1. Cold War Motives: U.S. vs. U.S.S.R The Cold War -period of conflict from the late 1940s to the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 -intense rivalry between the two post-WWII superpowers = a war of words & ideologies -competition between the superpowers and their allies led to armed conflict in Korea, Vietnam, Cuba, and Afghanistan -tensions, fear, and distrust took the world dangerously close to nuclear war

2. The United States Experiences during the War -over 300,000 military deaths -few civilian casualties -homeland was not invaded -industrial production helped end the Depression -war production revitalized the capitalist economy -by 1945, half of all the goods and services produced came from the U.S.

3. Emotions after the War -sense of optimism for the future -feeling of nationalism for our contribution to defeat Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan -fear of the spread of totalitarian governments -fear of communism because it called for a revolution and limited civil liberties

4. Needs after the War -to provide opportunities for returning GIs  GI Bill of Rights, 1944  Levittown, NY -to rebuild Europe by providing aid and promoting democratic governments  Marshall Plan, 1947  Berlin Airlift, 1948 -to create economically strong countries that would buy U.S. products -to adopt a policy of containment to stop the spread of communism  Truman Doctrine, 1947 -to establish a military alliance  NATO = North Atlantic Treaty Organization

5. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics U.S.S.R Experiences during the War -suffered more casualties than all of the Allies combined -over 15 million civilian casualties -much of Russia, Poland, and the Ukraine lay in ruins after the German invasion

6. Emotions after the War -fear of another invasion from the West -distrust of Western European nations and the U.S. because of the Soviet war experience Needs after the War -to rebuild the nation with a focus on industry and military strength -to set up and support similar communist governments in Eastern Europe -to create a “buffer zone” of friendly satellite nations for defense -to establish a military alliance  Warsaw Pact