Economic Reconstruction and The Cold War

• World War II left Eurasia completely destroyed especially the economy (This can also be called “Financial Dunkirk”)– No communication with other

countries– No trade between countries– No transportation– No homes, buildings, etc.

• Europe had learned from World War II that humiliation and appeasement were not a good solution of the end of the war new solutions were to be explored

What the USA did to help• Marshal Plan: USA Eurasia

– $12 billion dollars spent in financial assistance to European equipment (No money was given to communists)

• Policy of Containment– Policy that Russia should not be

aggressive.– Russian and Chinese

(Communists) feared the power of the US.

• “No Personal Freedom” -USA• Russia started to ally with other

countries

What difference does it make?

• World Wars killed 75 million people and the economic depression left the world in a bad position– The world feared nuclear

destruction• Roosevelt and Churchill gave

freedom rights– No more COLONIES

• Goal: Resolve disputes peacefully and work for better public health and more fully developed laws

The Cold War: USA vs. USSR(1945-1989)

Soviet Union after Stalin

• Nikita Khrushchev (1953-1964)– Political Prisoners– Everyone was forced to think the same– Mass arrests of revolts and political

leaders that had opposing opinions– Soviet prison labor camps– Private book written by Khrushchev

called Samizdat.– Catch up to the West economically,

militarily and they attempted to fix all the land that they had ruined in WWII

– Agriculture• Backward Economy• Russia felt agriculturally threatened by

United States’ power so they strengthened the military

– Ally with CUBA

Soviet Union after Stalin

• Leonid Brezhnev (1964-1982)– Czechoslovakia tried to escape

Russia but Brezhnev established authority and did not allow.

– Counter-Revolution– Poland still had hope, despite the

power of the Soviet leader.– Solidarity

• Independent trade union with over 10 million workers

• Low price, High wage• People had the right to strike,

political prisoners were free • END censorship

– Nobel Peace prize was given when Brezhnev died

American Conflict: Military-Industrial Complex and the Cuban Missile Crisis

• Butter Battle Book• Lots of money was spent on weapons• Eisenhower warned the people about the

ability to create full-scale warfare• Client State: A state that is economically,

politically, or militarily dependent on another state

• Cuban Missile Crisis– US vs. Cuba (Soviet client state)– Bay of Pigs– Fidel Castro lead a guerilla war against

America and declared a 6 point program• Healthcare for all• Literacy and educational system• Housing policies• Limits on foreign investment• Land redistribution laws

– No elections

The Cold War and Emergence of New Nations

• Everyone’s independent– No superiority

• Make the world safe for democracy

• Jewish/Palestinian conflict• U.S.A. threatened taking

away the Marshall Plan to keep certain countries in line

• Civil rights and feminist movements

Allies in The Cold War