The Cold War Unfolds

Ch.30, Sec.1

Superpowers• After WWII – U.S. and

S.U. Superpowers!– Cold War 40 years

• Opposing Military Alliances– U.S. – NATO– S.U. – Warsaw Pact

• Iron Curtain: dividing line between democratic West and communist East

Berlin Wall• West Germany –

Democratic• East Germany –

Communist– Berlin: Capital of

Germany (in East Germany)• W. Berlin – Democratic

– Prosperous

• E. Berlin – Communist– People flee to W. Berlin

for jobs– 1961 – Berlin Wall built

by E. Germany – concrete walls, barbed wire, guards

Arms Race• By 1949 – both had nuclear weapons• By 2953 – both had hydrogen bombs• Mutually Assured Destruction (M.A.D.)

= both powers would be destroyed if weapons were used

• Anti-Ballistic Missiles (ABMs) = missiles that could shoot down other missiles

• SALT = strategic arms limitation talks (1972, 1979)– Reagan’s “Star Wars” = missile defense– 1970s – Détente = relaxation of tensions

(ends in 79 when S.U. invades Afghanistan)

Cold War Gets Hot

• Cuba Goes Communist (1959)– Fidel Castro – took away

freedoms, many fled to Florida (90 miles)

– Supported by S.U.• U.S. Attempts to bring

down Castro– Bay of Pigs Invasion 1961

– epic fail!– Trade embargo on Cuba– Assassination attempts

Cold War Gets Hot• 1962 – Cuban Missile

Crisis– S.U. put nuclear

missiles in Cuba– JFK ordered them

removed, put naval blockade up

– Tense 13 days of threat of nuclear war

– S.U. removed missiles

Comparison Chart

Communist System• Communist party makes all

political decisions• Command Economy – gov’t

makes most economic decisions and owns most property

• The leadership values obedience, discipline, and economic security

• Few choices for consumers, shortages

Democratic Capitalist System• The people and their elected

representatives make decisions• Market economy – private

consumers and producers make most economic decisions and own most property

• The leadership values freedom and prosperity

• Consumers have a lot of choice due to competition

Cold War in U.S.• Containment = keeping

communism w/in its existing boundaries and preventing it from spreading to other areas

• Fallout shelters, air raid drills in schools

• “Red Scare” = Americans feared that communists inside the US might try to overthrow the gov’t– Senator Joseph McCarthy –

“McCarthyism”– Accused innocent people of

communism, led to fear– Black list in Hollywood