1. THE COLD WAR IN THE 1960s, THE 1970s, AND THE 1980s

2. Essential Questions:
What were the important Cold War events of the 1960s and 1970s?
How did the Cold War end in the 1980s?

3. Joseph Stalin led the Soviet Union from 1927 to 1953

4. When the Cold War began, Stalin spread communism into the satellites nations in Eastern Europe

5. Stalin escalated the Cold War by blockading West Berlin in 1948
Communist East Berlin
Democratic West Berlin
Stalin escalated the Cold War by blockading West Berlin in 1948

6. Under Stalin, the USSR tested the atomic bomb in 1949 and hydrogen bomb in 1953

7. Stalin signed a “treaty of friendship” with Chinese leader Mao Zedong after the Chinese Revolution

8. Stalin sent weapons to the communists in North Korea during the Korean War

9. Joseph Stalin’s death in 1953 changed the Soviet Union and how it approached the Cold War against the United States

10. Joseph Stalin’s death in 1953 changed the Soviet Union and how it approached the Cold War against the United States

11. New USSR leader Nikita Khrushchev began a series of reforms known as “de-Stalinization”, which included releasing political prisoners and relaxing censorship

12. Khrushchev seemed willing to work with the USA to ease Cold War tensions…

13. However, tensions between the USA and USSR would escalate throughout the 1950s and 1960s

14. Under Khrushchev, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik and the space race began

15. The creation of ICBMs led to the stockpiling of nuclear weapons during the arms race

16. In 1961, John F. Kennedy became U.S. President
Kennedy and Khrushchev faced two important crises that heightened Cold War tensions: building of the Berlin Wall and the Cuban Missile Crisis

17. Khrushchev was upset with the increasing number of communist East Germans who moved to democratic West Berlin

18. Khrushchev was upset with the increasing number of communist East Germans who moved to democratic West Berlin

19. In 1961, Khrushchev threatened to cut off access to West Berlin (like Stalin’s blockade in 1948)

20. President Kennedy promised to protect West Berlin

21. Rather than use the Soviet military to blockade the city, Communist leaders built the Berlin Wall to keep East Germans out of West Berlin

25. Walls and other barriers 10–15 feet high surrounded West Berlin
Walls and other barriers 10–15 feet high surrounded West Berlin. The length of the barriers around the city totaled about 110 miles
The Berlin Wall became the iconic image and the hated symbol of the Cold War
The “death strip” stretched like a barren moat around West Berlin, with patrols, floodlights, electric fences, and vehicle traps between the inner and outer walls

27. When Fidel Castro seized power in Cuba in 1959, the USA feared the spread of communism so close to America

29. After a failed attempt by the US to overthrow Castro, Khrushchev secretly sent nuclear missiles to Cuba

30. After a failed attempt by the US to overthrow Castro, Khrushchev secretly sent nuclear missiles to Cuba

31. The U.S. successfully blockaded Cuba; Khrushchev removed the ICBMs from Cuba in exchange for the removal of American ICBMs in Europe

32. The Cuban Missile Crisis was the closest the USA and USSR came to nuclear war

33. From 1965 to 1973, the USA became involved in the Vietnam War, which was at first a fight between France and Vietnam

34. France made Vietnam a colony for many years, exploiting the people and resources; the Vietnamese fought to be free of France

35. When communist leader Ho Chi Minh gained independence for Vietnam, the USA feared communism spreading in Southeast Asia

36. Vietnam had become divided: North Vietnam was communist, while South Vietnam was democratic

37. In South Vietnam, communists known as the Vietcong worked to unify North and South Vietnam

38. To contain communism, the United States sent troops to Vietnam to support the South, starting in 1965

39. The American military used bombing raids, herbicides, and search-and-destroy missions to fight the Vietcong

43. The chemicals would have horrible side effects on the soldiers’ health as well as Vietnamese civilians
Herbicides were used by the U.S. to kill off the jungle plants, so the V-C could not hide there

44. Despite these efforts, the U. S
Despite these efforts, the U.S. was unable to defeat the communist enemy

45. The Vietcong were fierce fighters and did not play by the rules of war
Hit-and-run guerilla fighting, deadly traps, and ambushes made the Vietcong extremely difficult to fight against

46. Another factor that made it difficult for the U. S
Another factor that made it difficult for the U.S. troops was that the North Vietnamese (the enemy) looked the same as the South Vietnamese

47. The stress of not knowing who the enemy truly was, the vicious tactics of the V-C, and the unpleasant jungle terrain led to mental breakdowns and serious drug abuse among the young U.S. troops (average age was 19)

48. Breakdowns led to murders and war crimes by American troops, such as the My Lai Massacre, where U.S. soldiers butchered an entire village of women, children, and the elderly

49. Pictures like this, showing Vietnamese children screaming as American-delivered napalm burns their skin, caused outrage and disgust among the American public

50. The Vietnam War was expensive, hurt the American economy, and became unpopular with anti-war protestors in the United States

51. The Vietnam War was expensive, hurt the American economy, and became unpopular with anti-war protestors in the United States

52. The Vietnam War was expensive, hurt the American economy, and became unpopular with anti-war protestors in the United States

53. In 1973, the USA withdrew from Vietnam; two years later the Northern communists took over the South and unified Vietnam

54. America’s failure in Vietnam led to a change in Cold War policies
The USA abandoned its containment policy and began looking for ways to improve relations with Cold War enemies

55. In the 1970s, President Nixon’s policy of détente (easing Cold War tensions) replaced brinkmanship

56. In 1972, Nixon became the first U. S
In 1972, Nixon became the first U.S. president to visit China and to recognize communists as the legitimate government of China

57. Nixon’s visit to China put pressure on the Soviet Union to negotiate with the USA

58. In 1972, Nixon met with Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev to discuss nuclear arms reduction

59. The USA and USSR signed the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) which limited the number of ICBMs each nation could have

60. By the 1970s, the USA and USSR seemed willing to peacefully coexist

61. But, détente ended in 1979 when the USSR invaded Afghanistan to put down an anti-communist uprising

62. But, détente ended in 1979 when the USSR invaded Afghanistan to put down an anti-communist uprising

63. But, détente ended in 1979 when the USSR invaded Afghanistan to put down an anti-communist uprising

64. The U.S. viewed the attack as an attempt to spread communism into South Asia and the Middle East

65. The United States cut off all trade with the USSR and sent military and economic aid to Afghan rebels

66. The USSR fought in Afghanistan from 1979 to 1989, but was unable to defeat the Afghan resistance

67. The war exhausted the Soviet economy and proved as unwinnable as Vietnam was for the United States

68. The war renewed tensions between the USA and USSR

69.  Christopher Jaskowiak Revamped and redone by
Thanks to Brooks Baggett for several of the slides