LECTURE 18
COLD WAR CONFLICTS
1945-1960
Part 1 – Origins of the Cold War
Part 2 – The Cold War Heats Up
Part 3 – The Cold War at Home
Part 4 – Two Nations Live on the Edge
•END OF WWII (ISSUES & REPARATIONS)
•YALTA CONFERENCE (BIG 3)
•POTSDAM CONFERENCES, TENSION MOUNTS
•CREATION OF UNITED NATIONS
•IRAN: THE FIRST COLD WAR CRISIS
•TURKEY, GREECE, AND THE TRUMAN DOCTRINE (containment)
•CZECHOSLOVAKIA & THE MARSHALL PLAN
•DIVISION OF GERMANY & BERLIN BLOCKADE
•FORMATION OF NATO
•COMMUNISTS TAKE CONTROL OF CHINA
•SOVIET UNION BECOMES A NUCLEAR POWER
END OF WWII ISSUES:
• LOSS OF LIFE - 50 MILLION (15 MIL. SOLDIERS)
• HOMELESS – HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS
– JAPANESE IN U.S.
– WAR TORN COUNTRIES
• LOSS OF PROPERTY – 2 TRILLION
– FACTORIES, TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS (RAILROADS,
STREETS, HIGHWAYS)
– DEVASTATED CITIES
NOW WE HAVE THE MOST DESTRUCTIVE
WEAPONS IN HISTORY
REPARATIONS
• WHO’S RESPONSIBLE?
• HOW DOES IT GET FIXED?
• HOW DOES IT GET FIXED WITH
DIFFERENT, OPPOSING BELIEFS?
WHY THE NAME, “COLD WAR”?
• COLD WAR IS THE STATE OF INTENSE
ECONOMIC, POLITICAL,MILITARY, AND
IDEOLOGICAL RIVALRY BETWEEN NATIONS
JUST SHORT OF MILITARY CONFLICT.
• NO ACTUAL FIGHTING.
• ATTMEPTS TO BLOCK ONE ANOTHER’S
GOALS.
• TWO MAJOR PLAYERS:
– CAPITALIST UNITED STATES
– COMMUNIST SOVIET UNION
U.S. CAPTIALISM
• AN ECONOMIC SYSTEM IN WHICH THE MEANS OF
PRODUCTION ARE PRIVATELY OWNED.
• BUSINESS ORGANIZATIONS PRODUCE GOODS FOR A
MARKET GUIDED BY FORCES OF SUPPLY AND DEMAND.
ADVANTAGES FROM A POLITICAL STANDPOINT:
1. NO PERSON OR COMBINATION OF PERSONS CAN
CONTROL THE MARKET PLACE.
– NO MONOPOLY BY A PARTY OR CLIQUE.
2. THE MARKET TENDS TO REWARD EFFICENCY WITH
PROFITS AND TO PUNISH INEFFICIENCY WITH LOSSES.
SOVIET COMMUNISM
• ORIGINALLY, COMMUNISM SIGNIFIED AN IDEAL
SOCIETY IN WHICH PROPERTY WOULD BE OWNED
IN COMMON AND THE NECESSITIES OF LIFE
SHARED BY MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY
ACCORDING TO THEIR NEEDS.
• HOWEVER, COMMUNISM ASSOCIATED WITH THE
COLLECTIVE OWNERSHIP OF THE MEANS OF
PRODUCTION, CENTRAL ECONOMIC PLANNING,
AND RULE BY A SINGLE POLITICAL PARTY OR THE
GOVERNMENTS OF COMMUNIST COUNTRIES. IT
BECAME TOTALTARIANISM – COMPLETE
CONTROL BY THE GOVERNMENT OVER CITIZENS.
YALTA CONFERENCE, BIG 3 MEET IN
Feb. 1945: FDR, CHURCHILL AND
STALIN MET TO DISCUSS THE FUTURE
OF EUROPE AFTER THE WAR.
YALTA CONFERENCE:
MET FEBRUARY 4 - 11, 1945
• AGREED TO CREATE THE UN (UNITED NATIONS).
• SOVIETS WOULD ALLOW FREE ELECTIONS IN
POLAND AND OTHER SOVIET OCCUPIED
COUNTRIES.
• SOVIET UNION WOULD ENTER WAR AGAINST
JAPAN AFTER GERMANY SURRENDERED.
• DISMEMBERMENT OF GERMANY.
• ZONE OF OCCUPATION FOR THE FRENCH IN
GERMANY.
POTSDAM, JULY 1945
CHURCHILL, TRUMAN, AND STALIN
DECIDE HOW TO DEAL WITH GERMANY AND
JAPAN
POTSDAM CONFERENCE
• ROOSEVELT DIES ON APRIL 12 1945, AND IS REPLACED BY
TRUMAN AS PRESIDENT, WHO ATTENDS CONFERENCE
• CHURCHILL REPLACED BY CLEMENT ATLEE IN MIDCONFERENCE, DUE TO WINNING ELECTION.
• GERMANY IS SPLIT INTO 4 ZONES. EACH ZONE TO BE
OCCUPIED BY U.S., BRITAIN, FRANCE, AND SOVIET UNION.
• BERLIN (GERMAN CAPITAL) IS SPLIT INTO FOUR ZONES,
OCCUPIED BY SAME FOUR COUNTRIES.
• STALIN AGREES TO OPEN ELECTIONS IN POLAND, BUT THEN
HAS A CHANGE OF HEART. STATING, “A FREELY ELECTED
GVMT. IN ANY OF THE EASTERN EUROPEAN COUNTRIES
WOULD BE ANTI-SOVIET.”
UNITED NATIONS MEETS FOR THE FIRST
TIME, 1945
UNITED NATIONS
•
•
FIRST MET IN April 1945, then later on Jan. 10th 1946 in Westminster
Central Hall in London, where representatives from 51 nations met in
San Francisco. By June 1946, they agreed on a charter, which created
a general assembly made up of all member nations.
UN Council has five permanent members:
– U.S., U.K., France, Soviet Union & Republic of China.
Permanent members have power to VETO.
•
General Assembly is made up of all UN member states.
– Currently 191
•
Elected members are elected by the General Assembly for 2 year
terms, with five replaced every year.
NOTE: UN Security Council is unable, usually due to disagreement
among the permanent member, to exercise its primary responsibility.
UN FUNCTIONS:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
To maintain international peace and security in accordance with the
principles and purposes of the United Nations; to investigate any
dispute or situation which might lead to international friction;
to recommend methods of adjusting such disputes or the terms of
settlement;
to formulate plans for the establishment of a system to regulate
armaments;
to determine the existence of a threat to the peace or act of aggression
and to recommend what action should be taken;
to call on Members to apply economic sanctions and other measures
not involving the use of force to prevent or stop aggression;
to take military action against an aggressor;
to recommend the admission of new Members;
to exercise the trusteeship functions of the United Nations in
"strategic areas";
to recommend to the GeneralAssembly the appointment of the
Secretary-General and, together with the Assembly, to elect the
Judges of the International Court of Justice.
UN IS IMPROVEMENT OVER LEAGUE OF
NATIONS
• THE U.S. DID NOT JOIN THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS.
– U.S FEARED THAT IT WOULD INFRINGE ON U.S
INDEPENDENCE.
– U.S. FEARED THAT IT WOULD CHANGE FOREIGN POLICY
TO STAY CLEAR OF EUROPE ENTANGLEMENTS.
• THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS DID NOT HAVE AN
INTERNATIONAL POLICE FORCE.
- OTHER THAN ECONOMIC BOYCOTTS, THEY COULD DO
NOTHING.
IRAN WAS THE SITE
OF THE FIRST
DISPUTE OF THE COLD
WAR IN 1945-46
GROMYKO
BRITISH AND SOVIET TROOPS HAD JOINTLY OCCUPIED
IRAN SINCE 1941 TO PROTECT OIL RESERVES FROM
FALLING INTO GERMAN HANDS. THE SOVIETS REFUSED
TO WITHDRAW THEIR FORCES AND THE CASE CAME UP
BEFORE THE NEWLY FORMED SECURITY COUNCIL IN
MARCH 1946. WHEN THE SOVIET AMBASSADOR, ANDREI
GROMYKO, FAILED TO GET A POSTPONEMENT OF THE
DEBATE, THE SOVIETS WALKED OUT. NEVERTHELESS, THE
SECURITY COUNCIL STOOD ITS GROUND AND SIX WEEKS
LATER STALIN WITHDREW HIS TROOPS FROM IRAN.
