7th Grade Civics Miss Smith *pgs. 614-618 The Cold War 7th Grade Civics Miss Smith *pgs. 614-618

Causes of the Cold War After fighting Nazi Germany as allies, USA and Soviet Union became enemies This was because of their differences in economic systems and government USA- market economy and representative democracy Soviet Union- command economy and Communist regime Why did the relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union break down after WWII? The Soviet Union began establishing Communist governments around Eastern Europe, and the US did not want communism to spread

Roots of Communism Communism- economic and political system in which the means of production are owned by the government and the government decides what will be produced The gov. owns the land, capitol, and labor

The Cold War begins (in 1947) The Soviet Union gained control of the countries along its borders and turned them into Communist governments Satellite nations- countries that are controlled by another country Next, the Soviet Union tried to spread to other areas to gain more power The U.S. saw this as a threat to U.S. national security and world peace This competition for global power and influence was the Cold War Why do you think the US wanted to prevent the spread of communism? The US believed in freedom of the people and democracy and promoted the spread of these ideals rather than those of communism

The Policy of Containment Truman Doctrine- the policy that the U.S. would give economic aid to countries fighting communism Containment- U.S. policy of preventing the spread of Communism What was the U.S. policy of containment? Truman’s policy that the US would provide economic aid to countries trying to fight off communism

Communism in China Civil war broke out in China after WWII Chinese Communists defeated the government Those defeated fled to Taiwan where they set up their own government Taiwan maintains its independence, but China claims it as a territory

The Cuban Missile Crisis Balance of power- situation in which countries are about equal in strength The Soviet Union developed nuclear weapons They built secret missile bases in Cuba This was a threat to the U.S. The U.S. threatened military force if the missiles weren’t removed

The Korean War Communist North Korea tried to invade noncommunist South Korea N. Korea had help from the Soviet Union and China S. Korea had help from the U.S. and 15 other UN member countries Limited war- war fought without using a country’s full power, particularly nuclear weapons The war reached a stale mate and Korea remained divided

The Vietnam War *Do NOT write How do you think the US used its containment policy to respond to problems in Vietnam? The US sent economic aid, military advisers, and troops to South Vietnam to help fight against attacks from Communist North Vietnam

The End of the Cold War The Soviet Union’s economy began to fail, citizens became dissatisfied and agitated The leader of the Soviet Union (Mikhail Gorbachev) began a series of reforms Détente- lessening of tensions By the start of the 1990s, communism in Eastern Europe began to fall The Cold War ended in 1991 How did social change in Eastern Europe help lead to the end of the Cold War? It caused citizens in Soviet satellite nations to overturn Communist governments What problems might have faced Soviet satellite nations when communism was eliminated and they became independent? How to organize free elections, how to rebuild an independent economy