Post WWII: The Communist
Threat, Cold War, Korean
and Vietnam Conflicts, and
the Cuban Missile Crisis
(SOLs US II.8a, b, c, d)
Two months later, on April 12, 1945, President
Franklin Delano Roosevelt suffered a
cerebral hemorrhage and died while vacationing
in Warm Springs, Georgia; he was 63.
He had just returned from having numerous
meetings with world leaders in Europe to discuss
the war. He needed rest before the formation
of the United Nations. His death came less
than a month before the end of the war in
Europe and four months before the end of
WWII.
Harry Truman Sworn in as
President
May 8, 1945 – WWII in Europe is
officially over!!!
V-J DAY
• August 15,
1945:
END OF
WORLD WAR 2
• Times Square, NYC
as news came out
that war was over.
SOL 8a
• Knowledge of the economic,
social, and political
transformation of the United
States and the world between
the end of World War II and the
present by
• a) describing the rebuilding of
Europe and Japan after World
War II, the emergence of the
United States as a superpower,
and the establishment of the
United Nations.
Marshall Speech on post-WWII Peace w/ Post
WWII Pics
http://www.marshallfoundation.org/library/Marsh
allPlanSpeech.html
The Yalta Conference
• By Feb. 1945, victory in
Europe is inevitable.
• From February 4-11,
1945, the “Big Three”
(Churchill, Roosevelt, &
Stalin) met to discuss
the reorganization of
post-war Europe.
• Stalin wanted Axis
countries to pay
reparations; FDR &
Churchill threatened to
leave.
• A decision was
made to “divide
up” Germany &
former
European Axis
territories into
“zones” to be
governed by
Allied Powers.
The Yalta compromise
would led to the
expansion of
communism and the
Cold War…
Legacy of
World War II
Learn from your mistakes…
• Much of Europe was in
ruins following World War
II. Soviet forces
occupied most of Eastern
and Central Europe and
the eastern portion of
Germany. The United
States felt it was in its
best interest to help
rebuild Europe and
prevent political and
economic instability.
Learning from the
mistakes of the past,
the United States
accepted its role as
a world superpower,
helping to rebuild
Europe and Japan
and taking the
leading role in
establishing the
United Nations.
Rebuilding Efforts
• The United States instituted George C.
Marshall’s plan to rebuild Europe (the
Marshall Plan), which provided massive
financial aid to rebuild European economies
and prevent the spread of communism.
Dubbed the “Organizer of Victory“ by Churchill
westerncivguides.umwblogs.org
Rebuilding Efforts
• Germany was partitioned
into East and West
Germany.
• West Germany became
democratic and resumed
self-government after a
few years of American,
British, and French
occupation.
• East Germany remained
under the domination of
the Soviet Union and did
not adopt democratic
institutions.
Germany is in ruins and
there are hordes of people
with nowhere to go.
What
do you
see?
What
does it
mean?
Berlin
Airlifts
-Note: Stalin tried to
control German
citizens by restricting
food supplies.
American and British
planes dropped
supplies from the air
to aid the suffering
citizens.
Rebuilding Efforts
• Following its defeat, Japan was occupied by
American forces. It soon adopted a democratic
form of government, resumed self-government,
and became a strong ally of the United States.
Establishment of the
United Nations
• The United Nations was formed near the end of
World War II to create a body for the nations of
the world to try to prevent future global wars.
SOL 8b
• Demonstrate
knowledge of the
economic, social, and
political
transformation of the
United States and the
world between the
end of World War II
and the present by
• b) describing the
conversion from a
wartime to a
peacetime economy.
THE
COMMUNIST
THREAT
THE ECONOMY
• Following World War II, Americans prospered
due to an expanding economy stimulated by
America’s involvement in the war.
Reasons for rapid growth of the American
economy following World War II:
• 1. With rationing of consumer goods over,
businesses converted from production of war
materials to consumer goods.
Reasons for rapid growth of the American
economy following World War II:
• 2. Americans
purchased goods on
credit.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8Ebn7nH
Bv0&feature=player_embedded#at=126
Reasons for rapid growth of the American
economy following World War II:
• 3. The work force shifted back to men, and
most women returned full time to family
responsibilities.
Reasons for rapid growth of the American
economy following World War II:
• 4. Labor unions merged and became more
powerful; workers gained new benefits and
higher salaries.