BOTH GREECE AND TURKEY
FACED COMMUNIST
REVOLTS (CIVIL WAR) IN
1946 & 1947 AND ASKED
THE U.S. FOR AID TO
DEFEND THEMSELVES FROM
COMMUNIST TAKEOVERS
BRITIAN HAD
ECONOMIC PROBLEMS,
WHICH CAUSED IT TO
WITHDRAW FROM
GREECE AND TURKEY.
THEY TURN TO U.S. FOR
AID
TRUMAN DOCTRINE
“THE SEEDS OF TOTALITARIAN REGIMES ARE NURTURED
BY MISERY AND WANT. THEY SPREAD AND GROW IN THE
EVIL SOIL OF POVERTY AND STRIFE. THEY REACH THEIR
FULL GROWTH WHEN THE HOPE OF A PEOPLE FOR A
BETTER LIFE HAS DIED. WE MUST KEEP THAT HOPE ALIVE.
THE FREE PEOPLES OF THE WORLD LOOK TO US FOR
SUPPORT IN MAINTAINING THEIR FREEDOMS.
IF WE FALTER IN OUR LEADERSHIP, WE MAY ENDANGER
THE PEACE OF THE WORLD -- AND WE SHALL SURELY
ENDANGER THE WELFARE OF OUR OWN NATION.
GREAT RESPONSIBILITIES HAVE BEEN PLACED UPON US
BY THE SWIFT MOVEMENT OF EVENTS.”
PRESIDENT TRUMAN ASKED CONGRESS FOR $400 MILLION
IN AID PLUS US TROOPS/ADVISORS TO HELP BOTH
GREECE AND TURKEY FIGHT BACK THE COMMUNIST
THREAT
"I'M SICK OF
BABYING THE
SOVIETS."
PRESIDENT TRUMAN WROTE THIS ON JAN. 5, 1946 TO
SECRETARY OF STATE JAMES BYRNES. HE WAS UPSET
THAT THE USSR WAS TAKING OVER EASTERN EUROPEAN
NATIONS AND IMPOSING COMMUNIST GOVERNMENTS.
GEORGE F. KENNAN AND
CONTAINMENT
IN FEB. 1946, GEORGE KENNAN (AN
AMERICAN DIPLOMAT IN MOSCOW)
PROPOSED A POLICY OF CONTAINMENT.
AN EFFORT TO BLOCK THE SOVIETS’
ATTMEPTS TO SPREAD THEIR INFLUENCE
BY CREATING ALLIANCES AND
SUPPORTING WEAKER COUNTRIES
THE TRUMAN
DOCTRINE WAS THE
FIRST EMPLOYMENT
OF THE POLICY OF
CONTAINMENT
“IT IS CLEAR THAT THE UNITED STATES
CANNOT EXPECT IN THE FORESEEABLE
FUTURE TO ENJOY POLITICAL INTIMACY
WITH THE SOVIET REGIME. IT MUST
CONTINUE TO REGARD THE SOVIET
UNION AS A RIVAL, NOT A PARTNER, IN
THE POLITICAL ARENA.
THIS POLICY BEGAN TO GUIDE THE
TRUMAN ADMINISTRATION’S
FOREIGN POLICY.
CHURCHILL
GIVING HIS
“IRON CURTAIN”
SPEECH IN MARCH
OF 1946 AT
FULTON
MISSOURI
"A shadow has fallen
upon the scenes so
lately lighted by the
Allied victories. . . .
From Stettin in the
Baltic to Trieste in the
Adriatic, an iron
curtain has descended
across the continent.”
CHURCHILL’S MAIN POINTS WERE THAT THERE SHOULD BE A
US/UK AGREEMENT WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF THE U.N. TO
RESIST AND DETER ANY DISTURBANCES TO WORLD PEACE AND
THAT STALIN WANTS "NOT WAR BUT THE FRUITS OF WAR”, AND IF
THE ALLIES STAY STRONG AND UNITED THEY CAN COUNTER ANY
SOVIET THREAT.
STALIN CONSIDERED CHURCHILL’S WORDS, “A CALL TO WAR”
EASTERN EUROPEAN NATIONS TAKEN OVER BY THE USSR
AFTER WW II:
EAST GERMANY, ALBANIA, BULGARIA, CZECHOSLOVAKIA,
HUNGARY, ROMANIA & POLAND
YUGOSLAVIA, WHILE COMMUNIST, REMAINED INDEPENDENT
CZECHOSLOVAKIA
IN 1948 THE SOVIETS SEIZED CONTROL OF
CZECHOSLOVAKIA AND MADE IT A USSR PUPPET STATE. AS
A RESULT, U.S. APPROVES MARSHALL PLAN.
US SECRETARY OF
STATE GEORGE C.
MARSHALL AT
HARVARD
UNIVERSITY, JUNE 5TH
1947, THE DAY HE
DELIVERED HIS
HISTORIC SPEECH
ANNOUNCING THE
MARSHALL PLAN FOR
THE ECONOMIC
RECOVERY OF EUROPE
HOW EUROPE WAS TO BE RECONSTRUCTED
UNDER THE MARSHALL PLAN
MODERNIZATION OF INDUSTRIAL EQUIPMENT
CREATION OF SOUND CURRENCIES AND NATIONAL
BUDGETS
EXPANSION OF TRADE AND INCREASE IN EXPORTS
INCREASED ECONOMIC COOPERATION AMONG
EUROPEAN COUNTRIES
REMOVAL OF QUANTITATIVE RESTRICTIONS IN
FOREIGN TRADE
INCREASE IN PRODUCTION ESPECIALLY IN
AGRICULTURE AND ENERGY INDUSTRY
IMPROVEMENT IN TRANSPORT SYSTEMS
THE FIRST SHIP CARRYING MARSHALL PLAN AID ARRIVES
IN BORDEAUX, FRANCE, MAY 1948. THE U.S.
AMBASSADOR TO FRANCE IS ON HAND TO WELCOME IT.
GERMAN CITY OF
HAMBURG IN 1947
BEFORE THE MARSHALL
PLAN
EFFECTS OF
THE
MARSHALL
PLAN
HAMBURG, 1952,
AFTER THE MARSHALL
PLAN
THE MARSHALL PLAN IS A MAJOR
FACTOR IN WESTERN EUROPE’S
RECOVERY FROM THE
DEVASTATION OF WW II
COUNCIL FOR MUTUAL ASSISTANCE
(COMECON). FOUNDED IN 1949
• SOVIETS RESPOND WITH THEIR OWN MILITARY
AND FINANCIAL AID PACKAGE (COMECON)
– COUNCIL FOR MUTUAL ASSISTANCE FOR THE ECONOMIC
COOPERATION OF THE EASTERN EUROPEAN STATES.
– SOVIETS BELIEVED THAT THE MARSHALL PLAN WAS AN
ATTEMPT BY THE U.S. TO BUY THE SUPPORT OF
SMALLER EUROPEAN COUNTRIES.
– SOVIETS FELT THAT THE U.S. WAS GOING TO
ECONOMICALLY EXPLOIT THESE COUNTRIES.
PLAN LARGELY FAILED BECAUSE OF INABILITY OF
SOVIETS TO PROVIDE LARGE AMOUNTS OF
FINANCIAL AID.
1949 SAW THE FORMAL ESTABLISHMENT OF TWO
GERMAN NATIONS COMMONLY KNOWN AS EAST AND
WEST GERMANY. EAST GERMANY WAS RULED BY THE
USSR WHILE WEST GERMANY WAS INDEPENDENT.
GERMANY AND THE
CAPITOL CITY OF
GERMANY (BERLIN),
WERE DIVIDED
INTO FOUR ZONES:
SOVIET, FRENCH,
BRITISH AND
AMERICAN. THE
THREE ALLIES
UNITED THEIR
ZONES IN THE WEST
OF BOTH GERMANY
AND BERLIN. THE
SOVIETS WERE ON
THE EAST SIDE OF
BOTH GERMANY AND
BERLIN.
ON JUNE 23RD 1948 THE USSR IMPOSED A COMPLETE
BLOCKADE ON RAILWAY, ROAD AND CANAL TRAFFIC LEADING
TO WEST BERLIN FROM THE ALLIED GERMAN ZONE. NO
SUPPLIES OF ANY TYPE, INCLUDING FOOD, FUEL AND
CONSUMER GOODS, WERE ALLOWED TO ENTER WEST BERLIN.
