The Cold War
Superpowers Collide:
United States vs. Soviet Union
Post WWII: Europe
• Britain
– Recovered slowly & couldn’t afford large military to
maintain colonies overseas-many gained independence
• France
– Fought to keep French Indochina in Southeast Asia: lost
Vietnam=major embarrassment
• Economies move toward socialism & economic cooperation
among countries
– Government set up pensions, unemployment insurance,
national healthcare, aid to poor, government control of
railroads, airlines, steel, etc.
– Free trade among member nations for all products
• Becomes foundation for present day European Union
Post WWII: Japan
• Under MacArthur
– Emperor lost all political power
– Constitution with parliamentary democracy
– Education system
– Equality for women
– Land reform for equality among farmers
– Money to rebuild cities and factories
• 1952: USA ends occupation, but maintain American military
bases; in turn, Japan protected by American nukes
– Established trade
– High quality exports with modern factories and educated
workforce
New World Leaders Emerge
• Superpower: Nation stronger than other
powerful nations
– USA & Soviet Union
• 1950s: Europe & USA: economic boom
with modern and more productive facilities
Soviet Union
Goals in Eastern Europe:
1. Spread communism
2. Create satellite nations
to protect against
another German
invasion
United States
No isolation
-will resist communism
anywhere in the world
Cold War
State of tension & hostility between
USA & S.U. without armed conflict;
competition between 2 contrasting
economic & political systems
-Lasts 40 years
-Provided weapons, training, aid to
others in conflict
Causes
*American fear of communist attack
* Truman’s dislike of Stalin
* Russia’s fear of the American's atomic bomb
* Russia’s dislike of capitalism
* Russia’s actions in the Soviet zone of Germany
* America’s refusal to share nuclear secrets
* Russia’s expansion west into Eastern Europe + broken
election promises
* Russia’s fear of American attack
* Russia’s need for a secure western border
* Russia’s aim of spreading world communism
Soviet Union
• Satellite Nation: countries dependent on
S.U. in Eastern Europe
• 1947: SU helps Greece and wants Turkey
• 1949: SU develops own atomic bomb
• 1950: Nikita Khrushchev takes control of
SU when Stalin dies
The Truman Doctrine
• Truman Doctrine: ‘policy of USA to
support free peoples who are resisting
communism’
• Containment: keeping communism within
existing boundaries & preventing further
expansion
• Americans would resist Soviet expansion in
Europe or worldwide
• 1947: Truman sends military and economic
aid to Greece and Turkey
The Marshall Plan
• Marshall Plan: to strengthen democratic
governments, USA gives aid to combat
postwar hunger & poverty to help Europe
rebuild (Europe’s New Deal)
• SU refused aid from Marshall Plan
– Forbade Eastern European countries to accept
American aid
– Instead, removes factories & resources from
German zone of occupation to rebuild
Europe and the World Divided
•Iron Curtain: tense line between Western & Eastern European blocs
Soviet Union
Eastern Bloc of Europe: defend
against western imperialism
United States
Western Bloc of Europe: defend
capitalism & democracy
-support of USA
Alliances: Warsaw Pact, China & N. Alliances: NATO, SEATO, CENTO,
Korea
Japan, S. Korea
Did NOT have resources to build
Built military bases all over world
military bases
•NATO: North Atlantic Treaty Organization-defensive military alliance
USA, Canada, & 10 European countries
•SEATO: Southeast Asia Treaty Organization
important to French Indochina-Vietnam
•CENTO: Central Treaty Organization
USA alliance with Turkey, Iran, Pakistan
Warsaw Pact: Soviet Union and 7 satellites nations in Eastern Europe
GERMANY DURING THE
COLD WAR
• East Germany & East Berlin:
– Soviet Union
– Communist
