Download presentation
1
THE COLD WAR BEGINS
2
Essential Questions: What led to the Cold War between the United States and Soviet Union? What were the major events between the USA and the USSR during the early years of the Cold War?
3
The end of World War II led to important changes in the world:
4
The United Nations was created, which replaced the League of Nations
United Nations Headquarters is in New York City Executive Council General Assembly Member Nations
5
The UN created a Jewish nation called Israel; this set off a series of wars between Jews and Arabs in the Middle East
6
The United States occupied and helped rebuild Japan
7
The end of World War II inspired independence movements throughout Africa and Asia; these movements were called decolonization
8
One of the most important changes after World War II was the beginning of the Cold War
After WWII, the United States and the Soviet Union entered an era of distrust and hostility 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 From 1945 to 1991, the Cold War was a struggle for global influence and power between the Soviet Union and the United States
9
After World War II, no other countries could match the United States or the Soviet Union in terms of political influence or military might 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 The U.S. and the USSR were superpowers and rivals who dominated world politics 9
10
What were the major ideologies of the USA and the USSR?
WHAT IS “IDEOLOGY”? An IDEOLOGY is a philosophy, or a way of thinking Ideologies of nations can be based on politics, economics, or religion What were the major ideologies of the USA and the USSR?
11
This was an era of competing ideologies: the USA promoted democracy and capitalism while the USSR tried to spread communism
12
The different ideologies between the USA and USSR and their desires to spread these ideas led to distrust, hostility, proxy battles, and nearly nuclear war between them
14
Capitalism Socialism Democracy Totalitarianism
Private ownership of industry, freedom of competition, gov’t keeps hands off (laissez-faire) Leads to different economic classes (rich and poor) Gov’t owns industries and farms; the goal of the gov’t is to bring equality to people The goal is to have a classless society with no rich or poor Democracy Totalitarianism Government of the people People elect their leaders Government led by a dictator Total control over many aspects of peoples’ lives
15
Freedom Equality Individualism
Valuing freedoms of speech, press, and business Valuing basic needs (food, homes, education, jobs) for all people Individualism Collectivism Emphasizes the need for people to do things on their own Competition is a good thing; The best individuals have more power, status, money Emphasizes the need for people to work together to benefit everyone Everyone works the same amount and every gains the same benefits
16
WHAT IS A “COLD” WAR? A “hot” war is a war fought the usual way: with weapons and soldiers. This struggle wasn’t fought in the usual way. Why? Both the Americans and the Soviets were aware that if they fought for real, nuclear weapons would be used
17
Mutually Assured Destruction: If nuclear war happened, it would be likely that both sides would be destroyed, along with the rest of the world
19
Instead, the USA and USSR engaged in a “cold” war, doing everything to hurt the other side just short of fighting
20
So instead of a “hot” war, like two heavyweights fighting it out and doing terrible damage to each other…
21
…this was a “cold” war, which is like two master chess players who manipulate their pieces and use their wits to defeat the enemy
22
THE WEAPONS OF A COLD WAR
Threatening to use force Use of propaganda (this is spreading information and stories, which aren’t always true, to make your enemy look bad and yourself look good; mixing fact and emotion) Economic and military aid to other nations that are opposed to your enemy and their allies
23
WHAT CAUSED THE COLD WAR?
In 1917, Vladimir Lenin led the Bolsheviks in the Russian Revolution and created the world’s first communist government
24
WHAT CAUSED THE COLD WAR?
Distrust began when the USA sent Americans troops to fight against Lenin’s Communist “Red Army” during the Russian Civil War
25
WHAT CAUSED THE COLD WAR?
After Lenin’s death in 1924, Joseph Stalin became dictator of the Soviet Union; Stalin was even more ruthless and iron-fisted than Lenin
26
WHAT CAUSED THE COLD WAR?
