1. The Cold War
1945 to 1990

2. Introduction to The Cold War
The Cold War – Tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union over the 2nd half of the 20th Century
Differences in ideologies:
The U.S. economic system – Capitalism – Means of production are privately owned an operated and there is free trade
The U.S.S.R. economic system – Communism – Means of production are controlled by the state, and there is no private property

3. The Beginnings
The Yalta Conference – In 1945 FDR, Stalin, and Churchill decided to divide up the occupation of Germany:
West Germany: Controlled by the U.S., Britain
East Germany: Controlled by U.S.S.R, Communist

4. Post War Goals Soviet Goals American Goals
Encourage Communism in other countries
Using Eastern Europe for industry, new raw materials, and markets
American Goals
Encourage Democracy
Gain access to raw materials and new markets
After WWII, the U.S. was the richest and most powerful country in the world and only lost 400,000 people
The USSR had to rebuild – There was a lot of fighting done on their territory
The USSR also lost over 20,000,000 people – 50 times more than the US!!

5. The Iron Curtain
The Iron Curtain – The division of Western Europe (Democratic) and Eastern Europe (Communist)
This phrase was coined by Winston Churchill in a 1946 speech

6. American Policy
President Truman adopted the policy of Containment – Block USSR influence and stop the spread of communism
1947 – Truman Doctrine – Supported countries that rejected communism – Provided $400 Million of aid to Turkey and Greece
1948 – Marshall Plan – $12.5 Billion program to rebuild countries of Western Countries – Aimed to promote democracy

7. More Causes
Each country had a fear of each other attacking – The Atom Bomb completely changed the dynamic of war
The US didn’t share nuclear secrets – USSR develops their own A-Bomb by 1950
Creation of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) 1949 – attack on one member would be met by allies
USSR created the Warsaw Pact in 1955 – Alliance with communist countries in response to NATO
Massive military buildups, arms race, technological competition, espionage (spies)
There was never a conflict directly between the US and the USSR – this is why its called the Cold War

8. Berlin Airlift
In 1948, The US, Great Britain, and France withdrew from West Germany and USSR immediately took control
Stalin tried to cut off supplies and transportation into West Berlin

9. Berlin Airlift
From June 1948 to May 1949 the Allies constantly flew planes into West Berlin to provide food, fuel, medicine, and even some Christmas gifts

10. The Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was built in 1961 and divided East (Communist) and West (Democratic) Berlin
It was a great symbol of the Cold War
The wall prevented people from fleeing to either side of Berlin – Many people had been trying to go to West Berlin

11. Berlin Wall
The Wall had an average height of 12 feet and 96 miles of barbed wire
In 1989, the wall was finally starting to be destroyed and represented the re-unification of Germany
This was the great symbolic ending of the Cold War

12. The Space Race
Beginning in the Late 1950s the Cold War turned to a massive competition of technology
This was kicked off with the USSR’s launching of Sputnik in 1957 – It was a satellite and the first man made object in space
In response, President Eisenhower created NASA in 1958 – federal agency dedicated to space exploration

13. Space Race Fear
The launch of Sputnik created a great amount of fear in the US
People were worried that if they had the capabilities of this, they could launch a nuclear attack on the US
Worries of atomic bomb attack, spies, and satellites

14. The Space Race
Both countries continued to make advances in response to each other for a decade
In May, 1961 President John F. Kennedy declared that the US would be the first to put a man on the moon
In 1969 the US put a
man on the moon and
was a symbolic victory
for the U.S.

15. Proxy Wars
The major conflicts of the Cold War were Proxy Wars – Regional conflicts where the US and USSR didn’t fight each other but supported certain sides in a war
Proxy wars generally took place because the US and USSR were afraid of a nuclear war on each other – wanted to protect either Communism or Democracy in certain places
Domino Theory – President Eisenhower’s that if one country falls to communism, its neighbor’s will follow

16. The Korean War North Korea was communist – Supported by the USSR
North Korea crossed the 38th Parallel – line dividing North and South Korea – on June 25th, 1950 and launched a surprise attack
President Truman’s Containment policy was put to the test

17. The Korean War
The United Nations supporting the South Korea army led by U.S. General Douglas MacArthur
By September, 1950 the North Korean army advanced and had overtaken most of the peninsula
MacArthur launched a surprise attack and pushed the forces back up north of the 38th Parallel
China (Communist) supplied 300,000 troops in October, 1950

