1. Essential Question:
What led to the Cold War between the United States & the Soviet Union?
Warm-Up Question:
Examine the image on the next slide & use it to answer this Q:
What was the Cold War?

2. Yalta Conference
In February 1945 (while the war was still being fought), the “Big Three” Churchill (England), Roosevelt (USA), Stalin (USSR) met in Yalta, USSR to discuss Europe after WWII
This is FDR’s last meeting (died in April 1945)

3. Yalta Conference At Yalta, the Allies discussed:
The Axis Powers must unconditionally surrender
The League of Nations should be replaced by a United Nations to keep the peace after the war
Germany would be divided into occupied zones to help rebuild
Eastern European nations have the right to choose to be democratic or communist
Self Determination

4. Potsdam Conference (Stalin, Truman, Churchill) US President FDR died in April & VP Harry Truman became the new President

5. Potsdam Conference
Stalin broke his promise at Yalta & began pressuring Eastern European countries to become Communist
After Germany surrendered, the USA, England, & USSR met at Potsdam, Germany to discuss the end of the war
Two important things happened

6. Potsdam Conference
Potsdam ended any sense of friendship between the USA & USSR & began an era of bitterness & distrust called the Cold War
At Yalta, Stalin agreed to allow self-determination in Eastern Europe
Germany was divided into 4 occupied zones: 3 were democratic & 1 was communist
By Potsdam, Stalin had extended his control over Eastern Europe to create a buffer zone between the USSR & its future enemies
Potsdam presents a major Cold War theme: Because they could not agree on how do govern Europe, Truman & Stalin divided it

7. Cold War
When the World War II finally ended, 2 superpowers remained: US & USSR
USA—capitalist & democratic; USSR— communist
Different beliefs led to a Cold War & a fight for supremacy throughout the world VS

8. Use this image to search for clues
What was the Cold War?

9. The USA after World War II
The end of WWII in 1945, marked a turning point in U.S. history by taking an active role in world affairs
The USA became a leader in the United Nations & World Bank
The U.S. occupied & helped rebuild Japan after the war
The U.S. helped found Israel as a Jewish nation in the Middle East

10. United Nations Member Nations
United Nations Headquarters is in New York City

12. American Occupation of Japan

13. The Cold War
The most important change in U.S. foreign policy after WWII was the beginning of the Cold War
The Cold War was an era of distrust & hostility between the USA & USSR from
It was an era of competing ideologies: The USA promoted democracy & capitalism while the USSR tried to spread communism

15. Bolsheviks in the Russian Revolution in 1917
Causes of the Cold War
Vladimir Lenin led the
Bolsheviks in the Russian Revolution in 1917

16. Causes of the Cold War
The USA sent troops to fight the “Red Army” during the Russian Civil War

17. Causes of the Cold War
In the 1920s, Americans feared the spread of Communism during the “Red Scare”

18. Causes of the Cold War
After Lenin’s death in 1924, Joseph Stalin became dictator of the USSR & started his Five Year Plans

19. Causes of the Cold War
During WWII, the USA & USSR worked together to defeat the Axis Powers, but...

20. Causes of the Cold War
WWII increased hostilities between the USA & the USSR:
The U.S. & USSR emerged from the war as rival superpowers
The development of the atomic bomb gave the USA a monopoly on nuclear weapons

21. WWII increased hostilities between USA & USSR
But Stalin never did; By the time of the Potsdam Conference, Stalin began extending his control over Eastern Europe
At the Yalta Conference, Stalin agreed to allow self-determination in Eastern Europe
Stalin refused to remove his military or allow free election in Eastern Europe
As a result, Eastern European nations turned to Communism & became Soviet satellites—nations influenced by the USSR (the “Eastern bloc”)

22. At the end of the war, Germany was divided into a zone occupied by the USSR (which became East Germany) & a zone occupied by the USA, Britain, & France (West Germany)

24. Capitalism & Democracy
The Iron Curtain
Capitalism & Democracy
Communism & Totalitarianism
The USA began to view Stalin in the 1940s as a new Hitler—a dangerous dictator who wanted to take over the world

