Post World War II and theCold War

Post World War II• After World War II, Japan

and West Germany adopted constitutions that built democratic governments

• Two major powers emerged after the war: the United States and the Soviet Union

• Political and economic differences between the two led to a division of Europe that would last more than 40 years

• The conflict between democracy and communism spread around the globe

Post World War II• Joseph Stalin wanted to spread

communism throughout Eastern Europe

• Although he had promised free elections, Stalin instead supported the establishment of pro-communist governments

• Soon Europe was divided by an imaginary line known as the iron curtain– In the East were the Soviet-

dominated communist countries– In the West were the western

democracies, led by the United States

Post World War II• Two Superpowers– Once powerful

countries were in decline:• Germany, France, and

Great Britain

– Two countries emerged as the world’s only superpowers• The US and the USSR

The Cold War Begins

• Conflicts in ways of thinking and mutual distrust led to the Cold War

• The US and western powers feared the spread of communism

• Stalin created satellite countries– When he put

pressure on Greece and Turkey, the US began to step in

The Cold War Begins• In March of 1947, Truman

established a policy known as the Truman Doctrine– Economic and military

program designed to help other nations resist Soviet aggression

– Based on the theory of containment

• Marshall Plan– A massive economic aid

package designed to strengthen democratic governments and lessen the appeal of communism

• Berlin Airlift

Cold War

• Opposing Military Alliances– NATO• Western countries planned to support one another if

one member was attacked

– Warsaw Pact• Promised mutual military cooperation between the

USSR and the satellite countries

Cold War• The Arms Race

– Both the US and USSR armed themselves, preparing for an attack from the other

– The US developed an atomic bomb during WWII

– The USSR developed one by 1949

• The Space Race– The Soviet Union launched

Sputnik in 1957– Congress establishes NASA to

race the USSR to the moon– By 1969, the US put a man

on the moon

The Cold War in East Asia• The US and USSR

never directly clashed in combat

• However, the Cold War tensions grew into bitter wars in Korea in the 1950s and in Vietnam in the 1960s and 1970s

Cold War Conflict

The Cold War in East Asia• Korean War (1950-1953)

– After WWII, Korea was divided into two parts

– North Korea was occupied by Soviet soldiers and South Korea was occupied by American forces

– Seeking unification, the North Koreans invaded the South

– Under the guidance of General MacArthur, the South pushed the North back to the Chinese border

– China stepped in and pushed the South back to the 38th parallel

– The armistice signed in 1953 created the demilitarized zone that exists today

The Cold War in East Asia• Vietnam War (1955 – 1975)

– By 1954, Vietnam was divided into a north half led by Ho Chi Minh and a southern half led by non-communist Ngo Dinh Diem

– US soldiers were sent to prevent the North from conquering the South

– The US soldiers were not able to defeat the communist forces and by 1973, President Nixon ordered a cease fire and pulled the US out of Vietnam

– By 1975, the North successfully unified Vietnam under a communist government

Exit Ticket:

• How did differing political systems help cause the Cold War between the US and the USSR?

Cold War in the Middle East

• Arab States and Israel– New Egyptian leadership

seeks to push foreign influences out of Egypt

– Received support for the building of new infrastructure and wars with Israel from the USSR

– The US backs Israel in both wars

Cold War in the Middle East• Iran and Iraq– Rivalries over oil

resources fueled Cold War tensions

– The US supported a tyrannical anticommunist shah in Iran

– The Soviet Union supported governments in Iraq, Syria, and Libya

Cold War in Latin America• Cuba had won its

independence from Spain in 1898

• In 1952, a corrupt leader took power and brutally controlled Cuba

• Fidel Castro organized a guerilla army and seized power in 1959

• Castro then establishes a communist dictatorship and asks the Soviet Union for support

Cold War in Latin America• Cuba became part of the

rivalry between the US and USSR

• Bay of Pigs– Cuban exiles attack Cuba

unsuccessfully

• US imposed trade embargo on Cuba

• Castro allows the USSR to build nuclear missile sites on Cuba… 90 miles from the coast of Florida– Cuban Missile Crisis

Economic Issues• Market Economies– All property, including the

means of production, is privately owned

– Private businesses and individuals are free from public control so that they can make basic economic decisions

– Prices are determined by supply and demand

– Competition promotes high quality and low prices

• Command Economies– The government owns the

means of production, distribution, and exchange

– Government officials make all basic economic decisions, such as what will be produced, when, and where

– The government plans the economy

– There is limited production of consumer goods and an emphasis on industrial growth

Japan: An Economic Superpower

• The US occupation of Japan after WWII helped to establish democracy

• As Japan recovered, they began to be viewed by other countries as a potential ally

Before

Japan: An Economic Superpower• How Did They Do It?– Japan added the latest

technology– Well-educated and highly

skilled workforce– Japanese savings gave banks

capital to invest in industry– The government, prohibited

from spending money on defense, poured funds into the economy

– High tariffs and strict regulations to limit foreign competition

After

OPEC and Economic Interdependence• In 1960, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela

formed the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries• Control oil industry by setting production levels and prices

OPEC and Oil Prices

• In 1973, OPEC nations halted exports of oil to certain countries

• Arab countries declared an embargo on the US

• Prices skyrocketed which affected growth in Western countries

Collapse of Communism and the Soviet Union

• In the 1970s, the Cold War had been going on for more than 25 years

• The possibility existed for the tension to end in mutual destruction

• Richard Nixon and Leonid Brezhnev promoted a period of détente. This involved:– Arms control talks and treaties– Cultural exchanges– Trade agreements

Collapse of Communism and the Soviet Union

• In 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev came to power in the Soviet Union– Gorbachev wanted to end the tension and reform the

Soviet government• Perestroika

– Gorbachev restructured the failing state-run economy– Referred to as perestroika– Free market reforms, more efficient industry– Shortages of food and medicine

• Glasnost– Gorbachev called for more openness, or glasnost, which ended

censorship and encouraged people to talk freely about everything

Collapse of Communism and the Soviet Union

• Since WWII, Germany had been divided into a democratic Western state and communist Eastern state

• The Berlin Wall had been built in 1961 to keep East Germans from fleeing to the West

• In November 1989, rising protests led to the tearing down of the Berlin Wall

• Russia would experience problems transitioning from communist to a capitalist state

Chinese Communist Revolution• Mao Zedong emerged as the Communist leader in

the 1930s– Him and 100,000 of his followers fled the Goumindang

and Chiang Kai-shek into the Northern Chinese mountains

– Known as the Long March– Only 20,000 survived– In the years that followed, the Japanese, Communists,

and Goumindang battled for control of China– In 1949 the Communists seized power

Chinese Communist Revolution

• Reasons for Success– Mao won the support of

the huge peasant population

– Mao won the support of women by rejecting traditional inequalities

– Guerilla warfare– Government allowed for

foreign domination

Communism Under Mao Zedong• Great Leap Forward– Mao launched the Great

Leap Forward in 1958– Increase agricultural and

industrial output– Communes

• Collection of farms and farmers that had to meet quotas

– Failed miserably!– Didn’t meet quotas and

actually led to famine

• Cultural Revolution– Renew people’s loyalty to

Communism and establish a more equitable society

– Mao called for students to leave school and experience the revolution for themselves• Red Guard

– Economy slows, people fear arrest, close China to foreign influence