The Cold War 1949 – 1991 (1945-1989)

What is it?

   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. non communism) Several conflicts between communism and non communism, but never literally between Soviet Union and U.S.

Cold War

 Stalin says war between U.S.S.R. and U.S. will occur eventually  Communism and capitalism cannot coexist  Europe now divided into East and West  Germany also divided East and West

 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

 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

 Controversial  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

  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  U.S., Canada, 11 Western European countries  Promise protection to any country attacked  Warsaw Pact  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

  John Foster Dulles U.S.’s willingness to go to edge of war  Requires nuclear weapons and airplanes to deliver weapons  Turns into Nuclear Arms Race (who can build up more weapons)

Nuclear Arms Race

      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

Cold War in Space

      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

 Olympics  1972 Basketball  1980 Hockey  1980 Boycott  1984 Boycott  1988 Basketball  Total Medal Count?

 USSR won 1009 - 873

 Red Dawn  Rocky IV

Movies