Unit 7 The Cold War

Vocabulary  1. “cold war”: a struggle between two countries to become the world’s only super power nation. A war fought through influence and weapons build up, not through actual fighting.  2. “iron curtain”: description of the soviet control of surrounding countries after the end of WWII. (term coined by Winston Churchill)  3. Capitalism: the economic system of free nations. People can buy and sell whatever they please and have any job. (free market system)

 4. Communism: a system of government that is totalitarian. The government controls how people live their lives and the economy.  5. Containment: The policy of the U.S. to prevent the USSR (Soviet Union) from changing any other nations to communism.  6. Marshall Plan: This was the plan to provide $13 billion to European countries to help them rebuild after WWII and prevent them from becoming communist nations.

 7. Satellite nations: Nations that were controlled by the Soviet Union during the Cold War.  8. Berlin Wall: A wall that divided free West Berlin from communist East Berlin. It symbolized the division between communism and capitalism.  9. NATO: North Atlantic Treaty Organization. USA’s alliance to counter balance the USSR’s Warsaw Pact.

 10. Perestroika - The reconstruction (rebuild) of the Soviet economy and bureaucracy that began in the mid 1980s. (more freedoms for the economy or business)  11. Glasnost - the policy or practice of more open consultative government and wider dissemination of information, initiated by leader Mikhail Gorbachev in (more freedom for the people)

I. Trouble in Russia  Russia was a nation historically ruled by a Czar. (much like a king)  When WWI began, Russia was one of the first countries to jump into this conflict.  Russia was not equipped to fight a successful war and they lost more battles than they won.

 During World War I, while fighting against the Allied forces, Russia suffered heavy losses.  Russia’s economy also suffered from the war.  Food shortages were common and famine struck Russia.

II. Soviet Union is born  Lenin and the Bolsheviks began a coup, overthrowing the Czar and Russian government.  This ended with a new government, Communism.

III. Communism  Communism is more than just a type of government. It is a way of life.  In communism, everything is owned and controlled by the state or nation.  People do not have ownership of things, they are shared by the nation.

IV. The Cold War  During WWII, the Soviet Union fought on the side of the Allies, but shortly after the war, the Soviet Union became the enemy of the United States.  By the 1950’s both the U.S. and the USSR had atomic bombs, making them the two superpower nations of the world.

Containment & The Marshall Plan  The U.S. feared the spread of communism around the globe and tried to stop it with many different things.  President Truman adopted the policy of Containment. This was the idea that the U.S. would do anything necessary to slow or stop the spread of communism (We did at least 5 things to stop this).  The Marshall Plan was the idea to give money to war torn countries in Europe to insure the survival of Democracy in these nations (13 billion).

 The USSR and U.S. became locked into a war to see which country could become the strongest on earth.  This “cold war” would last from the 1950’s until  This was not only a military struggle, but a struggle of Western (U.S.) ideas, verses Eastern (USSR) ideas.  Capitalism vs. Communism Cold War Struggles

Fear  During the Cold War, both U.S. and Soviet citizens feared Nuclear War.  Bomb Shelters were built and cities prepared for the day the bomb might be dropped.

Video clip of bomb drill Video clip of bomb drill

 USSR and U.S. competed in every aspect from weapons to the race for space.  The closest the Cold War ever comes to becoming a Hot War is when the USSR places nuclear missiles in Cuba, a nation very close to the U.S. ( The USA had missiles in Turkey)  This is called the Cuban Missile Crisis.

View Cuban Missile Crisis Link to clip Link to clip

V. Wars during the Cold War  Although the U.S. never fought the USSR, they did fight the spread of communism to other nations.  These wars to stop communism were:  Korea ( )  Vietnam ( )

Korean War Korean War

View Vietnam Media File

Vietnam  Vietnam was originally a French Colony known as Indochina.  France became very weak after WWII and the Vietnamese gained their independence in  By the 1960’s a communist movement became strong in the Northern section of Vietnam.

 The U.S. was committed to its policy of containment and soon sent troops to Vietnam to stop the spread of communism to the southern portion of the country.  The guerrilla tactics of the Vietcong proved to be very frustrating and difficult for the American forces to defeat.  After facing growing resistance on the home front, and heavy casualties, U.S. forces withdrew from Vietnam in 1975.

Vietnam

VI. End  By the 1980’s the strong U.S. economy, based on capitalism out paced the sluggish USSR economy based on communism.  People in the USSR learned how nice life in the U.S. was compared to their country.  By 1989 people in USSR were ready for a change in their government.

 A coup began that would free the people of the USSR, give independence to 15 countries (satellite nations), and end communism in Russia.  The Cold War is over when the USSR collapses.  The U.S. did not defeat the USSR, Communism defeated itself.  The country that remained became the Republic of Russia, a democratic free nation.

End of the War End of the War

More Info.  Soviet leader Michael Gorbachev passed a restructuring policy called perestroika that gave more economic freedom to business in the USSR.  Gorbachev also allowed some freedoms for the people. This was called glasnost.

Video clip of Russia Today

Questions  1. Who led the revolt in Cuba that changed it to a communist nation in 1959? What was this person’s previous occupation?  2. What did the U.S. place on Cuba after they changed to communism?  3. What was the “Bay of Pigs” in 1961?

Questions  4. What was the goal of the Korean War?  5. Who helped the North Korean’s fight?  6. Who was the leader of communist forces in Vietnam?  7. What happened to South Vietnam in 1975?

Answers  1. Fidel Castro he was a lawyer  2. An embargo  3. The U.S. attempted to overthrow Castro and free the island of Cuba  4. To prevent Korea from becoming communist  5. China / Russia  6. Ho Chi Minh  7. They became communist and united with North Vietnam.

Review Questions  What caused the end of the Cold War?  What event almost changed the Cold War into a “hot war?”  What were some differences between Korea and Vietnam?  What is the Berlin Wall and why was it built?  Why can’t the U.S. claim victory in the Vietnam War?  What is Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD)?

Answers  1. when the USSR collapses.  2. Cuban Missile Crisis  3. terrain  4. Wall built to separate Germany (Capitalist and Communist)  5. Because it is still Communist  6. The understanding that if one country fires a nuclear weapon, both of them will ultimately be destroyed