What is a Cold War?
• A cold war is a state of conflict between nations
that does not involve direct military action but is
pursued primarily through economic and political
actions, acts of espionage or conflict through
surrogates. The surrogates are typically states
that are "satellites" of the conflicting nations, i.e.,
nations allied to them or under their political
influence. It might also mean giving military aid
(such as weapons or economical aid, or perhaps
even soldiers) to lesser nations oppressed or in
guerilla war with the opposing country of a cold
war.
The Cold War
• U.S. and Soviet
Union had diff. goals
and ideologies (ways
of thinking about
things), this causes a
Cold War
• U.S. is Democratic
and Capitalist.
• Soviet Union was a
Dictatorship and
Communist.
Democracy vs. Dictatorship
• Democracy
- A form of
government in
which power is
held by people
under a free
electoral system.
• Dictatorship
- A government
controlled by one
person or a small
group of people.
Capitalism vs. Communism
• Capitalism –
Economic system
based on private
ownership of the
means of production
and distribution, and
characterized by
profit, a free
market, and open
competition.
• Communism –
Economic idea that
the community as
a whole should
own all property
and run all
business and
industry
East and West Germany
• Germany was divided
into 4 sectors, and 2
countries.
• Soviet Union
controlled East
Germany
• The U.S, France, and
Great Britain
controlled West
Germany.
Sectors of Berlin
Berlin Airlift
The Berlin Airlift
June 27, 1948 to May 12, 1949
• The Soviets made no determined effort to
disrupt the airlift. There are 2 likely
reasons for this.
– 1st - The Soviets saw no need to interfere
with the airlift at first, because they believed it
would fail.
– 2nd - Disruption ran serious risks of triggering
a war.
Atomic Bomb Threat
August 1949
• Soviets exploded their
own atomic bomb
• Truman developed even
more powerful nuclear
weapons for national
defense
•
Hiroshima
– At 0816 hours, in an
instant, 66,000 people
were killed and 69,000
injured by a 10-kiloton
atomic explosion.
• Nagasaki
– In a split second,
Nagasaki's population
dropped from 422,000 to
383,000. Over 25,000
people were injured.
• The Soviets were dominating Eastern
Europe with communism, and the U.S.
wanted to stop them.
U.S. adopts 2 policies:
• 1st - Containment(1947) – stop the
spread of communism, or contain it.
– 2nd - Truman Doctrine(1947) – U.S. would
give money to countries to help them fight
communism
Alliances
• North Atlantic
Treaty Organization
(NATO) – Military
alliance with U.S. and
11 other countries to
help defend each
other in case of
attack.
• Warsaw Pact –
Alliance between the
Soviet Union and
Eastern European
nations (Stalin
controlled)
Communism on the Home Front
• Red Scare – Americans were fearful of
Communists living in U.S.
• McCarthy’s Campaign
– Senator Joseph McCarthy blamed the spread of
communism on the presence of traitors within the U.S.
government
– McCarthy made serious accusations without proof and
destroyed many lives.
– In 1953 he declared that there were communists in the
military and he was removed
Korean War
• The U.S. gains
possession of Korea
after WWII from
Japan.
• The U.S. and Russia
partition Korea (38th
parallel) like they did
with Germany and
Berlin
– Russia controls North
Korea
– The U.S. controls
South Korea
Cold War Becomes Hot
• War in Korea
– North Korea invades
South Korea
– The U.S. did not want
another country to be
communist.
– June 27, 1950 – U.N.
members met to
support South Korea
– General Douglas
MacArthur led U.N.
forces into South
Korea
• North Koreans
driven out of
South Korea at
one point, and
North Korean
Capitol
captured
• Chinese came
in from the
North and
drove the U.N.
forces out.
• July 27, 1953, 2
sides signed cease
fire agreement, war
ended in stalemate
• MacArthur wanted
ground and air
attacks on China,
Truman refused,
MacArthur lost his
position after
speaking out against
Truman
End of Korean War
• After three years of
fighting 2 countries
remained divided by
38th parallel
• Today
– North Korea is a
Communist
Dictatorship
– South Korea is a
Capitalist Democracy
Americans Fearful
• U.S. was afraid the
Soviet Union might
use Cuba as a base
to attack the U.S. and
spread Communism
into Latin America.