STALIN WANTED TO STARVE THE CITY INTO SUBMISSION.
THIS WAS DONE FOR TWO MAIN REASONS:
•STALIN'S DESIRE TO CONTROL ALL OF BERLIN
•THE ALLIES LONDON PROGRAM OF 1948 THAT CALLED FOR A
SEPARATE WEST GERMANY AND CURRENCY REFORM
POLITICAL CARTOON
ASKS THE QUESTION
“WHAT WILL PRESIDENT
TRUMAN DO ABOUT
BERLIN?”
TRAINS PREVENTED FROM
MOVING TO BERLIN
PRESIDENT TRUMAN DECIDED THAT WE WERE
GOING TO HOLD ON TO WEST BERLIN AND HE
CHOOSE AN AIRLIFT FROM THE OPTIONS
PRESENTED HIM. THE AIRLIFT WOULD BE
USED FOR KEEPING THE CITY SUPPLIED WITH
FOOD, FUEL AND CONSUMER GOODS.
BERLIN AIRLIFT: JUNE 1948 TO MAY 1949
EVERYTHING FROM COAL TO CHOCOLATE WAS FLOWN IN
BY FLEETS OF AMERICAN AND BRITISH CARGO PLANES
LOADING BAGS OF
COAL
MAKING SMALL
PARACHUTES TO DROP
CANDY TO BERLIN
CHILDREN
PRESIDENT TRUMAN MADE
IT CLEAR THAT IF ONE
CARGO PLANE WAS SHOT
DOWN IT WOULD MEAN
WAR BETWEEN THE US AND
USSR
CRASHED CARGO PLANE
DUE TO AN ACCIDENT
IN MAY OF 1949 THE RUSSIANS ENDED THE
BERLIN BLOCKADE
DEAN ACHESON BECAME
THE SECRETARY OF STATE
IN 1949 UNDER HARRY
TRUMAN. IN THAT POST,
HE DEVELOPED A POLICY
TO CONTAIN COMMUNIST
EXPANSION BY
FUNNELING ECONOMIC
AND MILITARY AID TO
DEMOCRATIC NATIONS,
AND BY HELPING TO
ESTABLISH THE NORTH
ATLANTIC TREATY
ORGANIZATION (NATO).
NATO:THE NORTH ATLANTIC TREATY
ORGANIZATION IS FORMED IN 1949
IN APRIL 1949, TEN WEST
EUROPEAN COUNTRIES AND THE
UNITED STATES AND CANADA, SIGN
THE WASHINGTON TREATY, WHICH
CREATES THE NORTH ATLANTIC
TREATY ORGANIZATION (NATO), AN
ALLIANCE WHICH BRINGS
TOGETHER FREE AND SOVEREIGN
COUNTRIES IN ORDER TO CREATE A
COLLECTIVE SECURITY SYSTEM. THE
PRINCIPAL PURPOSE OF THE
ALLIANCE IS SPECIFIED IN ARTICLE
5 WHICH STATES THAT "AN ARMED
ATTACK AGAINST ONE OR MORE OF
THEM IN EUROPE OR NORTH
AMERICA SHALL BE CONSIDERED AN
ATTACK AGAINST THEM ALL."
NATO'S FIRST SUPREME
ALLIED COMMANDER
EUROPE (SACEUR),
GENERAL DWIGHT D.
EISENHOWER,
DECEMBER 1950
APRIL 1949, DEAN
ACHESON SIGNS THE
NATO TREATY FOR THE
US WITH PRESIDENT
TRUMAN OBSERVING
FIRST SESSION OF
THE NORTH
ATLANTIC COUNCIL
FIRST MEMBERS OF NATO
BELGIUM, CANADA, DENMARK, FRANCE, ICELAND,
ITALY, LUXEMBOURG, THE NETHERLANDS, NORWAY,
PORTUGAL, THE UNITED KINGDOM AND THE UNITED
STATES. LATER JOINED BY GREECE, SPAIN, TURKEY
AND WEST GERMANY.
COLD WAR HEATS UP!
china
When the defeated Japanese left
China At the end of world war
II, two chinese governments
existed.
NATIONALISTS
LEADER: CHIANG KAI SHEK
• RULED AS CHINESE
PRESIDENT IN
SOUTHERN AND
CENTRAL CHINA.
• RELIED ON FINANCIAL
AID FROM U.S.
• STRUGGLED FROM
INFLATION & A FAILING
ECONOMY
• MILITARY SUFFERED
FROM WEAK
LEADERSHIP.
A.K.A Jiang Jieshi
COMMUNISTS
LEADER: MAO ZEDONG
• RULED IN THE NORTH
• RELIED ON FINANCIAL
AID FROM SOVIET
UNION
• PROMISED LAND
REFORM, WHICH
APPEALED TO
PEASANTS
• EXPERIENCED ARMY
WAS HIGHLY
MOTIVATED
CIVIL WAR !
When efforts to form a
coalition government
in 1946 failed,
full scale war
between Nationalists
& Communists
broke out.
Mao’s Peoples Liberation
Army
• WAS JOINED BY PEASANTS (FARMERS) FOR
PROMISES OF LAND.
• JOINED BY MIDDLE-CLASS, WHO FELT
ALIENATED BY CHIANG’S REPRESSIVE
POLICIES.
• JOINED BY MANY OF CHIANG’S TROOPS
WHO DEFECTED.
OCTOBER 1ST 1949 THE COMMUNISTS
WIN THE CHINESE CIVIL WAR AND THE
PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA IS
ESTABLISHED WITH THE SOVIETS AS
ITS MAIN ALLY. IN THE US, “LOSING
CHINA” BECOMES A POLITICAL ISSUE.
MAO ZEDONG,
COMMUNIST
LEADER OF CHINA
TAIWAN
CHIANG KAI SHEK
LEADER OF
NATIONALIST CHINA &
2 MILLION FOLLOWERS
FLED TO THE ISLAND OF
TAIWAN TO ESCAPE THE
COMMUNISTS.
IN FEBRUARY OF 1950 THE TWO COMMUNIST POWERS
SIGNED THE SINO-SOVIET PACT. THIS CREATED A
BILATERAL DEFENSE COMMITMENT AND SETTLED BOUNDARY
ISSUES. THE USSR ALSO AGREED TO PROVIDE LIMITED AID
TO CHINA.
U.S. Containment Fails!
• U.S. public is stunned that China had
become communist.
• They felt that containment failed!
• Truman’s administration is attacked by
Republicans & Democrats for
supplying limited aid to Chiang.
• U.S. refuses to recognize Communist
China under Mao.
• U.S. fear of communism burns out
of control!
Zhou Enlai
• In 1949, with the
establishment of the
people’s republic of
china, Zhou became
Premier and Foreign
Minister.
• Died Jan. 8, 1976,
months before Mao.
PEACE IN CHINA
Fall of 1949
• The New Democracy
– Program of modified capitalism
– Major industries under state ownership
– Most trading & manufacturing companies in private
hands
– Peasants receive lands taken from wealthy landlords
•Two-thirds receive land
ECONOMY BEGINS TO GROW
DARKER SIDE
of New Democracy
• Thousands of landlords and rich farmers lose
their lands and lives.
• Communist party believes that this is necessary
to destroy power of large landowners in
countryside.
• New Democracy never meant to be permanent.
Great leap forward
• 1958 Mao begins new radical program.
• Mao hopes program will speed up economic growth &
reach final stage of communism – a classless society.
• Farms, size of traditional village combine into people’s
communes.
– Contained more than 30,000 people.
“Hard work for a few years, happiness for a
thousand”
Disastrous results!
• Bad weather and peasants
hatred for system drive food
production down.
• Over several years 15
million starve to death.
• 1960, communes
abandoned, return to
collective farms.
•
•
The Great Proletarian
Cultural Revolution
• Mao launches new movement to achieve final stage of
communism.
• Red guards take to streets to cleanse
• 1966 all schools & universities close for 6 months to
prepare for new educational system based on Mao’s
ideas.
