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The Cold War 1945-1991. Chapter 27, Chapter 28 section 1. US Strategy: Containment. Containment—policy of the US (and some of its Western Allies) during the Cold War Can’t do anything about communism where it already exists
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The Cold War 1945-1991 Chapter 27, Chapter 28 section 1
US Strategy: Containment • Containment—policy of the US (and some of its Western Allies) during the Cold War • Can’t do anything about communism where it already exists • Will do whatever it takes to prevent the spread of communism anywhere else in the world • Containment in Action (examples) • Marshall Plan 1947 (economic aid to the countries of Western Europe) • Truman Doctrine 1947 (military and economic aid to Greece and Turkey) • Berlin Airlift 1948-1949 • Founding of NATO 1949, SEATO, and CENTO • Korean War 1950-1953 • Vietnam War 1964-1973 • The US ended up becoming involved in the affairs of countless countries during the Cold War in an effort to contain communism
Soviet Strategy: Communist Expansion • Why expand communism? • Most places in the world in 1945 were not communist (not good to be alone) • Marx’s communist philosophy called for a worldwide communist state • The Soviet Union viewed noncommunist states as a threat to its safety (WWII for example) • Communist expansion • Countries of Eastern Europe 1945-1948 • North Korea 1945 • China 1949 • North Vietnam 1954 • Cuba 1959 • Movements for reform suppressed • Poland 1945-1948—non communist political leaders arrested, killed • Hungary 1956—non communist popular revolt crushed using military force • Czechoslovakia 1968—non communist reform movement crushed using military force • Secret police in the Soviet Union and all communist countries a reality of daily life, political dissent not tolerated
The Cold War and Nuclear Weapons • After 1949 USSR and US both had nuclear weapons • Soon all of the “big five” had nuclear weapons • Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMS) • Could be launched from anywhere, could land anywhere, couldn’t be stopped • Nuclear powered missile submarines • Could stay submerged virtually forever • Could launch nuclear ICBMS from underwater • Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD) • If WWIII ever broke out between the US and the USSR and nuclear weapons were used each side was guaranteed that it would be destroyed by nuclear weapons • Problems with MAD?
Cuban Missile Crisis 1962 • Background • Revolution in Cuba 1959—Fidel Castro comes to power • Castro turns out to be sympathetic to Communism (problem for the US?) • US tries to overthrow Castro using military force—Bay of Pigs Invasion 1961 • Castro turns to Soviet Union for military support, they send aid and missiles to Cuba • Missile Crisis • US demands Soviet Union withdraw missiles, if not US considers invading Cuba • To prevent more missiles from reaching Cuba US navy “quarantines” the island (nothing in, nothing out), risky why? • Resolution • US agrees never to invade Cuba, agrees to remove some of its missiles from Turkey • USSR agrees to remove its missiles from Cuba
The End of the Cold War • Arms Race—Incredibly expensive • If a large chunk of your country’s economic resources are being used to build up your military what type of things are those resources NOT being used for? • Gorbachev and the beginning of the end of the Soviet Union • By the late 1980’s the Soviet Union could no longer keep up with US military spending • Major unrest inside the USSR over shortages of food, clothing, housing, basic consumer goods • Problem: communist economic system too inefficient to compete with capitalistic West • Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, tried to implement reforms to boost economic activity • Perestroika (restructuring)—economic reforms (entrepreneurship, sell things for a profit) • Glasnost (openness)—governmental reforms (less censorship, more democracy in government)
End of The Cold War (cont.) • Fall of Communism • Gorbachev’s reforms allowed people to criticize the communist system openly • Soviet Union no longer had the money to station troops in communist Eastern Europe • Protests against communist rule spread throughout Eastern Europe (example: Solidarity movement in Poland), without Soviet troops communist governments couldn’t suppress dissent • Communist governments in Eastern Europe began to fall • Poland, East Germany, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Bulgaria—1989 • Berlin Wall destroyed 1989, East and West Germany reunited 1990 • Warsaw Pact dissolved 1991 • Dissolution of the Soviet Union • Soviet Socialist Republics began to call for independence • Gorbachev promised free elections, hardline military leaders opposed this and tried to use force to overthrow Gorbachev—coup • Russian people and loyal military stopped the coup—clear that Gorbachev had little power, resigned soon after the coup attempt • Soviet Union dissolved 1991Russia and 14 other independent states (Ukraine, Belarus, etc.)