Farmers Unions
Union of Jewish Authors
Reasons for rapid growth of the American
economy following World War II:
• 5. As economic prosperity continued and
technology boomed, the next generation of
women entered the labor force in large
numbers.
Changing patterns in American society since
the end of World War II changed the way most
Americans lived and worked.
Educational and economic opportunities
expanded for military veterans, women, and
minorities.
Factors leading to changing patterns in
United States society:
• 1. Strong economy
(healthy job market,
increased
productivity,
increased demand for
American products).
Factors leading to changing patterns
in United States society:
• Greater investment
in education.
http://www.cato.org/pubs/briefs/bp-025.html
Factors leading to changing patterns
in United States society:
• The “Baby Boom,” which led to
changing demographics.
Factors leading to changing patterns in
United States society:
• Interstate highway system.
Factors leading to changing patterns
in United States society:
• Evolving role of women (expected to play a
supporting role in the family while increasingly
working outside the home).
Factors leading to changing patterns
in United States society:
• Role of Eleanor Roosevelt in
expanding human rights.
Former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt was an
international author, speaker, politician and activist. An
advocate for civil rights, Roosevelt worked to enhance
the status of working women.
• Mrs. Roosevelt was
sent to represent the
United States as a the
only female
representative to the
newly established
UNITED NATIONS.
• There she chaired the
subcommittee of the
Commission on Human
Rights responsible for
drafting the Universal
Declaration of Human
Rights for two years.
Factors leading to changing patterns
in United States society:
• African Americans’ aspirations for equal
opportunities.
United States’ most famous Civil Rights leader
was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
More on him
in the next
unit…
Policies & programs expanding educational &
employment opportunities:
• G.I. Bill of Rights gave educational, housing,
and employment benefits to veterans.
Policies & programs expanding educational &
employment opportunities:
• Truman desegregated the armed forces.
Policies & programs expanding educational &
employment opportunities:
• Civil Rights legislation led to increased
educational, economic, and political
opportunities for women and minorities.
THE
COMMUNIST
THREAT
SOL 8c
• knowledge of the economic, social, and political
transformation of the United States and the
world between the end of World War II and the
present by
• c) identifying the role of America’s military and
veterans in defending freedom during the Cold
War, including the wars in Korea and Vietnam,
the Cuban missile crisis, the collapse of
communism in Europe, and the rise of new
challenges.
THE COLD WAR
• The state of tension without actual fighting
between the United States and the Soviet
Union, which divided the world into two
camps.
ripjaggerdojo.blogs
pot.com
scrapetv.com
Origins of the Cold War:
• Differences in goals and ideologies between
the United States and the Soviet Union (the
two superpowers). The United States was
democratic and capitalist; the Soviet Union
was dictatorial and communist.
notmytribe.com
Soviet Union
United States
Socialism
(Government
System)
Democracy
(Government
System)
Communism
(Economic
System)
Capitalism
(Economic
System)
Soviet Union
United States
___________
(Government
System)
___________
(Government
System)
_____________
(Economic
System)
_____________
(Economic
System)
Origins of the Cold War:
• The Soviet
Union’s
domination
over Eastern
European
countries.
nationalarchives.gov.uk
hubpages.com
Origins of the Cold War:
• American
policy of
containment
(to stop the
spread of
communism).
admin.bhbl.neric.org
Communism was on the
march.
When the RED
ARMY marched on Germany,
it quickly absorbed the nearby
nations ESTONIA, LATVIA,
AND LITHUANIA into the
Soviet Union. Soon communist
forces dominated the
governments
of ROMANIA and BULGARIA.
By the fall of 1945, it was clear
that the Soviet-backed LUBLIN
REGIME had complete control
of Poland, violating the Yalta
promise of free and
unfettered elections there. It
was only a matter of time
before Hungary and
Czechoslovakia fell into the
Soviet orbit:
July 16,1948 US NEWS Cover
http://www.ushistory.org/us/52c.asp
Origins of the Cold War:
• North Atlantic
Treaty
Organization
(NATO) versus
Warsaw Pact.
• US Allies vs. USSR
Allies.
callitaweasel.wordpress.com
nationalarchives.gov.uk
Major conflicts in the
post-World War II era:
• The Korean Conflict
(War): South Korea
and the United
States resisted
Chinese and North
Korean aggression.
The conflict ended in
a stalemate.
sillysoft.net
38th
Parallel
Korean Conflict (War) Memorial
akg-images.com
Major conflicts in the post-World
War II era:
• The Cuban Missile Crisis: occurred when the
Soviet Union placed missiles in Cuba. The
Soviets removed the missiles in response to a
U.S. blockade of Cuba.
