The Cold War
Part I. Origins of the Cold War
Part II. Cold War Clashes in
the 1950s
Part I. Origins of the Cold War
U.S. –Soviet Tension Had Deep Roots
• U.S. had been an anti-Communist power since the very beginning
– We had actually sent troops to Russia during WWI to try to crush the
Communist Revolution occurring at the time
• Side note--- maintain a two front war on Germany
– Remember the 1st Red Scare in the 1920s?
– Remember that Stalin originally made a deal with Hitler to avoid conflict so
that Hitler could focus on defeating the Western democracies?
– Remember how we delayed opening a ‘real’ 2nd front in WWII?
• We joined with the Soviets during WWII only because we hated
Hitler more!
• After World War II, the U.S. Viewed the Soviet Union with renewed
suspicion
– Would Stalin really give up Eastern Europe after having conquered it by force
and at the cost of 20 million dead?
– NO!
– Stalin- “No one ever gives away at the conference table what they have won
on the field of battle.”
Why a Clash?
Ideology and Economics
• U.S.
– private property and competition
– Five freedoms
•
•
•
•
•
Speech
Assembly
Religion
Press
Petition
• Soviet Union
– no Private Property and shared consumption
– Censorship, no religion, no freedoms
After WWII, Both Nations Attempted to ‘Seize
the Strategic High Ground’
• In other words, if there is going to be a fight
over the future direction of the world, get in
the best position to win this fight
• Get Spheres of Influence
– Definition?
– Why were there so many countries ‘up for grabs’
at this point?
America Attempted to Seize the High Ground
• Marshall Plan
– U.S. gives billions of dollars to help rebuild war-torn
Europe
– Why were we so nice?
– We even offered money to Eastern European
countries held by the Soviet Union.
• Why?
• Truman Doctrine
– Rush American military supplies and forces to any
country threatened by Communism
– Containment
Soviet Attempted to Grab the High Ground
• Stalin kept Eastern Europe
– Set up puppet governments
• Stalin  “No government has ever given up at
the conference table what it has won with
blood on the field of battle.”
Part II. Early Cold War Clashes
The Berlin Airlift
• As a response to Containment, Stalin shut the roads into West Berlin
– What was West Berlin’s unique status at this point?
• American Response?
– Supply the millions in West Berlin by air
• 277,000 flights over the space of a year
– Made the Soviets look silly
• “We stop you. Whoops… you have planes? Argh!
• Stalin eventually backed down and reopened the roads
– U.S. – 1 U.S.S.R- 0
• First instance of Cold War ‘chicken’
– More officially called Brinksmanship
– Meaning?
A Visual Approach
•Can you think of why a
tiny piece of a
democratic country in
the middle of a
Totalitarian country was
such a threat?
•Impossible to maintain
censorship!
Berlin
NATO and the Warsaw Pact
• During the Berlin Airlift, western democratic
nations formed an alliance group to
demonstrate their solidarity (unity) against
the Soviets
– NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organization
• The Soviets responded with their own
organization
– The Warsaw Pact
Starting in 1949, Cold War Tension
Grew Rapidly
(out of control???)
• China fell to Communism
– A bit of a failure of containment, no?
• The Soviet Union got the atomic Bomb
• The Nuclear Arms Race
– H Bombs
– Space Race/ICBMs
– M.A.D.
Hydrogen Bombs
• Not Only Did Weapons Have
Greater Range, but their
destructive power grew
• Atom Bomb… Fission Bomb…
• Hydrogen Bomb… Fusion
Bomb…
• The Hiroshima blast had exploded
with the force of 15, 000 tons of
dynamite. The largest hydrogen
bombs today explode with the force
of 60,000,000 tons of dynamite. So a
bomb today is like 4000 Hiroshimas.
•
In a test with a 50 megaton Soviet
bomb, people 50 miles from the site
of the blast were blown off of their
feet.
Space Race- In 1957, Sputnik Increased the Atom
Bomb Hysteria
• Basketball shaped Soviet
satellite
– Why would
this increase
fear?
• Sputnik II
included a
dog named
Laika.
• ICBMs…
• Interesting side not that it
was basically the American’s
Germans competing against
the Soviets Germans…
MAD (Mutually Assured Destruction)
• By the 1960s, it was fairly clear that in
a nuclear war, everyone would die.
• Even if the bombs didn’t kill everyone,
scientists predicted a nuclear winter
and nuclear fallout would
• Cheyenne Mountain
in Colorado
• Things started to get crazy. The Soviets started
work on a system to shoot down ICBMs. The
U.S. responded by creating ICBMs with
multiple warheads, so the missile could split
and hit 10 or more cities and avoid being shot
down.
• M.A.D= Everyone will die, so don’t even start!
•
•
•
•
Light Blue = Nuclear States (OK under UN NPT)
Red= Nuclear States (not OK’d by UN NPT)
Yellow= Everyone believes Israel has a nuke but Israel denies it
Black= suspected of trying to join the nuclear club (against wishes of UN
NPT)
• Dark Blue = NATO countries that have weapons stationed in them by light
blue states
• Green= Countries that had nukes at one time, but dismantled them to be
in accordance with UN NPT
So why was it called a “Cold War?”
• Fear of direct U.S.  Soviet
confrontation
– Too dangerous  M.A.D.
