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The Yalta Conference
This was a meeting between the "Big Three" Soviet Union, Britain, and the United States. They agreed to divide Germany into three different zones controlled by military forces. During this meeting, Stalin also promised to fight against Japan and that eastern Europeans would have the right to free elections. This created tension because Winston Churchill predicted that Stalin would only agree if policies created benefited Russia. Geopolitical GASPIRE themes present. -
Dropping of the Atomic Bomb
Near the end of WWII, the U.S. was desperate to end the war with Japan. Since a ground war would cost more casualties, America made the decision to use an atomic bomb. This later inspired Russia to create one to compete with the U.S. contributing to the Cold war. This relates to a technological Gaspire Theme. -
Truman Doctrine
The Truman Doctrine was a doctrine created to give aid to European countries in danger of falling to the Soviet Union. The U.S. granted over $400 million of aid to Turkey and Greece. The USSR did not like this because the U.S. was limiting the idea that the country ran on. This relates to a political GASPIRE theme due to its political nature. -
Berlin Airlift
After the Truman Doctrine, the USSR was extremely upset by the U.S. limiting Communism. In response, they blocked off all supply routes going to West Berlin which was where all American people were. Without supplies, the residents would have starved to death. Instead, the U.S. dropped over 2.3 million tons of supplies to the residents of West Berlin over 11 months. This relates to a psychological GASPIRE theme because of the effect this had on the USSR. -
Creation of Nato and the Warsaw Pact
The fear of the USSR's aggression led to the creation of Nato by western powers. This was an alliance that would protect each other if attacked by any country. This alliance was seen as a threat by the USSR adding to tensions between countries. This relates to a political GASPIRE theme due to the relation to public relations between countries. -
Korean War
When North Korea crossed into South Korea's territory, the U.S. came to South Korea's support while the USSR supported the North. This was a clear effort by the Soviet Union to go against the United States. After a back and forth lasting 2 years, the border was reinstated and things went back to normal. This also represented a geopolitical GASPIRE theme. -
Creation of the Warsaw Pact
When the Soviet Union caught wind of the creation of Nato, they considered it a major threat to their country and Communism. In response, they created an alliance of their own called the Warsaw pact. This meant there were two main alliances in the world with differing political values. This relates to the GASPIRE theme of political due to its political nature. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
When Fidel Castro overthrew the Cuban government in 1959, he instated communism as the form of government with the USSR's support. In 1962, the Soviets moved nuclear missiles to Cuba within the range of the biggest American cities. Soviets in control of nuclear missiles within range of the U.S. was an extremely risky situation which President Kennedy diffused by ordering the removal of the missiles from Cuba. This was a psychological event because of the risk to the U.S. -
Olympic Basketball
Since 1936, the U.S. had been dominant in the sport of basketball. In the 1972 Olympics, the U.S. and Russia played while engaged in The Cold War. When the Russians narrowly won, this was symbolic of the war. This is a social event because it involved normal citizens instead of diplomats. -
Russian Annexation of Crimea
Crimea was part of the Soviet Union that was lost when it collapsed. Recently, they have reclaimed this area which could be indicative of intention in the near future. This relates to a geographic GASPIRE theme. -
Interview
I interviewed my dad because he came to talk to me when i was working on this project. Question 1: I would define the Cold War as a political tension on the global stage where the two most powerful nations in the world are conducting diplomatic provocations with each other. To me during the time, it was frightening to think of the consequences of miscalculations of either country. -
Interview (Continued)
Question #8: The major difference between The Cold War and any other war is that it was not a physical war. It was fought with intimidation which is completely different than wars fought today. The war on terror is fought on the ground. Question #10: At the end of the war I was proud to be an American. I was also relieved at the thought of an end of the tension that had been going on for so long.
