WORLD HISTORY II 1945 TO PRESENT

1. WORLD HISTORY II1945 TO PRESENT The Cold War: Definition, Causes & Early Events LITTLE FLOWER CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL FOR GIRLS

2. LEARN FROM THE PAST • To dwell in the past is foolish. To forget the past is a disgrace.

3. THE COLD WAR1945-1991

4. OVERVIEW • The period of distrust between the Soviet Union and United States was known as the Cold War. • Learn about the origins of the era, essential events and the shaping of the national security state.

5. WHAT WAS THE COLD WAR? • The Cold War - period of economic, political and military tension between the United States and Soviet Union - 1945 to 1991. • End of the Second World War - complications arose - shifting of international power. • The Soviet Union wanted to acquire additional territory. • The United States attempted to limit the gains desired by the Soviets. • This battle of ideologies resulted in • increased national security • diplomatic tension • proxy wars between the two powerful nations.

6. ORIGINS OF THE COLD WAR • Start of the Cold War - Potsdam Conference in the summer of 1945. • Purpose - discuss the realignment of post-war Europe. • Discussions broke down into threats. • The United States and Soviet Union agreed upon the division of Berlin. • Soviets & Joseph Stalinwanted to acquire Poland - bufferagainst future attacks. • President Harry Truman rejected Stalin's demands, citing the right of self-determination in the case of Poland. • Truman then revealed his master card: the atomic bomb. • Upon learning of the destructive weapon, Stalin ordered a crash program - speed arms development and counter the atomic bomb.

7. BACKFIRE • September 1945 - limit Soviet economic reconstruction - Truman suspended the Lend-Lease Act - monetary and military aid from the USA to beleaguered nations during the Second World War. • Aid helped - Britain, France and the Soviet Union economically survive the war years. • Plan backfired - Soviets decided to acquire satellite states(Warsaw Pact) to make up for the lost funding.

8. CONTAINMENT • Soviet expansion - heightened fear from both the US government & the general American public. • Trepidation increased – US Diplomat to Moscow George Kennan's 'Long Telegram (X-Article). • Kennan - trusted adviser to Truman - policy of containment. • National security state - byproduct of Kennan's recommendations. • Growing fear of expansion of communism.

9. TRUMAN DOCTRINE & MARSHALL PLAN • 1947 - Truman Doctrine – issued to combat the Soviet menace. • Called for money to be transferred to third world nations - Greece and Turkey - attempt to prevent communist expansion & gain allies in the battle against communism. • The Truman Doctrine - synonymous with the Marshall Plan. • The Marshall Plan encouraged funding to reconstruct European nations devastated by the Second World War. • The hope was to prevent Soviet subversion into the weakened governments.

10. SECURITY • Truman also passed the National Security Act of 1947. • The legislation led to the creation of the Air Force, National Security Council, Central Intelligence Agency and Department of Defense. • All of this was done in an effort to combat the Soviet Union and communism.

11. A FENCE AROUND USSR • Containment - foremost tool of the United States in combating the Soviet Union. • Drafted by Kennan/approved by Truman in 1947 - called for action to be taken against international communist expansion. • Fictional fence being erected around the Soviet Union by the USA. • Keeping communism from spreading into different countries. • Containment was eventually enlarged as the United States suspected communism in places such as Laos, Germany, Vietnam, Korea and Cuba.

12. NATO & COMMUNIST CHINA • Other notable Cold War events during Truman Presidency (1945-1953). • North Atlantic Treaty Organization, or NATO, in 1949 symbolized the unity against communist expansion by Britain, Canada and the US. • Development ofhydrogen bomb by US. • Severing diplomatic ties with Mao Zedong's communist China.

13. NSC-68 • Passage of National Security Council Report-68, or NSC-68. • Called for significant military enlargement by the United States. • Truman Administration believed the Soviet Union totally disregarded international authority with its nuclear weapons testing, • Reason – exert itself throughout the world. • NSC-68 authorized military expenditures that included the development of surface-to-air missile sites. • The rapid buildup and response of the United States would be tested in Korea.

14. LESSON SUMMARY • In summary, the Cold War began in 1945 and was a period of tension between the United States and Soviet Union. • President Harry Truman fueled the fire by using the atomic bomb as leverage and issuing the Truman Doctrine to fund democracy in third world nations. • The containment policy was developed by George Kennan - foremost strategy of battling international communist aggression. • Upon learning of the Soviet Union's nuclear program, the United States passed NSC-68, which enlarged funding toward anti-communism programs.

15. MY JOURNAL • How can you connect the history of the Cold War to other world events and to the world you live in today? • Reflect on what you have learned and consider what this study means to you personally and as citizens of a democracy. • I did not know that… • I couldn’t believe that… • If I were _____, I think I… • If I were _____, I wish I… • This incident reminds me of a time when… • This incident reminds me of a book in which… • This incident reminds me of an experience that… • When I read ______, I… • I think that… • This person, ______, is similar to _____ because… • This event is ______, is similar to because…