LSWHO
■Essential Question:
–What led to the Cold War
between the United States
& the Soviet Union?
■Warm-Up Question:
–Examine the image on the next
slide & use it to answer this Q:
–What was the Cold War?
Use this
image to
search for
clues
What was
the
Cold War?
The USA after World War II
■The end of WWII in 1945, marked
a turning point in U.S. history by
taking an active role in world affairs
–The USA became a leader in the
United Nations & World Bank
–The U.S. occupied & helped
rebuild Japan after the war
–The U.S. helped found Israel as a
Jewish nation in the Middle East
United Nations Member Nations
United Nations
Headquarters is
in New York City
American Occupation of Japan
The Cold War
■The most important change in U.S.
foreign policy after WWII was the
beginning of the Cold War
–The Cold War was an era of
distrust & hostility between the
USA & USSR from 1945-1991
–It was an era of competing
ideologies: The USA promoted
democracy & capitalism while the
USSR tried to spread communism
Causes of the
Cold War
During
The
In
the
USA
1920s,
WWII,
sent
After
Lenin’s
Vladimir
Lenin
troops
Americans
the
fight
&
death
into
1924,
ledUSA
the
the
USSR
feared
“Red
worked
Army”
thein
Joseph
Stalin
Bolsheviks
together
during
spread
the
ofto
became
dictator
the
Russian
Communism
Russian
defeat
the
Civil
of
the USSR
Revolution
in&
Axis
during
War
Powers,
the
started
his
1917
“Red
but...
Scare”
Five
Year
Plans
Causes of the Cold War
■WWII increased hostilities between
the USA & the USSR:
–The U.S. & USSR
emerged from
the war as rival
superpowers
–The development
of the atomic bomb
gave the USA a
monopoly on
nuclear weapons
But
Stalin
never
did; Bybetween
the
time
of the
WWII
hostilities
USA
&to
USSR
At increased
the
Yalta
Conference,
Stalin
agreed
Potsdam
Conference, in
Stalin
began
allow
self-determination
Eastern
Europe
extending his control over Eastern Europe
Stalin refused to remove
his military or allow free
election in Eastern Europe
As a result, Eastern
European nations turned
to Communism & became
Soviet satellites—nations
influenced by the USSR
(the “Eastern bloc”)
At the end of the war, Germany was divided into
a zone occupied by the USSR (which became
East Germany) & a zone occupied by the USA,
Britain, & France (West Germany)
The Iron
Curtain
Capitalism &
Democracy
Communism &
Totalitarianism
The USA began to view Stalin in the 1940s
as a new Hitler—a dangerous dictator who
wanted to take over the world
In 1947, the U.S. began a policy of Containment
to stop the spread of Communism by the USSR
When the USSR began
“A long-term,
patient
pressuring
Greece
& Turkey to
but
firm,
and
vigilant
turn communist, the USA
containment
of Russian
created
the Truman
Doctrine:
expansionist
U.S.
economicpolicies…
& military aid
force
towill
anyeventually
country threatened
by
the USSR
to live in
communism
peace with the West”
The—Secretary
Truman Doctrine
worked
of State,
& neither
Greece
nor Turkey
George
Marshall
fell to communism
In 1947, the U.S. began a policy of Containment
to stop the spread of Communism by the USSR
European nations had
difficulty recovering after
WWII which led to fears
of communism in Europe
The U.S. created the
Marshall Plan: offered
$13 billion to help rebuild
post-war Europe
By 1952, Western Europe recovered
& Communism never took root
Marshall
Plan to Aid
Europe
1948-1952
In 1947, the U.S. began a policy of Containment
to stop the spread of Communism by the USSR
In 1948, the USSR used military
force to turn Czechoslovakia to
communism; This led to fears
that Stalin would use similar
tactics in Western Europe
In 1949, the USA formed
the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization (NATO):
a military alliance among
democratic countries
NATO was one of many alliances the USA
would form with democratic nations
over the course of the Cold War
NATO
Communist Bloc
The Berlin Blockade
■In 1948, the USSR responded to
Containment by cutting off all
traffic to Berlin in East Germany
–The USA began the Berlin Airlift
to bring food, fuel, & supplies to
keep West Berlin from turning to
Communism
–The standoff lasted 2 weeks
until Stalin lifted the blockade
Reorganizing the Government
The new air force was the preferred military
■By 1947,
the U.S.
gov’t created
agency
of the Cold
War because
airplanes3
new agencies
during
Cold War
could
drop nuclear
bombsthe
if needed
–Dept of Defense to direct the
Army & Navy; The military
created the Air Force
–Central Intelligence Agency to
collect & manage information
among all gov’t agencies
–Nat’l Security Council to advise
the president on nat’l security
The Cold War
Expands
The Soviet
atomic
bombArms
motivated
the USA to
The
Nuclear
Race
regain
its
nuclear
advantage;
In
1952,
the
U.S.
The U.S. monopoly
on nuclear weapons
st
tested
the
1
hydrogen
bomb
(1,000
times
technology ended in 1949 when the USSR
more
powerful
than
the
a-bomb)
successfully tested their own atomic bomb
The Soviets responded with their own
hydrogen bomb in 1953
The Cold War in Asia
■Containment stopped communism
in Europe, but by the late 1940s
the Cold War spread to Asia:
–Since the 1930s, Communist
Mao Zedong fought democratic
leaders for control of China
–In 1949, Mao gained control &
turned China to communism
–Americans blamed President
Truman for “losing China”
Based upon this chart, why were
Mao & the Communists so popular
among the Chinese people?
The Cold War in Asia
■America’s response to the fall of
China was to more aggressively
confront Communism in the world
–The U.S. expanded the military &
stockpiled nuclear weapons
–The USA feared that China
would influence its neighbors to
turn communist (“domino theory”)
–In 1950, the U.S. fought the
Korean War to stop communism
In 1950, North Korea
crossed the 38° &
attacked South Korea
The USA led a United
Nations intervention to
stop North Korea
But, when the USA
pushed too close to
ByChina,
After
1953,WWII,
a ceasefire
Koreastopped
was divided
the fighting
along
the
Chinese
&the
theentered
38°
38°with
wasthe
Communists
restored
in the
boundary
North
Army
war as the
between
&North
democracy
North
the South
Koreas
& helped
Korea&inSouth
The USA stopped the
spread of Communism into
South Korea, but in 1954,
Communist Ho Chi Minh
began a war to gain
independence for Vietnam
Conclusions
■After World War II, U.S. foreign
policy changed:
–The U.S. became a superpower
that actively intervened in world
affairs
–The Cold War increased military
spending, nuclear weapons, &
fears of a war with the USSR
–President Truman successfully
“contained” Communism in
Europe but seemed to fail in Asia