Battlegrounds
Origins
-Truman’s Containment Policy was aimed at
stopping Soviet communism from spreading
-City of Berlin was first area of conflict-City
was divided between East (USSR influenced)
and West (US influenced)
-US and Western Europe created NATO to
protect against Soviet takeovers
-USSR and Eastern Europe created Warsaw
Pact in response to NATO
-Communist victory in China heightened US
fears
-Nuclear Arms race between US and USSR
Soviet Side:
-Internal economic Problems of the Soviet
Union when tried to compete with US
-Rising nationalism
-Soviet President Gorbachev reforms system
US Side:
-President Reagan increases government
spending
-President Reagan challenges Soviets to tear
down Berlin Wall
End
Berlin Wall falls in 1989
Soviet Union breaks up in 1991
Cold War Ends
Cold War
Conflict between US and USSR from 19451989
Conflict between Democracy and Capitalism
v. Totalitarianism and Communism
Korea: Divided into North and South
-North invaded Democratic South-US, under
containment policy defended South
-3 Years of fighting ends in a stalemate
Cuba: Castro wins a communist revolution
US backed attempt to invade at Bay of Pigs
fails
USSR places missiles in Cuba---US threatens
nuclear war
Missiles are removed
Vietnam: Divided into North and South
US defends South in a long war. Americans
oppose it. US pull out without victory
-Communist fears impact American life
-Schools drill students on what to do in case of
nuclear attacks
-Soviet Spies Alger Hiss and Rosenbergs are
convicted
-Era of McCarthy: Senator Joseph
McCARTHY plays on American fears by
accusing people of being communist without
proof (McCarthyism)
-Cold War justified increases in military
spending benefiting states such as Virginia
with a large military presence
Cold War at Home