• Lasted for 10 years (1966 – 1976)
Red guards
• Began in 1966
• Were between the ages
of 15-20
• Revolutionary units
composed of unhappy
party members &
discontented young
people
• Carried out vast reforms
Red Guards Cleanse
• Set out to purge Chinese society of capitalism
• Red guards eliminate Four olds: Old ideas,
culture, customs & habits
• Red guards destroy temples, books, jazz records
& anything pro western
• Replace street sign names with revolutionary
names
Red guards
Mao’s little red book
• A collection of his
thoughts
• Hailed as most
important source of
knowledge in all areas
• Studying the book was
required in school &
work
•
Mao zedong dies
• In sep. 1976
• Eighty-three years old
• Mao’s widow, Jiang
Qing
• Deng Xiaoping seizes
power
Jiang Qing
• Third wife of Mao Zedong
• Deputy director of cultural
revolution
• Formed the gang of 4
• Most powerful figure in china
during Mao’s last years
• Was arrested after revolution
ended
• Sentenced to death & then
changed to life in prison
Deng Xiaoping
• Seized power from radicals &
ended revolution
• Created new policy called the
4 modernizations
• Invited foreign investors to
china for technological
advances
• Sent students abroad to study
• Made strides to end poverty &
underdevelopment
Tiananmen Square
Protests of 1989
In late 80’s As more Chinese studied abroad, (western
society) they demanded economic improvements
– Better living conditions
– More freedom to choose jobs after graduation
This Led to massive demonstrations in Tiananmen
square in Beijing where student protestors carried
signs & called for an end to corruption & resignation
of Communist party leadership
Government Declares Martial Law
On May 20, the government declares martial law.
Government orders a forceful military resolution.
Troops & tanks advance into Tiananmen
Square. On June 3 and 4, the People’s
Liberation Army violently confronted the prodemocracy supporters. Chinese Red Cross &
Students maintain over 7000 were killed,
including casualties among PLA troops.
Following the violence, the government
conducted widespread arrests to suppress the
remaining supporters of the movement. The
violent suppression caused widespread
condemnation of the Chinese government.
KOREAN WAR:
JUNE 1950 TO JULY 1953
SOUTH KOREA
• KNOWN AS THE REPUBLIC OF
KOREA
• OCCUPIED BY THE U.S.
• GOVERNMENT HEADED BY
SYNGMAN RHEE
• BASED IN SEOUL, KOREA’S
TRADITIONAL CAPITAL
North Korea
• Democratic Peoples
Republic of Korea
• Formed by the
Communists
• Led By Kim Sung
• Based in Pyongyang
Each government claimed the
sole right to rule Korea
NORTH KOREA
SOUTH KOREA
38TH PARALLEL
DIVIDING LINE
BETWEEN NORTH
AND SOUTH KOREA
On June
25, 1950,
North
Korea
invades
South
Korea
U.S. Involvement
• U.S. is alarmed by the invasion
• U.S doesn’t want another Asian
country to fall to communism
• President Truman takes action
NSC – 68
Classified report written by Paul Nitze and
issued by the U.S. National Security Council
• Called for a massive buildup of
and an increase in funding for
armed forces to contain
Soviets.
• Truman left NSC-68 unsigned
for more than 6 months. When
North Korea attacked South
Korea, the military buildup of
the Cold War began.
GENERAL
DOUGLAS
MACARTHUR
WAS PUT IN
OVERALL
COMMAND OF
UNITED
NATIONS
FORCES
LEADING
520,000
TROOPS FROM
16 NATIONS.
90% WERE U.S.
South Korean Troops
numbered 590,000
SEPT. 1950
COMMUNIST
NORTH
KOREANS
PUSHED
SOUTH
KOREANS &
UN ARMIES
ALL THE
WAY TO
PUSAN IN
THE SOUTH.
MACARTHUR LANDS
AT INCHON &
MOVES NORTH
FROM PUSAN. THIS
TWO-PRONGED
ATTACK DRIVES
NORTH KOREANS
OUT OF SOUTH
KOREA. UN TROOPS
THEN PUSH INTO
NORTH KOREA &
ADVANCE TO THE
YALU RIVER, WHICH
BORDERS CHINA.
Zhou Enlai
• “China
will not
stand idly by & let
U.S. come to the
border”
• Yalu river is the
boundary
between North
Korea and
Northeast China
ON OCTOBER
19, 1950
300,000
CHINESE
COMMUNISTS
TROOPS
INVADED
NORTH
KOREA AND
PUSHED THE
UN ARMIES
BACK SOUTH
OF THE 38TH
PARALLEL.
THE WAR IN KOREA TURNED INTO A STALEMATE
RESEMBLING WORLD WAR I TRENCH WARFARE.
MACARTHUR RECOMMENDS
ATTACKING CHINA
• MACARTHUR
WANTS TO USE
ATOMIC BOMBS ON
CHINA
• HE ALSO WANTS
TO USE CHIANG
KAI SHEK’S
TROOPS TO
INVADE SOUTHERN
CHINA
• TRUMAN REJECTS
MACARTHURS
REQUESTS
General Omar N. Bradley
• “AN ALL-OUT
CONFLICT WITH
CHINA WOULD
BE THE WRONG
WAR, AT THE
WRONG PLACE,
AT THE WRONG
TIME, & WITH
THE WRONG
ENEMY”
MACARTHUR TRIES TO GO
OVER TRUMAN’S HEAD
• WRITES &
SPEAKS TO
REPUBLICAN
LEADERS
• WRITES &
SPEAKS TO
NEWSPAPER &
MAGAZINE
PUBLISHERS
Truman Relieves Macarthur of
His Command
• Truman is given
a unanimous
approval of the
Joint Chiefs of
Staff
• Many
Americans are
outraged.
IN U.S. FORMER
GENERAL DWIGHT
D. EISENHOWER
WAS ELECTED
PRESIDENT IN
NOVEMBER 1952
WITH A PLEDGE TO
GO TO KOREA AND
END THE WAR.
ON JULY 27TH
1953, AFTER 3
YEARS OF
FIGHTING, AN
ARMISTICE WAS
SIGNED ENDING
THE KOREAN
WAR. KOREA
REMAINED
DIVIDED AT THE
38TH PARALLEL.
The Soviet Union Suggests a
Cease fire
• TRUCE TALKS BEGIN IN JULY 1951.
• NEGOTIATIORS SPEND A YEAR WITH
EXCHANGE OF PRISONERS.
• JULY 1953, BOTH SIDES SIGN AN
ARMSTICE ENDING THE WAR.
• NO ATOMIC WEAPONS USED & WWIII
IS AVOIDED
KOREA REMAINS TWO NATIONS
IN MARCH OF 1953 JOSEPH STALIN THE COMMUNIST
DICTATOR OF THE SOVIET UNION DIED. AFTER THIS THE
KOREAN PEACE NEGOIATIONS TOOK A MORE POSITIVE
TURN.
IN 1949 THE SOVIETS DETONATE
AN ATOMIC BOMB AND BECOME
THE SECOND NUCLEAR POWER
ARMS RACE BEGINS
• THE EXPLOSION OF
THE SOVIET ATOMIC
BOMB, THE U.S. BEEFS
UP WEAPONS.
– U.S. WILLING TO GO
TO THE BRINK OF
WAR (Brinkmanship)
U.S. PRODUCES
LARGE QUANTITIES
OF NUCLEAR
WEAPONS.
– U.S CREATES
HYDORGEN BOMB
– U.S CREATES CIA:
to gather information
abroad using spies
• SOVIETS COUNTER
• BEGIN
PRODUCING
HUGE
QUANTITIES OF
NUCLEAR
WEAPONS.
• SOVIETS
CREATE
HYDROGEN
BOMB
TRUMAN APPROVES DEVELOPMENT OF
HYDROGEN BOMB. WEAPON IS 500 TIMES
MORE POWERFUL THEN ATOMIC BOMBS
THE FIRST US
HYDROGEN BOMB
WAS EXPLODED IN
NOVEMBER OF 1952.
THE USSR EXPLODED
ONE IN 1953.
JOHN FOSTER DULLES
WAS EISENHOWER’S
SECRETARY OF STATE
UNTIL 1959 WHEN HE
RESIGNED DUE TO
ILLNESS. HE BELIEVED IN
“BRINKMANSHIP” WHICH
IS THE WILLINGNESS TO
GO TO THE BRINK, OR
EDGE OF WAR. U.S.
WOULD KEEP THE PEACE
BY PROMISING TO USE
ALL ITS FORCE
INCLUDING NUCLEAR
WEAPONS, AGAINST ANY
AGGRESSOR NATION.
