Transcript Slide 1

The Cold War
Key Topics
• Prospects for world peace at the end of
WWII
• Diplomatic policy during the Cold War
• The Truman presidency
• Anticommunism and McCarthyism
• Cold War culture and society
• The Korean War
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 Division of Berlin
The Bipolarization of Europe
Containment
• The Truman Doctrine
– Self-Granted power to keep Communism
from spreading
• The Marshall Plan
– Commitment to help rebuild Europe
• The Berlin Crisis
George Kennan [“X Article”]:
CONTAINMENT
Goals
Means
Actual Application
1. Restoration
of the balance
of power
Encouragement
of selfconfidence in
nations
threatened by
Soviet expansion.
Long-term
program of U.S.
economic
assistance
[Marshall Plan]
2. Reduction of
Soviet ability
to project
outside power.
Exploitation of
tensions in
international
communism.
Cooperation with
communist regimes;
[supporting Titoism
in Yugoslavia]
George Kennan [“X Article”]:
CONTAINMENT
Goals
Means
Actual Application
3. Modification
of the Soviet
concept of
international
relations.
Negotiating
settlement of
outstanding
differences.
Using “carrots &
sticks’;
containing
Germany with an
embrace and
Russia at arms
length.
“To Err is Truman”
• Why was Truman
relatively unpopular
at the beginning of
the 1948 campaign?
• What controversy
arose around the
1948 election?
• What role did anticommunism play in
Truman’s Fair Deal?
The Cold War at Home
• Why was there such
an extensive Red
Scare at Home?
– What steps were
taken for National
Defense?
• How were people’s
rights restricted?
National Defense Budget [1940-1964]
The Cold War at Home
• The Red Scare in
Hollywood
– How did HUAC influence
the movie industry?
– Should government have
censorship rights on
creative productions?
The Cold War at Home
• Spy Cases
– Alger Hiss
– Julius and Ethel Rosenberg
The Cold War at Home
• Why were people like
McCarthy deemed
credible?
• What did McCarthy hope
to achieve through his
action?
• How was he eventually
brought down?
Cold War Culture
• How did the cold War affect American
Culture?
– Return of the Soldier
– Women’s Roles
– Middle Class Status
Korean War
[1950-1953]
Korean War
[1950-1953]
Kim Il-Sung
Syngman Rhee
“Domino Theory”
The Shifting Map of Korea
[1950-1953]
The Korean War
• Did the Korean War serve any purpose?
• Was American entry a mistake?
• How much responsibility should Truman bear
for the result of the Korean War?
• How was the Korean War a demonstration of
the Containment Policy?