Name: ___________________________________ The Cold War: 1945-1991 STANDARD: The student will demonstrate knowledge of major events in the 2nd half of the 20th century by: a) explaining key events of the Cold War, including the competition between the American and Soviet economic and political systems and the causes of the collapse of communism in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe; b) assessing the impact of nuclear weaponry on patterns of conflict and cooperation since 1945. CONCEPTUAL UNIT QUESTION: Did the polarization of the world by the two superpowers benefit or harm global development? ENDURING UNDERSTANDING: The Cold War led to the creation of global alliances that continue to impact the world today. 2 Background of the Soviet Union In 1917, the Bolshevik Revolution eliminated rule by the czar’s family and established rule by the Communist Party in Russia. The leader of the Bolsheviks was Vladimir Lenin. Russia renamed the territory it controlled the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). Upon his unexpected death in 1924, the Russian Communist Party was taken over by Joseph Stalin. “Uncle Joe,” as he was called in the U.S. as our ally during WWII, remained the leader of the USSR until his death in 1953. 3 Review Capitalism: An economic system in which citizens own private property and are entitled to profit from it. In a capitalist country, almost all the natural resources, factories, mines and land are owned by individuals. VS. Communism: An economic system in which the people as a whole own all the natural resources, factories, mines and land of their country. In theory, all citizens profit from the resources of a country. In practice, the government owns everything, sets all prices, employs everyone and distributes all profits. 4 The Universal Declaration of Human Rights: 1948 Adopted by the United Nations, this was the first global expression of rights to which all human beings are inherently entitled… 5 What? The Cold War was a global competition b/w two ideologies: the Democratic/Capitalist world led by the United States (WEST) & the Communist world led by the Soviet Union (EAST) When? 1945-1991 Greatest Danger? Nuclear proliferation (the spread of nuclear technology) and the nuclear arms race between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. 6 Why? 7 U.S. & U.S.S.R. were allied in WWII against Fascism; however, the common enemy had been defeated & the need for cooperation was gone Cold War Time Line 1945: End of WWII; Space Race begins; United Nations formed; Potsdam Conference; Germany & Berlin divided; Cold War begins 1946: Churchill’s “Iron Curtain” Speech 1947: U.S.’s Policy of Containment; Truman Doctrine 1948: Marshall Plan; Soviets blockade Berlin; US launches Airlift 1949: NATO formed 1950: Korean War begins (1950-53) 1953: Stalin dies 1955: Warsaw Pact formed 1957: Space Race begins when the Soviet Union launches Sputnik 1959: Vietnam War begins (1959-1975) 1961: Berlin Wall goes up (torn down in 1989); Bay of Pigs Invasion 1962: Cuban Missile Crisis 8 What is a Superpower? An extremely powerful nation with greater political, economic, or military power than most other nations. Two superpowers emerged after WWII: • United States • Soviet Union 9 Beginning of the Cold War 1945-1948 At the Yalta & Potsdam Conferences, before WWII was over, basic philosophical differences became glaring… Yalta Churchill, Roosevelt, Stalin 10 Potsdam Stalin, Truman, Churchill United States & Western Allies Soviet Union & Eastern European Satellite Nations Political Ideology Democracy Dictatorship Economic Ideology Capitalism Communism Goal Containment of Communism & the eventual collapse of the Communist world Spread world-wide Communism What to do with Germany? Potsdam Conference (1945) The victorious powers of WWII – Great Britain, France, the Soviet Union & the U.S. – decided to divide Germany & Berlin into four zones of occupation. 