USA
Cold War
USSR
YouTube
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Cold War
Background:
• A bipolar conflict involving two great blocs
that appeared to “superimpose” their rivalry
on the rest of the world
• It was a struggle carried on by all means
short of war:
– Massive arms build-up and nuclear weapons to
make both sides virtually impregnable
– Diplomacy being turned into a kind of
“militarised thinking” that concentrated on
building and strengthening alliances
Cold War
Background:
• Each side denying the other’s right to
exist:
– USSR being convinced that Capitalism
and Communism could not co-exist as
Capitalism was immoral and doomed to
collapse
– USA seeing the USSR as an “evil empire”
Cold War
Background:
• Each side conducted ferocious attacks
against the other and suppressed
internal dissidence:
– Stalin’s paranoid reaction to opposition
– Milder form of repression in the West, e.g.
McCarthyism (Commission to review the
loyalty of American Civil Servants and to
weed out Soviet agents and
sympathisers)
Cold War
Main Issues
• PIES
– Power (A race for hegemony [dominance]
resulting in superior power to influence
others)
– Ideology (Western Capitalist Democracy
vs Communist Authoritarianism)
– Economics (Control of markets /
resources / trade)
– Security (Political / Economic / Territorial /
Imagined vs Real)
Cold War
Why did the Cold War break out?
• Competing Ideologies
• Feelings of Mistrust
• Wartime Alliances Broke Down
Cold War
Why did the Cold War break out?
• Competing Ideologies
– The Cold War confrontation between the
USA and the USSR was a clash between
their opposing ideologies: Capitalism
(USA) and Communism (USSR)
Cold War
Why did the Cold War break out?
• Competing Ideologies
– Both sides felt that their ideologies were the best
for the rest of the world to follow
– Supporters of Democracy felt that a choice
between Capitalism and Communism meant
choosing freedom or slavery
– Supporters of Communism felt that workers were
not free in Democratic societies and were slaves
of the rich landowners, factory owners and
powerful industrialists
Cold War
Why did the Cold War break out?
• Competing Ideologies
– As each side felt their own ideologies
were the best to be followed, there was
competition amongst them to prove
otherwise
Cold War
Why did the Cold War break out?
• Feelings of Mistrust
– Mistrust of Communists by the USA and
the West began in 1917 when
Communism became first established in
Russia following the October 1917
Revolution
– The Russians had proclaimed a “World
Revolution” – The USA was afraid that a
worldwide Communist revolution would
mean the end of Capitalism and
Democracy
Cold War
Why did the Cold War break out?
• Feelings of Mistrust
– The West had also become involved in the
Russian Civil War against the Communists (The
Communists were known as the Reds, the
Western troops, the Whites)
– The West (Britain, France, Japan and the USA)
sent funds and troops to prevent the spread of
Communism
– The West also provided aid to anti-Bolshevik
White Armies
Cold War
Why did the Cold War break out?
• Feelings of Mistrust
– In short, mistrust had always occurred
between the West and the Communists
– Now that the USA and the USSR were the
two new post-WW2 Superpowers, they
had the power to spread their influence
worldwide, making the Cold War more
possible
Cold War
Why did the Cold War break out?
• Wartime Alliances Broke Down
– During WW2, the USSR joined the Allies to defeat
Germany, a common enemy
– Once the war was over, the two countries (USA
and USSR), returned to their old relationship of
mistrust and suspicion
– The wartime alliances also broke down after a
series of conferences to decide on the fate of
Germany
– Another cause for the alliances to break down
was Soviet policy regarding Eastern Europe
Cold War
Why did the Cold War break out?
• Wartime Alliances Broke Down
– While the USA planned for free elections
and western style democracies in Eastern
Europe, the USSR wanted to create a
zone of friendly communist governments
in the area
– Moreover, at the end of WW2, the Soviet
Red Army, on the pretext of chasing out
the Nazis, stepped in to occupy these
territories
Cold War
How was Europe affected?
• Europe was divided:
– Between 1945 and 1948, Europe was
divided into 2 sides – the Eastern
European Communist countries and
in the Western European Democratic
countries
Cold War
How was Europe affected?
• Europe was divided:
– The USSR expanded its control over the
Eastern European countries by occupying
them with Soviet troops so that the USSR
could not be attacked through these
countries. Stalin also set up Communist
governments in these countries so that
he could influence them to follow proUSSR policies. These countries were
known as satellite states
Cold War
How was Europe affected?
• Europe was divided:
– The West viewed this policy as hostile and
aggressive and criticised the USSR for not
holding democratic elections and oppressing
democracy in the satellite states
– Churchill described Europe as being divided into
two spheres of influence by an “Iron Curtain” (an
imaginary line between the Soviet satellite states
in the East and the Democratic states in the West
Cold War
The Truman Doctrine (1947):
• In order to prevent Communism from spreading,
President Truman announced the plans for the
Truman Doctrine. According to the doctrine, the
USA would help other democratic countries when
they were threatened by Communism
• The Truman Doctrine (or Containment Policy) was
to force Communism to remain within its borders
by giving money, weapons, fuel and other
incentives to countries in danger of being taken
over by Communists
Cold War
Marshall Plan (1947):
• The Marshall Plan offered financial help to Europe
to help it recover from World War II and to build a
prosperous and successful Western Europe which
would resist Communism by giving loans, aid and
goods
• The USA believed that with the Marshall Plan, the
people of Western Europe would be more
prosperous and less likely to support Communism
• Stalin forbade the Soviet satellites to accept the
Marshall Plan
Cold War
Marshall Plan (1947):
• As a result of the Marshall Plan, Western
Europe recovered faster from the effects of
WW2 than Eastern Europe. The Marshall
Plan also heightened Cold War tensions as
the USSR saw the Marshall Plan as an
attempt to spread Democracy and
Capitalism through the use of money
• The USSR set up COMECON (Council for
Mutual Economic Co-operation) in response
to the Marshall Plan and to encourage trade
and co-ordinate the economic policies
among the Communist countries
Cold War
How was Europe affected?
