1. The Cold war

2. The phrase “Cold War” A period of great tension between
the West (led by the USA)
The East (led by the USSR)
Tensions began after the Russian Revolution
Capitalist world feared communism
Rhetoric of revolution and class conflict
Totalitarian tendencies of Lenin and Stalin

3. World war II US and Soviet Union fought as allies
fight the common threat
Nazi Germany
After the war tensions returned
USSR & US major political and military powers
Western Europe’s self-destruction complete
Two sides represented sharply opposed views of
history, society, politics
economics, international relations

4. The First Battleground of the Cold war
Eastern Europe -- post World War II
Soviets wanted friendly governments
Security and control
US wanted democratic capitalists societies
1950s – Europe divided into rival camps
West – voluntarily allied with US
East – forced to ally with the Soviet Union
Rival Military alliances
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
Warsaw Pact

5. The iron Curtain The Iron Curtain Name given heavily fortified border
Winston Churchill
“Sinews of Peace” Address, March 5, 1946
“From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the continent.”
Tensions flair across the dividing line
Berlin
No shooting (“hot”) war in Europe

6. “Hot Wars” during the “Cold War”
Longest and most destructive wars took place in Asia
The Korean War,
The Vietnam War, 1950s and 1960s
Afghanistan,
Showed the limits of superpower power

7. The Cuban Missile Crisis, October 1962
The most dangerous episode of the Cold War
Soviet Union deployed nuclear missiles in Cuba
island 90 miles south of the United States
defending Fidel Castro, leader of Cuba
US President Kennedy imposes naval blockade
A nuclear exchange seemed imminent
Khrushchev and Kennedy compromise
Soviets removed their missiles from Cuba
American promised not to invade the island

8. The Arms race The most unique and dangerous dimension of the cold war
The nuclear arms race
USA 1st to develop atomic weapons
1949 – USSR 2nd
More nations acquire nuclear arsenals
Over next 40 years
1990s 60,000 warheads worldwide
bomber aircraft and missiles to deliver them

9. “Mutually Assured Destruction”
Entire world lived under threat of annihilation
Helps explain why no shooting war took place
Between the two superpowers
Leaders knew war would be a catastrophe.
After the Cuban missile crisis
both sides avoided nuclear provocation
even as the buildup of their respective arsenals
implicitly agreed to avoid DIRECT confrontation

10. Expanding influence USA and USSR competed around the world
Providing aid to newly independent nations
Military, economic, and, educational aid.
Sometimes open, sometimes covert
US intervened all over the world
Iran, the Philippines, Guatemala,
El Salvador, Chile, Congo
Supporting corrupt and authoritarian regimes
In the name of stopping communism

11. Non Aligned Nations
Neither superpower completely dominated its supposed allies
Many nations resisted being pawns
Others nations refused to fully align
India
Indonesia
Egypt

12. Containment World War II and the cold war made US a global superpower
US led the West’s effort to “contain” worldwide communism
Military commitments all around the world
More than 1,000,000 soldiers in 30 countries
A member of four regional defense alliances
Mutual defense treaties with 42 nations
A member of 53 international organizations
Provided military or economic aid to nearly 100 nations

13. Cold War changes US government
Need for quick and often secret decision making
“Imperial Presidency”
“National Security State”
Defense and intelligence agencies gain power
Agencies were often unaccountable to Congress

14. The military Industrial Complex
Increased military spending in US benefits . . .
armed services
research labs
private defense industries
President Dwight Eisenhower
“military-industrial complex”

15. USA – economic superpower
US had the world’s most productive economy
Could afford weapons AND consumer products
Could finance domestic AND foreign policy initiatives
US sent lots goods and money overseas
Corporations had a global reach
factories, offices, and subsidiaries
US dollar -- the world’s most trusted currency
replaced the British pound
US exported it popular culture around the world
Music, movies, fast food, brand names, and slang

16. The Soviet Economy USSR had its own military-industrial complex
Soviet economy weaker than US economy
Russian economy emphasized military & defense
Russians lacked access to consumer goods
Russians subjected to government propaganda
The Soviet system was glorified
The Americans were vilified

17. Tensions within communist World
Communist countries experienced growing turmoil
within communist countries
between communist countries
Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev, 1956
Severely criticized his predecessor Joseph Stalin
Publically exposed Stalin’s crimes
Shocked many of the party faithful
Yugoslavia rejected Soviet domination
Hungary (1956–1957)
Czechoslovakia (1968)

18. Soviet Union and China Soviet Union and China divided over . . .
territorial disputes
ideological differences
rivalry for communist leadership
By 1970 there was talk of war
US benefits from Sino-Soviet divide
Richard Nixon’s Triangular diplomacy
US eases tensions with Soviets – détente
Arms control agreements
Opens formal relations with China