AS A RESULT OF
BRINKMANSHIP:
• IT REQUIRED GREATER DEPENDENCE
ON NUCLEAR WEAPONS.
• U.S. TRIMS ARMY & NAVY, BUT BEEFS
UP AIRFORCE.
• U.S. PRODUCES MASSIVE AMOUNTS
OF NUCLEAR BOMBS. INCLUDING THE
CREATION OF THE HYDROGEN BOMB.
• CIA (CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE
AGENCY) IS FORMED.
IN 1957 A NEW WORD ENTERED THE WORLD’S
VOCABULARY: ICBM, INTERCONTINENTAL
BALLISTIC MISSILES. THESE WERE NUCLEAR
BOMBS CARRYING MISSILES WITH RANGES OF
OVER 5,000 MILES. NO PLACE ON EARTH WAS
SAFE FROM NUCLEAR DESTRUCTION.
FIRST US
ATLAS ICBM
USSR WAS THE
FIRST TO
SUCCESSFULLY
LAUNCH AN
ICBM
OCTOBER 4TH 1957: SPACE AGE
BEGINS AS RUSSIA LAUNCHES
SPUTNIK, THE FIRST ARTIFICIAL
SATELLITE TO ORBIT THE EARTH.
AMERICANS WERE SHOCKED THAT
SOVIETS WERE FIRST INTO SPACE
US DID NOT GET
AN OBJECT INTO
ORBIT UNTIL JAN.
1958 AFTER
SEVERAL
EMBARRASSING
FAILURES.
U.S. alone
exploded
Over 120
bombs.
ATMOSPHERIC NUCLEAR
BOMB TESTS WERE
POISONING THE
ATMOSPHERE WITH
DEADLY
RADIOACTIVITY. IT WAS
SHOWING UP IN MILK
AND OTHER FOODS.
MARCH OF 1958 USSR
SUSPENDS TESTING,
FOLLOWED BY THE US
AND BRITAIN IN
OCTOBER.
SEATO (SOUTH EAST ASIA TREATY ORGANIZATION) FORMED
IN 1954 AS A DEFENSIVE PACT TO DEFEND THE NATIONS
AGAINST COMMUNIST ATTACK. IT WAS DISBANDED IN 1975
AFTER SEVERAL MEMBERS QUIT.
WARSAW PACT
FORMED BY THE USSR TO COUNTER NATO IN
EUROPE
MAY 1, 1955
“TREATY OF FRIENDSHIP, CO-OPERATION AND MUTUAL
ASSISTANCE”
BETWEEN THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF ALBANIA, THE PEOPLE'S
REPUBLIC OF BULGARIA, THE HUNGARIAN PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC, THE
GERMAN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC, THE POLISH PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC,
THE RUMANIAN PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC, THE UNION OF SOVIET SOCIALIST
REPUBLICS, AND THE CZECHOSLOVAK REPUBLIC.
WARSAW PACT MEMBERS
NIKITA KHRUSHCHEV BECAME
LEADER OF USSR AFTER
STALIN’S DEATH. HE
DENOUNCED THE CRIMES OF
STALIN IN A FAMOUS 1956
SPEECH AND SET OUT TO
REFORM USSR. ALTHOUGH HE
ADVOCATED “PEACEFUL
COEXISTENCE” THERE WERE
SEVERAL SERIOUS
ENCOUNTERS BETWEEN THE
TWO SUPER POWERS WHILE HE
WAS IN OFFICE. IN 1956 HE
ANNOUNCED AT A UN SPEECH
THAT “WE (USSR) WILL BURY
YOU (US)”
OCTOBER 23, 1956 THE PEOPLE OF HUNGARY ROSE UP AGAINST
THEIR USSR COMMUNIST IMPOSED GOVERNMENT. FOR A SHORT
TIME IT APPEARED THAT THE REVOLT MIGHT SUCCEED BUT ON
NOVEMBER 4TH SOVIET TANK ARMIES INVADED AND CRUSHED
THE REVOLT. A SIMILAR 1952 REVOLT IN POLAND WAS ALSO
DEFEATED BY RUSSIAN TANKS.
SUEZ CANAL
IN JULY OF 1956 GAMAL
ABDUL NASSER, THE
NATIONALIST LEADER OF
EGYPT, NATIONALIZED THE
SUEZ CANAL, AFTER THE US
REFUSED TO FUND THE ASWAN
DAM PROJECT, TAKING IT
AWAY FROM THE SUEZ CANAL
COMPANY. BRITAIN AND
FRANCE FEARED THAT HE
MIGHT CLOSE THE VITAL
CANAL ENTIRELY AND
DECIDED ON MILITARY
ACTION. THIS LED TO THE
SUEZ CRISIS.
BRITAIN, FRANCE AND ISRAEL ATTACK EGYPT AND SEIZE
THE SUEZ CANAL, OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 1956.
THEY WERE FORCED TO
WITHDRAW IN MARCH OF
1957 UNDER PRESSURE
FROM THE US. THIS
MARKED A TURNING
POINT IN HISTORY AS THE
BALANCE OF POWER
SHIFTED AWAY FROM
BRITAIN AND FRANCE
TOWARD THE TWO NEW
SUPER POWERS, THE US
AND USSR
IT ALSO HASTENED THE END
OF COLONIALISM AS BRITAIN
AND FRANCE SOON WITHDREW
FROM THEIR REMAINING
COLONIES
FIDEL CASTRO
ON JANUARY 1, 1959 REVOLUTION IN CUBA
SUCCESSFULLY OVERTHREW THE GOVERNMENT.
ON JANUARY 6TH FIDEL CASTRO BECAME PREMIER
AND LATER COMMUNIST DICTATOR OF CUBA.
MANY CUBANS FLEE TO THE US.
CASTRO STARTED BRINGING CUBA CLOSER TO THE
COMMUNIST USSR STARTING WITH A VISIT ON FEBRUARY
6TH 1960 BY SOVIET DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER ANASTAS
MIKOYAN. THE VISIT RESULTED IN A TRADE AGREEMENT
IN WHICH THE SOVIET UNION AGREED TO PURCHASE 5
MILLION TONS OF SUGAR OVER A FIVE-YEAR PERIOD. THE
SOVIETS WOULD SUPPLY CUBA WITH CRUDE OIL AND
PETROLEUM PRODUCTS, AS WELL AS WHEAT, IRON,
FERTILIZERS, AND MACHINERY. THEY ALSO PROVIDED
CUBA WITH $100 MILLION CREDIT AT 2.5 PERCENT
INTEREST. THIS WAS ONE OF THE REASONS PESIDENT
EISENHOWER AUTHORIZED A CIA PLAN TO OVERTHROW
CASTRO USING CUBAN EXILES LIVING IN THE US.
CASTRO DECLARES HIMSELF A
COMMUNIST AND ALLIES CUBA WITH
THE SOVIET UNION
CASTRO AND
KHRUSHCHEV
1950 COLD WAR TIMELINE
JANUARY 31: TRUMAN APPROVES THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE HYDROGEN
BOMB.
FEBRUARY 7: THE STATE OF VIETNAM AND THE KINGDOMS OF LAOS AND
CAMBODIA ARE FORMALLY RECOGNIZED BY UNITED STATES.
FEBRUARY 15: SINO-SOVIET PACT CREATES A BILATERAL DEFENSE
COMMITMENT, SETTLES HISTORIC TERRITORIAL ISSUES BETWEEN
CHINA AND THE SOVIET UNION, AND INITIATES MODEST PROGRAM OF
SOVIET AID TO CHINA.
APRIL: NSC 68 REAPPRAISAL OF AMERICA'S STRATEGIC POSITION BY
THE NSC. THE DEFINITION FOR THE COLD WAR SHIFTED FROM
POLITICAL TO MILITARY, POSTULATING A SOVIET "DESIGN FOR WORLD
DOMINATION." NSC 68 CALLED FOR BOTH A BUILD-UP OF NUCLEAR
WEAPONS AND FOR ENLARGED CAPACITY TO FIGHT CONVENTIONAL
WARS WHENEVER THE RUSSIANS THREATENED "PIECEMEAL
AGGRESSION." IT ALSO CALLED FOR A REDUCTION OF SOCIAL WELFARE
PROGRAMS AND OTHER SERVICES NOT RELATED TO MILITARY NEEDS
AND FOR TIGHTER INTERNAL SECURITY PROGRAMS.