• Germany was divided:
–Conflicts on how to administer
Germany led to a crisis among
Britain, France, the USA and the
USSR in 1948
Cold War
How was Europe affected?
• Germany was divided:
– Despite making agreements at Yalta and
Potsdam, in 1948, Britain, France and the USA
joined their separate zones in Germany and
created a new currency for their sphere of
influence. This action helped West Germany
recover faster from the damage caused by WW2.
The West also had democratic elections for West
Germany. However, East Germany did not have
all this as it was under a Communist party under
Soviet control
Cold War
How was Europe affected?
• Germany was divided:
– Seeing the progress made by West Germany,
Stalin was afraid that Germany would grow
strong again and be a threat to the USSR. He
planned to seize control of West Berlin by
blocking all road, rail and canal links between
West and East Germany in 1948. The crisis
became known as the Berlin Blockade. Stalin
believed that he could force the British, French
and Americans to leave the city by blocking all
supplies of food to West Berlin
Cold War
How was Europe affected?
• Germany was divided:
• For the USA, it was important to support West Berlin because
it represented the democratic system. The USA was also
concerned that if it pulled out of West Berlin, the Soviets may
have invaded West Germany
• Knowing that retaliation by troops would result in a full-scale
war, Harry Truman (President of the USA) deployed a fleet of
planes to fly over the blockade and bring food and supplies to
the West Berliners. The USSR could not do anything about the
planes as shooting them down would be a declaration of war
• After 10 months, the USSR realised that it had not succeeded
and ended the blockade in 1949. Following the blockade,
Germany was separated into two countries – West Germany
and East Germany
Cold War
How was Europe affected?
• Germany was divided:
• For the USA, it was important to support West Berlin because
it represented the democratic system. The USA was also
concerned that if it pulled out of West Berlin, the Soviets may
have invaded West Germany
• Knowing that retaliation by troops would result in a full-scale
war, Harry Truman (President of the USA) deployed a fleet of
planes to fly over the blockade and bring food and supplies to
the West Berliners. The USSR could not do anything about the
planes as shooting them down would be a declaration of war
• After 10 months, the USSR realised that it had not succeeded
and ended the blockade in 1949. Following the blockade,
Germany was separated into two countries – West Germany
and East Germany
Cold War
• NATO (1949) and Warsaw Pact (1955) were
set up:
– The division of Europe into two spheres of
influence and forced the USSR and the USA to
seek allies through military alliances
– The USA built up their forces in Europe through
NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) in
1949 to defend Europe from Soviet attack
– The USSR and all the Communist countries of
Eastern Europe joined the Warsaw Pact in 1955
Cold War
How did the Cold War affect the rest of the
world?
• China joined the Cold War:
• Having defeated the Nationalists, the Chinese
Communist Party took control of China and
proclaimed the creation of the Peoples’ Republic of
China in October 1949
• The USA then saw the Communist alliance between
the USSR and China as a single, united enemy
determined to control the world
• The USA was also afraid that the USSR would give
China nuclear weapon technology as the USSR had
recently tested its own nuclear weapons
Cold War
How did the Cold War affect the rest of the
world?
• Japan became the USA’s main-Communist ally:
• Faced with the threat of Communism, the USA strengthened
Japan’s economy and introduced democratic reforms in order
to turn Japan into its main ally in the region. It also provided
Japan with economic aid, new technology, new industrial
equipment and lifted trade restrictions on the country. It also
supported Japan’s entry into several world bodies (IMF, UN,
World Bank)
• The USA and Japan also signed the 1952 US-Japan Mutual
Security Treaty where the USA promised to come to Japan’s
aid if Japan was attacked. The treaty also allowed the USA to
station troops in Japan
Cold War
How did the Cold War affect the rest of the
world?
• USA’s One China Policy:
• Due to their unfriendly relations, the
USA adopted a One China Policy from
1945 to 1972 and refused to recognise
the Peoples’ Republic of China (PRC).
Instead, it recognised Taiwan
(Republic of China – ROC) as the
legitimate government of China
Cold War
How did the Cold War affect the rest of the
world?
• Increased US Support for anti-Communists in Asia:
• Communism in China also led the USA to search for other
allies in Asia. In addition to forming alliances with Taiwan, the
USA also sent troops to support anti-Communist
governments in South Korea (1950) and South Vietnam (after
1954)
• An anti-Communist alliance to oppose Communist gains in
Southeast Asian was formed. It was called the Southeast
Asian Treaty Organisation (SEATO)
• The USA also competed with the USSR in search for allies in
the Middle East (Israel and other Arab States) and in Africa
(Congo, Angola, etc)