During World War II, the Americans and Soviet Russians worked together to defeat Nazi Germany, but… American and Russian soldiers meet for the first time in Germany
27
…events of World War II increased tensions between the USA and USSR
The ultra-paranoid Stalin never trusted Britain nor the USA during the war; he often disagreed with FDR and Churchill over strategy
28
The Manhattan Project gave the USA a monopoly on nuclear weapon technology, which made Stalin even more paranoid of the Americans
29
At the Yalta Conference, Stalin had agreed to allow self-determination in Eastern European countries formerly occupied by the Nazis (and now occupied by Soviet forces)
30
In reality, Stalin wanted a “buffer zone” between his Soviet Union and the democratic nations in Western Europe never did;
31
Breaking his promise to allow voting in Soviet-occupied countries, Stalin used his military to install communist governments in Eastern European nations
32
As a result, Eastern European nations turned communist and became Soviet satellites: nations that were influenced and controlled by the USSR like puppets
33
In the years after World War II, the USA began to view Stalin as a new Hitler: a dangerous dictator who wanted to take over the world
34
THE “IRON CURTAIN” In 1946, Winston Churchill warned against Soviet expansion into Europe He called the area of Soviet influence in Eastern Europe the Iron Curtain The “Iron Curtain” divided Soviet-run Eastern Europe from the democratic governments of Western Europe
35
By 1946, Europe was divided by the figurative “iron curtain” that separated democratic/capitalist Western Europe from communist/totalitarian Eastern Europe Communism and Totalitarianism Capitalism and Democracy
36
President Truman created a foreign policy called containment to stop Soviet influence and stop the spread of communism
37
When the USSR began to pressure Greece and Turkey to turn communist, the U.S. created the Truman Doctrine, promising economic and military help to any nation threatened by communism T =
38
The Truman Doctrine worked: neither Greece nor Turkey fell to communism
Congress appropriated $400 million in aid to Greece & Turkey
39
Devastated European nations had difficulty recovering after WWII, which led to fears of communism taking hold in all of Europe
40
Army Chief of Staff George Marshall thought that offering monetary aid to Europe would stop communism from spreading there
41
The Marshall Plan offered 13 billion dollars to help rebuild the economies of post-war Europe
42
M =
43
By 1952, Western Europe recovered and Communism never took root
44
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
45
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
46
In 1949, the United States formed the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO): a bloc (military alliance) among democratic countries in Western Europe and North America
47
In response to NATO, the USSR and its Eastern European Communist satellites formed a bloc (military alliance) called the Warsaw Pact
48
At the end of WWII, Germany was divided into four zones occupied by the USA, Britain, France, and the USSR Berlin, the German capital city, was also divided into four parts, but was located inside the Soviet zone In 1948, Stalin wanted to turn all of the city of Berlin communist and ordered a blockade, shutting down all ground transportation into and out of West Berlin
49
BERLIN: A DIVIDED CITY IN HOSTILE TERRITORY
Communist East Berlin Democratic West Berlin West Berlin was an island of democracy in a sea of communism; Stalin hoped the blockade would starve the West Berliners into giving in to communism
50
In response, the U.S. began the Berlin Airlift, guessing that Stalin would not shoot down NATO planes and risk starting a nuclear war; NATO guessed correctly For 11 months, U.S. and British planes landed in West Berlin to bring food, fuel, and supplies The NATO planes flew over the blockade and were never shot at by Soviet forces
51
The United States successfully kept West Berlin from turning communist
Stalin’s blockade cost a lot of money to keep up, and it was not working; Stalin finally admitted defeat and lifted the blockade in 1949 The United States successfully kept West Berlin from turning communist
52
improving armies and nuclear weapons
THE ARMS RACE improving armies and nuclear weapons
53
LEGACY OF THE COLD WAR
54
But over the next 40 years, the Cold War intensified as communism spread to Asia, Africa, and Latin America From 1945 to 1949, NATO successfully contained communism to Eastern Europe only
55
The Cold War intensified as newer and more powerful nuclear weapons were introduced (arms race), espionage (spying) increased, and several wars broke out in Korea, Vietnam, and Afghanistan between American-backed forces and Soviet-backed forces (proxy wars)
Similar presentations
© 2025 SlidePlayer.com. Inc.
All rights reserved.