The Cold War: Decade by Decade U.S. versus U.S.S.R. 1940s & 1950s

What was the Cold War? Definition: A struggle over political differences between the U.S. and the Soviet Union carried on by means short of direct military action or war How was it “fought”? Spying, propaganda, diplomacy, alliances, secret operations and foreign aid

Two Superpowers: Differing goals United States World’s richest country Cities and factories remained intact Encourage democracy and prevent communism Rebuild European governments to promote trade Reunite Germany to stabilize it and Europe Soviet Union 50 times more deaths Many Soviet cities were destroyed Encouraged worldwide communism Protect its borders by controlling Eastern Europe Keep Germany divided to prevent its waging war again

The Cold War: 1940s Policy of Containment Began in 1945 American policy that attempted to restrict communism to its current border Continued throughout the Cold War

The Cold War: 1940s The Truman Doctrine (1945) Truman went before a joint session of Congress to appeal for $400 million in aid to Greece & Turkey Why? To prevent the further spread of communism

The Cold War: 1940s The Marshall Plan (1948-1951) Named after Secretary of State George Marshall A “rebuilding” program $13 billion in aid was sent to Western European nations Why?

The Cold War: 1940s NATO (1947) North Atlantic Treaty Organization Military alliance with the purpose of defending all members from outside attack Who was in NATO? (10 Western European Nations + U.S. & Canada) Warsaw Pact (1955) Formed in retaliation against NATO Who was in the Warsaw Pact? (Soviet Union, E. Germany, Czech, Poland, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, & Albania) NATO: U.S., Canada, Belgium, Denmark, Fr, Iceland, Italy, Lux, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, UK Warsaw Pact: Soviet Union, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, and Albania

The Cold War: 1940s Berlin Airlift (June, 1948) GB, France & the U.S. consolidated West Berlin In retaliation, Soviet troops blockaded highways, railways & shut off West Berlin’s electricity To aid the people, British & American planes spent 11 months dropping supplies… The blockade was lifted in 1949

The Cold War: 1950s Stalin died in 1953; replaced by Nikita Khrushchev “De-Stalinization” Reversed some of Stalin’s policies Promised better wages More consumer goods More freedom to artists & intellectuals Reduction of terror by the secret “police”

The Cold War: 1950s Peaceful Coexistence Khrushchev’s policy to compete with the west but avoid war Encouraged nations to follow communism Improved housing conditions Increased production of consumer goods Put emphasis on technological research

The Cold War: 1950s The Hydrogen Bomb Thousands of times more powerful than Atomic bomb U.S. tested first H-bomb in 1952 Soviets tested H-bomb in 1953 H-bomb – power came from fusion or joining together of atoms, rather than the splitting of atoms (atomic bomb) Both countries often tested new bombs above ground until they agreed to ban such tests in 1963

The Cold War: 1950s http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKqXu-5jw60

The Cold War: 1950s The Space Race Began in 1957 when the Soviets launched Sputnik The U.S. “retaliated” soon after Created NASA (National Aeronautics & Space Administration) Began to put a greater emphasis on math and science in the classroom “H-BOMB” - THOUSANDS more powerful than the A-Bomb United states tested first h bomb – 1952 Soviets tested h bomb – 1953 Oct. 4, 1957 – Soviets launched Sputnik – the first unmanned satellite above the earth’s atmosphere 1958 – Americans launched its own satellite

The Cold War: 1950s Dwight D. Eisenhower became president in 1952 His Secretary of State was John Dulles Implemented the policies of massive retaliation and brinkmanship (willingness to go to the brink, or edge of war) Brinkmanship – a policy of threatening to go to war in response to any enemy aggression United States strengthened air force and began producing stockpiles of nuclear weapons Soviet Union – doing the same thing

The Cold War: 1950s Cuba & Communism: Batista was overthrown by Fidel Castro Eisenhower cuts off trade to Cuba Castro turns to Soviets for support CIA begins training non-communist Cuban exiles to overthrow the government in Cuba…(to be continued)