The Cold War Begins The Cold War was the intense rivalry between the US and the Soviet Union for International Dominance- everybody else was too weak or destroyed in WW2. Each side had distinct differences in their world view and the US perceived the Soviets as a threat because of their rapid expansion and forcible control of countries after WW2

Philosophical Differences US Beliefs Democratic government- multiple parties Individual freedom Capitalistic economy Communist Beliefs State-run economy- no private ownership One-party rule Suppression of religion-”Opiate of the masses” Use of force to crush opposition

Soviet Expansionism During WW2 the Soviets had “acquired” many nations in Eastern Europe. They intended to keep them as a buffer The nations became known as Satellite Nations In response the other Allies strengthened their control in western Germany and spent a lot of $ to revive their industries Churchill said that an “Iron Curtain has descended across the Continent” Under George Kennan (State Dept official) the US adopted a policy of containment- restricting the spread Soviet communism

The Arms Race The Baruch Plan (US presidential advisor) was that an international agency should inspect any countries nuclear plants- the Soviets didn’t comply and by 1949 they had a bomb of their own. In August of 1946 the US Congress passed the Atomic Energy Act which created the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) which oversaw nuclear weapons research andf promoted peacetime uses

Containment Around the World The Truman Doctrine “It must be the policy of the US to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures.” Truman was referring to the civil war in Greece and Soviet claims of Turkish territory. Congress gave $400,000,000 to Greece and Turkey to keep them out of Soviet control

Containment Around the World Marshall Plan George C. Marshall was Secretary of State and felt, along with many others that the destitute conditions in western Europe made it susceptible to the USSR Truman followed Marshall’s advice and asked Congress for $17,000,000,000 to help rebuild western Europe. Following a Soviet takeover of Czechoslovakia, Congress allotted the $ Marshall won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1953 and became Secretary of the Defense and after 1951 was an advisor on military matters

The Berlin Airlift The Allied zones in Berlin were growing stable and prosperous and the Allies merged them with the plan that the West Germans would become self-governing This made the Soviets unhappy and they blocked all access to West Berlin in protest. Over the next 10 months US and British planes supplied West Berlin We told the Soviets that if they shot down any planes that we would consider it an act of war- nukes The Soviets rescinded in embarrassment

NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organization After the Berlin crisis the US shifted its focus from economic aid to military security Nine Western European nations joined the US, Canada and Iceland in a mutual defense league called NATO- Founded in 1949 General Dwight D. Eisenhower was put in charge and the US supplied troops and military aid and $ to our NATO allies The Soviets responded in 1955 with the Warsaw Pact- the same mutual defense agreement with their satellite nation