Bell
Work
• Please
create this
in your
notebook
• You DO
NOT need
to write
down
complete
sentences
Objectives:
• Students will create a Cold War graphic
organizer in their classroom notebooks
during the lesson that lists the origins of
the postwar tensions that led to social
change in the U.S. and a heightened focus
on foreign policy.
• This notebook/graphic organizer will be
used to study for the end of unit
assessment test.
Origins of
the Cold War
How can a war be
‘cold’?
What were the
Hotspots of the Cold
War?
Vocabulary Words
• As we see words that we do not
understand, we will look them up in our
dictionaries
• One person will be called on to grab a
piece of paper and write down the word
along with the definition
• Tape the word and it’s definition up on the
word wall quietly as I continue the lesson
– You will receive credit for doing so
Cold War?
• The tension and rivalry between the USA
and the USSR was described as the Cold
War (1945-1991).
• There was never a real war between the
two sides between 1945 and 1991, but
they were often very close to war
(Hotspots). Both sides got involved in
other conflicts in the world to either stop
the spread of communism (USA) or help
the spread (USSR).
• What do you
think should
be in the
middle oval?
VOCABULARY WORDS?
• Who has a vocabulary word for our word
wall?
Someone look up:
Capitalism
someone else look
up Communism
Cold War?
• 1: a conflict over ideological differences
carried on by methods short of sustained
overt military action and usually without
breaking off diplomatic relations;
• 2: the ideological conflict between the
United States and the Union of Soviet
Socialist Republics during the second half
of the 20th century — compare hot war
After WWII
• The Cold War began and
caused tension throughout
the world
• The USA and the USSR
were the two world
Superpowers.
• The USA was a capitalist
society with a democracy.
• The USSR was a communist
country with a dictatorship.
• Both wanted to be the most
powerful nation in the world.
What is the big deal?
Development
of the Cold War
• The Cold War (1945-91) was one of perception
where neither side fully understood the
intentions and ambitions of the other. This led to
mistrust and military build-ups.
• United States
– U.S. thought that Soviet expansion would
continue and spread throughout the world.
– They saw the Soviet Union as a threat to their
way of life; especially after the Soviet Union
gained control of Eastern Europe.
Development
of the Cold
War
• Soviet Union
– They felt that they had won World War II. They
had sacrificed the most and deserved the “spoils
of war.” They had lost land after WWI because
they left the winning side; now they wanted to
gain land because they had won.
– They wanted to economically raid Eastern Europe
to recoup their expenses during the war.
– They saw the U.S. as a threat to their way of life;
especially after the U.S. development of atomic
weapons.
After World War 2, the world
changed!
• Many countries became communist after
World War 2 including:
- Czechoslovakia (1948)
- Poland (1947)
- Hungary (1947)
- China (1949)
- Cuba (1959)
- North Korea (1945)
Cold War Mobilization
by the U.S.
• Alarmed United States citizens viewed the
Soviet occupation of eastern European
countries as part of a communist expansion,
which threatened to extend to the rest of the
world.
• In 1946, Winston Churchill gave a speech at
Fulton College in Missouri in which he
proclaimed that an “Iron Curtain” had fallen
across Europe.
What is one thing that caused
tension in the U.S. and
heightened a focus on foreign
relations?
Nuclear tensions
Global Nuclear Confrontation
• The Soviet army had at its
command over 260 divisions.
• The United States, in contrast,
had reduced its forces by
1947 to little more than a
single division.
• For the next quarter century,
the U.S. and the USSR would
engage in a nuclear arms race
that constantly increased the
destructive capability of both
sides.
The Cold War Heats Up:
Problems of the Atomic Age
• The most frightening aspect of the
Cold War was the constant threat of
nuclear war.
– Russia detonated its first atom
bomb in 1949.
– Truman ordered construction of the
hydrogen bomb.
• Call for buildup of conventional forces
to provide alternative to nuclear war.
The domino effect
• The USSR had a lot of influence over many of
the new communist countries (especially those
in Europe).
• The U.S. was very worried that the USSR’s
influence over these countries was making the
USSR and communism more powerful.
• The USA did not want communism to spread
any further – they were worried about the
domino effect (one country becomes communist,
then another, then another etc)
President Truman’s doctrine that
stood up to communist
intimidation
The ‘Truman Doctrine’
• Truman had been horrified at the pre-war
Allied policy of appeasement and was
determined to stand up to any Soviet
intimidation.
The Truman Doctrine in March 1947
promised that the USA “would support
free peoples who are resisting
subjugation by armed minorities or by
outside pressures”.
• Triggered by British inability to hold the
line in Greece, it was followed by aid to
Greece and Turkey, and also money to
help capitalists to stop communists in
Italy and France.
It signalled the end of “isolationst”
policies.
What was the United States plan
to combat the spread of
communism?
Marshall Plan
• Reasons for its creation:
– Europe entering another postwar
depression (unemployment and social
unrest)
• Protect against the spread of Communism
– Protect democratic/capitalist trading
partners so that the US itself would not
fall into a depression
– The United States was the only country
able to financially aid Western Europe
What were the origins of the
Cold War?
Word Wall Review
• What words did we get?
• Do we need to do some more?
• Lets put the definitions in our own words
END OF ORIGINS GRAPHIC
ORGANIZER SECTION
• Continue with the next slides as a preview
of the “hot spots” in the Cold War
HOT SPOTS
• There was never a real
war between the two
sides between 1945 and
1991, but they were
often very close to war
(Hotspots).
• Both sides got involved
in other conflicts in the
world to either stop the
spread of communism
(USA) or help the
spread (USSR).
North Atlantic Treaty
Organization (1949)
 United States
 Luxemburg
 Belgium
 Netherlands
 Britain
 Norway
 Canada
 Portugal
 Denmark
 1952: Greece &
Turkey
 France
 Iceland
 Italy
 1955: West Germany
 1983: Spain
Warsaw Pact (1955)
}
U. S. S. R.
}
East Germany
}
Albania
}
Hungary
}
Bulgaria
}
Poland
}
Czechoslovakia
}
Rumania
Dividing
Germany
• U.S., Britain, and France merged their zones in
1948 to create an independent West German
state.
• The Soviets responded by blockading land access
to Berlin. The U.S. began a massive airlift of
supplies that lasted almost a year. (7,000 tons a
day) In May 1949 Stalin lifted the blockade,
conceding that he could not prevent the creation
of West Germany.
• Thus, the creation of East and West Germany
The Korean War
1950-1953
The Cuban Missile Crisis
1962
The Vietnam War
1963-1975
The Berlin Wall
Basic Facts about the Berlin Wall
Total border length around West Berlin: 96 mi
Border between East and West Berlin: 27 mi
Border between West Berlin and East Germany: 69 mi
Border through residential areas in Berlin: 23 mi
Concrete segment wall: 3.6m (11.81 ft.) high, 66 mi /
Wire mesh fencing: 41 mi
Anti-vehicle trenches: 65 mi
Contact or signal fence: 79 mi
Column track: 6-7 m (7.33 yd) wide, 77 mi
Number of watch towers: 302
Number of bunkers: 20
Persons killed on the Berlin Wall: 192
Persons injured by shooting: ca. 200
But Why?
1. Economics. Too many well-educated people
moved from East Germany, and some worked in
West Berlin and lived in East Berlin (it's cheaper
there), so DDR lost money on this.
2. Political. The West side interfered with the East
side (the Russian sector).
MOVIE TIME
• Night Crossing