11 http://www.dhm.de/ENGLISH/ausstellungen/breakthrough/S1.htm Seeds of Fear & Distrust After WWII: U.S. & Great Britain wanted the Eastern European nations to determine their own governments (self-determination: determination of one’s own fate or course of action w/out compulsion; free will)… Stalin’s Fears: the Eastern European nations would be anti-Soviet if they were allowed free elections… so, he exerted his control & turned these ‘buffer’ states into Soviet Satellite nations (satellite: formally independent, but under heavy political & economic influence or control by another country) Soviet satellite nations included: Poland, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, Lithuania, the Ukraine, and more… 12 The Soviet Union feared the Democratic West & the U.S. feared Communism “Iron Curtain” East – Communist VS. West – Capitalist The "Iron Curtain" was the symbolic, ideological & physical boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of WWII until the end of the Cold War (r. 1945-1991) “From Stettin in the Balkans, to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the Continent. Behind that line lies the ancient capitals of Central and Eastern Europe.” -- Sir Winston Churchill, 1946 13 Iron Curtain Cartoon 14 Policy of Containment: 1947 15 In 1947, the U.S. adopted the policy of containment: keep communism within its existing boundaries and prevent further Soviet aggressive moves Truman Doctrine: 1947 Totalitarianism threatened democracy… so, the U.S. put forth a policy that would support Greece & Turkey w/ economic & military aid to prevent their falling into the Soviet sphere Truman Doctrine: “it is the policy of the U.S. to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures." Effectively reoriented U.S. foreign policy from isolation to possible intervention in far away conflicts… 16 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmQD_W8Pcxg&feature=PlayList&p=2287E59C541E7692&index=5 Marshall Plan 1948: Rebuild War-Torn Europe Another attempt at preventing the spread of Communism in Europe… “The U.S. should provide aid to all European nations that need it. This move is not against any country or doctrine, but against hunger, poverty, desperation, and chaos.” 17 ~ Sec. of State, George Marshall Berlin Blockade & Airlift: 1948-1949 The U.S., Great Britain & France united the three western sections of Germany & Berlin Stalin responded by attempting to force the western allies out of Berlin altogether: he cut off rail & road access to West Berlin 18 The U.S. & Great Britain mounted a massive airlift to keep the western sectors supplied w/ the food & fuel that the city needed (10 months; 277, 264 flights; 1.5 million tons of aid) The Berlin Wall: 1961-1989 Checkpoint Charlie On August 13, 1961 construction began on the Berlin Wall by the Soviet Union in an attempt to keep citizens of communist East Berlin from escaping into democratic West Berlin The Nuclear Arms Race United States Soviet Union Atomic Bomb 1945 1949 Hydrogen Bomb 1952 1953 Goal: To stockpile nuclear weapons in preparation for any potential attack from the other side Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD) Whoever shoots first, dies second Theory of Deterrence: each side knew that the other would also be destroyed if it launched its nuclear weapons, which discouraged nuclear war… (“balance of terror”) 21 Space Race: Sputnik I (1957) •Space Race: The race to put satellites, rockets & man into space •Began When: Soviet Union launched Satellite, Sputnik in 1957 •Caused panic in U.S.: No formal space program •NASA (National Aeronautics & Space Administration) was immediately formed to help the U.S. catch up & compete with the Soviet Union’s space program NATO: North Atlantic Treaty Organization 1949 The Berlin blockade & the Soviet Union’s launch of an atomic bomb provided compelling evidence that in order to deter the Soviets from further aggression, an alliance was necessary b/w nations of Western Europe & the U.S. Stalin’s Response MILITARY ALLIANCES VS. Warsaw Pact 1955 Bay of Pigs Debacle: April 1961 1950s: Fidel Castro led the Cuban Revolution & with the support of the Soviet Union, transformed Cuba into a Communist nation Bay of Pigs: •The U.S. sent CIA-trained Cuban exiles to invade Cuban in an attempt to overthrow the Communist regime •The Cuban armed forces, trained & equipped by Eastern European Communist nations, defeated the invading combatants w/in 3 days •The failed invasion severely embarrassed the JFK administration & made Castro wary of future U.S. intervention in Cuba Nikita Khruschev Embraces Cuban Dictator, Fidel Castro: 1961 Cuban Missile Crisis: 1962 We went eyeball-to-eyeball with the Russians, and the other man blinked! Cuban Missile Crisis: October 1962 1) 1958: The U.S. deployed more than 100 missiles to the UK, Italy & Turkey, all of which had the capability to strike Moscow 