The Cold War Years Roots of the Cold

The Cold War Years

Roots of the Cold War • Philosophical Differences: Communism vs capitalism republic • WWII Conflicts: Soviets wanted British and Americans to open a 2 nd front earlier and US develops the A-bomb. • Postwar Conflicts: USSR refused to live up to wartime promises of elections in Eastern Europe and the US made efforts to resist Soviet expansion

The Iron Curtain Descends • US and British pressed Stalin to hold free elections in Soviet occupied lands. • Stalin had no intention of giving political and economic control over Eastern Europe. • Protect his country by creating a line of Soviet -friendly nations.

Communism Spreads • Stalin used whatever means necessary to achieve his goals. • Every nation in Eastern Europe had a Sovietfriendly Communist government. • Soviet treatment of Germans living in Poland other countries: – Removed “orderly and humane manner. ” – Soviets relocated them with great brutality. – Several hundred thousand died, millions forced to relocate to West Germany.

United States Responds • Postwar world, the United States became the leader of all nations committed to democratic ideals and freedoms. • Containment: George Kennan, stop the spread of communism not just by military force but also economic aid to strengthen other countries.

The Marshall Plan • Purpose: A U. S. financial aid program to rebuild the economies of European countries in order to create stable conditions for democratic governments. • Total amount of aid: $13. 4 Billion • Number of countries that received aid: 16 • Countries that received the most aid: Great Britain, France, and Italy.

Crisis in Berlin • Berlin divided into four sections. • A democratic West and a communist East.

Crisis in Berlin

Berlin Airlift • Everyday 7, 000 tons of supplies were flown into West Berlin. • Soviets lifted the blockade.

NATO • Belgium, France, Luxembourg, Netherlands, and the UK joined together in a system of common defense in 1948. • April 1949, US and 6 other nations joined the original creating a new military alliance – the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. • An armed attack against one of the member nations would be considered an attack against all.

Think Pair Share • Why did the United States fear that economic problems would make European nations more vulnerable to communism? • How was the Marshall Plan supposed to help contain the spread of communism? • How much money did the US give through the Marshall Plan? • How much more do you think would have been given had the Soviet Union accepted the US offer?

Life in America after WWII • The GI Bill: provided money for college or job training, arranged for loans for homes, help finding work, years worth of unemployment. • Increasing demand: returning veterans, baby boomers, need for new consumer goods • Racial Minorities: Executive Order 9981, ended segregation un the U. S. armed forces.

Human Rights • United Nations and Eleanor Roosevelt • Universal Declaration of Human Rights: • All humans are born equal and free • End slavery, torture, inhumane punishment • Civil Rights • Elementary education free and available to all 16

Trying to Build a Better World • Programs for a Safer World: – World Bank: help poor countries build their economies – International Monetary Fund: promoting financial relationships between countries – United Nations: save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights – General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade: rules and regulations on international trade

Building a Better World • The United States never joined the League of Nations and needed Senate approval to join the United Nations. • In partners, write a speech that a member of Congress might have given to the voters back home explaining what the United Nations is, why it was founded, and how it intends to accomplish its goals. • You are trying to convince people that joining the UN is a positive thing.

China Becomes Communist • Chiang Kai-Shek (Nationalist) • Inefficient and corrupt • US sent $3 billion in aid Mao Zedong (Communist) • Appealed to the peasant in the country • Won support of people, took over China 1949. • American public outraged that containment failed. • Fear of communism in American began to intensify out of control.

Korean before the War • Close to China, Japan and Russia. • Yalta Conference division to North and South sectors. • 38 th parallel • North Korea Communism • South Korea Democratic

Start of Korean War • June 25, 1950: North Korea invades South Korea. • Soviet sponsored, US not ready to fight. • Truman thought the US had to take a stand against communist aggression. • United Nations police action

Key Battles of the Korean War • North Korea outnumbered and outgunned South Korea’s defenders. • End of July, NK had pushed UN forces all the way to the southeastern tip of South Korea. • This final line needed to be held at all costs.

Inchon Landing • UN forces held port of Pusan. • Communist attack had stalled. • Thousands of troops and tons of equipment were arriving daily. • Mac. Arthur ready to take the offensive. • Land behind NK lines at Inchon, very risky. • “We shall land at Inchon and I shall crush them. ”

North Korea on the run • UN forces quickly moved out to recapture Seoul. • North Koreans had stretched themselves too thin and were powerless to stop the forces. • Huge numbers of North Korean troops were destroyed or forced to surrender. • By October, all of South Korea was back in UN hands. • Stop at the 38 th parallel of take all of North Korea?