MAY 9: INDOCHINA: TRUMAN ANNOUNCES U.S. MILITARY AID TO
FRENCH IN INDOCHINA.
JUNE 25: KOREAN WAR: NORTH KOREAN TROOPS CROSS THE 38TH
PARALLEL IN A SURPRISE INVASION OF SOUTH KOREA.
OCTOBER 19: KOREA: CHINESE UNITS CROSS THE YALU RIVER INTO
KOREA.
DECEMBER 23: VIETNAM: UNITED STATES SIGNS A MUTUAL DEFENSE
ASSISTANCE AGREEMENT WITH VIETNAM.
1953
MARCH 5: JOSEF STALIN DIES.
JULY 27: ARMISTICE IS SIGNED ENDING THE KOREAN WAR. KOREA REMAINS DIVIDED
AT THE 38TH PARALLEL, CREATING THE DMZ (DE-MILITARIZED ZONE).
AUGUST 14: SOVIET UNION EXPLODES A HYDROGEN BOMB.
1954
MAY 8: FALL OF DIENBIENPHU: THE FRENCH ARMY IS DEFEATED IN VIETNAM.
JULY 17-28: GENEVA ACCORDS END FRENCH COLONIALISM IN INDOCHINA; VIETNAM
DIVIDED AT THE 17TH PARALLEL.
SEPTEMBER 7: SEATO: AUSTRALIA, BRITAIN, FRANCE, PAKISTAN, THE PHILIPPINES,
THAILAND, NEW ZEALAND, AND THE UNITED STATES FORM AN ANTI-COMMUNIST
ALLIANCE AGAINST "MASSIVE MILITARY AGGRESSION."
OCTOBER 23: WEST GERMANY IS INVITED TO JOIN NATO AND BECOMES A MEMBER ON
1955
MAY 14: WARSAW PACT SIGNED, CALLING FOR THE MUTUAL DEFENSE OF ALBANIA,
BULGARIA, CZECHOSLOVAKIA, EAST GERMANY, HUNGARY, POLAND, RUMANIA, AND THE
SOVIET UNION.
JUNE 15: CIVIL DEFENSE: UNITED STATES STAGES FIRST NATIONWIDE CIVIL DEFENSE
EXERCISE.
JUNE 29: B-52 INTERCONTINENTAL BOMBER DEPLOYMENT BEGINS IN THE UNITED
STATES.
NOVEMBER 19: BAGHDAD PACT SIGNED BY GREAT BRITAIN, IRAN, IRAQ, AND TURKEY.
1956
FEBRUARY 14: KHRUSHCHEV DENOUNCES STALIN IN SPEECH TO THE 20TH CONGRESS OF THE COMMUNIST PARTY OF THE
SOVIET UNION.
JULY 26: NASSER NATIONALIZES SUEZ CANAL.
OCTOBER 29-31: BRITAIN, FRANCE, AND ISRAEL ATTACK EGYPT.
OCTOBER 23-NOVEMBER 4: HUNGARIANS REVOLT AGAINST COMMUNIST RULE AND MAKE FUTILE PLEAS FOR U.S.
ASSISTANCE AS SOVIET FORCES CRUSH THE RESISTANCE.
NOVEMBER 17: "WE WILL BURY YOU" STATEMENT MADE BY KHRUSHCHEV TO WESTERN DIPLOMATS.
1957
JANUARY 5: EISENHOWER DOCTRINE PRESENTED TO CONGRESS, ALLOWING THE PRESIDENT TO COMMIT TROOPS TO THE
MIDDLE EAST TO PREVENT COMMUNIST AGGRESSION THERE.
MARCH 25: COMMON MARKET: BELGIUM, FRANCE, ITALY, LUXEMBOURG, THE NETHERLANDS, AND WEST GERMANY AGREE
TO FORM THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC COMMUNITY (EEC).
AUGUST 26: ICBM: MOSCOW ANNOUNCES ITS FIRST SUCCESSFUL ICBM TEST.
OCTOBER 4: SOVIET UNION LAUNCHES SPUTNIK, FIRST SATELLITE TO ORBIT EARTH.
DECEMBER 17: ICBM: FIRST SUCCESSFUL TEST OF ATLAS ICBM.
DECEMBER: GAITHER REPORT TO THE NSC STATES SOVIET UNION HAS ACHIEVED SUPERIORITY IN LONG-RANGE BALLISTIC
MISSILES LEADING TO FEARS OF A "MISSILE GAP."
1958
JANUARY 31: FIRST U.S. SATELLITE, EXPLORER I, IS LAUNCHED INTO ORBIT.
MARCH 30: SOVIET UNION SUSPENDS ATMOSPHERIC NUCLEAR TESTING.
OCTOBER: UNITED STATES AND BRITAIN SUSPEND ATMOSPHERIC TESTING.
NOVEMBER: KHRUSHCHEV DELIVERS ULTIMATUM: BEGIN EAST-WEST TALKS OVER THE FUTURE OF GERMANY (A REUNIFIED,
NEUTRAL, DENUCLEARIZED GERMANY) OR FACE THE PERMANENT DIVISION OF GERMANY; KHRUSHCHEV SOON BACKS
DOWN.
1959
January 1: Cuban Revolution; Fidel Castro becomes premier of Cuba on January 6.
July 24: Nixon visits the Soviet Union, takes on Khrushchev in the "kitchen debate" on the merits of
capitalism vs. communism.
September 15: Khrushchev visits United States, meets Eisenhower at Camp David, agrees to summit
meeting in Paris, May 16, 1960.
•U2 INCIDENT
•BAY OF PIGS INVASION
•BERLIN WALL CONSTRUCTED
•CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS
•ALLIANCE FOR PROGRESS AND THE THIRD
WORLD, THE PEACE CORPS
•U.S. INCREASES INVOLVEMENT IN VIETNAM
•NUCLEAR TEST BAN TREATY
•1960s TIMELINES
MAY 1960: THE U-2 INCIDENT
A US U-2 RECONNAISSANCE (SPY)
PLANE WAS SHOT DOWN OVER THE
SOVIET UNION AND ITS PILOT GARY
POWERS CAPTURED AND PUT ON
TRIAL. KHRUSHCHEV USED THIS
INCIDENT TO CANCEL A PLANNED
EAST-WEST SUMMIT CONFERENCE IN
PARIS.
JOHN F. KENNEDY BECOMES PRESIDENT OF THE US IN
1961 AND INHERITS A PLANED INVASION OF CUBA FROM
THE EISENHOWER ADMINISTRATION
1960 - ALL U.S. BUSINESSES IN CUBA ARE NATIONALIZED
(TAKEN OVER BY THE CUBAN GOVERNMENT) WITHOUT
COMPENSATION. THE US BREAKS OFF DIPLOMATIC
RELATIONS WITH CUBA AND SEES CASTRO AS AN ENEMY
OF THE US.
EISENHOWER AGREES TO A CIA
PLAN FOR AN EXILE INVASION
OF CUBA TO OVERTHROW
CASTRO IN MARCH OF 1960
CUBAN EXILES INVADING
CUBA WITH THE HELP OF THE
U.S., APRIL 1961
BAY OF PIGS
INVASION SITE
THE INVASION WAS A FAILURE AND ALL THE CUBAN EXILE
INVASION FORCE WAS EITHER KILLED OR CAPTURED BY
CASTRO’S ARMY.
CASTRO’S FORCES ON
THE MARCH
CASTRO’S AIR
FORCE DESTROYED
THE INVADING
SHIPS
RELATIONS BETWEEN THE TWO SUPER POWERS
WORSEN AFTER THE VIENNA SUMMIT IN JUNE OF
1961.
KHRUSHCHEV
THREATENS JFK WITH
AN ULTIMATUM ON
BERLIN. JFK RESPONDS
WITH A US MILITARY
BUILD-UP AND A US
CIVIL DEFENSE
PROGRAM
TENSIONS RISE DURING THE REMAINDER OF1961.
ON AUGUST 13th EAST GERMANY BEGINS
PREPARING FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE
BERLIN WALL AND ON SEPTEMBER 1 THE USSR
RESUMES ATMOSPHERIC TESTING OF NUCLEAR
WEAPONS
IN JUNE OF 1963 PRESIDENT KENNEDY WENT TO
BERLIN AND DELIVERED HIS FAMOUS “ICH BIN EIN
BERLINER” ( I AM A BERLINER) TO SHOW U.S.
