The city itself was located inside of the Soviet
  zone but was important because it had been the
  capital.
• US felt it was important to control the city.
• Berlin was divided into East West sections.

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Characteristics of the Cold War (1948-1989)

• NATO vs. Warsaw Pact
• Korean Conflict
• Vietnam War
• Berlin and the Berlin Wall
• Cuban Missile Crisis
• Nuclear Weapons and DETERRENCE
• Collapse of the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe.

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Formation of NATO
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North Atlantic Treaty Organization

• 1949 - Twelve Nations in the Alliance, led by the
  United States said that an attack against one
  would be an attack against all of them.

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Warsaw Pact

• Would counter the alleged threat from NATO.
• Members countries Soviet Union and Eastern
  European states.

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KOREA

• Korea - occupied by the Japanese for Decades.
• Had hoped for its independence once Japan was
  defeated.
• USSR set up a govt. north of the 38th Parallel.
• USA did the same in the South.
• 38th Parallel served as dividing line!

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June 1950

• Communist Northern forces cross the 38th parallel
  in effort to unify country under one govt.
• Truman takes this for act of USSR aggression.
• USA asks for help from UN and gets unanimous
  approval for military exercise in Korea.
• UN Forces were to drive Communists from the
  country.

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Douglas MacArthur

• US Commander in Korea.
• Wanted to attack the North and split their forces
  in half.
• Did it and then proposed attacking China.
• Truman refused.
• MacArthur criticized Truman in public and Truman
  fired him for insubordination in 1951.

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Since I took the oath at West Point, the hopes
and dreams of youth have all vanished! But I
still remember the refrain of one of the most
popular barracks ballads of the day, which
proclaimed most proudly that old soldiers never
die, they just fade away! General Douglas
MacArthur April 19, 1951 four days after he was
fired by Harry S. Truman.
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Korean War ends 1953

• Border were almost exactly the same as in 1951.
• 54,000 American soldiers killed in Korea.
• 1/3 of US budget now consumed by defense
  spending.
• US would continue the pattern again just a few
  years later.

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Vietnam

• Domino Theory - policy of Eisenhower
  administration.
• Says that if one S.E. Asia nation falls to
  communists then they all will.
• Vietnam - country divided at 17th parallel
  between communists in North and capitalists in
  South. US Support.

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BERLIN AND THE BERLIN WALL

• City is divided among democratic West and
  communist East
• Berlin Wall divided the city.

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Cuban Missile Crisis

• US got involved in affairs of Latin American
  countries in the 50s as well.
• US did not support Castros takeover of the Cuban
  government in 1959.
• Castro relied on the support from the Soviets.

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Bay of Pigs

• The Bay of pigs purpose was to try and take
  Castro out of power and dethrone the communist
  government.
• Date April 17, 1961
• Called Bay of Pigs because of the place where it
  happened a small bay in southern Cuba
• Looked good because the army was well prepared
  and ready to fight with lots of supplies.

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The Significance of the Bay of Pigs

• America stranded soldiers in Cuba
• Castros popularity was at an all time high
• Embarrassment to the United States and President
  Kennedy

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Missile Crisis

• The Soviet Union puts missiles in Cuba
• This makes the United States nervous
• The U.S. puts up a blockade
• President Kennedy announces that the United
  States will attack if the missiles are not
  removed
• Soviets back down and remove the missiles twelve
  days later
• This embarrassed Castro greatly for he was being
  used by the Soviet Union

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Nuclear Weapons and Deterrence

• Deterrence was an idea that a country would
  need large weapons to protect itself and that if
  they had these weapons, no one would attack you.
  
• As a result, build up of nuclear weapons
  increases.

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The Collapse of Communism

• Official date 1989
• What contributed to this collapse?
• Soviet economic collapse
• Nationalism in Warsaw Pact countries (Poland,
  Czechoslovakia)
• Tearing down of the Berlin Wall (November 9,
  1989). Germany reunited under Democratic
  government.
• Official end of the U.S.S.R. 1991 coup of
  Gorbachev. Taken over by Boris Yeltsin.
• Established the C.I.S. Commonwealth of
  Independent States.