Ch. 30 All
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Section 1
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 United States vs Soviet Union post
WWII
 Only two superpowers that
remained
 US led NATO/ SU led Warsaw Pact
 “Iron Curtain” divided democratic West
from communist East
 Soviet Union builds the Berlin Wall
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 Democratic West and communist east
 Low paid East Germans, unhappy with
communism, fled to West Berlin
 Soviet Union built the Berlin Wall to
prevent people moving west
 Built in 1961: showed workers that
already didn’t like communism, now
they were forcibly kept from fleeing
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 East Germany, Poland, Hungary, and
Czechoslovakia revolted against Soviet
domination
 Hungary even tried to pull of out
Warsaw pact
 Each region attempted to overthrow
Soviets in their area, but were
unsuccessful
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 One of the most terrifying aspects of the
Cold War was the arms race post WWII
 US was the only nuclear power at first
 By 1949 Soviet Union had also developed
nuclear weapons
 Both sides began to race to match the
other’s new weapons
 Result: “balance of terror”- discouraged
nuclear war
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 To reduce the threat both sides met at disarmament
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talks
Mutual distrust but did reach an agreement
1969: SALT: Strategic Arms Limitation Talks
 Limited number of arms on each side
 Limited ABMs anti-ballistic missiles
The agreements led to a time of détente during the
1970s
 Ended in 1979 when SU invaded Afghanistan
1960s: Brit, FR, & China developed nuclear weapons
1968: These nations signed Nuclear NonProliferation Treaty (NPT)
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 Began in Central Europe- spread
worldwide
 US sees relationship of Soviet
supported China and Korea
 Developed policies to respond to
challenges anywhere in the world
 NATO was only one of many of several
regional alliances
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 South-East Treaty Organization
 SEATO: US, Brit, FR, Australia, Pakistan,
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Thailand, New Zealand, and Philippines
Central Treaty Organization
 CENTO: Brit, Turkey, Iran, and Pakistan
Also formed individual alliances with such as
 Japan and South Korea
Established army, navy, and air force bases around
the world
Soviets made alliances with governments in Africa,
Asia and China- Soviet Bloc
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 Local conflicts around the world played into
cold war
 US and Allies support one side/ Soviet bloc
supported the other
 Political shifts added to Cold War tensions
 Korea and Vietnam were torn by conflict
 More commonly, superpowers provided
weapons, training, or other aid
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 1950s: Fidel Castro organized an armed rebellion
against the dictator of Cuba
 By 1959: Castro controlled Cuba and wanted to
transform the country (Cuban Revolution)
 Castro sought support from Soviet Union
 US attempted to bring down the regime
 1961: John F. Kennedy supported Bay of Pigs invasion
 US then imposed a trade embargo on Cuba (still today)
 1962: Soviet Union sent missiles to Cuba
 Kennedy imposed Naval Blockade and demanded
missiles be removed
 Premier Nikita Khrsuschev agreed to remove the
missiles
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 Victory in WWII did not bring many rewards for
Soviet people
 Command Economy
 Stalin continued plans for more purges before his death
in 1953
 Nikita Khruschev became new Soviet leader
 Denounced Stalin’s abuse of power- closed prison camps
and eased censorship
 Called for a “peaceful coexistence” with the West
 Some citizens were still punished for speaking out
against the government
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Joseph Stalin (1941-1953)
Nikita Khrushchev (1953-1964)
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 Gave citizens freedom to make economic and political
choices.
