Review from the last two classes… Give two pieces of evidence from the decisions made during the last years of WWII that contributed to the start of the Cold War.

 How did differences in the ideas and values of American and Soviet society contribute to the start of the Cold War?  How did the Cold War emerge after WWII? Distrust during the war Yalta Conference Potsdam Conference

How did the U.S. attempt to contain Communism? Were our strategies effective?

 Proxy Allowing someone or something to act as the substitute for another.

 So what is a proxy confrontation? Using another person(s) or other means to achieve your goals  The Cold War can be considered a series of proxy confrontations  It helps to define a proxy confrontation by defining what it is NOT…  A proxy confrontation is NOT a direct confrontation  Direct confrontation When two parties directly interact with to achieve their individual goals  Ex: WWII, the war in Iraq

The Long Telegram: a message from diplomat George Kennan that revealed the Soviet fears of the West and a belief in a historical struggle against Capitalism Containment: U.S. policy that came from Kennan’s telegram to keep communism within its present territory through diplomatic, economic, and military actions

 Crisis in Iran During WWII, U.S. and Soviet troops had protected supply lines in Iran- after the war the Soviets refused to leave and set up a communist government The United States demanded their withdrawal and sent a U.S. battleship to scare them off. In the end, this seemed to prove the Long Telegram was right, the Soviets were out to expand and combat capitalism and democracy

The Truman Doctrine: President Truman's policy of providing economic and military aid to any country threatened by a communist takeover or totalitarian ideology. It committed America to fight communism wherever it popped up in the world.

After WWII, Western Europe was in ruins Sec. State G. Marshall proposed a recovery program… The Marshall Plan: would give European nations aid (money) to rebuild. The plan was an effort to fight hunger, poverty, and chaos, not ideology. The Soviet Union and its satellite nations rejected the offer.

 Why would we spend billions of dollars to help nations in Europe by developing the Marshall Plan?  Was this really just an effort to fight poverty, hunger, and chaos?

Giving billions in aid to Western Europe opened up new markets and made capitalism look more appealing than communism.

 By 1948, U.S. officials believed that the Soviets were deliberately trying to sabotage the German economy In response, the United States, Great Britain, and France merged their zones in Germany and in Berlin, giving the Germans back their country.  these became West Berlin & West Germany

 The Berlin Crisis: In June of 1948, Soviet troops stopped all road and rail traffic to West Berlin; they hoped the Americans would give up West Berlin. Truman responded with the Berlin Airlift and ordered cargo planes to deliver food, medicine, and coal to the Berliners.  This lasted for eleven months.  The idea was to stop the Soviets without provoking war.

 The Berlin situation convinced many Americans that the USSR was bent on conquest. The public and Congress supported a military alliance with Western Europe.  The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was a mutual defense alliance created to prevent Soviet attack.

 The Soviet response to NATO… The Warsaw Pact: a military alliance in Eastern Europe; involved all the satellite nations.

NATO and the Warsaw Pact countries

 The battle between Democracy and Communism spreads to Asia.  Conflict in China: In China, Communist forces and Nationalist forces had been battling since the late 1920s.

 The Soviets naturally backed (sent money and military aid to) the Communist forces and the U.S. backed the Nationalists.  The Communists eventually won. In October 1949, Communists set up the People’s Republic of China (PRC)

 Americans were shocked (and scared) that Communism won …to make matters worse, the Soviets had just developed their own atomic bomb  The PRC and Soviet Union signed a treaty of alliance

Why would the victory of Communism in China scare the U.S.?

 At the end of WWII, American and Soviet forces entered Korea to disarm Japanese troops stationed there.  The Allies divided Korea at the 38th parallel of latitude. Soviets controlled the North and Americans the South.  Thanks to the Cold war, talks to reunify Korea broke down. 38 th Parallel

Soviet troops controlled the north and set up a Communist government. American troops controlled the south with an American- backed government. The Soviets gave military aid to the north, resulting in an expansive military. On June 25, 1950, North Korean troops invaded South Korea. 38 th Parallel Soviet controlled Korea U.S. controlled Korea

 Truman sees this invasion as a test of the containment policy and responds: He got the UN to send troops against the Communists in South Korea. Battles continued back and forth and even advanced as far as China  Chinese forces naturally fought to push enemy forces back

 MacArthur pushes for escalation of the war: General MacArthur demanded approval to expand the war against China.  He even wanted to use atomic bombs on their cities!  Truman refused MacArthur’s demands. MacArthur was fired after publicly criticizing the president.

 Truman was committed to fighting a limited war, a war fought to achieve a limited objective such as containing communism.  By 1951 UN forces had pushed Chinese and North Koreans back across the 38th parallel. An armistice was signed July 1953.

 The Korean War was an important turning point in the Cold War. Instead of just using political pressure and economic aid to contain communism, the United States began a major military buildup. The Korean War expanded the Cold War beyond Europe and into Asia.