Chapter 19 Section 2 The Cold War Begins

The Roots of the Cold War Cold War} {After WWII a conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union developed in what came to be known as the Cold War} The Cold War was mostly fought on political and economic fronts but the threat of all out war was there. The Cold War came about over economic, political and philosophical differences The U.S. was a democratic, capitalist nation and the S.U. was a communist nation satellite nations} The mistrust of the S.U. was fueled by the {Soviets seizure of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Manchuria and large areas of land in Romania and Poland. These lands taken by the S.U. were called satellite nations}

Continued…. Stalin obtained the satellite nations claiming that he needed a “buffer zone” on the S.U. western border. He was working to spread communism throughout Eastern Europe Afraid of Stalin’s actions, Great Britain, France and the U.S. tightened their control of Western Germany George Keenan Winston Churchill and State Department official/ Soviet expert George Keenan called for closer ties between the U.S. and G.B. to control Soviet power containment, Keenan suggested a {policy of containment, or restricting the expansion of communism}

Deadlock Over Atomic Weapons After WWII the S.U. began to develop atomic weapons Many Americans feared nuclear war Bernard Baruch U.S. presidential advisor Bernard Baruch called for the construction of an international agency that had the authority to inspect any country’s atomic energy plants Baruch Plan {The Baruch Plan would penalize any country that did not follow international rules that were related to atomic weapons} At the same time the U.S. was striving to develop even more powerful nuclear weapons The S.U. rejected all inspections and tested its first atomic weapons in {The nuclear arms race became a reality Atomic Energy Act} In response, Congress passed the {Atomic Energy Act} which created the civilian run Atomic Energy Commission to oversee nuclear weapons research and promote peacetime uses of atomic energy}

Nuclear Testing in the Pacific

Containment Around the World (the Mediterranean) The U.S. containment policy was put to use in Greece in 1946 when communist led rebels marched on the Greek monarchy Meanwhile, Stalin was trying to convince Turkey to give up control of the Dardanelles, a narrow strait that connects the Black sea and the Mediterranean Truman Doctrine Knowing that control of this area would give the S.U. a dominant position in the Mediterranean, {Truman addressed Congress in what came to be known as the Truman Doctrine Congress approved $400 million in aid to Greece and Turkey}

“It must be the policy of the United States to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjection by armed minorities or by outside pressures” -Truman Doctrine

Containment Around the World (in Europe) After WWII Europe’s economy was hurting and a horrific winter in made the situation worse George C. Marshall {Fearing that Western Europe’s vulnerable state would make them an easy target for communist invasion, Secretary of State George C. Marshall, called for the U.S. to help with European recovery} In response, Truman asked Congress for $17 billion in aid for Europe Truman’s request sparked controversy until in early 1948, Soviet communists overthrew the gov. of Czechoslovakia Marshall Plan, Congress funded the European Recovery Program, or Marshall Plan, in April 1948 Marshall won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1953

Crisis in Berlin In June of 1948, Britain, France and the U.S. combined their zones in west Germany and announced a plan to form a West German government Hoping to drive the Western Powers out of Berlin, on June 24, 1948, the soviets blocked all roads, canals and railways that linked Berlin to western Germany cutting off food, fuel and other shipments from the city. Berlin Airlift Western leaders responded with the {Berlin Airlift in which British planes over the following 10 months carried more than 2 million tons of food and supplies to the people of West Berlin} In May 1949 the Soviets lifted the blockade Soon after the Federal Republic of Germany, West Germany, and the German Democratic Republic, East Germany were founded This division would last for more than 40 years

The Western Alliance After the Berlin Crisis, America turned its attention to military security. NATO. In April 1949, nine Western Europe nations joined the U.S., Canada and Iceland in {a military alliance called the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, or NATO. Each member pledged to defend the others in the event of an outside attack} In 1951, General Dwight D. Eisenhower became the supreme commander of NATO Forces The U.S. stationed troops in Europe giving their new ally military aid Warsaw Pact} {The Soviet Union responded by forming their own alliances with other communist nations in Eastern Europe. This alliance became known as the Warsaw Pact}

A Google Earth image of a Nuclear Testing site in Nevada