 Valued freedom and prosperity
 Market Economy
 Prices are based on supply and demand
 Policy towards communism: Containment
 including any government facing invasion or internal
rebellion by communists
 Nuclear threat caused people to build fallout shelters
 Reached its peak in 1962 with Cuban Missile Crisis
 1950-1970s schools practiced air-raid drills
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 Cold war fears leads to a “red scare” in the US
 Americans feared communist inside the US might
undermine the US government
 1950 Senator Joseph McCarthy led a hunt fro suspected
American Communist
 Became known for unproven charges, accusing innocent
people and that fear created McCathyism
 Even accused US Army
 HUAC House Un-American Activist Committee
sought to expose communist sympathizers, even in
Hollywood’s movie industry
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Section 3
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 By end of WWII, Chinese Communist had gained
much of northern China
 After Japan’s defeat, Communists led by Mao Zedong
fought a civil war against Nationalists led by Jiang Jieshi
 With Mao’s victory he set up People’s Republic of
China
 Defeated nationalists fled to Taiwan
 China was finally under Communist control
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 Reasons Mao’s Communists triumphed
 Mao won support of China’s huge peasant population
 Communists redistributed land to poor peasants and
ended oppression by landlords
 Many Chinese resented Jiang’s government and its
reliance on Western “imperialist” powers
 Support of the Communist helped Nationalists capture
rail lines and Nationalist-held cities
 After Communists won China over Nationalists, they
conquered Tibet (1950)
 1959: Dalai Lama was forced to flee the country
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 Mao built a Communist one-party totalitarian state
 Became People’s Republic of China (PRC)
 Communist ideology guided the government’s efforts to
reshape the economy and society
 Discouraged practice of Buddhism, Confucianism, and
other traditional beliefs
 Government seized property of landlords & urban
business owners
 Opponents of Communism became
“counterrevolutionaries” – then beaten, sent to labor
camps, or killed
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 Chinese built dams and factories with Soviet help
 First Mao distributed land, then called for
collectivization in an attempt to increase productivity
 Created communes- agricultural and industrial
 Proved to be a dismal failure
 Turned out low-quality, useless goods
 Cut out food output by removing incentives for individual
farmers and families
 Bad weather led to a famine (1959-1961)
 55 million Chinese are predicted to have starved to death
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 Slowly recovered from Great Leap Forward- reduced
size of communes & a more practical approach to the
economy
 1966: Mao launched Great Proletarian Cultural
Revolution
 Goal: Purge China of “bourgeois” tendencies
 Urged young Chinese to experience revolution first
generation
 Teens formed Red Guards- attacked those considered
bourgeois
 Mao had the Army restore order
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 Communist victory: more for Soviets and less for US
 Number of people under Communism tripled
 PRC and SU were uneasy allies in 1950s
 Distrust led to tensions
 By 1960: border clashes and ideology disputes led
Soviets to withdraw all aid and advisors from China
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 US supported Jiang Jieshi and Nationalists as rightful
representative China
 Washington refused diplomatic recognition of People’s
Republic of China
 As Cold War dragged on, US took a second look at PRC
 Strategic advantages befriending Communist China
 An attempt to isolate SU between NATO in West and
hostile China in East
 1971: PRC replaced Taiwan in UN
 1979: US set up formal diplomatic relations with China
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 Japan conquered the independent Korea in early 20th
century
 After Japan’s defeat in WWII- SU and US decided to
divide Korea temporarily along 38th parallel
 North Korea ruler Kim Il Sung became Communist ally
 US supported dictator but non-communist Syngman
Rhee in South Korea
 June 1950: Kim Il Sung attacked the south as part of his
“heroic struggle” to reunite Korea
 US organized a UN force to help South Korea
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 Northern forces were not stopped until Pusan
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Perimeter
Arrival of UN troops in Sept. 1950- US led troops
captured Korea’s north/south rail lines and cut off
north’s troops from supplies/ammunition
By November UN forces had advanced north to Yalu
river- alarmed Chinese
Late Nov. Mao sent hundreds of thousands of troops to
help the north- forced UN back south of 38th
Turned into a stalemate (Demilitarized Zone) – 1953:
signed an armistice
