The Early Cold War

The Ideological Struggle Soviet & Eastern Bloc Nations [“Iron Curtain”] US & the Western Democracies GOAL  spread world-wide Communism GOAL  “Containment” stop the spread of Communism METHODOLOGIES: Espionage [KGB vs. CIA] Arms Race [nuclear escalation] Ideological Competition for the minds and hearts of Third World peoples [Communist vs. Capitalist] Bi-Polarization of Europe [NATO vs. Warsaw Pact]

The “Iron Curtain” From Stettin in the Balkans, to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the Continent… -- Sir Winston Churchill, 1946 Iron Curtain--boundary which symbolically, ideologically, and physically divided Europe during the Cold War.

Truman Doctrine [1947] U.S. will support countries fighting communism Greece & Turkey: $400 million in aid from U.S.

Marshall Plan [1948] “European Recovery Program.” Secretary of State, George Marshall U. S. provides aid to European nations that need it $12.5 billion of US aid to Western Europe

Eisenhower’s Strategy Brinksmanship: go to the “brink” of war to stop the spread of Communism.

First Battleground: Post-War Germany

Berlin Blockade & Airlift (1948-49) Soviets blockade Berlin to force out Americans U.S. supplies by air

The Arms Race Soviet Union exploded its first A-bomb in 1949 Bigger, more destructive, and more quantity of atomic weapons

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (1949) United States Belgium Britain Canada Denmark France Iceland Italy Luxemburg Netherlands Norway Portugal 1952: Greece & Turkey 1955: West Germany 1983: Spain

Warsaw Pact (1955) U. S. S. R. Albania Bulgaria Czechoslovakia East Germany Hungary Poland Rumania

McCarthy at hearings in 1953 McCarthyism in the U.S. Sen. Joseph McCarthy and the HUAC Communist witch hunt in America Guilt based on suspicion, not evidence McCarthy at hearings in 1953

Premier Nikita Khrushchev About the capitalist states, it doesn't depend on you whether we (Soviet Union) exist. If you don't like us, don't accept our invitations, and don't invite us to come to see you. Whether you like it our not, history is on our side. We will bury you. --Khrushchev, 1956

China: becomes communist in 1949 Mao’s Revolution China: becomes communist in 1949

The Korean War (1950-1953) Results: North and South Korea separated at 38th Parallel. Kim Il-Sung (North) “Domino Theory”: if one Asian nation becomes Communist, the rest will follow. Syngman Rhee (South)

Space Race: Sputnik I (1957) Why was this so disturbing to Americans? If the Soviets could shoot a satellite into space, they could shoot a nuclear missile to the U.S.

Col. Francis Gary Powers’ plane was shot down over Soviet airspace. U-2 Spy Incident (1960) Col. Francis Gary Powers’ plane was shot down over Soviet airspace.

Paris Conference, 1961 Khrushchev & JFK meet to discuss Berlin and nuclear proliferation. Khrushchev thinks that JFK is young, inexperienced, and can be pushed around.

The Berlin Wall Goes Up (1961) Checkpoint Charlie

President Kennedy tells Berliners that the West is with them Ich bin ein Berliner! (1963) President Kennedy tells Berliners that the West is with them

Cuba becomes Communist, 1961 Fidel Castro and Nikita Khruschev

Bay of Pigs Incident (1961) U.S. trains Cuban refugee army Attempt to overthrow Castro Complete failure

Cuban Missile Crisis (1962) Soviet nuclear missile sites on Cuba

Cuban Missile Crisis (1962) U.S. Reaction: naval quarantine of Cuba Result: Soviets remove nuclear missiles from Cuba

We went eyeball-to-eyeball with the Russians, and they blinked first!