Opener Prompt
• What similarities were there between the U.S.
after WWI and after WWII?
Cold War
Part I: Reconstruction and
Confrontation
After WWII—Bi-Polar System
• World is divided into spheres of influence
between Soviet Union and U.S.
– What’s a sphere of influence
• A territorial area in which political and economic
control is wielded by one nation
Roots of the Cold War
• What is a Cold War?
– A continuing state of political conflict, military
tension, proxy wars, and economic competition
between the Soviet Union (and its allies) and the
United States (Western World)
– Leads to Hot Wars…Korea/Vietnam, etc.
– Mutual distrust and suspicion between Soviet
Union and U.S./Western World
Causes of the Cold War:
Economic & Political Differences
• Soviet Union
– Communist
– Dictatorship
– Favor needs of state over
personal human rights
– Resent US/GB efforts to
crush Russian Revolution
(1918)
• United States
– Capitalist
– Democracy
– “Valued” freedom and
“promote” democracy
– Resent Nazi-Soviet NonAggression Pact
Causes of the Cold War—
Soviet Security Concerns
• U.S. hid secrets of Atomic Bomb…
– Development of Nuclear Arms Race
• Soviets want control over Eastern European
States, Why?
– History of invasion from West thru Poland…
• Yalta/Potsdam: Soviets Promise Free Elections
– Post WWII: Stalin/Soviet army block free elections
• Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Poland
(Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Ukraine) become puppets of
Soviet Union
The “Iron Curtain”
• Winston Churchill, 1946
– 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…In a
great number of countries, far from the Russian
frontiers and throughout the world, Communist
fifth columns are established and work in
complete unity and absolute obedience to the
directions they receive from the Communist
center…I do not believe that Soviet Russia
desires war. What they desire is the fruits of war
and the indefinite expansion of their power and
doctrines…But what we have to consider here
today while time remains, is the permanent
prevention of war and the establishment of
conditions of freedom and democracy as rapidly
as possible in all countries.
Causes of the Cold War—
Germany & Berlin
• Soviet Union
– Econ. Hurt by WWII,
want Germany to pay
reparations/strip
Germany of its resources
• United States/West
– Truman realizes German
industry essential to
Europe; unify into 1
economic unit
– Prevent fall of Germany
to communism
Result: Split Germany as well
as Berlin into 4 sectors
(Soviet, U.S., British, and
French)
Causes of the Cold War—
Stalin v. Truman
• Stalin
– Anger over lateness of
D-Day invasion
– Views U.S. as leader of
Imperial Powers
– Communism World Wide
• Truman
– Staunch Anti-Communist
– Colonialist
Goals of Two Sides
• Soviet & Eastern Bloc
Nations
– Spread Communism
World Wide
– Methodologies
• Espionage: KGB
• Nuclear Arms Race
• Compete for minds/
hearts of 3rd World
peoples—Proxy Wars
• Warsaw Pact
• U.S. & Western
Democracies
– “Containment” of
Communism
– Methodologies
• Espionage: CIA
• Nuclear Arms Race
• Compete for minds/
hearts of 3rd World
Peoples—Proxy Wars
• NATO
Truman on the
Soviets/Communism
• “One way of life is based upon the will of the majority,
and is distinguished by free institutions, representative
government, free elections, guarantees of individual
liberty, freedom of speech and religion, and freedom
from political oppression. ”
• “The second way of life is based upon the will of a
minority forcibly imposed upon the majority. It relies
upon terror and oppression, a controlled press and
radio; fixed elections, and the suppression of personal
freedoms. ”
• President Truman (1947)
A Soviet Perspective…
The foreign policy of the United States, which reflects the imperialist tendencies of American
monopolistic capital, is characterized in the postwar period by a striving for world supremacy.
This is the real meaning of the many statements by President Truman and other representatives of
American ruling circles; that the United States has the right to lead the world. All the forces of
American diplomacy -- the army, the air force, the navy, industry, and science -- are enlisted in
the service of this foreign policy. For this purpose broad plans for expansion have been developed
and are being implemented through diplomacy and the establishment of a system of naval and air
bases stretching far beyond the boundaries of the United States, through the arms race, and
through the creation of ever newer types of weapons. . . .