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 North and South developed separately after armistice
 North: Communist command economy (SU supported)
 Command economy increased output for a time
 Late 1960s that growth slowed
 Kim’s self-reliance kept North isolated and poor
 South: Capitalist market economy (US supported)
 Slowly rebuilt its economy after the war
 Despite dictatorial rule the prosperous middle class led to
fierce student protests- pushed gov. to hold elections
(1987)
 Many North and South Koreans wanted to be reunited
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Syngman Rhee
Non-Communist South
Korea
Kim Il Sung
Communist North Korea
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Section 4
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 Liberation struggle tore apart region known as French
Indochina
 1946-1954: war against the French
 1955-1975 Cold War conflict, involved US
 French conquered Indochina during 1800s- then
overran by Japanese during WWII, but faced
resistance
 Especially in Vietnam by guerrillas- determined to be
free of all foreign rule
 Influenced strongly by communist opposition to Euro
powers
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 After Japanese were defeated, French tried to re-
establish their authority in Indochina (1946)
 Ho Chi Minh led guerrilla forces
 Nationalists and Communist who had fought
Japanese
 Then fought French in 1st Indochina War
 1954: Dienbienphu- unexpected Vietnamese
victory convinced French to leave Vietnam
 Cambodia & Laos gained their independence
about the same time
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 1954: Struggle for Vietnam became part of Cold War
 At international conference Western and Communists
agreed to temporarily divide Vietnam
 North: Controlled by Communist Ho Chi Minh,
supported by Soviet Union
 South: Led by Ngo Dinh Diem supported by United
States
 The agreement called for elections to reunite the two
Vietnams
 Out of fear of communist victory elections were never
held
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Ho Chi Minh
Communist North
Vietnam leader
Ngo Dinh Diem
US Supported S
Vietnam leader
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 Some south Vietnamese wanted Ho Chi
Minh (national hero) over US backed
(foreign power)
 Minh’s communist rule in North forced
many Catholic and pro-French
Vietnamese to the south
 1960s Diem faced northern supported
guerrillas who opposed foreign domination
 Many were southern Vietnamese
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 US foreign policy planners saw the situation in
Vietnam as part of the global Cold War
 Developed the Domino Theory
 US leaders wanted to prevent the spread of Communism
 Ho Chi Minh remained determined to unite Vietnam
under communist rule
 He continued to aid the National Liberation Front or
Viet Cong
 Initially US only sent supplies and advisors to South
 Later sent thousands of troops
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 Aug. 1, 1964: South Vietnamese conducted raids on
North Vietnamese islands in Gulf of Tonkin
 Aug. 2: North attacked a nearby US Navy destroyer
Maddox
 President Johnson reported to Congress the attacks
without mentioning the South attacked first
 Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
Aug. 7, 1964
 Allowed President to take all necessary measures to
prevent further aggression in SE Asia
 US began bombing targets in North Vietnam
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 While US sent troops to aid South, SU and China
sent aid to North
 Many young men felt it their patriotic duty to
fight
 Others sought refuge in other countries
 Americans were at a disadvantage fighting local
guerrillas in a foreign land
 Guerrillas received aid from the North through
trails in neighboring Cambodia and Laos
 US crossed borders to stop the trade network,
bringing them into the war
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 By 1968 guerrilla forces came out of the
jungles and attacked South Vietnamese
forces in cities all around the south
 Assault was unexpected- during Tet
(Vietnamese New Year)
 Communists lost many of their best
troops and failed to hold any cities
against US counterattacks
 Turning point in US public opinion of
the war
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 Many Americans opposed the Vietnam War because of the
number of POWs and MIAs
 US became bitterly divided over the struggle
 “I want to get out, but I don’t want to give up”
 American leaders decided they had to pull out of Vietnam
 Lyndon Johnson decided not to run for a second term
 President Nixon was under pressure to terminate American
involvement
 Paris Peace Accord 1973
 US would leave if North did not attack again, left South to
determine its future and hope of reunification
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 Two years after American removal
North Vietnam conquered South
Vietnam
 South Vietnamese capital, Saigon,
renamed Ho Chi Minh City (1976) in