DETERMINATION TO KEEP BERLIN FREE.
CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS
AUGUST TO NOVEMBER 1962
THE CLOSEST THE WORLD HAS COME
TO FULL SCALE NUCLEAR WAR
US INTELLIGENCE BEGINS RECEIVING REPORTS OF SOVIET
MISSILES IN CUBA. A U-2 FLIGHT ON AUGUST 29TH
CONFIRMED THE PRESENCE OF SURFACE TO AIR MISSILE
BATTERIES IN CUBA. THESE MISSILES WERE DESIGNED TO
SHOOT DOWN ENEMY AIRCRAFT.
MAP USED BY JFK AND HIS ADVISORS TO PLOT WEAPONS
IN CUBA DURING THE MISSILE CRISIS
DECLASSIFIED 1962
MAP SHOWING THE
DISTANCES NUCLEAR
ARMED MISSILES
WOULD GO IF FIRED
FROM CUBA.
ALMOST ALL MAJOR
US POPULATION
CENTERS WERE
WITHIN RANGE.
MAPS LIKE THIS
CONVINCED JFK
THAT THE SOVIET
MISSILES MUST BE
REMOVED FROM
CUBA.
AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHS FROM U.S. SPY PLANES LEFT NO
DOUBT THAT THE RUSSIANS WERE INSTALLING NUCLEAR
MISSILES IN CUBA AIMED AT THE U.S.
LOW ALTITUDE VIEW OF MISSILE PREPARATION AREA.
THE PILOT TAKING THIS SHOT FLEW AT AN ALTITUDE OF
ABOUT 250 FEET, AND AT THE SPEED OF SOUND.
EACH ONE OF THE RUSSIAN MISSILES IN CUBA
HAD THE EXPLOSIVE POWER OF 50 HIROSHIMA
TYPE ATOMIC BOMBS
SECRETARY OF DEFENSE ROBERT McNAMARA,
SECRETARY OF STATE DEAN RUSK AND JFK, THE MAIN
POLICY MAKERS DURING THE CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS
ALONG WITH ROBERT KENNEDY.
JFK HAD TWO CHOICES OF HOW TO DEAL
WITH THE SITUATION IN CUBA:
FIRST: HE COULD ORDER AIRSTRIKES ON
THE MISSILE SITES IN CUBA AND RISK AN
ALL OUT NUCLEAR WAR WITH THE USSR
SECOND: HE COULD ORDER A NAVAL
BLOCKADE AND STOP SOVIET SHIPS
FROM BRINGING IN MISSILES AND OTHER
EQUIPMENT. NO ONE KNEW HOW THE
RUSSIANS WOULD REACT TO THIS.
HE CHOSE THE NAVAL BLOCKADE
On 10/22/1962, Kennedy
delivers a speech to the U.S.
citizens about the existence
of Soviet missile sites in
Cuba & his plans to remove
them. He made it clear that
any missile attack from Cuba
would trigger an all-out
attack on the Soviet Union
PRESIDENT
KENNEDY SIGNING
CUBA QUARANTINE
PROCLAMATION.
OVAL OFFICE,
WHITE HOUSE,
10/23/1962
For the next six days, the world faced
the terrifying possibility of nuclear
war. In the Atlantic, Soviet ships –
presumably carrying more missiles –
headed toward Cuba, while the U.S.
Navy prepared to quarantine Cuba and
prevent the ships from coming within
500 miles of the island.
In Florida, nearly 200,000 men were
being concentrated in the largest
invasion force ever assembled in the
U.S.
OCTOBER 27, 1962: THE
SOVIET SHIP GROZNY
CROSSES THE QUARANTINE
LINE, BUT STOPS AFTER U.S.
NAVY SHIPS FIRE STAR
SHELLS ACROSS HER BOW.
PHOTOS OF US SHIPS ENFORCNG THE
QUARANTINE AND (LEFT) SHADOWING A
SOVIET SUBMARINE
“We are eyeball to eyeball and the
other fellow just blinked.”
Dean Rusk-Secretary of State
KHRUSHCHEV GIVES IN TO US PRESSURE AND REMOVES
SOVIET MISSILES FROM CUBA FOR A U.S. PROMISE NOT TO
INVADE CUBA
SOVIET CARGO SHIP LEAVING
CUBA WITH MISSILES
VISIBLE ABOVE THE DESK
MISSILES BEING LOADED ON
SOVIET SHIPS FOR RETURN
TO THE SOVIET UNION
Years later, Robert
Kennedy, who
served as attorney
general in his
brother’s
administration
recalled the relief,
“For a moment the
world had stood
still, and now it
was going around
again,”
ADLAI STEVENSON SHOWS AERIAL PHOTOS OF
CUBAN MISSILES TO THE UNITED NATIONS IN
NOVEMBER 1962.
Soviet information that came to
light in the 1990’s suggested that,
in fact, the CIA had
underestimated the numbers of
nuclear weapons and Soviet troops
on the island, and that during the
crisis, the Cubans had armed
missiles in anticipation of an
invasion by the United States.
National Nightmare Begins: Origins
of Vietnam War
From late 1800’s until WWII
(When Japan took over)
France ruled Indochina
(Vietnam, Laos & Cambodia).
French took land from
peasants & built large
plantations, taking rice &
rubber for their own profit.
This angered the peasants &
caused revolt. French
respond with restricting
freedom of speech &
assembly. They jailed many
Vietnamese.
Indochinese Communist Party
organized most of the uprisings.
Founded in 1930.
Party’s Leader: Ho
Chi Minh which
means “He who
Enlightens” was
condemned to death
by French in 1930,
but fled to USSR &
China. Where he
continued to
orchestrate
movement.
In 1941, (year after Japan takes
control) Ho Chi Minh returns home
as a communist & joins with other
groups to form The Vietminh. Who
seek Vietnam’s independence from
foreign rule.
U.S. forges
alliance with
Ho Chi Minh,
supplying him
with aid to
resist The
Japanese.
Japan is defeated in 1945 & in
1946, The French troops move
back in & gain control of the
country’s southern half.
In 1950 U.S.
enters the
struggle,
sending 2.6
billion (over
the next 4
years) in
economic aid
to France to
stop
communism.
Ho Chi Mihn vows to fight from
north to liberate south from French
control.
“If ever the tiger
pauses (referring
to the Vietminh),
the elephant
(France) will
impale him on his
mighty tusks. But
the tiger will not
pause & the
elephant will die of
exhaustion & loss
of blood.
U.S. now sees one-time ally as a
Communist aggressor.
Despite Massive aid from U.S., The
French can not retake Vietnam.
May 1954,
Vietminh
drive out
French at
Dien Bien
Phu, in
Northwest
Vietnam
(French
outpost).
The Geneva Accords:
Held for 2 years until
elections could be held
to unify nation in 1956
The countries of
France, UK, US, USSR,
China, Laos, &
Cambodia met in
Geneva, Switzerland
with the Vietminh for
peace agreement.
They decide to divide
Vietnam along the 17th
parallel. Ho Chi Minh
controlls North from
Hanoi & Nationalists
(anticommunists)control
south from Saigon.
South Vietnam’s
President: Ngo Dinh
Diem
PRESIDENT EISENHOWER
AND JOHN FOSTER
DULLES GREET NGO DINH
DIEM AT WASHINGTON
NATIONAL AIRPORT, MAY
1957
Diem cancels elections & U.S. supports
Diem because they both sense that a
country wide election might spell
victory for Ho Chi Minh.
U.S. SUPPORTED NGO DINH DIEM.
EISENHOWER SENT MILITARY AID &
TRAINING TO DIEM IN RETURN FOR A
STABLE REFORM GOVERNMENT IN THE
SOUTH.
US ARMY ADVISORS
TRAINING SOUTH
VIETNAMESE SOLDIERS IN
1961-62
BOTH KOREA AND VIETNAM
WERE PRODUCTS OF THE U.S.
