1. 1. The USA and USSR were WWII allies. Despite their differences their leaders, Roosevelt and Stalin, got on quite well. 2. At Yalta in Feb 1945 they seemingly reached agreement on a number of things. 3. But at Potsdamn 5 months later the USA had a new leader: Truman. He was worried about the USSR’s post-war presence in Eastern Europe. 4. By 1946 an Iron Curtain divided “free” and “Communist” Europe. 5. As a result Truman promised money, equipment and advice to any new country threatened by Communism. 6. Under the Marshall Plan he also offered $17bn in aid to help rebuild post-war Europe 8. When the USSR cut off land routes to West Berlin the USA flew in produce to keep West Berlin going. 9. From 1950-1953 the USA fought Vietnamese and Chinese Communists for control of Korea. 10. Eventually the country was divided in half (North = Communist; South = Capitalist). 11. Next, Kennedy continued to support W. Berlin after the USSR physically walled it off in 1961. 12. The next big crisis was in Cuba. 13. Kennedy sent out the US fleet and forced Khrushchev to blink, turning around the Soviet warships carrying missiles. 14. In 1963/64 Lyndon Johnson increased the USA’s involvement in Vietnam. 15. It was an horrendous war which the US was involved in for 10 years. Two years later all of Vietnam was under Communist control. 7. The aim was to CONTAIN Communism.

2. Why Cold War? … because the USA and USSR competed against but did not fight direct wars against one another. (They did fight “proxy” wars during the Cold War)

3. Capitalism (described by Communists) Communism (described by Capitalists) Capitalism (described by Capitalists) Communism (described by Communists)

4. Differences between the USA and USSR The USA was a capitalist country. The USSR was a communist country. These countries had very different beliefs. Capitalism Communism = where all factors of production (industry, business and agriculture) are owned by private individuals or firms who run them for their own profit. = where all factors of production (industry, business and agriculture) are owned by the state for the good of everyone.

5. CommunistCapitalist Draw a 2 x 2 table: give Communist salute for Communist; wave $100 bill around for Capitalist Everyone works for the state People are free to start a business and make money More political freedom Result in big gap between rich and poor people Lots of competition between suppliers result in better products Opportunity for all (in theory)… Elections are held, but you can only vote for one party In general a lower average standard of living Everyone has a job, given to them by the state Equality for all (in theory)…

7. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHwIkOv6Rc4 (4:20 video; Brief Intro to the Cold War; RebeccaBrown) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvWkABCFMaw (4:20 video; Cold War Intro, JasonMillard).

9. Long-term causes of the Cold War Mutual distrust between two very different countries was a key long-term cause of the Cold War. What does this mean? The USSR’s worries about the West Russia had been invaded during WW1 (1914), during its Civil War (1918) and during WW2 (1941) – it wanted to stop this ever happening again. Stalin, the leader of the USSR, felt that the West wanted to see Communism destroyed. He thought that the West didn’t appreciate the Soviet sacrifices that helped defeat the Nazis in World War II.

10. The USA thought the USSR was determined to encourage communist revolutions in other countries, and was worried about communism spreading across the world. This was seen as a dangerous threat to the governments and economies in the West. The USA ended its policy of isolationism (which they felt had helped Hitler come to power) – and was determined to prevent what it saw as “dangerous dictatorships” being created again. The USA’s worries about communism