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The Cold War: 1945-1991 Capitalism vs. Communism and the Atom Bomb
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What was the Cold War? A time period (1945-1991) of heightened tension between the 2 superpowers after WWII ended. The U.S.A. and the Soviet Union ( USSR) were both competing for power and influence across the globe.
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The roots of the Cold War are found in the 2 ideologies of both nations..
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U.S.A. = capitalism/democracy - believes that private ownership is best - believes that competition between business weeds out the good from the bad businesses.
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- capitalism believes that if you work hard, a worker can get rich. - if one is poor, it is your fault you are poor…you are lazy. -government stays out of economy…let the free markets run the economy. -democratic elections decide the government. - freedom of speech and press protected.
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USSR = communism/dictatorship USSR founded by communist revolution in 1918. Communism is based on government ownership of all means of production…no private owership. Key belief is to redistribute the wealth equally.
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Wealthy capitalist “steal” the wealth created by working class. Wealthy exploit the working class…working class struggles and remains poor. A violent revolution would kill of the wealthy class…they won’t share willingly.
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The revolution would be chaotic to society…until peace and calm returned a dictatorship would make decisions for all to follow. No democratic elections in the USSR! No freedom of press or speech. Secret police ( KGB) established to enforce government decisions and get rid of those who disagreed with the dictator.
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The Potsdam Conference Near the end of WWII, the western democracies ( UK, USA) met and agreed that after Hitler was defeated, the new enemy would be the USSR and communism. US president Roosevelt and UK Prime Minister Winston Churchill planned to unite and block the growth of the USSR and communism.
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Berlin Divided After the Nazi collapse in 1945, Germany was occupied by the allies. Berlin was also carved up into zones of control…The Soviet Union decided to stay in East Germany and create a new communist nation. The allies were shocked and concerned by this power grab!
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The Secret Weapon During WWII the USA developed the first weapon of mass destruction…the atom bomb. Some say the USA dropped the bomb on Japan to intimidate the USSR…Japan was already defeated.
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Directly after WWII, the USA felt superior and confident that with the atom bomb, they were the only superpower on the planet. Little did the US government know, but a Soviet spy was part of the US team building the atom bomb in a secret lab in New Mexico…the spy took notes and photos the whole time!
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The US government was shocked to hear that the USSR tested their first atom bomb in 1949…The US was not the only superpower anymore! So begins the competition between the 2 nations …who will win? Democracy and capitalism? Or, communism and dictatorships?
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The Iron Curtain After the USSR successfully tested their atom bomb, Winston Churchill, PM of the UK, made a speech: “From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic an iron curtain has descended across the Continent.”
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“Communist parties constitute a growing challenge and peril to Christian civilization.”
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“I do not believe that Soviet Russia desires war. What they desire is the fruits of war and the indefinite expansion of their power and doctrines.”
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“From what I have seen of our Russian friends and allies during the war, I am convinced that there is nothing they admire so much as strength, and there is nothing for which they have less respect than for weakness, especially military weakness.”
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The ‘Truman Doctrine’ Truman had been horrified at the pre- war Allied policy of appeasement and was determined to stand up to any Soviet intimidation. The Truman Doctrine in March 1947 promised that the USA “would support free peoples who are resisting subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures”.
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Nuclear Annihalation With the creation of this new weapon came the unsettling realization…the earth could possibly now be destroyed…all life killed off if a war started and these new bombs used.
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Weapons Race Rather than use common sense, both sides increased their weapons research. New, more powerful bombs were created: hydrogen bombs, nuclear bombs, ( 10 times more powerful than the small atom bombs dropped on Japan in 1945.)
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Domino Theory The USA felt that it was dangerous to allow any country to become communist. Like a stack of dominos, if one country fell to communism, they would all fall to communism.
