1. The Cold War

2. Origins of the Cold War Yalta – February, 1945 A. The Big Three met
-- Franklin Roosevelt
Winston Churchill
Joseph Stalin
Elections in Poland became the big issue
The U.S. wants the Poles to be able to choose their own government
Communists wanted to control it because they saw it as an invasion route to the USSR

3. The United Nations All three agreed on the UN
Used to maintain world peace
Provided mutual security
50 Nations met in San Francisco
There would be two parts
The General Assembly
The Security Council

4. Harry S. Truman Ascended to Presidency when FDR died
Met with Stalin in Potsdam, July 1945
Stalin still wanted war payments from Germany
Truman still wanted Polish elections

5. Differing Goals The U.S. desired Democracy and economic opportunity
The USSR desired satellite nations in its borders
Totalitarian Communist governments
Controlled by USSR

6. The Cold War had begun
Stalin predicted Communism would defeat Capitalism
Churchill asked America to prevent Stalin’s “Iron Curtain” from falling on other nations (Western Europe)
The U.S. began a policy of CONTAINMENT – Preventing Communism from escaping Eastern Europe
Truman issued the TRUMAN DOCTRINE declaring that the U.S. would help countries threatened by Communism

7. Polish Elections Poland got elections two years later
Too late… the Soviets eliminated the competition in
Albania
Bulgaria
Czechoslovakia
Hungary
Romania
East Germany
Finland
Yugoslavia

8. Cold War on the World Scene
The Marshall Plan (1947)
Enacted to support the policy of CONTAINMENT
Said that the U.S. would provide financial aid to help Europe & Japan rebuild in the post war
U.S. tried to prevent the DOMINO THEORY… the belief that if one nations falls to Communism, they all would
The Eisenhower Doctrine (1947)
Political measure of the cold war
Stated the U.S. will safeguard the countries of the Middle East

9. Germany Germany became a Cold War struggle
Stalin attempted a blockade of goods and people from East Berlin to West Berlin
The U.S. began the BERLIN AIR LIFT… moving supplies in by plane

10. Problems in the United Nations
The USSR constantly vetoed things in the UN
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
Formed in 1949
Comprised of 10 nations, including the U.S. and Canada
Designed to promote the safety of Western Europe
Used the idea of COLLECTIVE SECURITY

11. China Fell to Communism in 1949
U.S. citizens blamed Truman and the containment policy

12. fear of each other Soviets detonated their first A-bomb in 1949
U.S. jumped ahead with the development of the Hydrogen Bomb (H-bomb) in 1952
USSR sent SPUTNIK, the first satellite, into orbit in 1957
USSR developed the Inter Continental Ballistic Missile (ICBM)

13. Each side used BRINKMANSHIP, coming right up to the edge of war, to protect their national interests
Americans questioned their own technology when a U-2 spy plane was shot down over the USSR

14. Cold War at Home The Hollywood Ten 2nd Red Scare (1950’s)
Fear of Communism ran rampant throughout the U.S.
The House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) formed to investigate Communism
HUAC put many Hollywood persons under the gun
Many – even Humphrey Bogart – were accused of being Communists
Eventually, ten people, known as the Hollywood 10, were jailed and placed on a “blacklist”, never to work again
2nd Red Scare (1950’s)
Led by Joseph McCarthy
Accused many of being Communist, even political and military personnel

15. Society Industry flourishes WWII Veterans Many new cars made
New roads and related industries developed as a result
Drive-in restaurants
Drive-in movies
Motels and Hotels
WWII Veterans
Came home and started families – BABY BOOM
The GI Bill helped them buy houses and go to college

16. Culture
Beatniks challenged the conformity of the 1950s by stressing spontaneity
Rock and Roll came of age as teens broke out of societal norms