1945 – 1991
The Cold War
Difference in Ideologies
Capitalism
Property Ownership
Social Objectives
Economic Objective
Political System
Communism
Truman vs. Eisenhower
“Containment”
[George Kennan]
1.
Marshall Plan
2.
Truman Doctrine
3.
Berlin Airlift
4.
NATO
5.
NSC #68
6.
Korean War
“Brinksmanship”
[John Foster Dulles]
1.
Mutual security
agreements.
2.
Massive retaliation.
3.
M. A. D.
4.
“Domino Theory”
5.
CIA & covert operations
6.
Eisenhower Doctrine
7.
“$ Diplomacy” – Part II
Foreign Policy “Hot Spots”
EUROPE:
1. 1955  Warsaw Pact created.
2. 1956  Hungarian Revolution.
3. 1958  Berlin Crisis.
4. 1959  Nixon-Khrushchev “Kitchen
Debate.”
5. 1960  U-2 Spy Incident
Foreign Policy “Hot Spots”
Middle East:
1. 1953  CIA sponsored coup in Iran
 P. M. Mohammed Mossadegh 
nationalization of the Anglo-Iranian
Oil Co.
2. 1956  Suez Crisis.
3. 1958  Civil War in Lebanon
Foreign Policy “Hot Spots”
Latin America:
1. 1948  O. A. S. [Organization of
American States] was created during
Truman’s administration.
2. 1954  CIA covert ops. in Guatemala.
3. 1950s  Puerto Rican independence
movement.
4. 1959  Castro’s Communist Revolution
in Cuba.
5. 1961

Bay of Pigs invasion
Foreign Policy “Hot Spots”
Far East:
1. 1953  end of the Korean War.
2. 1954  French depart Indo-China.
 Geneva Accords
3. 1964  China explodes its first
atomic bomb [during LBJ’s
administration].
The Cold War begins…
USSR and other Communist ally states oppose
the USA and endure conflicts across the globe.
The Korean War 1950
Bay of Pigs 1961
Cuban Missile Crisis 1962
The Vietnam War 1965
The JFK Assassination
 November 22, 1963 JFK is assassinated
 Lyndon Johnson takes over as President
Leading Causes of the Korean War
 Stalin encouraged the spread of communism as long as it did not
result in a war with America. He soon realized that nuclear war might be a
possibility and wanted to avoid that and beat the USA using more indirect means.
 The Creation of Eastern Bloc occurred at the end of WWII as most of Europe
was divided into democratic or Communist spheres
 The Domino Effect - Truman believed that if Korea fell to communism, Japan
(a major trading partner) would follow.
 The Truman Doctrine stated that the USA would lend aid to any country not
wishing to be suppressed by the political ideals (communism) of any other
country.
 The Marshall Plan (officially the European Recovery Program, ERP) was the large-
scale American program to aid Europe where the United States gave monetary support to
help rebuild European economies after the end of World War II in order to prevent the
spread of Soviet communism
 April 1950 the American National Security Council issued a report
recommending direct involvement (a proxy war) against communism.
 Stalin saw that the Korean War Was a chance for a war by proxy. Kim II Sung
visited Stalin to persuade him that he could conquer South Korea.
This map is from an
American magazine from
1950. This shows how much
the US feared communism
in the far east.
 The United Nations now had to
formulate a plan. Sixteen member states
would provide troops under a United
Nations Joint Command. It would fight
with the South Korean army.
 This United Nations force was
dominated by America even to the
extent of being commanded by an
American general – Douglas MacArthur
 On September 15th 1950, United
Nations troops landed at Inchon. The
landing was a huge success and the
United Nations effectively cut the North
Korean army in half and pushed them
out of South Korea.
 Note: MacArthur was later fired by
Truman for getting the Chinese involved
in the war.
United Nations
Korean War
[1950-1953]
Kim Il-Sung
Syngman Rhee
“Domino Theory”
Soviet Union
 Soviets sold Chinese military
equipment, including artillery and
MIG fighter planes.
 The USSR also provided advisers and
military hardware to the North
Koreans.
 Soviet pilots flew MIGs against US
planes.
 However, Stalin was unwilling to
become involved with the United
States in a war over Korea.
United States
 The US provided the majority of the
UN military forces which drove the
North Koreans out of South Korea and
still stand guard along the border.
The US moved their troops into South
Korea quickly.
 The US and the Soviets agreed to
divide Korea temporarily to avoid long
term decisions regarding Korea's
future.
 Although the United States took the
lead in the Korean action, it did so
under the order of the United Nations.
Results
 There was an armistice
signed by North Korea,
China, and the UN but not
by South Korea.
 The armistice was NOT a
peace treaty, just a
temporary cessation of
hostilities.
Modern Korea
 Korea is still split up into
North Korea (communist)
and South Korea (noncommunist)
 The border between the
two countries has remained
one of the most heavilyarmed stretches of land on
Earth
Winners? Losers?
 After three years, July 27, 1953- ceasefire stopped the
fighting
 Although there was no declared winner, South Korea never
succumbed to a communist rule.
The Cold War at Home - HUAC
 The Red Scare allowed for
many people in America to be
suspected of being
communists.
 Joseph McCarthy pun many
Americans on trial under
suspicion of being
communists.
 Many called this a witch hunt,
similar to the events of the
Salem witch hunt.