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Containment Policy The USA response to communist expansion was to face off, and aggressively stop communism ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD it popped up. This will lead to “hot spots” where the US will send troops to stop communism ( eg. Korea, Vietnam, Berlin, Nicaragua)
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Deterrance Stupid as it sounds, both sides believed that if the other side knew they had more weapons…this would “deter” the other side from attacking…. “Don’t attack us…we have more bombs than you do…and we will use them!”
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ICBM’s A new weapon was introduced in the 1950’s. A missile with a rocket engine could carry a nuclear payload and travel from Moscow all the way to the USA or vice versa. These missles are called ICBM’s ( intercontinental ballistic missiles).
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Nuclear Submarines New, powerful submarines were developed by both sides. These subs were powered by nuclear engines ( did not need to surface for a year!) These subs could also fire nuclear missiles while underwater. Why scary? Now a sub could be offshore and launch a nuclear attack without being detected!
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Mutually Assured Destruction Basically, during the entire Cold War, the 2 superpowers were playing “chicken” with the planet…whoever “blinks” first loses! If one side launched a nuclear missile, radar would track it.
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Radar tracking would allow enough warning time to allow the nation being attacked to launch ALL THEIR MISSILES AT ONCE! “You may hit us with one missile…but we will annihilate you completely by firing all we’ve got at you!” This game of chicken was quite stressful for all involved…high tension!
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The Chinese Revolution In 1949, after many years of fighting, China became a communist nation. Mao Tse Tung bacame the dicator. The USA takes the news with anxiety…another giant nation turns communist.
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In 1964, China conducts its first successful test of an atom bomb. China began to pour $$$ into building up a giant military to compete with the western powers.
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The Red Scare All throughout the Cold War, western capitalist nations went on a “witch hunt” to demonize and find anybody suspected of being a communist. Attack words like “commie” were used to label suspected symphathizers.
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A sense of paranoia swept over the US and Canada… “Commie spies were everywhere!” A popular slogan was “Better dead than red!” ( red was the communist colour of revolution).
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This paranoia went overboard in the US when a Senator named Joseph McCarthy formed an investigation committee to search for communists spies hiding in the USA. This “Red Scare” spread quickly…many thousands were arrested and detained and assumed guilty without evidence.
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CAPITALIST OR COMMUNISTCAPITALIST OR COMMUNIST Slide # 5
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During these investigations, suspects were forced to prove they were not communists. Suspects were also encouraged to “give names” of other communists …if they did, they would get a lesser punishment.
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To be brought before McCarthy’s Committee of Un-American Activities was very damaging to ones career and reputation. A “black list” began, where if a person was suspected of being a communist, the name was taken and that person was not hired for a job, or fired from a job.
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Igor Gouzenko On Sept. 5, 1945, just after the end of the Second World War, a Russian cipher clerk named Igor Gouzenko fled the Soviet Embassy in Ottawa with 109 documents proving the existence of a Soviet spy ring in Canada.
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Gouzenko’s testimony led to many arrests and investigations…most charges were never proven. The “Red Scare”became part of Canada too!
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The Padlock Law Quebec’s Premier, Maurice Duplessis, was very paranoid about communism. Quebec passed a series of laws to basically outlaw communist activity in their province.
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The act made it illegal to do the following: "use [a house] or allow any person to make use of it to propagate communism or bolshevism by any means whatsoever." "print, publish or distribute any newspaper, periodical, pamphlet, circular, document or writing, propagating communism or bolshevism."
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Just like laws passed in the Soviet Union, the act gave the government the power to close down a house for up to a year, and to confiscate and destroy any materials therein.
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A bridge collapsed one day in Quebec. The public jumped on the event and blaming the collapse on “communist sabatoge” No proof of the bridge collapse due to sabatoge was ever found.
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Canada’s Response to the Cold War Due to the close relationship between Canada and the USA after WWII, it was assumed Canada would side with the US in their crusade against communism. Canada had to make difficult decisions on how we would support, or not support the US during the Cold War.
