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The Cold War 1945-1991 US vs Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Cold War. How can a war be ‘cold ’?. Define Cold War. Permanent state of international crisis between the US and the Soviet Union between 1945 and 1991 Democracy vs. Communism.
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The Cold War 1945-1991US vs Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
Cold War How can a war be ‘cold’?
Define Cold War • Permanent state of international crisis between the US and the Soviet Union between 1945 and 1991 • Democracy vs. Communism
After World War 2 the Cold War began and caused tension throughout the world. • The USA and the USSR were the two world Superpowers. • The USA was a capitalist society with a democracy. • The USSR was a communist country with a dictatorship. • Both wanted to be the most powerful nation in the world.
Nuclear tensions • The USA had shown its atomic power when it exploded the A-bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of World War 2. • The USSR was also developing atomic weapons/bombs. • The USA and the USSR were in competition with each other to have the best, most powerful weapons in the world – this was called the Arms Race.
After World War 2, the world changed! • Many countries became communist after World War 2 including: • Czechoslovakia (1948) • Poland (1947) • Hungary (1947) • China (1949) • Cuba (1959) • North Korea (1945)
Post WWII/Cold War Goals for US • Wanted to promote open markets for US goods to prevent another depression • Promote democracy throughout the world, especially in Asia and Africa • Stop the spread of communism
Post WWII/Cold War Goals for the USSR • Wanted to create greater security for itself -lost tens of millions of people in WWII and Stalin’s purges -feared a strong Germany • Establish defensible borders • Encourage friendly governments on it’s borders • Spread communism around the world
Stalin: Led Soviet Union, 1928-1953 • Joseph Stalin [18 December 1878 –5 March 1953) was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee from 1922 until his death in 1953.
Stalin vs Truman • Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884 – December 26, 1972) was the 33rd President of the United States (1945–1953). As the 34th vice president, he succeeded Franklin D. Roosevelt, who died less than three months after he began his fourth term.
Winston Churchill “Iron Curtain” Speech • Speaking on March 5, 1946 at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri, Churchill declared the opening of the Cold War.
In 1947 the British were helping the Greek government fight against communist guerrillas. They appealed to America for aid, and the response was the Truman Doctrine. America promised it would support free countries to help fight communism. Greece received large amounts of arms and supplies, and by 1949 had defeated the communists. The Truman Doctrine was significant because it showed that America, the most powerful western country, was prepared to resist the spread of communism throughout the world. Truman Doctrine = ?
In 1947, US Secretary of State Marshall announced the Marshall Plan. This was a massive economic aid plan for Europe to help it recover from the damage caused by the war. There were two motives for this: Helping Europe to recover economically would provide markets for American goods, so benefiting American industry. A prosperous Europe would be better able to resist the spread of communism. This was probably the main motive. Marshall Plan [1947-48]
Strom Thurmond: Dixiecrats • Thurmond and southern Democrats walked out of the Democratic Convention when it supported civil rights for African Americans.
Henry Wallace on the Left • Wallace was the darling of the Democratic Left who supported cooperative relations with the Soviet Union and liberal reform at home.
Truman’s Answer: Berlin Airlift • Western Allies supplied tons of supplies [food, medicine, fuel, etc.] from 24 June 1948 to 11 May 1949). Stalin lifted the blockade.
Alger Hiss Trial • On Aug. 3, 1948, Whittaker Chambers, a senior editor from Time magazine and self-admitted ex-communist, appeared before the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) identifying Alger Hiss and several other federal officials of having been members of a Communist cell whose purpose had been to infiltrate the U.S. government. • A special subcommittee of HUAC, headed by Richard Nixon, convened on Aug. 7, 1948 to re-examine Chambers. Under intense questioning, Chambers offered many intimate details of Hiss' personal affairs in the '30s and claimed that they had been close friends.
Hiss vs Chambers • Despite the confidence in which Chambers made his charges, he provided no concrete evidence to support them. • On May 31, 1949, the trial of Alger Hiss began. On the witness stand, Chambers confessed to many sins: immorality, lying and attempted betrayal of his country, but never did he admit that his allegations were false. • Hiss vigorously maintained innocence.
Hiss vs Chambers • On July 7, 1949, the trial ended with a deadlocked jury: 8-4 in favor of conviction. The second trial began on Nov. 17, 1949, and ended two months later on Jan. 21, 1950, with a new jury finding Hiss guilty on both counts. Hiss' conviction was later upheld by the Court of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court. • Hiss served five years in prison [Lewisburg]
NATO In 1949 the western nations formed the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to co-ordinate defense against Russia. • It consisted of:-America, Canada, Britain, France, Holland, BelgiumLuxembourg, Portugal, Denmark, Norway and Italy
Who won the Chinese Civil War? • In 1949 the Communists Under Mao Zedong took over China and the Republicans blamed Truman and the Democrats for “loosing China”
“McCarthyism” • Joseph McCarthy (1908-1957) was a Republican Senator from Wisconsin, whipped up anti-communism during the 1950s. • On February 9, 1950, he gave a speech where he claimed to have a list of 205 Communists in the State Department. • No one in the press actually saw the names on the list, but McCarthy's announcement made the national news. • McCarthy continued to repeat his groundless charges and the number of Communists on his list fluctuated from speech to speech.
Supporters of McCarthy • Republicans • Catholics • Conservative Protestants • Blue-collar workers • Joseph and Robert Kennedy
McCarthy’s Downfall • In the spring of 1954, however, the tables turned when McCarthy charged that the United States Army had promoted a dentist accused of being a Communist. • For the first time, television broadcast allowed the general public to see the Senator as a blustering bully and his investigations as little more than a misguided scam. • In December 1954, the Senate voted to censure him for his conduct and to strip him of his privileges. • McCarthy died three years later from alcoholism. • The term "McCarthyism" lives on to describe anti-Communist fervor, reckless accusations, and guilt by association.
1000 times more powerful than the Hiroshima atomic bomb Set off on Bikini Island in the Marshall Islands US Test Hydrogen Bomb-1952
Talks of peaceful co-existence and de-stalinization. Nikita Khrushchev Takes Over