2) 1961: Unsuccessful Bay of Pigs invasion led the Cuban & Soviet governments to secretly begin building bases in Cuba for nuclear missiles that had the ability to strike most of the continental U.S. 3) Soviet Union sent nuclear missiles to Cuba 4) U.S. President, JFK, set up a military blockade & demanded that the Soviet Union remove the missiles from Cuba 5) For 13 tense days, the world faced a risk of nuclear war over the issue 6) October 28, 1962: Confrontation ended when JFK & Khrushchev reached a public & secret agreement 1) 2) 26 Publicly, the Soviets would dismantle their offensive weapons in Cuba & return them to the Soviet Union in exchange for a U.S. public declaration & agreement never to invade Cuba Secretly, the U.S. agreed that it would dismantle all U.S.-built missiles deployed in Italy & Turkey RESULT: NUCLEAR WAR WAS AVERTED!! The “HOT” Wars Within the “COLD WAR” Brezhnev Doctrine: Whenever a nation had a civil war in which one side was communist, the U.S.S.R. would give military aid, training & equipment to the communist side in hopes that they would win & communism would spread Truman Doctrine: The U.S. would side with whoever was fighting against the communist party, giving military aid, training & equipment to the political or military groups opposing communism. ___________________________________________________________ Mindful that a full-scale nuclear war would be a disaster for both sides, the superpowers fought each other through a variety of proxy wars in Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan & dozens of other places Proxy warfare: A war that results when opposing powers use third parties as substitutes for fighting each other directly 27 Spread of Communism: Mao’s Revolution in China (1949) 毛泽东 Chairman Mao and his Little Red Book -Communist Mao Zedong was victorious over Chiang Kai-shek (leader of the anti-Communist Nationalists, supported by the U.S.) 28 -Establishment of the People's Republic of China (Maoist Phase 1949 – 1976) Spread of Communism: China People have come together to support the Communist Party 29 Spread of Communism: The Korean War (1950-1953) -Gained independence from Japan in 1945 (after Japan’s defeat in WWII) North Korea: Kim Il Sung (Communist) -Korea split in ½ at the 38th parallel (Soviets occupied the North & the U.S. occupied the South) -The Communist government of North Korea tried to take over the Capitalist South Korea -The United Nations sent troops from its member states to keep peace 30 -The U.S. was the most important & richest country in the U.N. so it sent the most troops & supplied most of the weapons South Korea: Syngman Rhee (Capitalist) Korean War: Who Wins? July 27, 1953: Armistice signed between U.S. & North Korea RESULT: South Korea remained free of communism… containment worked!! North Korea & South Korea never officially signed a peace pact; it is only considered a truce… technically, the Korean War is still going on today U.S. maintained presence along the DMZ: Demilitarized Zone Casualties in the Korean War 4,500 30,000 NK & Chinese soldiers and civilians 70,000 SK civilians Korea is still two separate nations today: Kim Jong Il (19942011) & now his son, Kim Jong Un, lead an impoverished & backward country where people are starving & freezing to death 31 500,000 SK soldiers 780,000 USA soldiers Other UN soldiers Spread of the Cold War: Vietnam War (1959-1975) North Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh & Viet Cong) attempting to unify the country under a Communist government VS. South Vietnam (U.S. w/ the aid of the South Vietnamese govt) attempting to prevent the spread of communism 32 Vietnam War •Background: Vietnam was a French colony (“French Indochina”) prior to WWII •Communist & Vietnamese nationalist revolutionary, Ho Chi Minh, formed the Viet Minh, the League for the independence of Vietnam •Ho Chi Minh defeated France & Vietnam was divided along the 17th Parallel North: Ho Chi Minh & Communists (+ supported the Viet Cong guerillas fighting the southern government) • South: Ngo Dinh Diem (President) & Western democracies • •Ho Chi Minh wanted to unite all of Vietnam under Communism •United States organized the South East Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) to protect the independence of South Vietnam and to maintain its policy of containment •Domino Theory: The U.S. was afraid that if one country fell to Communism, the