The Cold War and the balance of power
Background WWII ends with the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki Two superpowers emerge. The United States and the Soviet Union (U.S.S.R/Russia) The U.S. Promotes democracy, the Soviet Union promotes communism (based on the ideals of Karl Marx)
Germany and Japan after the war West Germany is divided into three zones controlled by the U.S., Britain, and France. West Germany is a democracy Japan is controlled solely by the United States.
Democracy in West Germany With the help of the allies (Britain, France, U.S. And the Soviet Union political parties are set up and a constitution is written. The Nazi party is outlawed and those responsible are put on trial. These are known are the Nuremberg trials.
Democracy in Japan Japan no longer was allowed a military A constitutional monarchy was created to limit the power of the emperor Basic rights such as freedom of the press and of assembly were guaranteed
The Cold War begins... The United States feared the spread of communism The USSR put pressure on countries to become communist
To Contain the spread of communism the U.S..... Truman Doctrine: The US send military and economic aid to countries resisting communism. Containment: Containing communism/stopping the spread of it. The Iron Curtain: The imaginary line dividing communist countries and democratic/capitalist countries in Europe
The Marshall Plan The U.S. Government to sends economic aid to countries to persuade them to resist communism.
Berlin The capital city of Berlin was located in East Germany The city was split in two. The west was free and the east was controlled by the USSR The Berlin Airlift: for one year food and supplies were airlifted to East Berlin after Stalin closed land access to the city. He eventually gave up.
The Berlin Wall Western Germany becomes a Republic. In 1961 a wall is built dividing East and West Germany Anyone trying to cross from East Germany (communist) to West Germany (Democracy) is killed!
NATO, 1950's NATO=North Atlantic Treaty Organization Any nation attacked by a communist country vows to protect one another
The Warsaw Pact, 1955 The Soviet Union pledges to support any country that is threatened by democratic countries.
The Soviets will use force... The Soviets intervene and stop Czechoslovakia from creating a democracy They send in military forces to overturn the government and set up a communist dictatorship
The Arms Race begins... Seeing that the Soviets will use their military to enforce their political agenda the U.S. Reacts The Soviet Union and the U.S. Spend huge amounts of money to build more and more powerful weapons.
Space Race To exemplify that one form of government was better than the other the two superpowers engage in what becomes known as the space race. Sputnik is the first satellite to orbit the earth President John Kennedy vows that the United States will be the first to put a man on the moon.
How does vision shape the world? How does our vision shape us?