25. In 1947, the U.S. began a policy of Containment to stop the spread of Communism by the USSR
When the USSR began pressuring Greece & Turkey to turn communist, the USA created the Truman Doctrine: U.S. economic & military aid to any country threatened by communism
“A long-term, patient but firm, and vigilant containment of Russian expansionist policies… will eventually force the USSR to live in peace with the West”
—Secretary of State, George Marshall
The Truman Doctrine worked & neither Greece nor Turkey fell to communism

26. Congress appropriated $400 million in aid to Greece & Turkey

27. By 1952, Western Europe recovered & Communism never took root
In 1947, the U.S. began a policy of Containment to stop the spread of Communism by the USSR
European nations had difficulty recovering after WWII which led to fears of communism in Europe
The U.S. created the Marshall Plan: offered $13 billion to help rebuild post-war Europe
By 1952, Western Europe recovered & Communism never took root

28. Marshall Plan to Aid Europe 1948-1952

29. In 1947, the U.S. began a policy of Containment to stop the spread of Communism by the USSR
In 1948, the USSR used military force to turn Czechoslovakia to communism; This led to fears that Stalin would use similar tactics in Western Europe
In 1949, the USA formed the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO): a military alliance among democratic countries

30. NATO was one of many alliances the USA would form with democratic nations over the course of the Cold War
NATO
Communist Bloc

31. The Berlin Blockade
In 1948, the USSR responded to Containment by cutting off all traffic to Berlin in East Germany
The USA began the Berlin Airlift to bring food, fuel, & supplies to keep West Berlin from turning to Communism
The standoff lasted 2 weeks until Stalin lifted the blockade

33. Reorganizing the Government
The new air force was the preferred military agency of the Cold War because airplanes could drop nuclear bombs if needed
By 1947, the U.S. gov’t created 3 new agencies during the Cold War
Dept of Defense to direct the Army & Navy; The military created the Air Force
Central Intelligence Agency to collect & manage information among all gov’t agencies
Nat’l Security Council to advise the president on nat’l security

34. The Cold War Expands

35. The Soviets responded with their own hydrogen bomb in 1953
The Nuclear Arms Race
The Soviet atomic bomb motivated the USA to regain its nuclear advantage; In 1952, the U.S. tested the 1st hydrogen bomb (1,000 times more powerful than the a-bomb)
The U.S. monopoly on nuclear weapons technology ended in 1949 when the USSR successfully tested their own atomic bomb
The Soviets responded with their own hydrogen bomb in 1953

36. The Cold War in Asia
Containment stopped communism in Europe, but by the late 1940s the Cold War spread to Asia:
Since the 1930s, Communist Mao Zedong fought democratic leaders for control of China
In 1949, Mao gained control & turned China to communism
Americans blamed President Truman for “losing China”
Truman “lost” China after a

37. Based upon this chart, why were Mao & the Communists so popular among the Chinese people?

38. The Cold War in Asia
America’s response to the fall of China was to more aggressively confront Communism in the world
The U.S. expanded the military & stockpiled nuclear weapons
The USA feared that China would influence its neighbors to turn communist (“domino theory”)
In 1950, the U.S. fought the Korean War to stop communism

39. In 1950, North Korea crossed the 38° & attacked South Korea
The USA led a United Nations intervention to stop North Korea
But, when the USA pushed too close to China, the Chinese Army entered the war & helped North Korea
By 1953, a ceasefire stopped the fighting & the 38° was restored as the boundary between North & South Koreas
After WWII, Korea was divided along the 38° with Communists in the North & democracy in the South

40. The USA stopped the spread of Communism into South Korea, but in 1954, Communist Ho Chi Minh began a war to gain independence for Vietnam

41. Conclusions After World War II, U.S. foreign policy changed:
The U.S. became a superpower that actively intervened in world affairs
The Cold War increased military spending, nuclear weapons, & fears of a war with the USSR
President Truman successfully “contained” Communism in Europe but seemed to fail in Asia