rest would also fall 33 Major Events of the Vietnam War American Military Advisors were sent to Vietnam to support France: Early 1950s Gulf of Tonkin Resolution: August 1964 • • U.S. President Johnson claimed that North Vietnam attacked U.S. ships in Gulf of Tonkin Congress passed the resolution & sent combat troops to Vietnam Operation Rolling Thunder: 1965-68 – The U.S.’s bombing campaign against North Vietnam Tet Offensive: 1968 – Communists attacked 30 South Vietnamese cities (turning point) U.S. leaders lose the American public’s support for the war • • Concerns: huge casualties, length of war, cost of war (approximately $140 billion) Protests: Kent State, dodging the mandatory draft U.S. Withdrawals: January 1973 (cease fire b/w the U.S. & North Vietnam) Fall of Saigon: April 1975 – South Vietnamese troops continued fighting after the U.S. withdrew; however, the war ended when North Vietnam swept through the South & captured Saigon (renamed Ho Chi Minh City) Results: • • 34 Vietnam was united as a Communist country The Vietnam War became a benchmark for what not to do in all future U.S. foreign conflicts U.S. Presidents during WWII & the Cold War Era Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933-1945) • Led the U.S. out of the Great Depression (New Deal) • Led the U.S. to victory in WWII Harry S. Truman (1945-53) • Made decision to drop atomic bomb • Led the U.S. during the Korean War (1950-53) Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953-61) • WWII General & Hero • Helped end Korean War • Steered a moderate course during the Cold War John F. Kennedy (1961-63) • President during the construction of the Berlin Wall • Cuban Missile Crisis Lyndon B. Johnson (1963-69) • Passed anti-poverty and civil rights programs • Involved the U.S. in the unpopular Vietnam War Richard Nixon (1969-74) 35 • Improved relations with the Soviet Union and China • Wound down the Vietnam War • Watergate Scandal 36 37 The End of the Cold War: December 1991 VS. 38 Mikhail Gorbachev Last leader of the Soviet Union (1988-1991) The Cold War started to thaw in 1985 when Mikhail Gorbachev became the Soviet Premier & urged major political & economic reforms… •Glasnost = political openness (ended censorship & encouraged people to discuss the country’s problems – freedom of speech & of the press) •Perestroika = economic restructuring (citizens can own their own business) 39 Tearing Down the Berlin Wall: 1989 http://www.history.c om/topics/berlinairlift/videos#histor y-rocks-the-berlinwall http://www.history.com/topics/ berlin-airlift/videos#cold-war Protestors motivated the Politburo to create a proposal that would allow refugees & travelers to exit East Germany & East Berlin. A misinterpretation of the regulations led to the opening of the gates b/w East & West & the eventual demolition of the Berlin Wall. At least 916 people were killed b/w 1949 & 1989 while trying to flee from East Germany across razor wire & minefields bristling w/ machine-guns on tripwire. 40 Collapse of the Soviet Union: 1991 •The collapse of the Soviet Union began when the Communist Party lost a majority in the June 1991 elections •Boris Yeltsin became Head of State in the newly renamed “Russian Federation” •By December 1991, all 15 republics of the former Soviet Union were independent •On December 26, 1991, the USSR was officially dissolved and…THE COLD WAR WAS OVER!! 41 The Soviet Union (1922-1991) 42 http://www.history.com/topics/face-to-face-moments-that-changed-the-world/videos#the-fall-of-the-soviet-union 43 Final Reflection Question: Because we live as free people in a democratic system in the United States, is it our responsibility and duty to ensure the rest of the world becomes like us? 44 http://www.history.com/topics/face-to-face-moments-that-changed-the-world/videos#berlin-walldeconstructed http://www.history.com/videos/russia-withdraws-cuban-missiles#kennedy-responds-to-berlin-wall Cuban Missile Crisis (Showdown: Cuban M. Crisis) http://www.history.com/videos/russia-withdraws-cuban-missiles#castro-urges-nuclear-attack-on-america Nuclear weapons and the theory of deterrence The Policy of Containment Massive military buildup The Space Race http://www.history.com/topics/face-to-face-moments-that-changed-the-world/videos#the-space-race Soviet Satellite nations Espionage http://www.history.com/shows/ufo-hunters/videos/the-u2-program#the-u2-program Korean and Vietnam Wars 45