Origins of the Cold War Yalta February 1945

Origins of the Cold War • Yalta – February, 1945 • A. The Big Three met • -- Franklin Roosevelt – Winston Churchill – Joseph Stalin • Elections in Poland became the big issue • The U. S. wants the Poles to be able to choose their own government • Communists wanted to control it because they saw it as an invasion route to the USSR

The United Nations • All three agreed on the UN – Used to maintain world peace – Provided mutual security • 50 Nations met in San Francisco • There would be two parts – The General Assembly – The Security Council

Harry S. Truman • Ascended to Presidency when FDR died • Met with Stalin in Potsdam, July 1945 – Stalin still wanted war payments from Germany – Truman still wanted Polish elections

Differing Goals • The U. S. desired Democracy and economic opportunity • The USSR desired satellite nations in its borders – Totalitarian Communist governments – Controlled by USSR

The Cold War had begun • Stalin predicted Communism would defeat Capitalism • Churchill asked America to prevent Stalin’s “IRON CURTAIN” from falling on other nations (Western Europe) • The U. S. began a policy of CONTAINMENT – Preventing Communism from escaping Eastern Europe • Truman issued the TRUMAN DOCTRINE declaring that the U. S. would help countries threatened by Communism

Polish Elections • Poland got elections two years later • Too late… the Soviets eliminated the competition in – – – – Albania Bulgaria Czechoslovakia Hungary Romania East Germany Finland Yugoslavia

Cold War on the World Scene • The Marshall Plan (1947) – Enacted to support the policy of CONTAINMENT – Said that the U. S. would provide financial aid to help Europe & Japan rebuild in the post war – U. S. tried to prevent the DOMINO THEORY… the belief that if one nations falls to Communism, they all would • The Eisenhower Doctrine (1947) – Political measure of the cold war – Stated the U. S. will safeguard the countries of the Middle East

• Germany – Germany became a Cold War struggle – Stalin attempted a blockade of goods and people from East Berlin to West Berlin – The U. S. began the BERLIN AIR LIFT… moving supplies in by plane

Problems in the United Nations • The USSR constantly vetoed things in the UN • North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) – Formed in 1949 – Comprised of 10 nations, including the U. S. and Canada – Designed to promote the safety of Western Europe – Used the idea of COLLECTIVE SECURITY

China – Fell to Communism in 1949 – U. S. citizens blamed Truman and the containment policy

fear of each other • Soviets detonated their first A-bomb in 1949 • U. S. jumped ahead with the development of the Hydrogen Bomb (Hbomb) in 1952 • USSR sent SPUTNIK, the first satellite, into orbit in 1957 • USSR developed the INTER CONTINENTAL BALLISTIC MISSILE (ICBM)

• Each side used BRINKMANSHIP, coming right up to the edge of war, to protect their national interests • Americans questioned their own technology when a U-2 spy plane was shot down over the USSR

Cold War at Home • The HOLLYWOOD TEN – Fear of Communism ran rampant throughout the U. S. – The House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) formed to investigate Communism – HUAC put many Hollywood persons under the gun – Many – even Humphrey Bogart – were accused of being Communists – Eventually, ten people, known as the Hollywood 10, were jailed and placed on a “blacklist”, never to work again • 2 nd Red Scare (1950’s) – Led by Joseph Mc. Carthy – Accused many of being Communist, even political and military personnel

• WWII Veterans Society – Came home and started families – BABY BOOM – The GI Bill helped them buy houses and go to college • Industry flourishes – Many new cars made – New roads and related industries developed as a result – Drive-in restaurants – Drive-in movies – Motels and Hotels

Culture • Beatniks challenged the conformity of the 1950 s by stressing spontaneity • Rock and Roll came of age as teens broke out of societal norms