Cold War
Origins of Cold War
World War II sets stage for Cold War
 U.S. and Soviet Union emerge as
competing super powers

– U.S= democracy and capitalism
– USSR= dictatorship and communism

Competition and rivalry between the two
lead to the development of a period of
hostility known as the COLD WAR
Cold War Begins

Soviet influence spread into Eastern
Europe
– Communist governments created under Soviet
influence
 Known as Soviet Satellite states
U.S. feared that communism would spread
into Western Europe as well
 Developed a policy known as
Containment

Truman Doctrine

Harry Truman
(President of U.S)
stated that the U.S.
would aid any nation
threatened by
communist expansion
– “arsenal of
democracy”
Marshall Plan

U.S. began investing money in Western
Europe to rebuild their economy
– Strong economies are less susceptible to
communist influence

Policy for rebuilding Europe became
known as the Marshall Plan
– Example: U.S. spent $400 million protecting
Greece and Turkey from Communist control
Iron Curtain

Soon, Europe seemed to be divided
– One side= Soviet influence
– Other side= U.S. influence

Winston Churchill (PM of G.B) declared
that an “IRON CURTAIN” had descended
upon Europe
Cold War Begins
Conflict over how to rebuild Europe after
WWII
 Germany split among the Allies

– West Germany = France, G.B., and U.S
– East Germany = Soviet Union (USSR)

Berlin is also split into east and west
halves
– Berlin is located on the Soviet side of
Germany
Berlin Blockade
1948: Soviets blockade Berlin to keep U.S.
from taking supplies to West Berlin
 U.S. flies in supplies for 11 months

– Known as the Berlin Airlift
Shocks of 1949
The Cold War heated up in 1949
 Soviets successfully detonated an atomic
bomb
 China became Communists

– Communists under the leadership of Mao
Zedong overthrow Chiang Kai-Shek and create
the People’s Republic of China
 Chiang Kai-Shek flees to Taiwan (Formosa)
Cold War Alliances

Also in 1949, the U.S., Canada and other
Western European nations create a
defensive alliance known as NATO
– North Atlantic Treaty Organization

Soviet Union responds with its own
alliance
– Warsaw Pact

Similar alliances were created in other
areas of the world
Korean War

The Containment policy led to U.S.
involvement in Korea
– After WWII, Allies removed Japanese troops
from Korea and divided the nation at the 38th
Parallel
 Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) divided the two
– North Korea became communist and allied
with the Soviet Union
– South Korea tied to U.S.
Korean War

June, 1950: North Korea invaded South
Korea
– Planned to unite both under communist rule
U.S, U.N., and SK troops pushed back
advancing NK troops
 China feel threatened and demanded that
they stop advancing – Chinese demands
ignored

Korean War
Thanksgiving Day, 1950: 300,000 Chinese
drove the U.N. troops back across the
38th Parallel
 General Douglas MacArthur (commander
of U.S. troops) wanted to use the atomic
bomb to win the war
 President Truman refused and MacArthur
forced to resign

Korean War
By 1951: U.N. forces pushed Chinese and
NK back across the 38th Parallel
 Armistice was signed July 1953
 North and South Korea still divided at the
38th Parallel

Arms Race

In the 1950’s, the U.S. began a rapid
buildup of military
– Eisenhower elected in 1952
 Wanted a strong military
 Invested in nuclear weaponry

New technologies such as:
– ICBM, B-52 Bombers
Brinkmanship
Eisenhower willing to threaten nuclear war
in attempt to force the other side to back
down
 Policy known as Brinkmanship

Race to Space
Cold War also became a race to space
 1957: Soviets launch Sputnik
 U.S. fears they are falling behind
 Created NASA and increased funding for
math, science education

Covert Operations
Spying and secret intelligence used by
both sides to gather information
 U.S. sent CIA to developing nations to
prevent communist takeovers
 One such operation took place in Cuba

Cuban Missile Crisis
One of the most tense times of the Cold
War was the Cuban Missile Crisis
 1959: Fidel Castro came to power in Cuba

– Became communist and allied with Soviet
Union

1961: U.S. attempts to eliminate Castro in
Bay of Pigs Invasion
– failed
Cuban Missile Crisis

1962: Castro and Soviet Union agree that
Cuba needed protection from the U.S.
– Soviets put missiles in Cuba
– U.S. already had missiles in Turkey

U.S. learns about missiles and blockade
Cuba to prevent incoming ships from
bringing additional weapons
Cuban Missile Crisis
Kennedy (U.S. president) and Khruschev
(Soviet leader) finally reach an agreement
 Soviets remove missiles from Cuba
 U.S. remove missiles from Turkey


Compromise allows U.S. to narrowly avoid
war