Postwar America (1945-1960)Lesson 1 The Beginning of the Cold War

Learning Objectives

• Trace the reasons that the wartime alliance between the United States and the Soviet Union unraveled.

• Explain how President Truman responded to Soviet aggression in Eastern Europe.• Describe the causes and results of Stalin’s blockade of Berlin.

• satellite states• Cold War• iron curtain• Truman Doctrine• George F. Kennan• containment• Marshall Plan• Berlin airlift• North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)• Warsaw Pact

Postwar America (1945-1960)Lesson 1 The Beginning of the Cold War

BRACE

B - Border Changes (After WWII)R - Races (arms race and space race)A - Alliances (NATO & Warsaw)C - Communism (policy of containmentE - East vs West (Dividing the world)

Cold War BeginsCOLD WAR- a non-military battle of diplomacy and propaganda between the United States and Soviet UnionHot War – Conflict between two forces that involves military forces

Cold War– Lasted from 1945-1991– led to “hot” wars around globe

in Korea, Vietnam

- Many of the smaller wars were called proxy wars because the U.S. and U.S.S.R. never fought face to face

USA vs. USSR

• USA• Democracy

• People vote/Political Parties/Individual Freedoms

• Private Ownership• Small business/Capitalism

• USSR• Totalitarian Government

• One political party, Limit Religious rights, limit individual rights

• Government Control of Economy• Government controls all production• Everyone receives equal amount of wealth, based on needs.

Beginning of the Cold War

• Relations between USA and USSR

– Stalin lost trust in the USA– Only became ally to defeat Hitler

– USA kept the Atomic Bomb a secret from USSR

» Stalin’s spies steal plans to build A-Bomb

– USA took too long to invade Europe

» D-Day 1944

– Racial Discrimination in USA

» Second “Red Scare”

– Wartime alliance unravels• Satellite Nations – Countries controlled by a “mother Country

– USSR controls Eastern Germany, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania

– Yalta Conference – Stalin Agrees to grant free elections in Eastern Europe and E. Germany

Background of the Cold War

Analyze Maps As the Cold War developed after World War II, Europe became divided. Based on the map, why would the Soviet Union have benefited from gaining control of Greece and Turkey?

Responding to the Soviet Challenge

• Stalin and worldly domination

– Iron Curtain– Installation of Communism in Eastern Europe

» Police States, crush political opposition, no religious freedom

• “Iron Curtain Speech” - 1945

• Truman and Churchill pledge to support Democracy around the world

Soviet Buffer States

• The Soviet Union set up a “buffer zone” of nations to separate Russia from Germany– Soviet Union also

supported communist governments in Eastern Europe

Truman and Containment• United States Establishes a Policy of Containment

• Prevent communism from spreading to other countries

• Greece and Turkey

• USA emerged as world leader

• The Truman Doctrine• “support free peoples who are resisting attempted conquest by armed

outside pressures”

• Help countries who resist communism• Sent $400 million to Turkey and Greece

• Containment

• Hmm…Ukraine? Crimea? 2014-2015

George Kennan, an expert on Russian history and culture, was the driving force behind American policy toward the Soviet Union in the early years of the Cold War.

The United States Contains Soviet Expansion

• Marshall Plan

• Lending aid to European countries in need $• $13 Billion in Aid to Europe

• How did this prevent the spread of communism?

• Much of Europe was destroyed after WWI + WW2

• Europe needed food, fuel, medical supplies

• Economic Health = political stability

• Improved American Economy– Trade Relations with European Nations

Analyze Graphs This graph shows the shipments financed by the Marshall Plan. Based on the chart, why would Food and Other Produce take up such a large percentage of the shipments?

Soviet Aggression Drives Cold War

• Germany and the Cold War

– Yalta Conference – Divided Europe

and Germany

• 4 Occupation Zones

• Berlin divided – USA and USSR– West = USA East = USSR

– Each country responsible to rebuild that area

• Stalin divides Berlin – 1948– Wanted to Conquer W. Berlin

– Cut off the city(closed roads, highways,

railways, medical supplies and food

• USA and Britain Respond– Berlin Airlift – USA flies supplies over to West

Berlin

– Symbolizes how far USA would go to

stopping the spread of Communism.

NATO vs. WARSAW PACT

North Atlantic Treaty Organization: defense alliance among U.S. and Europe against the Soviet Union. Still exists.

Warsaw Pact: Defense alliance among Soviet Union and its satellite governments in Eastern Europe.

North Atlantic Treaty Organization

(1949)

United States

Belgium

Britain

Canada

Denmark

France

Iceland

Italy

Luxemburg

Netherlands

Norway

Portugal

1952: Greece & Turkey

1955: West Germany

1983: Spain

Warsaw Pact (1955)

} U. S. S. R.

} Albania

} Bulgaria

} Czechoslovakia

} East Germany

} Hungary

} Poland

} Rumania