Maximum Range of Cuban Missiles
atomicarchive.com
Major conflicts in the post-World
War II era:
• The Vietnam Conflict (War): The
United States intervened to stop
the spread of communism into
South Vietnam (Domino Theory).
• Americans were divided over
whether the United States should
be involved militarily in Vietnam.
• The conflict ended in a cease-fire
agreement in which U.S. troops
withdrew.
mappery.com
Mobs of Vietnamese people scale the wall of the U.S. Embassy in Saigon,
Vietnam, trying to get to the helicopter pickup zone, just before the end of the
Vietnam War on April 29, 1975. (AP Photo/Neal Ulevich)
this and all remaining Vietnam evacuation pictures from :
http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?42905-Today-s-Pic-s-Saturday-April-30th
U.S. Marines debark as evacuees load the CH-53 helicopter, known as the Jolly Green
Giant, at the U.S. Embassy in Saigon, Vietnam, late afternoon on April 29, 1975. The
Marines are initiating the final stage of evacuation by air after a communist victory in
the Vietnam War. (AP Photo/Frances Starner)
Mobs of South Vietnamese civilians scale the 14-foot wall of the U.S.
Embassy in Saigon, April 29, 1975, trying to reach evacuation
helicopters as the last Americans departed from Vietnam. (AP Photo)
goldenyears66to69.blogspot.com, english-online.at
P
r
o
te
st
One of the most
famous protests of
Vietnam is the selfimmolation
practiced by
Buddhist monks.
A Roman Catholic priest
looks up at an evacuation
helicopter on the roof of
the U.S. Embassy in
Saigon April 29, 1975.
Operation Frequent Wind
was the biggest
helicopter evacuation in
history. The Marines
carried 1,373 Americans
and 5,595 Vietnamese
and other foreigners to
safety aboard U.S.
carriers in the South
China Sea, logging 1,054
flight hours and 682
sorties. (AP
Photos/Frances Sterner)
U.S. Marine
helicopter
crewmen carry
Vietnamese
civilians to safety
aboard the U.S.S.
Blue Ridge April
29, 1975 after
their evacuation
helicopter
crashed on the
deck of the
amphibious
command ship.
(AP Photo/jt)
U.S. Navy personnel aboard the USS Blue Ridge push a helicopter into the sea off
the coast of Vietnam in order to make room for more evacuation flights from
Saigon, Tuesday, April 29, 1975. The helicopter had carried Vietamese fleeing
Saigon as North Vietnamese forces closed in on the capital. (AP Photo/jt)
A U.S. Marine helicopter lifts off from the landing pad atop the U.S. Embassy during
the evacuation of Saigon Wednesday, April 30, 1975. (AP Photo/phu)
ravinwire.com
April 29, 1975: Evacuees climbing to the roof of a downtown Saigon apartment
building, not the American Embassy as originally reported, taken by Hubert Van Es, a
Dutch photojournalist
North Vietnamese
soldiers capture the
Presidential Palace in
Saigon, South Vietnam
on April 30, 1975, the
moment that marked
the end of the Vietnam
war. This photo taken
by North Vietnamese
photograper Dinh
Quang Thanh was
among a series of
images from the final
day of the war that
have not been widely
seen outside his
homeland. (AP
Photo/Vietnam News
Agency/Dinh Quang
Thanh)
North Vietnamese pose
in front of a tank
outside the Presidential
Palace in Saigon, South
Vietnam on April 30,
1975, the moment that
marked the end of the
Vietnam war. This
photo taken by North
Vietnamese
photograper Dinh
Quang Thanh was
among a series of
images from the final
day of the war that
have not been widely
seen outside his
homeland. (AP
Photo/Vietnam News
Agency/Dinh Quang
Thanh)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dP4Gaprk
AJg&feature=fvwrel
Collapse of Communism in Europe:
• Breakup of the Soviet Union into independent
countries.
yourchildlearns.com
Collapse of communism in Europe:
• Destruction of the Berlin Wall.
white-history.com, gulaghistory.org
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/13/world/europe/13germany.html
BERLIN, Aug. 12, 2007 — Seventeen years
after German reunification, archivists
have found the first written proof that
East German border guards had been
ordered to shoot to kill anyone trying to
escape to West Germany, including
women and children. The seven-page
order, dated Oct. 1, 1973, was discovered
last week in the regional archive office in
the eastern German city of Magdeburg.
