Society Changes in Cold War Era

1945-1991

North American Changes

U.S. Economy 1960s – Consumer spending at an all time high – post war U.S. economy was

at an all time high and people are ready to buy goods after years of depression

1970s – Rapid inflation and high unemployment returns and slows economy Energy crisis occurs because of oil supply disruption due to Middle East turmoil Causes issues into the early 1980s Industry struggles – especially auto makers, ship builders, and steel companies U.S. Companies close – people lose jobs

1980s – Economy recovers but national debt grows as the government was spending more money on programs than taxes were bringing in New industries begin in new technology programs and service industries (banking,

health care and sales)

North American Changes

Social Changes Standard of Living increases

Booming economy GI Bill of Rights – allowed many veterans to attend college Baby Boom occurs – many veterans marry and start families

African American Advances – segregation is ending 1948 – Segregation of armed forces ends 1954 – Brown v. Board of Education – ends segregation of public schools Civil Rights movement begins – ending separate but equal of African Americans

Led by – Martin Luther King Jr., James Farmer, Malcolm X Led to Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965

Women’s Rights – movement in 1960s and 1970s that said women and men should be equal Counterculture movement – rebellion of teens and young adults against mainstream culture

and focused around the Vietnam War

North American Changes

Canadian Changes Quiet Revolution – 1960s movement in Quebec Province

which saw the French speaking area want separation from the rest of Canada

Other aspects were much like U.S. Economy boom Baby boom Veterans taken care of with special programs Counterculture revolution – housed American males

escaping the draft of the Vietnam War

Western Europe Changes

Marshall Plan keeps chaos from coming to Western Europe – was on the brink of economic collapse until this program helped rebuild the area 1950s – Farms and factories producing more than before World War II West Germany becomes a major economic power Dramatic immigration from former European colonies caused strain on economy and

there was a period of poverty and strained relations between the people of certain regions of Europe

Alliances and Economic Unity – Europe no longer center of power so old rivalries began to go away NATO formation brings unity to Western Europe Tried to create a single market economy to rival the U.S.

1957 – European Economic Community formed 1960 – Free Trade Association formed

Eastern Europe and Soviet Union

Soviet Union had a tough rebuild – many were killed and there was a great deal of damage to economy Stalin – instituted strict government control and pushed economy back

to prewar levels by 1953 Nikita Khrushchev – “De-Stalinized” Russia by loosening some of the

most drastic economic and political restrictions, but offered no freedom

Revolutions in Eastern Europe Revolts put down in East Germany, Poland, Hungary, and

Czechoslovakia Solidarity Movement – led by Lech Walesa in Poland to protest

Communism

Glasnost and Perestroika

Caused by economic problems that began in the 1960s and became desperate issues in the 1980s

Started by: Mikhail Gorbachev Glasnost and Perestroika – radical changes made by Gorbachev to fix Soviet

Union’s problems Glasnost – discuss problems openly Perestroika – reforming the economic and political systems of Soviet Union

Reforms: Pursued arms control agreements – cut military costs Introduced free-market mechanisms into Soviet economy Pulled Soviet troops out of Eastern Europe – led to changes in Eastern Europe

Revolutions Return to Eastern Europe

Started in 1989 with pull out of Soviet troops Velvet Revolution – peaceful revolution in

Czechoslovakia that pushed out Communists Solidarity Movement – gained free-elections in Poland Fall of the Berlin Wall – opened up East Germany to

West Germany and allowed free flow of citizens across the boarder 1990 – East and West Germany re-unify into one nation

again

Post Cold War Russia

1991 – Hard line communists attempt a coup on Gorbachev’s government in Russia, but it fails Boris Yeltsin helps keep hard liners out of power Gorbachev’s power gone – Soviet Union begins to break up with small republics once under Soviet

control gaining their freedom Ends Cold War

Communism ends in Russia – Yeltsin, now the president, begins to introduce capitalism to Russian system Freedom for land owners and business owners Reforms were mixed – by early 2000s Russia had rebounded but transition has been hard for Soviet

Union

Major Issues following collapse of Communism – ethnic unrest and need for new governments Problems in Chechnya – considered part of Russia that wanted its freedom – led to bloody fighting

Post Cold War Europe

With the fall of Communism in some areas it led to rise in tensions between different ethnic groups who were fighting for control and freedom Major issue in Yugoslavia – Serbs wanted to remain part of Yugoslavia, but others

wanted to separated into an independent nation – led to a nasty war between ethnic groups Serbs began using a policy of ethnic cleansing, eliminating an ethnic group through killing or

forced emigration to another region U.S. diplomacy ends crisis in 1995 Second crisis started in Kosovo in 1999 – NATO warplanes bombed the region and

peacekeepers are still there ensuring peace and order Economic issues become a problem also as some nations do well and others struggle

European Union forms in 1992 – allows Eastern European nations to join to help Europe become an economic power – first joint political and economic group in Europe

Post Cold War U.S.

Economy was booming in the 1990s: Saw a transition to technology industry – computers help this

growth Emergence of the Internet – linked us globally

Led to the boom in Stock Market because of “.com Industries”

Economy takes a downturn in 2000s – energy shortages, increased government spending, rising national debt, and growing gap between rich and poor were major concerns

Conflicts for the U.S.

Focus begins to shift to Middle East problems: First Persian Gulf War (1990) – U.S. forces Saddam Hussein to move his Iraqi

army out of Kuwait and back into Iraq – threat to oil supplies War on Terror – Terrorist groups always a problem in the Middle East began a

campaign of attacks on embassies and even the U.S. soil in the 1993 attack on World Trade Center Main focus – al Qaeda and its leader Osama Bin Laden September 11, 2001- al Qaeda flies planes into both World Trade Center Towers and

the Pentagon leading to the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan to get rid of the group and its supporters the Taliban

2003 – U.S. invades Iraq – starting Second Gulf War and ending the reign of Saddam Hussein

May 2, 2011 – U.S. forces take out Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan ending a nearly 10 year man-hunt