During the Second World War . . . [American leaders] calculated that the United States of
America, if it could avoid direct participation in the war, would enter it only at the last minute,
when it could easily affect the outcome of the war, completely ensuring its interests. In this
regard, it was thought that the main competitors of the United States would be crushed or greatly
weakened in the war, and the United States by virtue of this circumstance would assume the role
of the most powerful factor in resolving the fundamental questions of the postwar world.
Source: Excerpt from a telegram sent by Soviet Ambassador Nikolai Novikov to Soviet
Leadership in September 1946.
Summary
• “It was not just that the two ideologies were
conflicting - they were militant and
expansionist. They both believed that the
alternative ideology was a threat to their own
way of life, and that the only way for the
world to be happy was for their particular
ideology to take over the world. This mixture
of ideological fear and aggression meant that
in both America and Russia, their beliefs
invaded and affected their foreign policies.”
Early Cold War Policy
The Truman Years…
Truman Foreign Policy:
Containment
• Containment
– Response to Soviet
expansion in E. Europe
– Intro. by George
Kennan (1946): Long
Telegram
– Goal: Limit/Prevent
the spread of
communism
Henry Wallace Letter to Truman
I have been increasingly disturbed about the trend of international affairs since the end of the war.
How do American actions appear to other nations? I mean actions [like] the Bikini tests of the
atomic bomb and continued production of bombs, the plan to arm Latin America with our
weapons, and the effort to secure air bases spread over half the globe from which the other half of
the globe can be bombed. I cannot but feel that these actions must make it look to the rest of the
world as if we were only paying lip service to peace at the conference table.
These facts rather make it appear either (1) that we are preparing ourselves to win the war which
we regard as inevitable or (2) that we are trying to build up a predominance [largest amount] of
force to intimidate the rest of mankind.
Our interest in establishing democracy in Eastern Europe, where democracy by and large has
never existed, seems to [the Soviets] an attempt to reestablish the encirclement of unfriendly
neighbors which might serve as a springboard of still another effort to destroy [them].
Source: Secretary of Commerce and former Vice President Henry A. Wallace letter to President
Harry S. Truman, July 23, 1946. Truman asked Wallace to resign shortly after this letter.
Truman Doctrine
The United States has received from the Greek Government an urgent appeal for financial and economic
assistance…Greece is in desperate need of financial and economic assistance to enable it to resume
purchases of food, clothing, fuel, and seeds.
The very existence of the Greek state is today threatened by the terrorist activities of several thousand armed
men, led by Communists, who defy the government's authority. . . . Greece must have assistance if it is to
become a self-supporting and self-respecting democracy. The United States must supply this assistance. . . .
No other nation is willing and able to provide the necessary support for a democratic Greek government.
One of the primary objectives of the foreign policy of the United States is the creation of conditions in
which we and other nations will be able to work out a way of life free from coercion.
It is necessary only to glance at a map to realize that the survival and integrity of the Greek nation are of
grave importance in a much wider situation. If Greece should fall under the control of an armed minority,
the effect upon its neighbor, Turkey, would be immediate and serious. Confusion and disorder might well
spread throughout the entire Middle East. . . . Should we fail to aid Greece and Turkey in this fateful hour,
the effect will be far reaching to the West as well as to the East.
The free peoples of the world look to us for support in maintaining their freedoms. If we falter in our
leadership, we may endanger the peace of the world. And we shall surely endanger the welfare of this
nation. Great responsibilities have been placed upon us by the swift movement of events.
Source: Excerpt from the “Truman Doctrine Speech,” delivered by President Truman to Congress on March
12, 1947.
Truman Doctrine
• Truman Doctrine (1947)
– Offered $400 million in
economic and military
aid to Greece and
Turkey…Why?
• Why did this increase
tensions between U.S.
& Soviet Union (USSR)?
Marshall Plan
• Intro. by Sec. of State
George Marshall (1948)
• 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.
• $12.5 Billion in aid to W.
Europe…Why?
Berlin Blockade and Airlift
(1948-1949)
• One of the earliest conflicts of Cold
War…response to steps toward
unification of W. Germany (1949)
• Soviets block western access to
their zones in Berlin…try to force
them out
• What was the outcome?
Significance?
North Atlantic Treaty Org. (NATO)
1949-Present
• Mutual defense/military
alliance…Why?
•
What role did Berlin Blockade
play?
