The Cold War I can describe the important people, ideas, and events that contributed to the Cold War.

After World War II Allies helped to form the United Nations to prevent future wars Allies divided Berlin into 4 zones – eventually became West Berlin and East Berlin

Iron Curtain Joseph Stalin installed or supported Communist governments in Albania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Poland, and Yugoslavia Stalin believed these countries would be a necessary buffer between Western Europe and the USSR Stalin refused to allow free elections in these countries, and Truman saw this as a violation of human rights Early 1946 – Stalin made a speech that communism and capitalism could not exist in the same world

Churchill’s “Iron Curtain Speech” “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 ancient states of Central and Eastern Europe . . . . All these famous cities and the populations around them lie in the Soviet sphere and all are subject in one form or another, no only to Soviet influence but to a very high and increasing measure of control from Moscow.” -Winston Churchill March 5, 1946

Truman’s Response Containment – block the spread of Communism Truman Doctrine – foreign policy aimed at blocking Soviet influence and preventing the expansion of communism Marshall Plan – Provided food, machinery, and money to rebuild Western Europe and combat Soviet influence Berlin Airlift – US and UK flew in supplies to West Berlin for 11 months leading the Soviet Union to admit defeat and free West Berlin in May 1949

Alliances North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) – defensive alliance made up of 12 nations against the Soviet Union Warsaw Pact – Alliance between Soviet Union, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, and Albania

Atomic Bomb US had used atomic bombs in Japan to end World War II 1949 – Soviet Union exploded its own atomic weapon Brinkmanship – participating in an arms race and pushing one another to the brink, or edge, of war MAD – mutually assured destruction – if the US is attacked the USSR will automatically be attacked also, and vice versa H-Bomb – more powerful than the A-bomb because it uses fusion instead of fission to generate power US tested H-bomb in 1952 and the USSR followed in 1953 Arms race between US and USSR also jumpstarted Space Race and developments in Science, Math, and Technology

Cuban Revolution 1959 – Cuban overthrew dictator Fulgencio Batista in a revolution led by Fidel Castro US supported Batista because he was not communist Castro was also a harsh dictator Suspended elections, jailed and executed opponents, controlled the press Nationalized the economy Took over US owned sugar mills and refineries President Eisenhower ordered an embargo on all trade with Cuba Castro turned to the USSR for economic and military aid 1961 – anti-Castro Cuban exiles who were trained by the CIA invaded Cuban at the Bay of Pigs US did not help with the mission, and Cuba easily won

Cuban Missile Crisis July 1962 – Russia secretly built 42 missile sites in Cuba US spy plane discovered the sites President Kennedy declared that missiles so close to the US were a threat Demanded their removal Began a naval blockade of Cuba to prevent Russia from brining more missiles Pushed US and USSR to the brink of nuclear war Russia eventually agreed to remove the missiles in exchange for the US not invading Cuba (and secretly removing missiles from Turkey)

Communists in China October 1949 – Mao Zedong and his Red Army gained control of Chin and renamed the country the People’s Republic of China China and USSR signed a treaty of friendship in 1950 Defeated Nationalists fled to Taiwan and established a democratic government there US and UK supported and formed alliances with Taiwan

Communist Changes Mao expanded his troops into Tibet, India, and Mongolia Mao killed over a million landlords and redistributed rural land to collective farms made up of 200-300 peasant families The government owned industries and businesses Strictly controlled life of peasants

Cultural Revolution 1966 – millions of college and high school students left school to form units of the Red Guards Goal: to establish a society of peasants and workers where everyone was equal Physical labor was valued but intellectual and artistic pursuits were considered dangerous Red Guards shut down schools, forced intellectuals to “purify” themselves by doing hard labor, and executed or imprisoned thousands

Korean War After WWII, Korea was divided into 2 nations at the 38th parallel: north of the line was controlled by the USSR and south of the line was controlled by the US Foreign troops withdrew from Korea by 1949 but the USSR supplied North Korea with weapons and money June 25, 1950 – North Korea attacked South Korea

Fighting in Korea South Korea asked the UN for help and 15 nations, including the US, sent troops UN forces pushed North Korean forces almost to the Chinese border October 1950 – China sent 300,000 troops to help North Korea – fighting continued for 2 years July 1953 – UN and North Korea signed a cease-fire agreement Border set at 38th parallel 4 million people were killed US still has troops in South Korea