UN forces retreat • 260, 000 Chinese troops came to NK rescue. • Size of the Chinese forces was simply too large to recover from. • UN forces fell all the way back to Seoul (longest fallback in U. S. Military history) • Winter arrived

Mac. Arthur is Fired • The UN faced a choice between defeat by the Chinese or a major war with them. • Called for expanding the war by bombing the Chinese mainland, use of atomic weapons. • Lieutenant General Matthew Ridgeway stopped the Chinese onslaught and went on offensive. • Truman believed peace was possible without losing South Korea, Mac. Arthur disagreed.

Mac. Arthur Fired • Wanted to see communism defeated in Asia even if the only was to expand the war. • Increasingly made public statements that challenged the authority of the president. • Made threats against the Chinese government • Truman had no choice but to fire him. • Public reaction?

Fighting Ends in Korea • July 1951, peace talks began on both sides, sick of the fighting and death.

Unsuccessful Negotiations for Peace • Boundary of North and South Korea?

Truman’s Statement about Korea • “For ourselves, we seek no territory or domination over others…We are concerned with advancing our prosperity and our wellbeing as a Nation, but we know that our future is inseparably joined with the future of other free peoples. ” • Do you agree or disagree? • Is our future inseparably joined with the future of other free peoples?

Eisenhower: Foreign Policy • Brinkmanship: diplomatic art of going to the brink of war without actually getting into war. • Massive retaliation: pledge the US would use overwhelming force against the Soviet Union to settle serious conflict. • CIA: Central Intelligence Agency

Soviet Union and Warsaw • Stalin died, Khrushchev is his successor • Warsaw Pact: Eastern European nations would defend each other and the USSR at all costs. • 1955 Summit: meeting of the heads of government, Eisenhower “open skies”

Cold War “Hot Spots” • Vietnam and the seeds of war • 1954 France lost control of their colony of Vietnam. • Communist ruled the North temporarily until elections could transpire. • Eisenhower: unacceptable because the communists could win. • South Vietnam

Atomic Anxiety • American in the 1950 s had not faced a serious threat of war. • Atomic bomb changed that for many Americans • Backyard bomb shelters

Growing Fear of Communism • 1949 two events increased Americans anxiety: – Soviets possessed an atomic weapon – Communist had gained control of China • Mao Zedong leader of communist China

The Hydrogen Bomb • Fusing together hydrogen atoms. • Island they set if off simply vanished. • Fireball: 3 miles diameter. • Cloud was more than 25 miles tall.

Arms Race • Worried that the other would gain an advantage, the USSR and the US began to build stockpiles of weapons. • Arms race: international contest between counties seeking a military advantage. • New Bombs (intercontinental ballistic missiles) • Soviet Advances: Sputnik • US: NASA

Arms Race Counterpoints • John Foster Dulles, Sec of State – “The principal deterrent to aggressive war is mobile retaliatory power. The retaliatory power must be vast in terms of its potential… The essential is that a wouldbe aggressor should realize that he cannot make armed aggression. ” • Albert Einstein, Scientists – “ There lies before us, if we choose, continual progress in happiness, knowledge, and wisdom. Shall we, instead, choose death, because we cannot forget our quarrels? ”

American’s React to Threat of Nuclear War • Nuclear attack and fallout • Federal Civil Defense Administration to help educate and prepare the public for nuclear emergencies. • Duck and Cover • Sirens installed in communities across nation • Preparedness also raised fears. • https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=IKq. Xu 5 jw 60

Fighting the Spread of Communism in the US • People were afraid of possible communist influence in the US government. • House of Un-American Activities Committee: purpose was to investigate the full range of radical groups in the US. • Communist influence in the American Film industry. • Hollywood Ten

• Truman and Loyalty • The Smith Act: made it a crime to call for the overthrow of the US government or belong to an organization that did so. • Mc. Carran Act: required communist organizations to register with the government and prevented communist from entering the US. • https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=g_Da. MKUP 3 Og • https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=Sk. Yl_AH-qyk

Spy Cases • Alger Hiss, 1948 - State department official, mircofilm of US documents. • Ethel and Julius Rosenberg, 1951 – first US citizens executed for espionage. • https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v= M 1 Rdh. WH 2 a. NE

Senator Joseph Mc. Carthy • Falsely clamming there were communist in the US government. • Mc. Carthyism: tactic of spreading fear and making baseless charges. • Started accusing very high ranking officials even the entire US Army, the public began to view his tactics as unfair and unbelievable.