• United States, Belgium, Britain,
Canada, Denmark, France,
Iceland, Italy, Luxemburg,
Netherlands, Norway, Portugal
• 1952: Greece & Turkey
• 1955: West Germany
Warsaw Pact (1955)
• Soviet Response to NATO (Military Alliance)
• U. S. S. R., Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia,
East Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania
Summary Question
• How did President Truman’s foreign policy
attempt to contain the spread of Communism
in the early stages of the Cold War?
– What examples do you have to support?
The Cold War Heats Up
The Domino Theory Emerges
1949—Red China
• Post-WWII: Civil War
resumes in China
– Communists (Mao
Zedong) v. Nationalists
(Chiang Kai- Shek)
– U.S. provides over $2.4
billion in aid and
weapons to Nationalists,
Why?
Chairman Mao
“The Reds Are Taking Over”
• 1949: China Falls to
Communism
– Mao Zedong
• 1949: Soviets launch
1st A-Bomb
• 1949: Strenuous
Chinese/Soviet
Alliance
• Significance of all
these events?
U.S. Concerns Increase
• Sheer physical size of Russia and China;
combined populations; threat to Containment
• Why did Japan become so important to U.S.
foreign policy?
• Why were U.S. fears of full-scale
Russian/Chinese cooperation probably
misplaced?
Cold War Turns Hot: Korean War
• Pre WWII Korea:
– Invaded by Japan (1910)
• Post WWII Korea:
– Korea divided at 38th
parallel
– N. Korea
• Soviet backed govt. led by
Kim IL-Sung
– S. Korea
• U.S. backed govt. led by
Syngman Rhee
Korean War (1950-1953)
• June 25, 1950: N. Korea
invades S. Korea
– Soviets arm N. Koreans
– MacArthur views as challenge
to U.S.
– Why is S. Korea important to
U.S. strategically?
• N. Korean push US/S. Korean
& United Nations troops to
southern port of Puson
(9/1950)
Korean War (1950-1953)
• American counter attack at
Inchon…push N. Koreans up to
Chinese border…
– MacArthur’s Error… China Enters
the War
• UN troops force Chinese/N.
Koreans back to 38th Parallel
• MacArthur calls for use of
nuclear bomb
– Wants to expand into N.
Korea…publicly criticizes Truman
• Truman fires MacArthur…why?
Show Korean War Stories Video Clip: “Sneak Attack”
Eisenhower’s Election and War’s End
• Panmunjon--Peace Talks: 11/1951 to 7/1953
– Eisenhower becomes President (Jan. 1953)
– John Foster Dulles (Sec. of State): New Look Foreign Policy
• Foreign Policy proposing use of nuclear weapons rather than traditional
forces in an effort to threaten “Massive Retaliation” against
Soviet/Communist advances abroad
– Stalin Dies…Comm. More willing to negotiate
• Korean War ends in Stalemate: 38th Parallel
• 36,914 American deaths
– Total S. K./UN Casualties: 900,000 (est.)
– Total N.K./Chinese Casualties: 1.5 million (est.)
– Civilian Casualties: 2.5 mill. (est.)
Impact of Korea
• 1st “Hot War of the Cold War”
• Asia: 2nd Front Opened in the
Cold War
– Led to formation of SEATO
– U.S. support for French in
Vietnam
• Truman: Exec. Order 9981
– 1st war w/ Deseg. military
• Birth of Modern Fighter Jet &
Helicopter
• “The Forgotten War”
• Rise of the Domino Theory
Show Korean War Stories video
clip: “The Price of Freedom”
Domino Theory
Exit Slip
• Discuss at least 3 causes of the Cold War.
• Describe 3 specific actions the United States
took to limit the spread of communism/Soviet
influence.
• What events contributed to the United States’
decision to enter the Korean War?
• How was the Korean War a microcosm
(symbolic) of the Cold War?
Thinking Map
• Create a Double Bubble in which your group
analyzes:
– Who started the Cold War?
Analogy Flip Book
• Analogies, similes, and metaphors compare
two items that may not necessarily be related.
– Simile: expressed analogy (using “like” or “as”)
– Metaphor: implied analogy
• Examples:
– Reconstruction was like getting hired a fired in the
same week.
– Presidential Reconstruction was a slap on the
wrist for Southerners.
Analogy Flip Book
• Working with a partner (if you’d like)…come
up with an analogy for the Cold War Your flip
book must contain the following:
• 3 specific pieces of evidence to support your analogy
• Illustrations that help depict your main ideas
– Be prepared to present your analogy to the class
at the end of the period.