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The Cold War 1945-1990United States (US) vs. Union of Soviet Socialist

Republics (USSR)Democracy vs. Communism

Capitalism vs. Socialism

The Cold War: Part I

Background of Conflict

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US/USSR Relationship during WWII• Before the end of World War

II, Stalin, Churchill and Roosevelt met at Yalta to plan what should happen when the war ended. They agreed on many points:

1. The establishment of the United Nations

2. Division of Germany into four zones

3. Free elections allowed in the states of Eastern Europe (Poland)

4. Promise to join the war against Japan

Winston Churchill (England), Franklin Roosevelt (US) and Joseph Stalin (USSR) meet in Yalta in 1945 to decide the fate of post-war Europe.

Wars: HOT vs. COLD

• HOT war- actual fighting between two forces.

• COLD war- still a conflict but more of ideas than actual battles. Fighting still occurs but not between the two major enemies.

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Cold War Characteristics• A conflict of ideas without actual battlefields or armies facing off

• Political, strategic, economic, and ideological conflicts between the US and USSR (eventually spread throughout the world)

• War of ideologies: Capitalist Democracy vs. Communism• Struggle that contained everything short of war• Competing social and economic ideologies

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Six major strategies were used by both sides:

•1. Brinkmanship,•2. Espionage,•3. Foreign aid,•4. Alliances,•5. Propaganda,•6. Surrogate wars.

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Developmentof 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.

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Cold War Goals for US

• Promote open markets for US goods to prevent

another depression• Promote democracy throughout the world, especially in Asia and Africa.• Stop the spread of communism

–“Domino Theory”

Developmentof 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.

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Cold War Goals for USSR•Create greater security for itself

– lost tens of millions of people in WWII and Stalin’s purges– feared a strong Germany

•Establish defensible borders•Encourage friendly governments on its borders•Spread communism around the world

“From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic an iron curtain has descended across the Continent. Behind that line lie all the capitals of the ancient states of Central and Eastern Europe. Warsaw, Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Budapest, Belgrade, all these famous cities and the populations around them lie in what I must call the Soviet sphere, and all are subject in one form or another, not only to Soviet influence but to a very high and, in some cases, increasing measure of control from Moscow.”

Excerpt from Winston Churchill’s “Iron Curtain Speech.”

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Cold War Policies: Truman Doctrine•1947: British help Greek government fight communist forces.

–They appealed to America for aid, and the response was the Truman Doctrine. – America promised it would support free countries to help fight communism.– Greece received large amounts of arms and supplies and by 1949 had defeated the communists.

•The Truman Doctrine was significant because it showed that America, the most powerful democratic country, was prepared to resist the spread of communism throughout the world.• Spent over $400 million

Cold War Policies: Containment• Definition:

– By applying firm diplomatic, economic, and military counter pressure, the United States could block Soviet aggression.

– Goal was to stop communism from spreading!

• Formulated by George F. Kennan as a way to stop Soviet expansion without having to go to war.

• The Containment Doctrine would later be expanded in 1949, which called for a dramatic increase in defense spending

– From $13 billion to $50 billion a year, to be paid for with a large tax increase.

– served as the framework for American policy over the next 20 years

National Defense Budget [1940-1964]

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Cold War Policies: Marshall Plan In 1947, US Secretary of State Marshall

announced the Marshall Plan. – Massive economic aide for Europe to

help it recover from the damage caused by WWII. (Total spent = $17 billion)

There were two motives for this: 1. Helping Europe to recover economically

would provide markets for American goods benefits US economy and industries

2. A prosperous Europe would be better able to resist the spread of communism.

A poster promoting the Marshall Plan

Secretary of State George Marshall.

Countries Receiving Marshall Plan Aide

Dividing Germany• U.S., Britain, and France

merged their zones in 1948 to create an independent West German state.

• June 1948: Stalin decided to gain control of West Berlin, which was deep inside the Eastern Sector– Cuts road, rail, and canal

links with West Berlin; hoping to starve it into submission.

Berlin Airlift• The U.S. began a massive airlift of supplies that lasted

almost a year. (7,000 tons a day) • In May 1949 Stalin lifted the blockade, conceding that

he could not prevent the creation of West Germany.• Thus, the creation of East and West Germany

A plane flies in supplies during the Berlin Airlift.

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The Berlin Crisis: June 1948-May 1949

• West Berlin, was an outpost of Western democracy and economic success deep within the communist zone – like a capitalist island within communist East Germany

• It was felt by both sides that Berlin could act as the trigger for general war between capitalist and communist countries

North Atlantic Treaty Organization & the Warsaw Pact

• Stalin’s aggressive actions accelerated the American effort to use military means to contain Soviet ambitions.

• The U.S. joined with Canada, Britain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg to establish NATO, a mutual defense pact in 1949.

• When West Germany joined NATO in 1955, the Soviet Union countered by creating its own alliance system in eastern Europe– the Warsaw Pact (1955)

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NATO: North Atlantic Treaty Organization• In 1949 the western nations formed the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to coordinate their defense against USSR.• Pledged signers to treat an attack against one, as an attack against all•It originally consisted of:

–America - Holland–Belgium - Italy–Britain - Luxembourg–Canada - Norway–Denmark - Portugal–France

• When West Germany joined in 1955, the Soviets responded…..

NATO flag

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Warsaw Pact• Warsaw Pact: organization of communist states in Central and Eastern Europe. •Established May 14, 1955 in Warsaw, Poland in response to NATO•Founding members:

–Albania (left in 1961) - Poland–Bulgaria - Romania–Czechoslovakia - USSR (founding member)–Hungary - East Germany (joined in 1956)

Greatest extent of Warsaw Pact