• The school district has decided that any student who questions school policy is a dangerous influence. School leaders have decided to give detentions to all students suspected of disagreeing with school policy. • Write a half page response to this.

Television Age • I Love Lucy! • Lucille Ball • New production techniques, filmed rather than broadcast live. • https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=Hnb. Nc. Ql z. V-4

TV Changes American Life • Scientists had been working on TV technology since the 1920 s, finally ready for home use after WWII. • Between 1945 -1950, 5 million sets sold, 1959 40 million.

TV • Politics • Advertising: TV’s combination of picture and sound gave it more persuasive potential than radio. • Programming: introduction of categories we still see today. • Concerns: violent content on young viewers • Still a concern even today?

Transistors and Computers • 1940 s, researchers began building computers. • First computers took up entire rooms and drew large amounts of electricity. • UNIVAC: universal automatic computer (1951) • Weigh 30, 000 lbs, cost $50, 000

Salk Vaccine • Worst year on record for polio in the United States was 1952, more than 57, 000 people came down with the disease. • Jonas Salk developed the polio vaccine that same year. • 1955 Children began receiving the shot.

Cultural Change in the 1950 s • 1950 s US was the world’s greatest economic power. • American people were 6% of world’s population, yet produced 1/3 of world’s goods and services. • Baby boom – Levitt communities – Consumer goods – Automobiles Buying meant busy factories, high company profits, and plentiful jobs.

Life in 1950 s • New communities: suburban developments – Affordability – Sunbelt – Mass-production of homes • New Highways: Interstate Highway System – 40, 000 -miles – Main means of transportation across the US • Art of Rebellion – Against sameness and conformity – Building reputations as rebels who defined social norms, American was fascinated with this image.

Discussion • TV Violence in today’s society. • Baby Boomer generation reaching retirement age, what that means for America. • The idea of non-conformity in a society built to conform.

The New Frontier and Great Society In groups answer the following: How does change effect your daily life? Think about: New policies New buildings Places closing Community/School/Government programs

1960 s America • American were ready for a change • United States adopted many new policies and programs • It was a time of the space race, social change, and a time when the Supreme Court became actively involved in Civil Rights • 1960 Presidential election Vice President Richard Nixon vs. Massachusetts Senator John F. Kennedy

Kennedy Era • 1 Election of 1960 – Televised debates & Civil Rights • 2 The Camelot Years – Kennedy Mystique, Best and the brightest • 3 New Military Policy – Flexible Response • 4 Crises over Cuba – Fidel Castro, Bay of Pigs, Cuban Missile Crisis • 5 Crisis over Berlin – Berlin Wall, Easing tensions • 6 Promise of Progress – New Frontier, Peace Corps, Race to the Moon • 7 Tragedy in Dallas – Assassination and Warren commission

John F. Kennedy • A young, vigorous idealists who filled his advisors with the best and the brightest. • https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=4 ph. B-r. Rj. YQw • Bay of Pigs Invasion – Fidel Castro • Berlin Wall • Cuban Missile Crisis – closest the world has ever come to nuclear war

• Nuclear powers must avert those confrontations which bring an adversary to a choice of either a humiliating retreat or a nuclear war. To adopt that kind of course in the nuclear age would be evident only of the bankruptcy of our policy – or of a collective death wish for the world.

Kennedy’s New Frontier Image and reality New Frontier Space program Warren Court – controversial Court rulings greatly extended individual rights and freedoms • Kennedy Assassinated • •

Lyndon B. Johnson • A seasoned senator and astute politician. • Great Society – Domestic programs of his administration • War on Poverty • Education • Medicaid and Medicare • Decline of the Great Society – Vietnam

Provisions for a Great Society Program • In partners you will be outlining provisions for a Great Society-inspired program that would address a problem today. • First discuss some of the major problems that society faces today. (Use the categories and bills listed on p. 690 to spark some ideas. ) • Select a problem you would like to address, then write an outline describing the problem and a proposed solution. • Be sure to include details of roles of individuals and groups involved in the solution.