Origins of the
Cold War
IB History of the Americas
Part 1:
Capitalism v. Communism
Objective
Differentiate between communism and
capitalism and examine their
advantages and disadvantages
What is Communism?
• This is the symbol of
Communism – The
Hammer and the
Sickle
Hammer for
the
Workers
Sickle for the
Peasants – the
farm labourers
They wrote the ‘Communist Manifesto’
in 1847. It’s a short book – but billions
of people have read it….
This is Karl Marx, the
‘Father of Communism’.
People who believe in his
ideas are called ‘Marxists’
This is his good friend,
Frederick Engels.
Capitalism
• a system based on private ownership and on
investment of money in business in order to
make a profit
Communism
• a system in which goods are owned in
common and are available to all as
needed
Advantages and Disadvantages
of Capitalism
• Advantages:
– You can own
property
– Individuals can
prosper/competition
for wages
– Freedom of speech,
press, religion
– Embrace ethnic
diversity
– Makes the individual
work worth
something
• Disadvantages:
– Poverty
– Not everyone has
healthcare
– Monopolies- control
too much business
– Creates inequalities
(ex: rich vs poor,
have vs have not)
Advantages and Disadvantages
of Communism
– Advantages:
– Everyone gets
something (equal)
– No unemployment
– Healthcare for all
citizens
– Cooperation of the
people (work for the
country to benefit)
– Disadvantages
– Abuse of power
– Restrictions- no freedom
of speech, press, no
religious practices
– Censorship
– Against ethnic diversity
– Government controls
property- very little if
any, could own private
property
– Individual doesn’t
compete, in some ways
lazy and does not need to
strive for more
Homework
• In 1 OEA paragraph, answer the question:
Is communism a good or bad idea for
society? Use at least 2 examples as
evidence.
Part 2: Understanding the
Origins of the Cold War
GUIDING QUESTION
Why did relations between the
United States and the Soviet
Union devolve into a Cold War
after the Second World War?
The Cold War 19451991
Cold War Basics:
• Who?
– Tensions between 2
“superpowers” (The
United States and
USSR)
• When?
– 1945-1991 (End of
WWII to fall of Berlin
Wall)
Cold War Basics:
• Where?
– Whole World
• What?
– Arms Race
– Space Race
– Spying
– Propaganda
Cold War Basics:
• Why did the US
fear communism?
– Communists want
to take away
private property
– They take away
their people’s
rights (ex.
Speech, religion)
– They want to
spread their ideas
worldwide
ORIGINS OF THE COLD WAR
• Basic incompatibility of economic and
political systems
• History of discord and mistrust
ORIGINS OF THE COLD WAR
• WWII Alliance of Britain and U.S. with Soviet
Union was a “marriage of convenience” to
defeat Germany
1. Lack of trust of Stalin
2. Soviets believed western allies were not
sharing all information
Development
of the Cold War
• The Cold War (1945-91) was one of
perception where neither side fully
understood the intentions and ambitions
of the other. This led to mistrust and
military build-ups.
• United States
– U.S. thought that Soviet expansion would continue and
spread throughout the world.
– They saw the Soviet Union as a threat to their way of life;
especially after the Soviet Union gained control of Eastern
Europe.
Development
of the Cold War
• Soviet Union
– They felt that they had won World War II. They had
sacrificed the most (25 million vs. 300,000 total dead) and
deserved the “spoils of war.” They had lost land after WWI
because they left the winning side; now they wanted to
gain land because they had won.
– They wanted to economically raid Eastern Europe to
recoup their expenses during the war.
– They saw the U.S. as a threat to their way of life;
especially after the U.S. development of atomic weapons.
Cold War Mobilization
by the U.S.
• Alarmed Americans viewed the Soviet occupation
of eastern European countries as part of a
communist expansion, which threatened to extend
to the rest of the world.
• In 1946, Winston Churchill gave a speech at
Fulton College in Missouri in which he proclaimed
that an “Iron Curtain” had fallen across Europe.
• In March 1947, U.S. president Harry Truman
proclaimed the Truman Doctrine.
The “Iron Curtain”
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
YALTA (in the USSR)
Date: Feb 1945
Present: Churchill,
Roosevelt and Stalin
Wartime Diplomacy
• Yalta Conference (January-February 1945)
– Loose set of principles that avoided the serious issues.
– Division of Germany (and Berlin) into four “zones of
occupation”; Reunification of Germany at a future date; process
not specified
– Soviets would
enter Pacific war
within 3 months
after Germany
had been
defeated
– United Nations
– Poland – free
elections at
some
unspecified date
Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin at Yalta, February 1945
after the war
POTSDAM (Germany)
Date: July 1945
Present: Churchill,
Truman and Stalin
Wartime Diplomacy
• Potsdam Conference
(July-Aug. 1945)
– Reparations: Stalin allowed to take
25% of West German industry
– Nazi leaders: to be tried as war
criminals at Nuremberg
– Poland: Free elections
– Japan: Unconditional surrender
– Korea: to be temporarily divided
• Truman’s attitude
– Atomic bomb
Churchill, Truman and Stalin at Potsdam
Causes of Cold War
• Soviets the main cause Aggressive policies of
expansion (in eastern Europe) and violation of
Yalta agreements
• U.S. the main cause By insisting that entire world
be open to American trade and influence
(capitalist expansionism & internationalism)
• Neither/Both the cause Two most powerful
nations in world bound to clash
– Through ignorance and misconceptions, both
countries helped to create an atmosphere of tension
and suspicion that touched off the Cold War
• Could the Cold War have been avoided? How?
“Hot Wars”:
• Korean War
• Vietnam War
Korean War Veterans Memorial - Washington, DC
Soviet “Satellites”:
• Satellites
– East European
countries that
“revolve” around
the USSR
• Meant to protect
USSR from US
influence, future
German attack
Truman Doctrine:
• US will support
all free peoples
around the
world from
communist
influence
– Ex. Greece &
Turkey
Harry S. Truman 1948
Containment:
• US will stop
communism from
spreading (but not
attack existing
communist
countries)
• Domino Theory
– if one country
falls, then others
will too (like
dominos)
Marshall Plan:
• What?
– US gives billions
to European
countries
• Why?
– Countries with
healthy
economies do not
go communist