Standard and Objective Strand 1: American History Concept 9: Postwar United States PO 1: Analyze aspects of America’s post World War II foreign policy: International Activism Students will analyze the decisions America made by comparing and contrasting post-war policies.

The Origins of the Cold War Building a New World

The United Nations FDR wanted to make sure that there wouldn’t be a WWIII so he created the United Nations (UN) There would be a general assembly where each country had one vote Security council made up of 11 members, 5 of which were: The U.S., England, France, The Soviet Union, and China each of which were permanent and had veto power Responsible for international peace and security

The Yalta Conference FDR, Churchill, and Stalin met at Yalta -part of the Soviet Union- to plan a postwar world Some of the agreements reached were the cause of the Cold War The problem with Poland -Russia had liberated it and put a Communist government into power Agreement was made that FDR and Churchill would acknowledge the government set up by the Soviets but there would be a few members of the original government and there would be a free election ASAP

The Declaration of Liberated Europe Also part of the Yalta Conference Asserted “the right of all people to choose the form of government under which they will live… Create democratic institutions of their own choice” They also created temporary governments that represented “all democratic elements.”

Germany is Divided Also part of the Yalta Conference Germany was split into four zones controlled by France, England, America, and the Soviet Union Berlin was also split into four zones each controlled by the same counties Russia wanted Germany to pay heavy reparations

Let’s Review What are the similarities or differences between the League of Nations and the United Nations? Discuss the steps America took to prevent another war from happening.

Rising Tensions Two weeks after the Yalta conference, Russia pressured the king of Romania into appointing a Communist government The U.S. accused the Soviet Union of violating the Declaration of Liberated Europe The Russians also did not follow the agreement on Poland FDR warned the Soviet Union that their actions were not acceptable

Soviet Concerns Soviet Leaders were worried about invasion again They wanted to make sure the counties between Germany and the Soviet Union were under Soviet control Believed Communism was superior and that they should encourage it in other countries They also believed that Capitalists countries would try to destroy communism

American Economic Issues Believed that the Great Depression became so severe because nations reduced trade They also believed that without the trade, nations were forced to enter into war to gain resources Believed world trade was the key to peace They also thought that the free enterprise system -private property rights and limited government interference in the economy was the best route to prosperity

Truman Take Control Believed that WWII had begun because of British appeasement and didn’t want to make that mistake with Stalin Truman met with Soviet foreign minister Molotov and demanded Stalin hold free elections in Poland

The Potsdam Conference July 1945 Truman and Stalin met at Potsdam near Berlin to work on a deal on Germany Stalin still really wanted severe reparations from Germany Truman told him to take reparations out from the Soviet Zone -However their zone was primarily agricultural Truman offered Stalin a small amount of industrial equipment from the other zones but they had to pay for it with trade Stalin didn’t like the agreement but Truman hinted at a powerful new weapon they were testing Soviets had to accept the terms

The Iron Curtain Decends Truman was less successful making the Soviets uphold a stronger commitment to the Declaration of Liberated Europe The Soviet Army in Eastern Europe ensured that pro-Soviet Communist governments would eventually be established in satellite nations After watching the Communists takeover in Eastern Europe, Churchill referred to an “iron curtain” falling across Eastern Europe The Cold War was about to begin

In Conclusion What was the Iron Curtain and why is it important? Why did all of the conferences and agreements ultimately fail? What were the major disagreements between America and The Soviet Union when it came to Germany? Objective: Students will analyze the decisions America made by comparing and contrasting post-war policies.