1 / 11

Origins of the Cold War

Origins of the Cold War. U.S. vs. Soviets. Allies in WWII Economic & political differences Communism vs. capitalism Totalitarian vs. democracy **Soviets resented U.S. for not recognizing communist gov. for 16 years

glen
Download Presentation

Origins of the Cold War

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Origins of the Cold War

  2. U.S. vs. Soviets • Allies in WWII • Economic & political differences • Communism vs. capitalism • Totalitarian vs. democracy • **Soviets resented U.S. for not recognizing communist gov. for 16 years • Stalin did NOT trust U.S. – wanted earlier invasion of Europe and wasn’t aware of nuclear bomb • U.S. and Soviets used UN as forum

  3. Free Elections in Poland • Stalin agreed to free elections in Poland but prevented such elections in 1945 • Stalin wanted gov. to stay pro-Soviet • Truman angered, violation of self-determination • @ Potsdam, Truman pushed, but Stalin did not accept • With Soviet Army in Eastern Europe, little the west could do

  4. Soviet’s in Need • Soviets suffered much loss and damage during war • Felt vulnerable to the west, so wanted Communist neighbors that they could control • Communist gov. in Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania and Poland  satellite nations (dependent upon and dominated by Sov. Union)

  5. Cont… • Stalin seized equipment from these nations to rebuild Soviet Union • 1946: Stalin said comm. And capitalism were incompatible and war was inevitable • b/c of this, Soviets focused on producing weapons, not consumer good • U.S. saw this as a declaration of war

  6. Containment • Feb. 1946 George F. Kennan, Amer. Diplomat in Moscow, proposed “containment” • Block Soviet spread of influence by creating alliances and supporting weaker countries • This policy became guide for Turman’s admin. Foreign policy

  7. “Iron Curtain” • Winston Churchill, 1946, gave famous speech • Stated that iron curtain had fallen across Europe, and Soviet influence and control was setting in on the other side of the curtain (Central and Eastern Europe) • Stalin felt these words were a “call to war”

  8. Truman Doctrine • Great Britain sending econ. And mil. Support to Greece and Turkey • War badly hurt GB so Truman asked Congress for $400 million in econ. And mil. Aid for these countries • Declared U.S. should support free people throughout the world who were “resisting takeover by armed minority”/”outside pressures”

  9. Cont… • Caused controversy • Some felt U.S. shouldn’t interfere • Others felt it would spread U.S. too thin having a global campaign • Congress agreed w/ Truman • b/t 1947-1950, U.S. sent over $400 million in aid to Turkey and Greece

  10. Western Europe • Economic chaos • Factories bombed or looted • Unemployment high, crime increase • Millions in refugee camps • Winter 1946-47 coldest in several centuries • Damaged crops, froze rivers (cut off water transportation), fuel shortage

  11. Marshall Plan • June 1947, Gen. George Marshall (U.S. sec. of state) wanted U.S. to provide aid to all nations that needed it • While not against a country, just to help people, nations receiving aid still had to remove trade barriers and cooperate economically • Feb. 1948, Soviet tanks into Chzechoslovakia, forced U.S. to move and approved Marshall Plan

More Related