• So you fight (war) for world control but
in every way short (cold) of full scare
war
• Oh, so there was no fighting in the
Cold War?
– Not so fast… Proxy Wars
Proxy Wars
•We can’t fight directly, but maybe we can fight
indirectly, through ‘stand ins’ (or ‘Proxies’)
•Anybody know the name of the early 1950s Proxy War
between the U.S. and USSR/China?
•Korean War!
Hansen
U.S. History
The Cold War
Part I. Origins of the Cold War
•
U.S. –Soviet Tension Had Deep Roots
–
U.S. had been an anti-Communist power since the very beginning
• We had actually ________________________________ to
try to crush the Communist Revolution occurring at the
time
– Side note--- _____________________on Germany
• Remember the ____________________ in the 1920s?
• Remember that Stalin originally ___________________
_______________________ so that Hitler could focus on
defeating the ___________________ ?
• Remember how we delayed opening a ______________
______________________________________?
–
We joined with the Soviets during WWII only because __________
___________________________!
–
After World War II, the U.S. Viewed the Soviet Union with renewed
suspicion
• Would Stalin really give up Eastern Europe after having
___________________ and at the cost of _____________?
• NO!
• Stalin- “No one ever gives away at the _____________
what they have won on the __________________.”
•
Why a clash? Ideology and Economics
–
U.S.
• _______________________________
• Five freedoms
– Speech, Assembly, __________, Press , Petition
–
Soviet Union
• ________________________________________________
• Censorship, no religion, no freedoms
•
After WWII, Both Nations Attempted to ‘Seize the Strategic High Ground’
–
In other words, if there is going to be a fight over the future
direction of the world, get in _______________________________
–
Get Spheres of Influence
• Definition? -____________________________________
_______________________________________________
• Why were there so many countries _____________ at this
point?
–
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
•
America Attempted to Seize the High Ground
•
_____________________
•
U.S. ____________________ to help rebuild
________________________________
•
Why were we so nice? _____________________
________________________________________
•
We even offered money to Eastern European
countries held by ___________________.
•
Why? - _____________________________
•
Truman Doctrine
•
Rush American military supplies and forces to any
country _______________________________
•__________________________
•Soviets Attempted to Grab the High Ground
•Stalin kept ______________________
•Set up __________________
Part II. Early Cold War Clashes
•The Berlin Airlift
•As a response to Containment, Stalin _____________________
__________________________________________________
•What was West Berlin’s unique status at this point?
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
•American Response?
•Supply the millions in West Berlin ______________
•________________ over the space of a year
•Made the Soviets ______________
•We’ll stop you. Whoops… you have planes?
____”
•Stalin eventually ______________ and ___________________
•U.S. – ____ U.S.S.R- ______
•First instance of _____________________________
•More officially called _________________
•Meaning? - ___________________________________
______________________________________________
•
•
•
•
NATO and the Warsaw Pact
–
During the Berlin Airlift, _________________________ formed an
alliance group to demonstrate their solidarity (______) against the
_____________
• NATO ________________________________________
–
The Soviets responded with their own organization
• ______________________________
Starting in 1949, Cold War Tension Grew Rapidly (________________???)
–
______________fell to Communism
• A bit of a ____________________________, no?
–
The Soviet Union got the _________________________
–
The Nuclear ___________________
• H Bombs
• Space Race/ICBMs
• M.A.D.
Hydrogen Bombs
–
Not Only Did Weapons Have Greater Range, but their _________
__________________________________
–
Atom Bomb… Fission Bomb…
–
Hydrogen Bomb… ___________________…
–
The Hiroshima blast had exploded with the force of 15, 000 tons of
dynamite. The largest hydrogen bombs today explode with the
force of _____________________ tons of dynamite. So a bomb
today is like _____________ Hiroshimas.
–
In a test with a ________________ Soviet bomb, people _______
_____________________________ were blown off of their feet.
Space Race- In 1957, _____________ Increased the Atom Bomb Hysteria
–
___________________ Soviet satellite
• Why would this increase fear? ____________________
______________________________________________
• Sputnik II included a _____________________________
–
ICBMs… - ____________________________________________
____________________________________________________
–
Interesting side not that it was basically the American’s _________
competing against the Soviets _____________…
•
•
M.A.D. (________________________________)
•
By the 1960s, it was fairly clear that in a nuclear war,
_____________________________.
•
Even if the bombs didn’t kill everyone, scientists predicted a
nuclear winter ( _________________________) and nuclear
fallout (__________________________________ ) would
•
_____________________________ in Colorado
•
Things started to get crazy. The Soviets started work on a
system to ______________________________. The U.S.
responded by creating ICBMs with __________________, so
the missile could split and hit ________________________
and avoid being shot down.
•
M.A.D= ________________________________________!
So Why Was it Called the Cold War?
•
Fear of ________ U.S.  Soviet confrontation
•
Too dangerous  M.A.D.
•
So you fight (_______) for world control but in every way
short (______________ ) of full scare war
•
Oh, so there was no fighting in the Cold War?
•
Not so fast… _____________________
•
We can’t fight directly, but maybe we __________________,
through ‘______________________’ (or ‘Proxies’)
•
Anybody know the name of the early 1950s Proxy War
between the U.S. and USSR/China?
•
______________