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DEW Lines ( Distant Early Warning) The US asked Canada for permission to build special radar stations across the Arctic. The radar would detect any Soviet missiles coming towards the USA and give them warning time. With much pressure…Canada agreed to the building of these radar towers.
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The DEW stations are considered US property…Canadian citizens are not allowed in without special Parliamentary approval.
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NORAD ( North American Air Defense Command) The US and Canada also entered into a mutual air defense treaty called NORAD. Both nations would pay $$$ into providing airplanes and pilots in the air to monitor enemy activity or incoming missiles.
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NORAD bombers fly the skies 24 hours a day. At least one NORAD bomber carrying nuclear bombs flies above North America 24 hours a day ( in case an enemy missile destroys the runway and planes can’t take off.
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NORAD’s headquarters is located deep inside a mountain in Colorado. NORAD’s main leader is always American. Canadian NORAD pilots must take orders from the US commander.
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The Cold War Turns “Hot” Although the USA and USSR avoided a war between each other ( because both sides realized that a nuclear war could endanger the earth’s population) it did not stop either side from using other nations as battlegrounds for communism vs. capitalism.
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The Korean War (1950 –1953) After WWII ended in 1945, the US and USSR agreed to partition Korea into a North region ( monitored by the USSR) and a South Region ( monitored by the US). Both sided built up governments favourable to each ideology.
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Both the US and USSR refused to leave Korea as agreed upon. In 1950, the North Korean communist government ordered an invasion of the south with full military support of the USSR.
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The US responded by sending in their own military. The US also went to the UN to label the USSR and North Korea as illegal aggressors.
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The UN followed the US resolution and agreed to send other peace-keeping forces to combat against the North Korean army. Canada sent troops as part of the UN operation.
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Canada sent 22,000 troops to Korea. 516 would be killed in battle.
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The Korean war ended in a stalemate in 1953. Both sides agreed to cease fire and pull back along the 38 th parallel. Korea is still divided by this line…North Korea is still a communist dicatorship and the South is a democratic, capitalist country.
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Avro Arrow In the 1950’s a Canadian aerospace firm designed and incredible jet fighter/bomber called the Arrow. Test pilots said the plane’s performance was incredible…a fantastic airplane. The plane would be an easy sell to the gov’t.
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The government abandoned the Arrow giving the official reason: - it was too expensive and there would be few customers
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The Unofficial reason the Arrow was cancelled: - The US military did not want Canada to have its own jet fighter, it wanted Canada to buy US jet fighters that could carry US nuclear missiles. Which story do you believe?
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The cancelling of the Arrow project killed the Canadian aerospace industry. Many of the talented Canadian engineers moved to the USA… They could not depend on a gov’t that seemed to not support Canadian planes.
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Vietnam War : 1945-1972 Vietnam was a colony of France since the 1700’s. After WWII, Vietnam wanted independence from France. The Vietnamese fought a successful guerilla war against the French army,
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France asked the USA for military assistance using the threat of communism as a way to gain American help. The US government argued the “domino theory” to intervene in Vietnam. By the 1960’s, the US began sending US military assistance to the US-backed South Vietnamese government.
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The communist soldiers in Vietnam ( The Viet Cong) did not wear uniforms and blended in with civilians. US soldiers began to see all Vietnamese as the enemy and they began to shoot and kill without thinking.
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The My Lai Massacre US soldiers marched into a small village called My Lai to search for communist North Vietnamese soldiers. As was common, US soldiers felt that any villager could be an enemy. The US soldiers began to shoot and kill any Vietnamese they saw…they were all civilians.
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“In order to save the village, we had to burn the village” A quote by a US general
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The Suez Canal Crisis In 1956, Egypt threatened to nationalize the Suez Canal. The canal was very strategic. It allowed ships to by-pass Africa in a shortcut between Europe and Asia.
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The canal was also used by Britain, The US and French warships. The US and Britian threatened Egypt with a war if they did not back off taking control of the canal.
