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The Cold War
• What is it?
– It is a bitter state of indirect conflict that existed
between the U.S. and the Soviet Union for
more than four decades
– Occurred from 1949 to 1989
• Why is it called a “cold war”?
– Hot war is when there is actual fighting
– The cold war there was no direct fighting
between the U.S. and the Soviet Union
Origins of the Cold War
• How did the Soviets cause the Cold War?
– U.S. is upset that the Soviet Union Set up a
non-aggression pact with Germany
– Soviet Union wanted to spread communism
(the U.S. disliked the communist idea)
– The Soviets make satellite nations out of the
countries on their western border
• Nations that were subject to Soviet domination and
serve as a buffer zone
Origins of the Cold War
• How did the U.S. cause the Cold war?
– After the Russian Revolution the U.S. would not
recognize the communist government until 1933
– The U.S. waited to open up a second front in
Europe during WWII
– U.S. asked Britain for help on the A-bomb and
left the Soviets out
– U.S. wants to spread the ideas of liberty,
equality, and democracy
Origins of the Cold War
• What are some other causes of the Cold
War?
– Argument over Poland
• The Soviets want it to be a communist country
• The U.S. wants to allow Poland to decide for
themselves
Declaration of War
• Two unofficial declarations of war
– In February 1946 Stalin gives a speech where
he predicted the ultimate triumph of
communism over capitalism
– In March 1946 Winston Churchill gave a
speech where he said that there was an Iron
Curtain that has descended on Europe
Fighting the Cold War
• How does the U.S. fight the Cold War?
– Containment, what is it?
• The U.S. will resist any Soviet attempts to form
Communist governments anywhere
– Truman Doctrine, what is it?
• The U.S. must help nations that are resisting
conquest by armed minorities and help free people
to stay free
– How do they work together?
• Containment set out the U.S. aim for the Cold War
while the Truman Doctrine gave us justification for
what we did
Writing Assignment
• Title: If the Cold War Never Happened
– Had the United States and the Soviet Union
been able to avoid the deep split that made
them enemies and instead remained allies, what
benefits might have resulted?
– 1 full page