1. The Cold War

2. Learning Objectives THE COLD WAR AND THE FIFTIES
106. Describe the U.S. responses to Soviet aggression after World War II, including the Truman Doctrine, the Marshall Plan, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, [and the Berlin Airlift] (containment, the Cuban Missile Crisis). (TEKS US 6D) (TAKS 1)
107. Describe the impact of the Cold War on the business cycle and defense spending (military-industrial complex and weapons of mass destruction). (TEKS US 14C)
108. Describe the impacts of the G.I. Bill, the election of 1948 (Truman, Dewey, Thurmond, and the Dixiecrats), McCarthyism, and Sputnik I (the space race). (TEKS US 6F) (TAKS 1)
109. Identify the causes and effects of prosperity in the 1950s (increased military spending and the growth of the suburbs). (TEKS US 14B)
110. Analyze the conflict in Korea and describe the domestic and international effects (United Nations and Douglas MacArthur). (TEKS US 6E) (TAKS 1)
111. Analyze how scientific discoveries and technological innovations, including those in transportation and communication, have changed the standard of living in the United States (television, the interstate highway system, and the H-bomb). (TEKS US 23A) (TAKS 3)
112. Explain the effects of scientific discoveries and technological innovations such as medical vaccinations and computers on the development of the U.S (polio vaccine). (TEKS US 22A) (TAKS 3)
113. Identify examples of American art, music, and literature that transcend American culture and convey universal themes (beatniks, rock and roll music, and abstract expressionism). (TEKS US 20C)

3. Key Terms
Cold War: an era of confrontation and competition between the US and the Soviet Union that lasted from
Containment: a US Cold War policy of keeping communism within its present territory through the use of diplomatic, economic and military actions.
Truman Doctrine: a doctrine proclaimed by President Harry Truman in March, 1947; it sought to (1) stabilize Greece and Turkey from a Communist takeover; (2) it pledged the United States to fight communism worldwide
Marshall Plan: Proposed by Secretary of State George C. Marshall in June, 1947; it provided European nations American aid to rebuild their economies after World War Two. It provided billions of dollars worth of supplies, machinery, and food into Western Europe.

4. Key Terms
GI Bill (1944): also known as the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act, this act boosted the economy by providing generous loans to veterans to help them establish businesses, buy homes, and attend college.
Berlin Airlift: June 1948, the US used cargo planes to supply Berliners with food and medicine that had been cut off from the Soviet Union
NATO: North Atlantic Treaty Organization; a mutual defense alliance established in April, 1949, including the US, Canada, Britain, France, Italy and other countries
Mao Zedong: leader of the Communists forces in China that overthrew the Nationalists government (led by Chiang Kai-Shek) in1949.

5. Origins of the Cold War
Following the end of World War Two, tensions between the US and the USSR increased because each country had different goals.
The Soviets wanted to keep Germany weak to prevent future threats from Eastern Europe
Soviets believed in the superiority of Communism and viewed capitalist nations with suspicion.
The USA believed:
the Great Depression had caused World War II
Americans viewed economic growth as key to world peace.
Americans sought to promote democracy and free enterprise

6. Yalta Conference (Feb, 1945)
Held in February 1945, near the end of World War II.
Held at a Soviet resort near the Black Sea
Roosevelt (US), Churchill (England), and Stalin (USSR)
Roosevelt and Churchill agree to recognize the Soviet government in Poland
Issue the Declaration of Liberated Europe: asserted the right of all people to choose the form of government under which they will live

7. Yalta Conference Dividing Germany
The Big 3 agree to divide Germany into four zones:
Great Britain
Soviet Union
France US
City of Berlin also divided

8. Potsdam Conference: July, 1945
President Truman takes control following death of FDR on April 11, 1945.
In July, 1945, Truman met Stalin at Potsdam, near Berlin
Discussed:
Future of Germany
issue of war reparations

9. The Iron Curtain
After WW2, the USSR refused to make any concessions or uphold the Declaration of a Liberated Europe.
The Soviet Army in Eastern Europe established pro-Soviet Communists governments
These countries came to be called satellite nations.

10. Containment George Kennan The Long Telegram
Only a matter of time until major economic and political weaknesses undid the Soviet Union
“Containment”
Crisis in Iran (1946)

11. The Truman Doctrine (March, 1947)
Action taken in defense of Soviet ambitions to control Turkey and Communist guerilla war in Greece.
Fears that Soviets wanted to dominate the Middle East
Truman speech that called for aid to “free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures.”
Stabilize Greece
Pledged the US to fight Communism worldwide

12. The Marshall Plan
June, 1947: US gave European nations American aid to rebuild their economies.

13. The Berlin Crisis and Airlift
Disagreement over post-war Germany eventually brought the US and USSR to the brink of war.
Early 1948: US, German, and France create the federal Republic of Germany
Allowed the West Germans to have their own government
June, 1948, USSR cuts all road and rail traffic to West Germany
Truman orders the Berlin airlift (11 months)

15. Berlin Wall
Later, in July, 1961, the Soviet Union demanded the US, Great Britain, and France withdraw from West Berlin.
President Kennedy refused.
The Soviet Union responded by building the Berlin Wall, a visible sign of the Cold War for the next 30 years.

