Transcript The Cold War 1949

The Cold War
1945 – 1991
What is it?
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Period of time when the
potential for war between
Russia and the U.S.
could have led to a
nuclear war
War of ideals
(Communism v. noncommunism)
Several conflicts between
communism and noncommunism, but never
literally between Soviet
Union and U.S. (“proxy
wars”)
The Cold War [1945-1991]:
An Ideological Struggle
Soviet &
Eastern Bloc
Nations
[“Iron Curtain”]
GOAL  spread worldwide Communism
METHODOLOGIES:
US & the
Western
Democracies
GOAL  “Containment”
of Communism & the
eventual collapse of the
Communist world.
[George Kennan]
1. Espionage [KGB vs. CIA]
2. Arms Race [nuclear escalation]
3. Ideological Competition for the minds and hearts
of Third World peoples [Communist govt. &
command economy vs. democratic govt. & capitalist
economy]  “proxy wars”
4. Bi-Polarization of Europe [NATO vs. Warsaw Pact]
The Bipolarization of Europe
Following WWII
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Stalin says war
between U.S.S.R.
and U.S. will occur
eventually
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Communism and
capitalism cannot
coexist
Europe now divided
into East and West
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Germany also divided
East and West
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From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the
Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across
the continent. Behind that line lie all the capitals
of the ancient states of Central and Eastern
Europe….. All these famous cities and the
populations around them lie in the Soviet
sphere and are all subject to one form or
another, not only to the Soviet influence but to a
very high and increasing measure of control
from Moscow.
- Churchill (1946)
Iron Curtain
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Churchill’s idea of an
imaginary line that
divides Communist
Eastern Europe and
Asia from the rest of
the world
Stalin claimed this
speech was a call for
war
U.S. response to Soviet
expansion
Containment
block Soviet influence
and prevent expansion
1. create alliances
2. help weakening
countries resist
Soviet advances
Truman Doctrine
Truman’s support for
countries that reject
communism
Truman Doctrine
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Controversial
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America should mind
it’s own business
Lacks resources to
provide sufficient help
for other countries
Some US support
would go to dictators
who were not
communist
How U.S. helped
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Marshall Plan – sent $12 ½
Billion to help rebuild
Europe (originally intended
to send $4-5 bill.)
Berlin Airlift
 Russia tries to surround
west Berlin to try to
starve them (warning to
Allies)
 Allies fly in supplies
every 3 minutes for 11
months
 Blockade lifted
Cold War organizations

NATO – North Atlantic
Treaty Organization
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U.S., Canada, 11
Western European
countries
Promise protection to
any country attacked
Warsaw Pact
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Soviet Union’s response
to NATO
Soviet Union, Poland,
East Germany,
Czechoslovakia,
Hungary, Romania,
Bulgaria, Albania
Cold War Competition

Cold War
competition
becomes a race to
do everything first
and everything best
(from the scary to
the impressive to
the ridiculous)
Brinkmanship
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John Foster Dulles
U.S.’s willingness to
go to edge of war
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Requires nuclear
weapons and
airplanes to deliver
weapons
Turns into Nuclear
Arms Race (who can
build up more
weapons)
Nuclear Arms Race
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U.S. – A-Bombs Japan (1945)
 Splits atoms
U.S.S.R. – creates A-Bomb in
1949
U.S. – creates H-Bomb in 1952
(thousands of times more
powerful than A-bomb)
 Combines atoms
U.S.S.R. – creates H-Bomb in
1953
U.S.S.R. – (Intercontinental
Ballistic missile – ICBM) – long
distance rocket -- 1957
 initially used to push first
unmanned satellite into
space (Sputnik I)
 Can carry Nuclear
weapons or go into space
1958 – US creates ICBM
Spies
Alger Hiss
 Julius and Ethel
Rosenberg
 CIA
 KGB
 And . . .
 Bond, James Bond
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Cold War in Space
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U.S. – gets satellite into
space (1958)
1960 – U-2 spy plane
shot down
1961 – Russia has first
man to orbit earth (Yuri
Gagarin)
1962 – John Glenn orbits
earth
1969 – Neil Armstrong
(American) first to set foot
on moon
1971 – USSR puts up
first manned space
station
Sports
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Olympics
1972 Basketball
 1980 Hockey
 1980 Boycott
 1984 Boycott
 1988 Basketball
 Total Medal Count?
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 USSR
won 1009 - 873
Movies
Red Dawn
 Rocky IV
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