THE COLD WAR

The Cold War 1945-1991: An Ideological Struggle

Soviet & Satellite Nations[“Iron Curtain”] of the Warsaw

Pact

US & the Western

Democracies of NATO

GOAL spread world-wide Communism

GOAL “Containment” of Communism & the eventual collapse of the Communist world.

Ideological Competition for the hearts and minds of unaffiliated nations and peoples.

- Leads to policies of M.A.D. and “proxy wars”

Why a Cold War?

• Mutual distrust between the WW2 Allies– Stalin felt that the U.S.S.R. bore the brunt of

the fighting– U.S. was still leery of the Nazi-Soviet “Non-

Aggression Pact” over Poland in 1939

Soviets want space (paranoid about invasions)

U.S. wants democracy (peaceful allies)

The Bipolarization of Europe

Marshall Plan

• $13 billion in aid thru 1951

• Almost every nation’s economy passed pre-war levels

• USSR called it “Dollar Imperialism”

The Division of Berlin

Berlin Airlift: 1948-49

• 1st real crisis of the Cold War

• Allies introduce a stable currency into Germany,against Soviet policy

• Soviets block all roads, railroads, and canals to West Berlin – but not air corridors

Berlin Airlift

• Truman decides to supply West Berlin by air

• It was propaganda – seeing which side would back down 1st

• Allies deliver over 2.3 million tons in 18 months – Stalin eventually gives in

Formation of Israel - 1947

• Jewish immigration to Palestine since 1920s – Zionist movement

• U.N. partitions Palestine to create Israel

• 1948 All Arab neighbors invade...

Soviet Nikes

• 1949 – Soviets explode Joe-1, their own atomic bomb.

• Both sides begin an arms race that lasts until 1991.

• M.A.D. meant to “secure” peace

Paranoia in the U.S.

• Americans react to nuclear threats by building fallout shelters and joining civil defense forces

• Millions of children watch ‘Duck and Cover’ film

Chinese Civil War

• General Chiang Kai-Shek

Vs. Mao Zedong

• U.S.-supported forces lose and flee to Taiwan

• Massive purges of Chinese civilians after communist victory

Korean War

1950-1953America’s 1st proxy

war

The Shifting Map of Korea[1950-1953]

Korean War

• General Macarthur fired

for wanting to use

nuclear weapons.

• Stalemate until 1953 – peace treaty signed that created a DMZ between North and South Korea – it’s still in effect, as of this morning…

“I Like Ike”

• 1952 – Dwight Eisenhower convinced to run for President – easily wins…

• Continues Truman’s containment policy, but promotes “Peaceful Coexistence” - meets with Nikita Khrushchev several times.

Domino Theory

• Ike Eisenhower - strongly against communism:

“You have a row of dominoes set up, you knock over the first one, and what will happen to the last one is the certainty that it will go over very quickly. So you could have a beginning of a disintegration that would have the most profound influences.”

Ike’s Cold War Strategy

1. Be prepared for military attack– Federal Highway Act (1956)

2. Shore up weak third-world governments, especially in the Middle East and SE Asia

Decolonization of European

Empires

India

• 1930 Salt March Based on principle of nonviolent

protest

• 1942 – Quit India movement

• 1947 – Independent India and Pakistan formed by Britain

Suez Crisis

• Egyptian Nationalist movement – wants control of Suez Canal from Brits

• Gamal Nasser courts the Soviets before nationalizing the canal

• Britain, Israel, and France invade, but…

South Africa

• Gains full independence from Britain in 1948

• Apartheid regime created Supported by NATO - anticommunist

• Lasts until 1991 Nelson Mandela elected President

Cold War Incidents

Space Race begins

• 1957 – Soviets launch 1st satellite into space.

• Americans panic and Ike creates NASA

• The ultimate target was to be the first to land…

ON THE SUN!!!

Ok, just kidding

• The race was to the moon

• 1957, Nov. – Soviet dog Laika becomes the 1st animal in space

• The U.S responds by forming NASA, then sends up chimps for the next 4 years

Ham

• 1961 – Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin becomes 1st human in space

• The U.S. responded by launching Alan Shepard in space 20 days later

This was part of Project Mercury

• John Glenn, on Feb. 20, 1962, became the first American to orbit the Earth

Project ApolloSaturn V Rocket: designed to take men to the moon.

•The Saturn V Rocket booster was designed and built

Project Apollo

• Apollo 8 was the first manned trip to the moon – but no landing

Apollo 11

• First landing on the moon

• Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, Buzz Aldrin

Apollo 11 Moon Landing

• July 20, 1969

• America wins!!

U-2 Incident

• 1960 – the Soviets kidnap an Irish rock band and torture them into revealing U.S. nuclear secrets.

…The Real U-2 Incident

• 1960 - Pilot Francis Gary Powers shot down from his U-2 spy plane over the USSR.

• Major embarrassment

for Ike – hurts peace

talks.

Berlin Wall -1961

• Constructed to prevent East Germans from escaping to West Berlin

• Split families; became symbol of the Iron Curtain

Cuban Missile Crisis

• U.S. had been arming allies with nukes (S. Africa, Israel, Turkey, etc.) so the Soviets decided to try the same thing…

• Closest to nuclear war in history.

• Tense standoff, but both sides back down.

Arms Race: 1950s-1990s

• Both the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. race to build submarines, planes, ICBMs, etc.

Vietnam 1964-1973

• Proxy War in SE Asia

• Over 50,000 American killed and over 2 million Vietnamese

• 1972 – Peace treaty signed… which lasts until 1975

1970s – Cold War heats up…

• Perceived U.S. weakness emboldens Soviets – Massive #’s of nukes built

• 1979: Iranian Revolution

• 1979: Soviet invasion of Afghanistan

1979• That same year, the Soviets also meet

their worst enemy, who sends them to their destruction: