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The Cold War 1945-1990 US vs Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Define Cold War. The strategic and political struggle that developed after WWII between the United States and its Western European allies and the Soviet Union and Eastern European allies Democracy vs. Communism. Discussion.
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The Cold War 1945-1990US vs Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
Define Cold War • The strategic and political struggle that developed after WWII between the United States and its Western European allies and the Soviet Union and Eastern European allies • Democracy vs. Communism
Discussion Communism vs. Democracy Socialism vs. Capitalism
Cold War Characterisitcs • A political, strategic and ideological struggle between the US and the USSR that spread throughout the world:Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America. • It was a struggle that contained everything short of war….? • Each side denied the others right to exist. • Each side used propaganda against the other.
Causes of the Cold War • Different political systems -US is based on democracy, capitalism and freedom -USSR is based on dictatorship, communism and control • Both thought their system was better and distrusted the others intentions • Stalin despised capitalism
Causes of Cold War • Stalin breaking his promise to allow free elections at the Yalta Conference • American fear of a communist attack(Red Scare) and USSR’s fear of a US attack • USSR’s fear of the atomic bomb • USSR’s actions in their German zone • USSR’s goal to spread communism around the world • This feeling of suspicion lead to mutual distrust and this did a great deal to deepen the Cold War
Post WWII/Cold War Goals for US • Wanted to 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
Post WWII/Cold War Goals for the USSR • Wanted to 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 it’s borders • Spread communism around the world
Yalta ConferenceFeb 1945 • Before the end of the World War II, Stalin, Churchill and Roosevelt met at Yalta to plan what should happen when the war ended. They agreed on many points: • The establishment of the United Nations. • Germany to be divided into four zones. • Free elections allowed in the states of eastern Europe. • Russia promised to join the war against Japan. • Although they could not agree about what should happen to Poland, relations between the leaders were good, and the Conference was a success.
“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, Bucharest and Sofia, 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. Athens alone -- Greece with its immortal glories -- is free to decide its future at an election under British, American and French observation. The Russian-dominated Polish Government has been encouraged to make enormous and wrongful inroads upon Germany, and mass expulsions of millions of Germans on a scale grievous and undreamed-of are now taking place. The Communist parties, which were very small in all these Eastern States of Europe, have been raised to pre-eminence and power far beyond their numbers and are seeking everywhere to obtain totalitarian control. Police governments are prevailing in nearly every case, and so far, except in Czechoslovakia, there is no true democracy.” Winston Churchill “Iron Curtain” Speech
In 1947 the British were helping the Greek government fight against communist guerrillas. 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 western country, was prepared to resist the spread of communism throughout the world. Truman Doctrine
In 1947, US Secretary of State Marshall announced the Marshall Plan. This was a massive economic aid plan for Europe to help it recover from the damage caused by the war. There were two motives for this: Helping Europe to recover economically would provide markets for American goods, so benefiting American industry. A prosperous Europe would be better able to resist the spread of communism. This was probably the main motive. Marshall Plan
In 1948, the three western controlled zones of Germany (US, France, UK) were united, and grew in prosperity due to Marshal Aid. • The west wanted the east to rejoin, but Stalin feared it would hurt Soviet security. • In June 1948, Stalin decided to try to gain control of West Berlin which was deep inside the eastern sector. • He cut road, rail and canal links with West Berlin, hoping to starve it into submission. • The west responded by airlifting in the necessary supplies to allow west Berlin to survive. • In May 1949, Russia admitted defeat and lifted the blockade.
Alger Hiss Trial • On Aug. 3, 1948, Whittaker Chambers, a senior editor from Time magazine and self-admitted ex-communist, appeared before the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) identifying Alger Hiss and several other federal officials of having been members of a Communist cell whose purpose had been to infiltrate the U.S. government. • A special subcommittee of HUAC, headed by Richard Nixon, convened on Aug. 7, 1948 to re-examine Chambers. Under intense questioning, Chambers offered many intimate details of Hiss' personal affairs in the '30s and claimed that they had been close friends.
Despite the confidence in which Chambers made his charges, he provided no concrete evidence to support them. • On May 31, 1949, the trial of Alger Hiss began. On the witness stand, Chambers confessed to many sins: immorality, lying and attempted betrayal of his country, but never did he admit that his allegations were false. • Hiss vigorously maintained innocence. • On July 7, 1949, the trial ended with a deadlocked jury: 8-4 in favor of conviction. The second trial began on Nov. 17, 1949, and ended two months later on Jan. 21, 1950, with a new jury finding Hiss guilty on both counts. Hiss' conviction was later upheld by the Court of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court. • Hiss served five years in prison. • In 1992, a former Soviet intelligence officer said that Hiss was not a Soviet spy, but rather a victim of Cold War hysteria.
NATO • In 1949 the western nations formed the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to co-ordinate their defense against Russia. • It consisted of:-America, Canada, Britain, France, Holland, BelgiumLuxembourg, Portugal, Denmark, Norway and Italy • Still exists today
McCarthyism • Joseph McCarthy (1908-1957) was a Republican Senator from Appleton, Wisconsin, who did the most to whip up anti-communism during the 1950s. • On February 9, 1950, he gave a speech where he claimed to have a list of 205 Communists in the State Department. • No one in the press actually saw the names on the list, but McCarthy's announcement made the national news. • McCarthy continued to repeat his groundless charges and the number of Communists on his list fluctuated from speech to speech.
During this time one state required pro wrestlers to take a loyalty oath before stepping into the ring. • In Indiana, a group of anti-communists indicted Robin Hood (and its vaguely socialistic message that the book's hero had a right to rob from the rich and give to the poor) forced librarians to pull the book from the shelves. • Baseball's Cincinnati Reds renamed themselves the "Redlegs."
Supporters of McCarthy • Republicans • Catholics • Conservative Protestants • Blue-collar workers • Joseph and Robert Kennedy
McCarthy’s Downfall • In the spring of 1954, however, the tables turned when McCarthy charged that the United States Army had promoted a dentist accused of being a Communist. • For the first time, television broadcast allowed the general public to see the Senator as a blustering bully and his investigations as little more than a misguided scam. • In December 1954, the Senate voted to censure him for his conduct and to strip him of his privileges. • McCarthy died three years later from alcoholism. • The term "McCarthyism" lives on to describe anti-Communist fervor, reckless accusations, and guilt by association.
1000 times more powerful than the Hiroshima atomic bomb Set off on Bikini Island in the Marshall Islands US Test Hydrogen Bomb-1952
Talks of peaceful co-existence and de-stalinization. Nikita Khrushchev Takes Over