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The USSR supported Egypt and promised aid and support if attacked. Tension rose yet again… Would this be the start of WWIII>
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British soldiers on alert Israeli tanks ready to go!
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Fortunately, Canadian Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson was able to negotiate a peace between the two sides. Crisis averted…for now! Lester B. Pearson was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his work in preventing war.
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Cuba In 1959, Cuba successfully claimed a communist revolution over a government backed by the US. Under the US backed government, US corporations and gambling casinos “took over” Cuba and left Cubans with poverty and low-paying jobs.
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The communist revolution was led by Fidel Castro. Immediately after the revolution, Castro kicked out all American corporations and confiscated all the lands and factories and private property out of foreign ownership.
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Cuba is only 90 miles from the coast of Florida. Cuba received aide and $$$ and weapons from the USSR. The USA could not let Cuba exist as a communist success story.
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Stalemate The USSR agreed to remove the missiles from Cuba. The US looked like the winner… However, the US secretly agreed to remove missiles it had put in Turkey pointing at Moscow.
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In 1962, the US president, John F. Kennedy approved a US backed military invasion of Cuba on a beach called the Bay of Pigs. The Cuban military fought back and defeated these forces…highly embarrassing for the “mighty superpower” to lose.
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Even today, Cuba remains one of the few communist nations in the world…Castro is still the dictator…and the USA is very angry that Cuba is still communist. The USA called for an embargo against any nation to trade with Cuba. The embargo has harmed Cuba economically and has not allowed them to improve living conditions for Cuban people.
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The USA is hopeful that once Fidel Castro dies, or retires, Cuba will turn against communism and return to the US influence it once did. Cubans mostly seem to support Castro and communism…we’ll see.
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Trudeau Vs. Mulroney These two Canadian Prime Ministers who served during the Cold War could not have been more opposite each other.
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Pierre Trudeau Brian Mulroney
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Trudeau Mulroney Liberal Party Felt Canada should distance themselves from USA during Cold War Conservative Party Felt Canada should bond a closer relationship with USA
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Felt Canada had a responsibility to help poor nations. Recognized and visited the communist government of Cuba Felt Canada should not spend too much on foreign countries…if they’re poor, it’s their fault. Was very anti- communist
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Created CIDA (Canadian International Development Agency) to give aid in return for country opening up trade. Disagreed with free trade because Canada could not compete with USA. Supported free trade and brought in the FTA (Free Trade Agreement) which morphs into NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) between USA, Canada and Mexico.
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Did not support USA military expansion into Canadian foreign policies. Supported USA in Cold War…wanted Canada to partner with USA in “Star Wars” program to put weapons into outer- space!
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Canada’s Other Connections Besides it ties to the USA, Canada has other connections to the world. 1. The Commonwealth 2. La Francophonie
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The Commonwealth Canada's association with the Commonwealth ensures a connection with our British heritage. The Commonwealth began as a political organization consisting of colonies of the British Empire. During the second half of the 20th century most of Britain's remaining colonies moved toward independence. The Commonwealth helps facilitate economic, social, and political ties to other countries within the organization that have similar parliamentary democracies.
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La Francophonie La Francophonie unites diverse countries and people that share the French language. It provides its membership with educational, agricultural, health and other scientific and social opportunities that promote peace, democracy, and the French culture
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Communism Collapses Ultimately, communism fails. By 1989, the USSR was in a major crisis: -Food shortages -Could not keep up with USA in weapons race -Citizens angry over secret police, fear.
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Berlin Wall Torn Down East Germans took matters into their own hands in 1989 by tearing down the hated communist symbol of the Berlin Wall. The communist government gave in to the angry pressure and allowed the wall to be destroyed, where a few months earlier would have meant a violent reaction to protect it.
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By 1990, the USSR collapsed. 15 independent nations were created out of the old USSR. The largest nation is Russia.
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Germany Reunited One result of the collapse of the USSR was the reunification of East Germany and West Germany into one, unified Germany once again.
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