(U.S. policy of
containment)
Conflict With Cuba
• January 20, 1961 –
John F. Kennedy
became president
• He wanted to help
Latin America
become Democratic,
especially Cuba.
• Cuba is 90 miles from
Florida
Bay of Pigs Invasion
• April 1961 – Kennedy
sent some 1500
Cuban exiles into the
Bay of Pigs
(Southwest coast of
Cuba)
• Castro’s forces
attacked them =
disaster
• 1200 invading exiles
captured, the rest
killed
Fidel Castro
Berlin Wall Erected
• August 13, 1961 – East German workers
started building Berlin Wall
– 27 miles dividing East and West Berlin
– Kennedy sent 1500 troops to West Berlin to
protest
– Berlin Wall remained standing, the U.S. did
not want war.
Cuban Missile Crisis
• 1961 – Soviet Union
sending increased
numbers of military
personnel to Cuba
• Summer 1962 –
Soviets started
arming Cuba with
missiles , Soviets said
missiles were to
protect country from
future invasions
• September 1962 –
Kennedy warned
Soviet Leader
Khrushchev not to
place missiles in
Cuba that could
attack U.S. targets
– Khrushchev denied
anything being there
– U.S. spy planes took
photos proving
otherwise
• Pictures showed
installation of nuclear
missile launching
pads with enough
range to hit major
Southeastern cities.
• October 22, 1962
• Kennedy demanded
Khrushchev remove
missiles.
– U.S. would attack the
Soviet Union if they
fired missiles
anywhere in Western
Hemisphere
– Kennedy ordered the
U.S. navy to surround
Cuba and stop Soviet
ships. (U.S. Blockade)
• The Soviets removed
missiles, and the U.S.
promised not to
invade the island.
• November 22, 1963 –
Kennedy
assassinated by Lee
Harvey Oswald –
Lyndon Johnson
takes office.
• Soviets and Cubans
worried they’re
suspects.
Vietnam War
• The U.S. intervened
to stop the spread of
communism into
South Vietnam
(Domino Theory)
U.S. Position
• President Eisenhower
developed the
“Domino Theory” – if
Vietnam fell to
Communism, the U.S.
believed all of
Southeast Asia would
fall like dominoes
(China and North
Korea already did)
U.S. Involvement in Vietnam
• Communists within
South Vietnam –
Vietcong – tried to
take over the country
with help from the
North Vietnamese
– North and South
Vietnam divided by
ideologies
• South Vietnam was a
Democracy led by
Ngo Dinh Diem, who
ended up being killed
and South
Vietnamese
government officials
took over
• U.S. had been sending supplies to South
Vietnamese
• August 2, 1964 – U.S. destroyer attacked
in Gulf of Tonkin (off Vietnamese coast)
• August 7, 1964 – U.S. government
passed Tonkin Gulf Resolution –
President Johnson given power to take
action
• March 1965 – 1st U.S. combat troops
arrived in South Vietnam (Operation
Rolling Thunder – series of air attacks
meant to destroy war industries in North
Vietnam – it didn’t work)
Home Front
• Americans were
divided over whether
the U.S. should be
involved militarily in
Vietnam.
End of the Vietnam War
• 1973 – the U.S. pulled
out of Vietnam
• Vietnamization – U.S.
trained South Vietnamese
to carry on fight without
them
• 1975 – City of Saigon fell
to North Vietnam
• South Vietnam
surrendered
• Vietnam became a
unified COMMUNIST
COUNTRY
End of the Vietnam War
• The conflict ended in a ceasefire
agreement…
Costs of the War
• Over 58,000
Americans died
• 303,000 wounded
• Veterans who came
home were spit upon
and called baby killers
• Veterans suffered
post-traumatic stress
syndrome, they saw
things in war that
emotionally damaged
them
End of the Cold War
• 1985 Mikhail
Gorbachev came to
power in the Soviet
Union and pushed for
reforms to move them
closer to democracy.
• One by one Soviet
Republics declared
independence
• East Germans were
able to leave their
country
• November 1989 –
large group of prodemocratic activists
began tearing down
the Berlin Wall
• October 1990 – West
and East Germany
were reunited
• 1991 – Breakup of the
Soviet Union into
independent countries