DOMINO THEORY :
IDEA THAT COUNTRIES
BORDERING COMMUNIST
COUNTRIES WERE IN DANGER
OF FALLING TO COMMUNISM
LIKE DOMINOS
BY 1957, A COMMUNIST GROUP IN THE SOUTH,
KNOWN AS THE VIETCONG BEGUN ATTACKS ON
DIEM GOVERNMENT, KILLING 1,000’S OF
SOUTH VIETNAMESE GVMT OFFICIALS. GROUP
WAS LATER CALLED THE NATIONAL
LIBERATION FRONT (NLF)
NLF FLAG
EISENHOWER’S MILITARY ADVISORY AND
ASSISTANCE GROUP WAS REPLACE BY MACV
(MILITARY ASSISTANCE COMMAND VIETNAM)
OVER 11,000 ADVISORS WITH MODERN
WEAPONS AND AIRCRAFT WERE SENT TO HELP
THE SOUTH VIETNAMESE GOVERNMENT. THE
NUMBER GROWS TO 16,000 BY NOV. 1963.
Kennedy’s Administration Enters
White House in 1961 & Supports
Diem.
Ho Chi Minh
supported the
Vietcong &
supplied them
with arms via
a network of
paths along
the border of
Vietnam, Laos
& Cambodia.
Known as the
Ho Chi Minh
Trail.
Việt Nam Cộng Sản, or "Vietnamese
Communist."
The Vietcong used hit-and-run & ambush
tactics, placed countless booby traps &
land mines as well as had keen
knowledge of the jungle terrain. They
blended in with the civilian population.
Vietcong
Tunnels
THE BATTLE OF AP BAC
NEW PHASE OF VIETNAM WAR: ON JANUARY 2ND
1963, 340 VC HELD OFF THE COMBINED ASSAULTS
OF MORE THAN 1500 SOUTH VIETNAMESE
GOVERNMENT TROOPS NEAR THE SMALL VILLAGE
OF AP BAC. SHOOTING DOWN FIVE AMERICAN
HELICOPTERS & WITHSTANDING M113 ARMORED
PERSONNEL CARRIERS, INFANTRY, ARTILLERY, &
CLOSE AIR SUPPORT, THE VC WITHDREW IN GOOD
ORDER WITH FEW CASUALTIES.
MODERN
VIETNAM
MONUMENT TO
THE COMMUNIST
VICTORS OF THE
BATTLE OF AP
BAC.
AP BAC PHOTOS PAGE TWO
3 HELICOPTERS SHOT
DOWN BY VC FIRE
AP BAC VILLAGE
WITH DOWNED
HELICOPTERS &
THEIR US CREWS
BODIES OF US HELICOPTER
PILOTS & CREW BEING
SHIPPED HOME WITH
MILITARY HONORS
Diem’s
popularity
plummets
because of
ongoing
corruption and
lack of land
reform. Diem
initiates The
Strategic Hamlet
Program. Moving
villagers to
protected areas.
Strategic Hamlets
VIETNAMESE
PEASANTS WERE
FORCED TO
BUILD AND MOVE
INTO THESE
FORTIFIED
VILLAGES TO
PREVENT
CONTACT WITH
COMMUNIST
VIETCONG
GUERRILLAS.
6800 WERE
BUILT BY 1963.
HUNDREDS OF
BLOCKHOUSE STRONG
POINTS WERE BUILT
TO “PROTECT” THE
PEASANTS FROM THE
VC (Vietcong). THESE
WERE EQUIPPED
WITH 1,000’s OF
RIFLES AND MACHINE
GUNS MOST OF
WHICH ENDED UP IN
THE HANDS OF THE VC
TO BE USED AGAINST
SOUTH VIETNAMESE
AND U.S.
TO PROTEST THE CATHOLIC DIEM’S ATTACKS ON
BUDDHIST PAGODAS, BUDDHIST PRIESTS SET FIRE
TO THEMSELVES IN PROTEST. THE US DECIDED
THAT DIEM'S MURDEROUS REGIME WAS TOO
UNPOPULAR AND SUPPORTED AN ARMY COUP THAT
KILLED DIEM ON NOV. 1ST 1963. KENNEDY IS
KILLED A FEW WEEKS LATER.
VIETNAMESE BUDDHIST
MONKS SET THEMSELVES
ON FIRE TO PROTEST
THE BRUTAL DIEM
REGIME.
The presidency now belongs to Lyndon
B. Johnson
Johnson believes a
Communist takeover in
Vietnam would be
disasterous. He states,
“If I let the Communists
take over South Vietnam,
then my nation would be
seen as an appeaser, &
we would find it
impossible to accomplish
anything…anywhere on
the entire globe.”
On Aug. 2nd, 1964, a North
Vietnamese Patrol Boat Fires On The
USS Maddox & misses.
2 Days
later,
another
attack by
Vietnamese
On Aug 7, Congress adopts the
Tonkin Gulf Resolution, granting
Johnson broad military powers in
Vietnam.
In Feb. 1965, Johnson unleashes
Operation Rolling Thunder. The first
sustained bombing of North Vietnam
In March, U.S. combat troops began
arriving in South Vietnam. By June,
50,000 troops were battling the VC
By the end of 1965, more than
180,000 troops were in Vietnam.
The Vietcong received supplies from
China & USSR.
U.S. views war as military struggle.
The Vietcong view it as a battle for
their very existence.
U.S. planes drop napalm (a gasoline
bomb that sets fire to the jungle) &
spray Agent Orange (a leaf-killing
toxic chemical)
Effects of Napalm
As number of U.S. troops continue
to mount in Vietnam, the war grows
more costly. As a result, the
nation’s economy suffers. In early
60’s, the inflation rate is about 2%,
by 1969, it tripled.
In a sign of
U.S’s
growing
doubts
about the
war, many
young men
attempted
to find
ways
around the
draft.
As war rages on, protests begin
springing up in U.S. Growing youth
movement became know as The New
Left.
In 1967,
hundreds tossed
their draft cards
in a bon fire
shouting, “Hell
no, we won’t go!”
On Jan 30 Vietnamese Villagers
streamed into cities across South
Vietnam to celebrate New Years
Coffins
known as Tet. Many funerals
contained
were being held for victims of
weapons &
war.
many
villagers
were
Vietcong
agents. At
night they
attack 12 U.S.
air bases &
100 towns &
cities in
South
Vietnam
The fighting lasted for nearly a
month before U.S. & South
Vietnamese forces regained control
of the cities.
The Tet Offensive was the decisive
battle for Vietnam. Masterminded by
North Vietnamese General, Vo Nguyen
Giap, it was intended to trigger a
general uprising in South Vietnam.
However, the bloody fighting for
Saigon, Hue & other cities actually
resulted in a catastrophic defeat for
the North. The VC lost about 32,000
soldiers, while the U.S. lost about
3,000.
However, following the weeks
after the Tet offensive, millions of
Americans changed their mind
about the war.
Walter Cronkite, a
famous U.S.
journalist told his
viewers, “more
certain than ever
that the bloody
experience of
Vietnam is to end in
a stalemate.”
In the summer of 1969, recently
elected president Richard Nixon
announced the first U.S. troops
withdrawals from Vietnam.
As Nixon pulls
out U.S. troops,
he continues war
with North
Vietnam, to
achieve what he
called Peace with
Honor or “saving
face”
As pullout begins, Nixon secretly
orders massive bombing against
supply routes & bases in North
Vietnam, as well as in Laos &
Cambodia, which held Vietcong
sanctuaries.
Nixon tells
aide, Haldeman
that he wants
enemy to think
he is capable
of anything.
Nixon announces his strategy to end
U.S. involvement in Vietnam, know
as Vietnamization: The plan to
gradually withdraw troops from
Vietnam.
By Aug. of
1969, the
first 25,000
troops
return
home.
In March 1972, The North Vietnamese
launch largest attack on South
Vietnam since Tet Offensive.
Nixon responds by ordering a
massive bombing campaign.
The bombings halt the North
Vietnamese attack.
U.S. takes steps to end U.S.
involvement in war.
Henry Kissinger, the presidents
advisor for national security seeks
peace with North Vietnam’s Chief
Negotiator. Stating, “Peace is at
hand.”
On Jan. 27, 1973, The U.S. signs an
agreement on ending the war &
restoring peace in Vietnam.
They agree that North Vietnamese
troops would remain in South
Vietnam.
On March 29, 1973, the last U.S.
troops leave Vietnam.
In March, 1975 The North Vietnamese
launch a full scale invasion against
the South. The South surrenders to
the North.
In all, 58,000 Americans were
killed. Some 350,000 were
wounded. North & South
Vietnamese death toll = 1.5 million
In 1995, Pentagon
reported that there are
still 2,202 U.S. soldiers
missing in action in
Southeast Asia