1. The Cold War Begins

2. Cold War = Global Politics!
The Cold War was a competition between the Soviet Union and the United States
Different values, governments, and economies
Therefore, the Cold War heavily influenced U.S. Policies
Domestic
Foreign
Military Involvement Overseas

3. The Yalta Conference
February, 1945 the Yalta Conference: The United States, Britain, and the Soviet Union met to decide to divide Germany.
At that meeting, Stalin promised free elections in Eastern Europe. Unfortunately, he did not keep this promise!

4. Europe Divides
After World War II, the Soviet Union occupied several Eastern European nations and referred to them as a necessary “buffer” against future invasions into Russia.
These nations became known as Soviet Satellite countries.
Communist governments under the Soviet Union’s control were put in place within these countries.

5. The Iron Curtain Falls! Europe was now divided into West and East.
During the Cold War this division between Democratic and Communist Europe became known as the Iron Curtain

6. The U.S. to the Rescue!
As the only superpower that could stand up to the Soviet Union, the United States became a symbol for Democracy while the Soviet Union represented a Communist dictatorship.

7. The United States versus the Soviet Union

8. The Soviet Union
Totalitarian State
Dictatorship of Stalin and the Communist Party
Communist economy

9. United States
Democracy
Individual Freedom
Free Market Economy

10. The Soviet Union
Berlin Wall & Satellite Nations: established Communist-controlled territories in Europe in an attempt to spread Communism and the Soviet Empire after WWII.

11. U.S. Strategy Anti-Communist Containment of Communism
Began with Truman as guiding principle for the entire Cold War
Keep Communism from spreading, resist communist aggression into other countries

12. The Soviet Union
Warsaw Pact: a military alliance of the Communist-controlled countries of Europe to serve as protection against the US and its allies.

13. The United States
NATO: The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was a military alliance of the United States and Western Europe to protect them from further expansion of Communism.

14. BOTH SIDES FOLLOWED
DETERRENCE: The build up of both countries’ nuclear weapons in order to keep them from declaring war on each other. The “threat” of nuclear war kept the U.S. and Soviet Union from directly fighting each other!
THIS LED TO A DANGEROUS ARMS RACE!!!