The Cold War Begins
Essential Question:
How did fear affect people during the Cold War?
 Important terms
o Economic systems:
Who owns the means
of production?
Who makes decisions
that determine
economic activity?
Communism
Public
(government)
Government
Socialism
Public and
private
Businesses,
consumers, and
government
Capitalism
Private
Businesses
and consumers
(free market)
o Systems of government
 Totalitarian
 Absolute monarchy
 Dictatorship
 Fascism/Nazism
 Communism
 Democratic
 Republic
 Constitutional monarchy
o Superpower
 A powerful nation that dominates world affairs
 The US and the Soviet Union (USSR)
o The Cold War (1947-1991)
 The political, ideological, and economic struggle
between the USSR and the US and their respective allies
 Global threat of nuclear war
o Iron Curtain
 Boundary between capitalist Western Europe and
communist Eastern Europe
 Pro-communist propaganda behind the Iron Curtain
o Containment
 US policy during the Cold War
 Goal: stop the spread of communism
 Established by the Truman Doctrine
o Domino Theory
 Belief that as one nation became communist, others
would follow
 Influenced America’s decision to get involved in
conflicts like Korea and Vietnam
 Marshall Plan (1948-1951)
o US program of economic aid for European countries after
World War II
 Helped them rebuild
 Helped contain communism
 Crisis in Berlin
o Germany’s capital was located within the Soviet-controlled zone
o Berlin Blockade (1948-1949)
 First major crisis of the Cold War
 Soviets cut off supplies to West Berlin
 Berlin Airlift
 Western Allies brought food and supplies by air daily
 Stalin ended the blockade after 11 months
 Alliances:
o NATO (1949)
 US, Canada, and their European allies
o Warsaw Pact (1955)
 Soviet response to NATO
 USSR and its allies
 Arms Race
o The US and the USSR competed for superior weapons
o The Soviets developed the atomic bomb in 1949
o Hydrogen bomb
 Developed by both the Americans and the Soviets during the
1950s
 1000 times more powerful than WW2 atomic bombs
o “Duck and cover” drills
 Space Race
o The US and the USSR competed in space exploration
 Soviets:
 Sputnik (1957)
o First man-made satellite (object that orbits
the earth)
o Established the Soviets as the early leaders
in Space
 First manned space flight
o Yuri Gagarin: first human in space (1961)
 NASA (1958)
 JFK challenged the nation to reach the moon by the
end of the decade (1961)
 Apollo 11 (1969)
o First humans on the moon (July 20)
 Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin
o One of the greatest accomplishments in human
history
o Established the Americans as the new leaders in
Space
 Red Scare (1947-1957)
o Fear of communist influence in society and government
o McCarthyism
 Senator Joseph McCarthy
 Fueled anti-communist fears
 Many people were accused and forced to testify before
Congress
 The term McCarthyism now means accusing someone
without concern for evidence
 American life in the 50s and 60s
o Post-WW2 economy
 Shift from rationing to consumerism
 Prosperity
o G.I. Bill (1944)
 Benefits for World War II veterans
 Education
 Low-interest loans
o Population growth
 Baby Boomers
 People born between 1946 and 1964
 76 million
 Suburbs
 Rise of Middle Class
o Entertainment
 Television
 Golden Age
 Rock ‘n’ roll
 Elvis Presley
o 1st superstar (1950s)
 “British Invasion” (1960s)
o Jonas Salk
 Polio vaccine
o Kennedy assassination
 November 22, 1963
 Dallas, Texas
 Lyndon Johnson becomes President
 Lee Harvey Oswald
 Suspected assassin
 Texas School Book Depository, 6th floor
 Murdered two days later by Jack Ruby
 Warren Commission
 Investigated the assassination
 Determined Oswald to be the lone assassin