1. The Cold war gets complicated
Standard 7-5.4

2. 1. Korean War
The Korean Conflict was a “hot” portion of the Cold War but the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. never actually fought each other.
After the Japanese were driven out, the Korean Peninsula was divided at the 38th parallel- the North was Communist.
The Korean War began in 1950 when the North invaded the South.
The United States supported the South.
U.S.S.R. and China supported the North
The war ended in stalemate in A cease-fire was enacted and the border between North and South Korea was made a demilitarized zone (DMZ). Korea is STILL DIVIDED.

3. 2. The Berlin wall rises
Europe was unofficially divided into Eastern and Western zones.
Eastern Europe was communist and under Soviet Control. According to Churchill, the people were living “behind the iron curtain” of communism.
Living conditions were very different for East and West.
Easterners had a lack of consumer goods to purchase and a lower standard of living
Defections were illegal but not uncommon. The Berlin Wall was built in 1961 as a way to stop defections.

4. 3. The War in vietnam
Vietnamese nationalists and communists, led by Ho Chi Minh, challenged the French imperial leadership of Indochina.
The United States supported the French but the French lost in 1954 and Vietnam was divided at the 17th parallel- the North was Communist, the South was not.
Ho Chi Minh invaded the South and the President Johnson of the U.S. immediately came to their aid!
American troops fought the North Vietnamese AND South Vietnamese Communists (the Vietcong) who used guerilla warfare to defeat the U.S.
Vietnam was united under one communist regime in 1975.

5. 4. Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a nuclear showdown between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R.
An American spy plane took pictures of nuclear missiles being assembled on Cuba.
President Kennedy implemented a naval blockade of Cuba.
Talks between Kennedy and Khrushchev went on for 2 weeks while U.S. citizens anticipated nuclear annihilation.
The talks ended with both sides making concessions.
The Soviet Union removed its missiles from Cuba.
The United States removed its missiles from Turkey.

6. 5. The Space Race & The Arms race
The U.S. and the U.S.S.R. also competed for power with their space and arms races.
Each side built up nuclear weapons and created hydrogen bombs that were more powerful than the atomic bomb.
In 1957, the Soviets became the first country to launch a space satellite- Sputnik
In response, the United States created the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
The United States was the first to land on the moon.