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(End of WWII) Causes of the Cold War and Differences Between the US and USSR
Politics: America was capitalist, the USSR was communist Lifestyle: America had more freedom and a two-party democracy, the USSR had a secret police and a one-party state Aims: US wanted Germany to recover to be a trading partner, the USSR wanted to weaken Germany for financial gains and a buffer zone •President Truman (anti-Communist) replaced Roosevelt; tension between Stalin and Truman •Differences created tensions that ended WWII alliances, furthering tensions led to Cold War Era -
Iron Curtain (Churchill's Speech)
•Yalta Conference– leaders of US, Britain, and USSR met to divide Germany into zones of occupation, negotiate war reparations •“Iron Curtain” divided Europe between Democratic Western Europe and Communist Eastern Europe •Soviets controlled German Democratic Republic (East) including the split Berlin capitol; Federal Republic of Germany (West) •Stalin thought of the “Iron Curtain” as a call to war •Soviets wanted a divided Germany, Americans wanted unity -
US Containment
•US Containment– US foreign policy adopted by President Harry Truman, in which the US tried to stop the spread of communism by creating alliances and helping weak countries to resist Soviet advances •Due to tensions with the USSR, the US felt it was "necessary" to stop the spread of Communism, felt that it was a threat to American democracy/capitalism -
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Cold War
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Truman Doctrine
•Truman Doctrine– a US policy of giving economic and military aid to free nations threatened by internal or external opponents (Truman) •Great controversy over American interference and US's economic ability •Policy aimed to halt the spread of Communism; seen by Soviets as a declaration of the Cold War -
Marshall Plan
•Marshall Plan– a US program of economic aid to European countries to help them rebuilt after WWII •Builds off of US Containment Policy, meant to stop the spread of Communism in a fragile Europe by implementing elements of US government through economic aid •Spectacular success in war torn Western Europe and Yugoslavia -
Berlin Blockade and Airlift
•Soviets wanted to keep Germany weak and divided •US, France, and Britain wanted to unify Germany- withdrew forces in 1948 and allowed their three occupation zones to form West Germany •Soviets hold West Berlin hostage- cut off from outside world; Stalin hoped this would eliminate ideas of unifying Germany •US and GRB flew food and supplies into West Germany from 24 June 1948 to 12 May 1949 •Soviets admit defeat and lift Berlin blockade in May 1949; defeat furthered hostility in USSR -
NATO
•NATO– the North Atlantic Treaty Organization– a defensive military alliance formed in 1949 by ten Western European nations, the US, and Canada •Created in response to heightened fear in Western Europe resulting from Berlin Blockade •NATO member nations promised to meet attacks on other NATO member nations; first peaceful wartime commitment for the US -
The Arms Race and The Threat of a Nuclear War
•1949- US had atomic bombs, USSR developing its own atomic weapons •1950- Truman authorizes development of H-bomb •Eisenhower becomes president; anti-Communist Secretary of State •Brinkmanship– a policy of threatening to go to war in response to any enemy aggression •Brinkmanship required both the US and USSR to be stocked with H-bombs and A-bombs (Arms Race: race to collect the most weapons) •Competing science and education programs, Race to the Moon, heightened Cold War tensions -
Korean War
•38th Parallel- a line that crosses Korea at 38° north latitude, North of which Japanese troops surrendered to the Soviets; South of which troops surrendered to the Americans in WWII; separates North and South Korea •25 June 1950- North Korea attacks South Korea, US helps South Korea under General Douglas MacArthur •North Korea: Communist dictator Kim Jung Il developed nuclear weapons •South Korea: prospered due to massive aid from US •Tensions between Communist North and Democratic South -
Mao Zedong, Communist Control of China, and Cultural Revolution
•Mao Zedong- Communist, reshaped economy based on Marxism •1950 Agrarian Reform Law- seized land from landlords and divided land among peasants •Collective Farms- large government-controlled farms formed by combining smaller farms; operated alongside Soviet-styled five-year plans •The Great Leap Forward: Communes- a collective farm on which a great number of people work and live together •Peasants owned nothing, no incentive to improve production when state profited from labor; 1961 famine -
Warsaw Pact
•Warsaw Pact– a military alliance formed in 1955 by the Soviet Union and seven Eastern European countries •Created in response to the creation of NATO, which they saw as a threat •India and China remained unallied with NATO and Warsaw Pact -
Cuban Missile Crisis
•Latin America sought financial aid •Fidel Castro- led revolution against Communist Cuban dictator •Castro caused a trade embargo with the US, forced to seek help from USSR •Failed Bay of Pigs invasion- Cubans defeat US CIA invaders in 1960, spurred USSR to build missiles in Latin America, assumed the US too weak to stop them •World feared nuclear war: USSR removed missiles, US did not invade Cuba •Cuba dependent on USSR after trade embargo, economy destroyed following USSR break up -
Cultural Revolution (Continued)
•cooperation with USSR ends •Red Guards- militia units formed by young Chinese people in 1966 in response to Mao's disaproval of new economic policies •Cultural Revolution- a 1966-'76 uprising in China led by the Red Guards with the goal of establishing society of peasants and workers in which all were equal (influenced by Soviet Communism) •Intellectuals considered dangerous and useless, forced into hard labor; widespread chaos escalated, threatened factory production and country's stability -
Fall of Soviet Union (Continued)
•Hardliners- conservatives who opposed reform •18 August 1991 Coup- hardliners attempt to spark anger against Communist party; Gorbachev resigns, 15 new republics form from USSR •CIS- the Commonwealth of Independent States- a loose association of former Soviet republics that was formed after the breakup of the Soviet Union; meant death to the USSR -
Fall of Soviet Union
•Glasnost- a Soviet policy of openness to the free flow of ideas and information, introduced in 1985 by Mikhail Gorbachev •Perestroika- a restructuring of the Soviet economy to permit more local decision making, begun by Mikhail Gorbachev in 1985; •Democratization- Gorbachev's third policy in 1987 that gradually opened up the Soviet [(transitioning into) Russian] political system •Glasnost, perestroika, and democratization- steps towards democracy -
Fall of the Berlin Wall
•1989: end of travel rights in East Germany sparked demand for democracy •9 November 1989- downfall of Berlin Wall, Egon Krenz thought he could save the Communist party by giving people freedom to travel; instead, down came the Berlin Wall •Reunification- a bringing together again of things that have been separated, i.e. Reunification of East and Western Germany in 1990 (post-Wall) •East Germany in ruins from 40 years of Communism, no infrastructure, not modernized; eventually democratized
