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A Bipolar World
communism
all economic and social activity is controlled by a totalitarian government dominated by a single political party
-no private ownership of property
Soviet Union
- a form of government in which power rests with the people through elected representatives from multiple political parties.
-personal and economic freedom is valued
containmen
– U.S. policy of fighting the spread of communism by limiting it to countries where it already existed -
Cold War Alliances
Berlin Blockade
-Stalin closed all roads, railways, and river routes leading into West Berlin (June 1948) hoping the West would give up West Berlin to East Germany
-June 24, 1948 – May 12, 1949
Berlin Airlift
-for 11 months the allies flew 2.3 million tons of goods at a cost of more than $200 million
to West Berlin on a daily basis, planes took off every 3 minutes
-the West didn’t want to give in to Stalin, but didn’t want a shooting war over Berlin
Berlin W -
The Nuclear Arms Race
McCarthyism -1950 Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy claimed 205 Communists were in U.S. government!
- strengthened fear of communism
- thousands of Americans questioned by House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC)
- publicly disgraced in 1954 after accusing members of the U.S. Army of being Communists
arms race
- June 1949 USSR explodes an atomic bomb
- October 1957 USSR launches Sputnik the 1st artificial satellite
- the U.S. and U.S.S.R. compete to build more missi -
The Cold War Heats Up
proxy wars
When superpowers indirectly fight one another.
Examples:
-Korean War -Vietnam War -Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan
Korean War
- June 1950 Communist North Korea invades South Korea. United Nations’ forces push them back to North Korea beyond 38th parallel.
- July 1953 cease-fire issued. Fighting ends, but formal peace never declared
- over 53,000 Americans killed.
Cuba
December 1959 - Fidel Castro leads a successful communist takeover -
The End of the Cold War
Ronald Reagan
Very popular
Lowered taxes on the wealthy and businesses
Cut programs that helped the poor
Increased defense spending
Mikhail Gorbachev
Tried to improve the Soviet economy
Began the policy of glasnost : a more open government (more freedoms)
Reaches out to the West to work together
