The EarlyEvents of the Cold

War

The EarlyEvents of the Cold

WarWorld History

The Cold War

• What was the Cold War?–Conflict over ideas between the

world’s two superpowers (U.S. and Soviet Union) for global influence from 1945-1991

• Was it actually a war?

Origins of the Cold War:

• General Causes

1. Resentment over WWII

2. Differing ideologies of government and economic systems

3. Disagreements in post WWII Europe

Resentment Over WWII

• Stalin signing the Nonaggression Pact with Hitler in 1938

• Allies leaving the Soviet Union to fend for themselves on the Eastern Front

• Waiting to invade Europe until 1944• Development and use of the atomic

bomb

Communism vs. Capitalism/Democracy

• Communism 1. Totalitarian

Dictator 2. Government

controls all property and economic activity

3. No opposing parties allowed to exist

4. No Individual liberties

• Capitalism/Democracy

1. Elected leaders

2. Free Market Economy where citizens control property and economic activity

3. Checks and balances

4. Individual liberties

Post WWII Goals• Soviet Union

1. Encourage Communism

2. Get industrial equipment to rebuild

3. Control Eastern Europe to balance power

4. Keep Germany weak and divided

• United States

1. Encourage Democracy

2. Rebuild European governments to ensure stability

3. Limited Soviet influence

4. Reunite Germany

Post WWII Germany

Stalin’s Broken Promises Yalta Conference

February 1945 1. Roosevelt, Stalin

and Churchill met to finalize plans for the end of WWII

2. United Nations 3. Stalin promised

“Free Elections” in Poland and other Soviet controlled territories in Eastern Europe

Potsdam Conference July 19451. Big Three met in

defeated Germany 2. Truman had

replaced Roosevelt 3. Stalin refused to

hold “Free Elections”1. “Not only a

question of honor for Russia, but one of life and death”

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

Post War Soviet Union

• Joseph Stalin • Satellite Nations • Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia,

Hungary, Romania, and Poland – “Buffer Zone”

Containment: What is it?

• U.S. policy to stop the spread of Communism

• An effort to block all Soviet influence throughout the world

• U.S. got involved in numerous conflicts and directly involved in two wars (Korea and Vietnam) as a result of this policy

Truman Doctrine [1947]

• President Harry S. Truman – The U.S. should support free peoples

throughout the world who were resisting takeovers by armed minorities…

– What country is President Truman referring to?

• The U.S. gave $400 million in aid to Greece and Turkey

Marshall Plan [1948]

• “European Recovery Program”

• Secretary of State, George Marshall

• The U. S. should provide aid to all European nations that need it

• $12.5 billion was given to European countries to help them rebuild and resist Communism

Marshall Plan [1948]

Post-War Germany

Berlin Blockade & Airlift (1948-49)

• U.S. flew in supplies for 327 days

• 277,000 flights

• 2.3 million tons of supplies

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: Spain

Warsaw Pact (1955)

} U. S. S. R.

} Albania

} Bulgaria

} Czechoslovakia

} East Germany

} Hungary

} Poland

} Rumania

China “Falls” to Communism• Key Terms/Names

– Mao Zedong, Chiang Kai-shek• Who did the United States support during

the Chinese Civil War? Why?• Who did the Soviet Union support during

the Chinese Civil War? Why?• How did the United States “lose” China? • As a result of the Chinese Civil War, how

did American foreign policy regarding the spread of Communism in Asia change?

The Arms Race

Definition:

Race between the U.S. & the Soviet Union to build more powerful weapons of mass destruction

The Atomic Bomb• U.S. first used the atomic bombs

on Japan during WWII• By 1949, the Soviet Union tested

their own atomic bomb• U.S. no longer had a nuclear

advantage • What should the U.S. do?

Is this a moral issue?

H-Bomb

• November 1952 the U.S. tested the Hydrogen Bomb

• Delivered a force of 10.4 million tons of TNT

• 1,000 times more powerful than A-bomb

• August 1953 Soviet Union tested their own H-bomb

Arms Race (continued) By the late 1950’s – early 1960’s

U.S. & the Soviet Union developed nuclear warheads powered by rockets

• ICBM’s: Inter-Continental Ballistic Missiles

* can be launched by land or sea

Nuclear Warheads

Nuclear Weapons: Who Has What

HISTORY OF NUCLEAR WARHEAD STOCKPILES -- 1945-1995NOTE: Totals are estimates. Lists include strategic and non-strategic warheads, as well as warheads awaiting dismantling

1945 1955 1965 1975 1985 1995

UNITED STATES 6 3,057 31,265 26,675 22,941 14,766

SOVIET UNION 0 200 6,129 19,443 39,197 27,000

BRITAIN 0 10 310 350 300 300

FRANCE 0 0 32 188 360 485

CHINA 0 0 5 185 425 425

Source: National Resources Defense Council

Purpose of Nuclear Weapons :1. Why do countries possess Weapons of

Mass Destruction (WMD)? • Deterrence: Acquiring military

power for the purpose of discouraging attacks

2. Why don’t countries actually use them?

• MAD (Mutually Assured Destruction): During a nuclear war, both countries will be destroyed

Declared Nuclear Nations Today

Suspected Nuclear Nations

Recent Nuclear Conflicts • Iran’s Goal

– Nuclear Weapons?– Nuclear Energy?

• Iran’s radical Muslim leader has made claims about “wiping Israel from the face of the earth”

• Is this the type of person the world wants possessing nuclear weapons?

• Audio Clips• BBC News Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Comments• NPR Audio Clip Tensions Escalate Over Iran • NPR Audio Clip Iran Expands Nuclear Effort

Writing Prompt

• Is it fair for nuclear countries, like the U.S. to discourage other nations from acquiring nuclear weapons?

• Think about:1. What will the nuclear weapons be used for?2. Are they an unstable nation?3. Are they threats to the free world? 4. What would happen if the technology for

nuclear weapons became widely known 5. What might happen if terrorist organizations

like Al Qaeda acquired the technology for nuclear weapons?

Arms Race

• 1952 U.S. Exploded the H-Bomb• 1953 Soviet Union exploded H-bomb • Brinkmanship

– Threats of massive retaliation using nuclear weapons to serve as a deterrence• John Foster Dulles

– U.S. built up massive amounts of nuclear weapons

– Soviet Union followed

A New Leader• 1953 Joseph Stalin

died• Nikita Khrushchev

took over as Soviet Premier

About the capitalist

states, it doesn't depend on you whether we (Soviet Union) exist.If you don't like us, don't accept our invitations, and don'tinvite us to come to see you. Whether you like it our not, history is on our side. We will bury you. -- 1956

Sputnik I, 1957• October 4, 1957 the

Soviet Union used an ICBM to launch an artificial satellite into space

• Could allow the Soviet Union to launch a nuclear missile anywhere in the world

• The Russians have beaten America in space… they have a technological edge!

U.S. Budget Spent on Defense

• 1940– 18%

• 1950– 32%

• 1960– 52%

• 1990– 24%

U-2 Incident • U-2 Spy Plane • CIA was making secret

flights over Soviet territory and taking pictures

• Francis Gary Powers (U-2 pilot) was brought down over the Soviet Union

• Event caused Khrushchev to denounce Eisenhower and it increased tensions during the Cold War