18. The Korean War
By January, 1951 China and North Korea had pushed UN forces back into South Korea
MacArthur wanted to drop the A-Bomb on China, President Truman didn’t – This was a huge dispute that resulted in MacArthur’s removal
By 1953, UN Forces took control of South Korea back and they agreed to stop fighting
The border was set back to where it started – 4 million soldiers and civilians had died

19. Origins of The Vietnam War
Vietnam was controlled by the French before and after WWII
After WWII, Ho Chi Minh led his Communist Party against the French Imperialists in Vietnam
After 9 years of fighting, the French surrender to Ho Chi Minh after their major defeat at Dien Bien Phu
The US had supported France because their policy of Containment and the Domino Theory
Ho Chi Minh means “He Who Enlightens”

20. Divided Country
After the defeat of France, there was an international peace conference to decide what to do with Vietnam.
They divided the country at the 17th parallel
North Vietnam was controlled by Ho Chi Minh’s communist forces
In South Vietnam, the US and France set up an anti-communist government under the leadership of Ngo Dinh Diem

21. Turmoil in South Vietnam
Diem ruled South Vietnam as a dictator
A group of communist guerillas – Vietcong – took over a lot of areas in the South
Diem was assassinated by South Vietnamese Generals, but they weren’t like anymore than he was
It appeared that the Vietcong – backed by Communist North Vietnam – would takeover

22. The U.S. Involvement
The U.S. committed many more troops to Vietnam in 1964 after 2 U.S. boats had been hit in the Gulf of Tonkin
By 1968, The U.S. had committed over 500,000 troops
The U.S. faced 2 major difficulties:
Fighting guerillas in unfamiliar terrain
South Vietnamese government was becoming more and more unpopular
The US had to start bombing which made the South Vietnamese even more upset

23. Bombing and Napalm

24. Unpopularity in the U.S. Protests were very frequent in the U.S.
From 1969 to 1973, the U.S. executed President Nixon’s plan of Vietnamization – gradually pull troops out of Vietnam
In 1975, the North Vietnamese overran South Vietnam – 1.5 million Vietnamese and 58,000 Americans died
Vietnam remains communist but relations with the U.S. have been restored

25. Trouble in Cuba
By 1959, Fidel Castro led a group of communist guerillas and overthrew the government – He became a dictator
For the next two years, the US and the C.I.A. attempted to push Castro out of power
The C.I.A. trained Cuban anti-revolutionary exiles for a possible invasion

26. Bay of Pigs Invasion
On April 17, 1961 President Kennedy (JFK) gave orders to send 1300 exiles armed with US weapons to invade through the Bay of Pigs
This was a very secretive operation

27. Bay of Pigs Invasion
JFK had the option to use the Air Force to help the operation be successful, but decided against it
What reason would he have to decide against it?
By April 19th, 90 exiles were killed, the rest were imprisoned
This was a major embarrassment for the U.S.!
Fear was increased on both sides

28. The Cuban Missile Crisis
On October 16th, 1962 a spy plane took photos over Cuba, which revealed nuclear missiles being stored – These missiles were only 90 miles from the U.S. coast

29. Cuban Missile Crisis
On October 17th, JFK was informed by the C.I.A. these missiles had a range of 2,000 miles and would only take 17 minutes to get to the U.S.
Military intelligence also reported that 20 USSR ships carrying missiles were headed to Cuba
JFK presented this information to the American public on October 22nd
The world was on the brink of destruction…

30. Brink of Nuclear Destruction
On October 22nd, JFK decided to put a naval blockade on Cuba and declared they would be ready to use military force
JFK received two letters from Khruschev- Russian leader – with conflicting statements
One was threatening and said the US needed to remove missiles from Turkey
One said the USSR would remove missiles if they ended the naval blockade on Cuba

31. JFK’s Offer
JFK offered that if the USSR removed the missiles, the US would end the blockade and promise not to invade Cuba
Khruschev had until Oct. 29 to respond or else the US would use military force on Cuba
Khruschev accepted on Oct. 28th and nuclear war was avoided
Great success for the US – opened a line of communication with the USSR
Nuclear Test Ban Treaty – neither would explode a nuclear bomb into the atmosphere – signed in 1963