• West Germany & West Berlin:
– United economic zones under
USA
– Quick economic recovery &
political stability
• Democracy with own
government & constitution
Berlin Airlift & Berlin Wall
•
•
•
•
Berlin Airlift
– SU blockaded all roads and railroads into
West Berlin to keep the West from
reunifying Germany
– West flies in supplies every day, all day for
1 year until SU gives up
1950s: West Berlin=democratic prosperity
– Massive amounts of people left East
Germany
Berlin Wall: built in 1961 by SU to seal off
democratic West Berlin
– Barbed wire & patrolled by guards to keep
easterners from escaping to west
– Falls in 1989
1990: Germany votes to reunify Germany under
west’s democratic government
Economic Cold War
Soviet Union
United States
Economy failed
-couldn’t feed people
-inefficient & wasteful
-produced unneeded goods while
basic needs not being met
Can’t keep up with USA in arms race
or military preparedness
Economy boomed
-Economic freedom and choices
-private property
-based on supply and demand
Sole superpower at end of Cold War
Build up of Arms
• 1953: USA & SU built hydrogen bombs
(more destructive)
• Balance of Terror: Balance of power with
mutually assured destruction with use of
atomic and hydrogen bombs
• Proliferation: spread of nuclear weapons
• 1960: Brezhnev takes over when
Khrushechev steps down and ruled SUmore like Stalin
CUBA
• 1950s: Fidel Castro controls Cuba (90 miles
off coast of Florida)-communist
• 1961: Bay of Pigs Invasion: President JFK
sent invasion to bring down Castro in CubaFAILED
– USA issues trade embargo on Cuba-still
in effect today
• 1962: Cuban Missile Crisis
– SU sent nukes to Cuba
– USA set up blockade to prevent any
more shipments & demanded removal of
weapons already there
– TENSE 13 days
– SU (Khrushchev) finally agrees to
remove missiles if we disarm missiles in
Turkey
Limiting Nuclear Weapons
• 1968: Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treatynumber of nations agree not to develop
nuclear weapons & stop proliferation
• 1969: SALT-Strategic Arms Limitation
Talks-limit number of nuclear weapons held
by each side
• ABM: Anti-Ballistic Missile-both sides
develop missiles that could shoot down
other missiles aka Strategic Defense
Initiative (SDI) in USA
Detente
• 1970s: De’tente-period of relaxation of
tensions
– Use diplomacy, not military
• 1979: De’tente ends with SU invasion of
Afghanistan
1979: SU in Afghanistan
(Soviet Union’s Vietnam)
• SU supported government against
landlords/warlords & Muslim conservatives
– Mujahedin: Muslim conservative religious
warriors
• Leader Osama bin Laden
– Terrain: Afghan mountains benefitted locals
– Mid-1980s: USA giving weapons to mujahedin
– SU=heavy casualties, high costs, little success
1979: Iran Hostage Crisis
• Shah Pahlavi wants to modernize &
westernize Iran through oil trade
• Ayatollah Khomeini: hates USA for
backing Shah
– Muslim leader overthrows Shah to
rid Iran of western influence
– Shah escapes to USA
• “Argo”-Iranians under Ayatollah hold
American hostages in USA embassy in
Tehran, Iran for 1 year before release
• When tensions begin between USA &
Iran
Ending the Cold War
• 1980s: USA President Reagan
launches “Star Wars”-missile
defense system against nuclear
attack
• 1989: 8 satellite nations ended
communism within 6 months
Gorbachev
• 1985: New Soviet Leader-Mikhail
Gorbachev
– Signs arms control treaty with USA
– Pulled out of Afghanistan with loss
– Institutes glasnost and perestroika
• Glasnost: openness- ended censorship,
discuss country’s problems openly
• Perestroika: restructuring of government
and economy
– decreased bureaucracy; increased
private ownership, shortages, prices &
unemployment)
Cold War “ENDS”
• 1991: STARTStrategic Arms
Reduction Treaty
between the US
and SU
• 1991: Fall of
Soviet Union-led
by Boris Yeltsin;
COLD WAR
ENDS