Though unsigned, it shows that the
Ministry for State Security, known as the
Stasi, had told guards that they must
“stop or liquidate” anyone trying to cross
the border.
“Do not hesitate to use your firearm, not
even when the border is breached in the
company of women and children, which
is a tactic the traitors have often used,”
the document said.
Deutsche Presse-Agenture, via European Pressphoto
Agency
A 1962 photo showed East German guards with the
body of a man who was shot when he tried to cross
the Berlin Wall.
This is cropped version of a photo of an East German soldier, Conrad Schumann , assigned to
shoot people trying to breach the wall to escape to West Germany, who instead decided to
leap to freedom himself, on August 15, 1961. The photo is by West German photographer
Peter Leibing, then working for Contiepress, in Hamburg
kerstenskolumn.wordpress.com, topnews.in
optimistworld.com, chardonas.blogspot.com
New Challenges:
• Role of
United States
military
intervention.
• “World
police”.
usmilitary.tv
trickledownbs.blogspot.com
New Challenges:
• Environmental challenges.
cartoonstock.com
New challenges:
• Global issues, including trade, jobs,
diseases, energy.
The European Union
Focus
• DOTD
– Counterculture: during the Vietnam War Era, a movement
that opposed the war and rejected traditional American
values. Mainly represented in popular music and
traditions of young people.
• Question: Create a Venn Diagram comparing the
Vietnam and Korean Wars. You need AT LEAST three
facts for each circle!!
The End of the Cold War
The Space Race and the Fall of the
Wall
The Space Race
• The “Space Race” began
in 1957 when the Soviet
Union launched Sputnik,
which was the first
successful satellite in
outer space
• Yuri Gagarin from the
Soviet Union is the first
man to orbit the Earth
(1961)
– Think About It: What do
you think this meant to the
United States?
JFK and Space
Summer 1961:
“I believe that this nation
should commit itself to
achieving the goal, before
this decade is out, of
landing a man on the
moon and returning him
safely to the earth.”
• Asks for more money for
NASA (Nat’l Aeronautics
and Space Administration)
Important Dates in U.S. Space History
• May 1961 – Alan Shepard, Jr. is the first
American to make a spaceflight
• February 1962 – John Glenn is the first
American to orbit the earth
• Mid 1960s – the APOLLO space program
begins
– Apollo 8 is the first manned spacecraft to orbit the
moon in 1968
Important Dates in U.S. Space
History
• July 20th, 1969 – the Eagle
spacecraft of Apollo 11
lands on the surface of
the moon
– Neil Armstrong
• “That’s one small step for
man, one giant leap for
mankind”
• Millions of Americans
watch on television
• 1972 – Apollo project
ends
The Collapse of Communism
• Think About It:
– What was the Berlin
Wall?
– Why was it built?
• Berlin Blockade
– What did it symbolize
to both democratic
and communist
nations?
By the Numbers
• 5,000 East Germans managed to cross the
Berlin Wall (by various means) and reach West
Berlin safely
• 5,000 were captured by East German
authorities in the attempt
• 191 were killed during the actual crossing of
the wall
The Fall of the Wall
• November 9, 1989 – the
communist government of
East Germany opens up
the Berlin Wall
– Citizens take it apart with
shovels and picks
• In 1990, East Germany
voted to reunite with
West Germany
• The breakup of the wall
was symbolic for the fall
of communism around
Europe
The Soviet Union Breaks Up
• Many political changes begin to take place in
the Soviet Union in the late 1980s
• By 1990 most of the 15 countries that made
up the USSR had voted to break away from
the Soviet nation
• On December 25, 1991, Boris Yeltsin
announced the end of the Soviet Union
– Only independent nations remain
New Challenges
• Environmental Challenges
– Oil Spills, Chemical Accidents, Pollution
• Global Issues
– Trade (Connections and Power)
– Jobs
– Diseases
• Role of the U.S. Military
– Are we still involved in other countries militarily today?
Sources
• http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/0710/sputnik_asm720.jpg
• http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1e/Apollo_11_first_st
ep.jpg
• http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3f/John_F_Ke
nnedy.jpg/496px-John_F_Kennedy.jpg
• http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d4/Crane_removed_
part_of_Wall_Brandenburg_Gate.jpg
• http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1631993,00.html