Chapter 12 Section 1

Objectives:  By the end of this lesson, you should be able to:  1) Explain the origins of the Cold War  2) Describe major sources of tension between the United States and the USSR  3) Describe the various pots across the globe which were influenced by the Cold War struggle

A. Confrontation of the Superpowers  After World War II, Britain and U.S. liberated western Europe  The Soviet Union had liberated Eastern Europe  Joseph Stalin refused to give up Eastern Europe  Stalin feared that the U.S. and Britain would try to spread capitalism across Europe  U.S. and Britain afraid Stalin would try to spread communism  Both sides refused to back down  The Cold War begins

B. Rivalry In Europe  Stalin supposed to allow all Eastern European free elections  Stalin afraid that if he allowed that, they would choose democracy and capitalism  Next, a war broke out in Greece btwn communists and anti-communists  Britain had supported the anti- communists, but had to withdraw support due to lack of money  The U.S. was afraid that the Soviets would help the communists, so they decided to act

 U.S. President Harry S. Truman passed what was called the Truman Doctrine  -this said that the U.S. would send money and aid to any country threatened by communism (Greece)  Dean Acheson, U.S. Sec. of State argued that if Greece fell to communism, then the surrounding countries would also fall  Then, communism would spread across Europe

C. The Marshall Plan and Containment  In June 1947, The U.S. came up with the Marshall Plan  -U.S. would provide $13 billion to rebuild war-torn European countries  The Soviet Union and its Satellite States, refused to accept the help  -satellite states were states under control or influence of the Soviet Union

 In July, 1947, the U.S. also came up with the Containment Policy  -to keep communism within its existing boundaries and not allow it to spread

D. Divided Germany  Germany was also a major source of contention  It had been divided up into four zones  Eastern Germany was controlled by the Soviet Union  Western Germany was controlled by the allies  Even the capital of Berlin was divided into 4 Zones  By 1948, the allies unified their three zones and created a democratic West-German country

E. The Berlin Airlift  Berlin located in Eastern Germany  West Berlin was controlled by allies  The Soviets did not want westerners in Eastern Germany  The Soviets blockaded the west and did not allow any trucks, trains, or barges to enter West Berlin  No food or supplies were getting to the 2.5 million people in Western Berlin  The Allies faced a dilemma:  -if they tried to run the blockade, they could provoke World War III

 The allies decided to use airplanes to fly over the blockade and drop supplies in  For over 10 months, allied planes dropped 2.3 million tons of supplies into Germany  The Soviet Union, also not wanting to go to war, gave up and lifted the blockade  This was called the Berlin Airlift

F. Spread of the Cold War  In 1949, Chinese communists led by Mao Zedong took over China  In 1949, USSR created their 1 st atomic bomb  Increased U.S. fears that communism was spreading across the world  The U.S. and the Soviet Union soon became involved in an arms race  -both countries built up their weapons and armies  Both sides believed building up nuclear weapons would prevent war  This idea is called deterrence

G. New Military Alliances  The Cold War led to the creation of New Alliances  In April 1949 the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was formed  -alliance of democratic countries  6 years later the Soviet Union and its satellite nations formed the Warsaw Pact  -alliance of communist countries  To keep communism from spreading into Asia, the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) was formed

 Another alliance was formed to keep communism out of the Middle East  Central Treaty Organization (CENTO)

H. The Arms Race  In 1949, the Soviet Union tested its first atomic bomb  In the early 1950s, both countries had tested the even deadlier Hydrogen Bomb  By the mid-1950s both countries had developed Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBM’s)  -This meant that both countries could launch a nuclear weapon across greater distances

 In 1957, the Soviets launched the 1 st man- made satellite into space  -called Sputnik  This caused many Americans to fear that they were falling behind in technology  It also meant that the Soviets could launch a nuclear weapon anywhere in the world

I. A Wall in Berlin  After Stalin died, Nikita Khrushchev took over the Soviet Union  Western Berlin was prospering, while eastern Berlin was very poor  Many people began leaving East Berlin and moving into the west  Khrushchev wanted to put an end to this migration, so he built a wall that separated East Berlin from West Berlin  The wall contained barbed wire, minefields, machine gun towers, and dog patrols  Anyone caught trying to cross the wall was killed

J. Kennedy and the Cold War  During the presidency of John F. Kennedy the Cold War reached dangerous levels  In 1959, Fidel Castro a Cuban revolutionary took over Cuba  He changed Cuba into a communist country  The U.S. was fearful of having a communist country so close to it  Castro was supported by the Soviet Union

 Kennedy approved a secret plan to use Cuban exiles to overthrow Castro  -the invasion was a disaster  -called the Bay of Pigs Invasion  -many of the exiles were captured or killed  After the attempt, the Soviet Union began sending nuclear missiles to Cuba  The U.S. was not willing to allow communist-controlled nuclear missiles so close to the U.S.

K. The Cuban Missile Crisis  In 1962, Kennedy found out that Soviet ships carrying missiles were headed for Cuba  He decided to blockade them  As the ships approached, the U.S. was ready to fire  At the last second, Khrushchev ordered the ships to turn around  Khrushchev then agreed to remove all nuclear missiles from Cuba  The realization of nuclear war got both sides to agree to install a hot line  -direct line from the President of the U.S. to Khrushchev

L. Vietnam and the Domino Theory  The U.S. soon became involved in a new struggle in Vietnam  Vietnam had been controlled by the French before WWII  During WWII, the Japanese took control of it  After WWII, France tried to take it back  Communists in Vietnam led by Ho Chi Minh threatened to take over Vietnam  The U.S. believed that if Vietnam fell to communism, then all surrounding Asian countries would fall  -called the Domino Theory

 The U.S. sent large amounts of troops in Vietnam to keep the communist North from taking over the South  Even though America had superior military forces, the Vietnamese fought ruthlessly  Vietnamese were masters of Guerilla Warfare  Thousands of American troops were dying  Images of the war were seen on television  This started an anti-war movement in the U.S.

 President Lyndon B. Johnson decided not to run for another term because of how many soldiers died under his command  President Richard Nixon was elected with promises to bring the U.S. out of the war  In 1973, Nixon reached an agreement w/ North Vietnamese leaders to allow the U.S. to withdraw troops  Within two years the communist North took over the South  No other countries fell to communism  Vietnam helped show the limitations of American power