honor of late leader
 North Vietnamese capital, Hanoi,
became the capital of the reunited
nation
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 After American withdrawal a few dominoes did fall
 Cambodia and Laos ended up with governments
dominated by Communist Vietnam
 Dominoes were stopped at previous territory of French
Indochina
 Fighting during Vietnam War overflowed into
Cambodia- US bombed North Vietnamese supply routes,
the briefly invaded the country
 Khmer Rouge (communist guerillas) gained the ground
and in 1975 overthrew Cambodian government
 Under Pol Pot, reign of terror to destroy Western influence
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 In newly reunited Vietnam, communist
imposed harsh rule
 Hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese
fled- most in small boats (boat people)
 Some settled in the US
 Country had to rebuild land destroyed by war
 Recovery slow due to lack of resources & US
led embargo
 For years country remained in poverty
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Section 5
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 Early signs of the weakness of Soviet Union, despite
superpower status post WWII
 A Hollow victory- still a harsh rule and rewards for the
people
 Reforms give way to repression- Khrushchev shifted
from economy but remained a command economy
 Command economy stagnates- collective agriculture
remained unproductive- could not match quality of
Western goods
 Cracking under the burden of Military CommitmentsArms race against US put a strain on command economy
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 Had a “Vietnam” in Afghanistan- Soviets
got involved in a long war in Afghanistan:
years of casualties, high costs, few
successes caused division at home
 Gorbachev tries Reforms- (1985) his
attempted changes spiraled out of control:
 signed arms control treaties with US
 pulled troops out of Afghanistan
 called for glasnost
 urged perestroika
 allowed goods to be sold on a free market
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 Gorbachev’s reforms brought economic turmoil
 Factories were forced to close without
government aid
 Poland to Bulgaria broke out of Soviet orbit 1989
 Baltic States regained full independence in 1991
 Extremists tried to overthrow Gorbachev to
restore old order
 Gorbachev resigned, at end of 1991 Soviet
republics separated to form 12 independent
nations
 After 69 years of power, Soviet Union ceased to
exist
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 With glasnost and perestroika in Soviet Union, East
Europeans sought greater freedoms and demanded end to
Soviet domination
 Hungary quietly reforms: through years of progressively
moving away from communism
 1988-1989: communist government allowed greater
freedoms, new political parties allowed to form
 Poland embraces Solidarity: 1980 ignited strikes that
helped to shatter Soviet satellite empires- organized
Solidarity and demanded change
 Poland had to outlaw the union and arrest its leaders,
but unrest continued
 Pope John Paul II’s visit denounced communist
policies
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 East Germans Demand Change: resisted Gorbachev’s calls for
change, banned Soviet publications, & blocked moves
towards a market economy
 Many fled to West Germany by going through Hungary or Austria,
other held major demonstrations
 By 1989 a democracy movement swept across Eastern
Europe – communist governments began to fall one by one
 Czechoslovakia: Vaclav Havel elected President
 Germany: Berlin Wall gates were opened and movement
towards unification
 Romania’s dictator overthrown and executed
 Warsaw Pact dissolved 1991
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 During WWII Nazi Germans divided
Czechoslovakia
 Was reunified under communist rule after
the war
 1989 when communist lost power some
Slovaks began to call for independence
 1992 Slovaks and Czechs peacefully agreed
to divide Czechoslovakia into Slovakia and
Czech Republic
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 China builds on Deng’s Reforms: People’s Republic
of China accelerated compromises with capitalism
introduced by Deng Xiaoping
 Economic boom
 China remained Communist and worked to preserve
one-party rule and their own power
 Vietnam and North Korea differ:
 1990s: Communist Vietnam opened up to the world
 Established diplomatic relations with US
 North Korea refused to reform its economy or political
system
 Hundreds of thousands of N. Koreans died of starvation or
malnutrition during 1990s
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 Now, only US could project its power around
the world
 Seemed unsure of their proper role in the
world
 “world’s policeman”- some for it, others
opposed the idea
 Many people around the world were not as
pleased to see how powerful the US had
become
 Produced mixed reactions with in the US as
well as around the World
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