CH 27 Cold War and Post War Changes

•27.1 Development of the Cold War

Confrontation of Super Powers

• The US and Soviet Union emerged as two Super Powers after WWII• Strong Military and lots of political influence

• This rivalry led to new alliances• US and allies formed NATO 1949• Soviet Union and allies formed the Warsaw Pact 1955

Europe – post WWII• US and GB thought liberated nations should determine their

own forms of gov’t

• Stalin was afraid that nations would be anti-Soviet• Soviet military remained present in Eastern Europe to prevent

this

Greece• Civil war broke out • Communists vs Anti-Communists• Britain was supporting anti Communists, but couldn’t afford to

for long

• President Harry Truman (US) fearful that the Communists would win, stepped in • The Truman Doctrine • $400M to help Greece and Turkey• “The US will support free peoples facing outside pressure”• Any nation facing a Communist threat could be aided by the US

The Marshall Plan• Communism works in nations that have economic problems

• Since much of Europe was destroyed in the war, many of these nations could become Communist

• US Sec. of State George C Marshall• $13 Billion in aid to these nations to help them rebuild • Buying support?• Containment – US would do what ever it takes to keep

Communism from spreading to other nations

• Soviet Union tried to do something similar, but failed

Germany Divided • Three Allied forces met to unify

their areas of Germany into a single govt

• The Soviets opposed this and blockaded Berlin in the East• Nothing was allowed in from

the West

• Berlin Airlift 1949• Food and supplies would be

flown in for nearly a year

Federal Republic of Germany

German Democratic Republic

Cold War Spreads• Mao Zedong and the Communists won control of China• This made the US more nervous about the continued spread of

Communism around the world

• The Arms Race• Both the US and Soviet Union continued to build up their nuclear

arsenal • This might prevent war?• Nuclear Deterrence

Berlin Wall • Nikita Khrushchev becomes

new leader of Soviet Union in 1955

• To prevent people from leaving East Berlin to West Berlin, he builds the Berlin Wall

• 1961

• Guarded with barbed wire,

Peter Fechter

Cuban Missile Crisis• 1959 – Fidel Castro overthrows Batista in Cuba• Removes all American businesses• Establishes Communist govt 90 miles off the coast of US

• President Kennedy fears that an attack on Cuba would lead to an attack on Berlin by the Soviets

• Kennedy decided to launch an invasion to remove Castro• Bay of Pigs April 16,1961• Horrible failure

Cuban Missile Crisis • After failed attempt, Soviet Union sent nuclear weapons to Cuba

• October 1962 • US has similar weapons in Turkey• The US responds by ordering a blockade of Cuba to stop more missiles

from entering Cuba• Possibly the closest the world had ever come to being destroyed with

nuclear weapons• Special phone line installed directly from Washington DC to Moscow

• Duck and Cover

Vietnam and the Domino Theory

• North Vietnam became a Communist nation • 1964 President Lyndon John committed troops to South Vietnam

to prevent the further spread of Communism in the area

• If South Vietnam fell, so would the other nations in the area

• US had far superior weapons,but could not defeat the Viet Kong and communists in the area

Conflict continues until 1973

27.2 Soviet Union and Eastern Europe

• The Soviet Union was devastated after WWII• Stalin tried to go back to his previous ideas of exporting goods• In only 5 years after the war, Soviets were producing more than

they had before the war

• Made advancements in science and technology • Sputnik October 4, 1957

• Tsar Bomba - 1961

Khrushchev Era • Stalin dies in 1953

• Nikita Khrushchev assumes control of the Soviet Union

• Works to fix many of the issues created by Stalin’s regime• de-Stalinization

• Produced more consumer goods

• After the Cuban Missile Crisis he was voted out of office (while on vacation)

Eastern Europe • After WWII, many nations remained under Soviet control• Soviet satellites

• Revolts against Communism • Hungary – 1956, Imre Nagy. • Withdrew from Warsaw Pact

• Quickly suppressed by Soviet military

• Invasion of Czechoslovakia• 1968• Alexander Dubcek • Also suppressed with force

• It became clear that the Soviets would use force to maintain control

CH 27.3 Western Europe and North America

• The Marshall Plan had a profound impact on Western Europe

• France • Charles de Gaulle • Established new gov’t in France

• The Fifth Republic• Became first president of France

• France became a economic power• Invested in nuclear arms as well

• Problems lingered • Student protests, labor strikes,high cost of living, gov’t spending

The Economic Miracle

• Konrad Adenauer • Chancellor of unified West Germany • Worked with US and France to rebuild economy of Germany

• Unemployment dropped

• Production increased so much that “guest workers” had to be brought in from surrounding nations

Great Britain• WWII caused massive economic problems in Great Britain

• Churchill lost reelection to the Labour Party and Clement Attlee

• Established a welfare state• Govt takes responsibility for the care of its citizens • 1946 – National Insurance Act and National Health Service Act

• Socialized medicine • Very costly• British Empire was dismantled

US after the War• America experienced an economic boom• US did not experience the destruction of the war • Labor unions grew in size

• More money in households

• The Red Scare • Fear of communists operatingin the US• Sen. McCarthy

Civil Rights • 1954 – Brown v Board of Education • Topeka, Kansas• Separate is not equal

• 1963 Martin Luther King Jr led the March on Washington • Similar to Gandhi

• 1964 – Civil Rights Act

• Late 1960s and early 1970s – Vietnam protests• Kent State 1970

Women in Post War Society • Women were essential to the war effort• Pushed out of jobs when war ended

• Women paid less for same work as men

• Women’s Liberation Movement • Feminists who fought for equal treatment in the workforce

• Students also rebelled • Students were not satisfied with how they were treated in

colleges and universities • Not being prepared for the modern world