16. Key Terms
McCarthyism: a “witch-hunt” led by Joseph R. McCarthy, a senator from Wisconsin, accusing government officials and others of Communists influences based on flimsy evidence and irrational fears (1952).
Military-Industrial Complex: an informal relationship that some people exists between the military and the defense industry to promote greater military spending and influence government policy
Sputnik: the first artificial satellite (USSR) to orbit the earth; this technological triumph alarmed Americans, who took it as a sign that the US was falling behind the Soviet Union in missile technology

17. NATO
The Berlin blockade convinced many Americans that the Soviets were determined to expand their “empire.”
In April, 1949, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was formed in response.
Included US, Canada, Britain, France, Italy and others
Committed the US to defense of Europe
The Soviet Union responded by creating the Warsaw Pact.

18. 1949
The US tried to prevent a Communist Revolution in China, sending $2 billion in aid in the 1940s to support the nationalist government of Chiang Kai-Shek
Led by Mao Zedong, Communist forces overthrew the Chinese Nationalist government of Chiang Kai-Shek in 1949.
The victorious Communists established the People’s Republic of China
Nationalist forces fled to Taiwan

19. 1949
In September, 1949, the Soviet Union announced it had successfully detonated an atomic bomb.
Later, Soviet Union and China sign a treaty of friendship and alliance.
US embarks on rapid industrialization of Japan

20. The Korean War (1950-1953) Korean War
Cause: North Korea wanted to unify the Korean Peninsula

21. The Korean War (1950-1953) General Douglas MacArthur China
38th Parallel

22. Eisenhower and the Sputnik Crisis
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Elected President ( ; )
“New Look”
Instead of maintaining a large and expensive army, the nation “must be prepared to use atomic weapons…”
“Massive Retaliation”
Increased America’s nuclear arsenal from about 1,000 bombs in 1953 to 18,000 in 1961

23. Sputnik
As the USA began to develop long-range nuclear missiles, Americans were stunned to learn the USSR launched Sputnik, the first artificial satellite to orbit the earth (1957)
In response, the US created the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
Also passed the National Defense Education Act (NDEA) authorizing funds for education and training in science, math, and foreign language

24. The Cold War Moves into Space
As Cold War tensions rose, the US and the Soviet Union engaged in a space race—vying for dominance of the heavens to enhance their competitive positions on Earth.
President Kennedy vowed to have America reach the moon prior to the Russians.
July, 1969, American astronaut Neil Armstrong became the person to set foot on the moon.

25. Key Terms
Massive retaliation: the policy of threatening a massive response, including the use of nuclear weapons against a Communist state trying to seize a peaceful state by force
Missile gap: the fear that the Soviet Union had more nuclear weapons than the United States
Space race: the competition over dominance of space and space exploration that occurred after the Soviet Union launched Sputnik

26. JFK and the Cold War
John F. Kennedy won the presidential election of 1960.
Became the first Catholic president in US history
Campaigned on the idea that United States faced a serious threat from the Soviet Union
Missile gap

27. Kennedy and the Cold War
The Cold War continued to intensify as Kennedy entered the White House.
Kennedy was eager to stand up to the Soviet Union.
“Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans—born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage—and unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of those human rights to which this Nation has always been committed, and to which we are committed today at home and around the world.   Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty.”

28. JFK and the Cold War
One of the first Cold War crisis Kennedy confronted as a new president occurred in Cuba.
In 1959, Fidel Castro had overthrown the corrupt Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista
Castro established close ties with the Soviet Union and instituted a Communist Revolution in Cuba.
The US secretly tried to overthrow Castro at the Bay of Pigs in April, It was an abysmal failure.

29. JFK And the Cold War
To counter Soviet influence around the world and in Latin America especially, JFK started the:
Alliance for Progress: a series of cooperative aid projects with Latin American governments
The Peace Corps: an organization that sent Americans to do humanitarian work on other countries

30. Cuban Missile Crisis One of the most important events of the Cold War.
Brought the US and Soviet Union to the brink of nuclear war.
Began in October, 1962 when US spy planes discovered Soviet long-range nuclear missiles in Cuba.
Soviet missiles in Cuba make many parts of the US vulnerable to attack.

31. Cuban Missile Crisis

32. Cuban Missile Crisis
President Kennedy ordered a naval blockade to stop the Soviets from delivering more missiles
Demanded the USSR dismantle existing missile sites
Warned that the US would launch nuclear missiles at the Soviet Union if the USSR launched missiles at the US

33. Cuban Missile Crisis Secret negotiations led to a deal: Impact:
US promised not to invade Cuba
USSR agrees to remove missiles
US secretly agrees to remove missiles from Turkey
Impact:
The Soviet Union recognized its inferiority
Began an arms build up
The US-USSR arms race continued for the next 20 years.

68. Review Key Terms
Cold War: an era of confrontation and competition between the US and the Soviet Union that lasted from
Containment: a US Cold War policy of keeping communism within its present territory through the use of diplomatic, economic and military actions—see Truman Doctrine
McCarthyism: a “witch-hunt” led by Joseph R. McCarthy, a senator from Wisconsin, accusing government officials and others of Communists influences based on flimsy evidence and irrational fears (1952).
Sputnik: the first artificial satellite (USSR) to orbit the earth; this technological triumph alarmed Americans, who took it as a sign that the US was falling behind the Soviet Union in missile technology. (1957) See NASA
GI Bill (1944): also known as the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act, this act boosted the economy by providing generous loans to veterans to help them establish businesses, buy homes, and attend college.