1. Unit 7 The Cold War

2. Vocabulary  1. “cold war”: a struggle between two countries to become the world’s only super power nation. A war fought through influence and weapons build up, not through actual fighting.  2. “iron curtain”: description of the soviet control of surrounding countries after the end of WWII. (term coined by Winston Churchill)  3. Capitalism: the economic system of free nations. People can buy and sell whatever they please and have any job. (free market system)

3.  4. Communism: a system of government that is totalitarian. The government controls how people live their lives and the economy.  5. Containment: The policy of the U.S. to prevent the USSR (Soviet Union) from changing any other nations to communism.  6. Marshall Plan: This was the plan to provide $13 billion to European countries to help them rebuild after WWII and prevent them from becoming communist nations.

4.  7. Satellite nations: Nations that were controlled by the Soviet Union during the Cold War.  8. Berlin Wall: A wall that divided free West Berlin from communist East Berlin. It symbolized the division between communism and capitalism.  9. NATO: North Atlantic Treaty Organization. USA’s alliance to counter balance the USSR’s Warsaw Pact.

5.  10. Perestroika - The reconstruction (rebuild) of the Soviet economy and bureaucracy that began in the mid 1980s. (more freedoms for the economy or business)  11. Glasnost - the policy or practice of more open consultative government and wider dissemination of information, initiated by leader Mikhail Gorbachev in 1985. (more freedom for the people)

6. I. Trouble in Russia  Russia was a nation historically ruled by a Czar. (much like a king)  When WWI began, Russia was one of the first countries to jump into this conflict.  Russia was not equipped to fight a successful war and they lost more battles than they won.

7.  During World War I, while fighting against the Allied forces, Russia suffered heavy losses.  Russia’s economy also suffered from the war.  Food shortages were common and famine struck Russia.

8. II. Soviet Union is born  Lenin and the Bolsheviks began a coup, overthrowing the Czar and Russian government.  This ended with a new government, Communism.

9. III. Communism  Communism is more than just a type of government. It is a way of life.  In communism, everything is owned and controlled by the state or nation.  People do not have ownership of things, they are shared by the nation.

11. IV. The Cold War  During WWII, the Soviet Union fought on the side of the Allies, but shortly after the war, the Soviet Union became the enemy of the United States.  By the 1950’s both the U.S. and the USSR had atomic bombs, making them the two superpower nations of the world.

12. Containment & The Marshall Plan  The U.S. feared the spread of communism around the globe and tried to stop it with many different things.  President Truman adopted the policy of Containment. This was the idea that the U.S. would do anything necessary to slow or stop the spread of communism (We did at least 5 things to stop this).  The Marshall Plan was the idea to give money to war torn countries in Europe to insure the survival of Democracy in these nations (13 billion).

13.  The USSR and U.S. became locked into a war to see which country could become the strongest on earth.  This “cold war” would last from the 1950’s until 1989.  This was not only a military struggle, but a struggle of Western (U.S.) ideas, verses Eastern (USSR) ideas.  Capitalism vs. Communism Cold War Struggles

14. Fear  During the Cold War, both U.S. and Soviet citizens feared Nuclear War.  Bomb Shelters were built and cities prepared for the day the bomb might be dropped.

16. Video clip of bomb drill Video clip of bomb drill

17.  USSR and U.S. competed in every aspect from weapons to the race for space.  The closest the Cold War ever comes to becoming a Hot War is when the USSR places nuclear missiles in Cuba, a nation very close to the U.S. ( The USA had missiles in Turkey)  This is called the Cuban Missile Crisis.

18. View Cuban Missile Crisis Link to clip Link to clip

19. V. Wars during the Cold War  Although the U.S. never fought the USSR, they did fight the spread of communism to other nations.  These wars to stop communism were:  Korea (1950-1954)  Vietnam (1955-1975)

20. Korean War Korean War

21. View Vietnam Media File

22. Vietnam  Vietnam was originally a French Colony known as Indochina.  France became very weak after WWII and the Vietnamese gained their independence in 1954.  By the 1960’s a communist movement became strong in the Northern section of Vietnam.

23.  The U.S. was committed to its policy of containment and soon sent troops to Vietnam to stop the spread of communism to the southern portion of the country.  The guerrilla tactics of the Vietcong proved to be very frustrating and difficult for the American forces to defeat.  After facing growing resistance on the home front, and heavy casualties, U.S. forces withdrew from Vietnam in 1975.

26. Vietnam

27. VI. End  By the 1980’s the strong U.S. economy, based on capitalism out paced the sluggish USSR economy based on communism.  People in the USSR learned how nice life in the U.S. was compared to their country.  By 1989 people in USSR were ready for a change in their government.

28.  A coup began that would free the people of the USSR, give independence to 15 countries (satellite nations), and end communism in Russia.  The Cold War is over when the USSR collapses.  The U.S. did not defeat the USSR, Communism defeated itself.  The country that remained became the Republic of Russia, a democratic free nation.

29. End of the War End of the War

30. More Info.  Soviet leader Michael Gorbachev passed a restructuring policy called perestroika that gave more economic freedom to business in the USSR.  Gorbachev also allowed some freedoms for the people. This was called glasnost.

31. Video clip of Russia Today

32. Questions  1. Who led the revolt in Cuba that changed it to a communist nation in 1959? What was this person’s previous occupation?  2. What did the U.S. place on Cuba after they changed to communism?  3. What was the “Bay of Pigs” in 1961?

33. Questions  4. What was the goal of the Korean War?  5. Who helped the North Korean’s fight?  6. Who was the leader of communist forces in Vietnam?  7. What happened to South Vietnam in 1975?

34. Answers  1. Fidel Castro he was a lawyer  2. An embargo  3. The U.S. attempted to overthrow Castro and free the island of Cuba  4. To prevent Korea from becoming communist  5. China / Russia  6. Ho Chi Minh  7. They became communist and united with North Vietnam.

35. Review Questions  What caused the end of the Cold War?  What event almost changed the Cold War into a “hot war?”  What were some differences between Korea and Vietnam?  What is the Berlin Wall and why was it built?  Why can’t the U.S. claim victory in the Vietnam War?  What is Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD)?

36. Answers  1. when the USSR collapses.  2. Cuban Missile Crisis  3. terrain  4. Wall built to separate Germany (Capitalist and Communist)  5. Because it is still Communist  6. The understanding that if one country fires a nuclear weapon, both of them will ultimately be destroyed