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Origins of the Cold War. Chapter 18 Section 1 Pages 602-608. Former Allies Clash . The U.S. and the USSR had a very different view of the future after World War II. . These underlying feelings of suspicion between the two nations caused a lot of tension. .
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Origins of the Cold War Chapter 18 Section 1 Pages 602-608
Former Allies Clash • The U.S. and the USSR had a very different view of the future after World War II. • These underlying feelings of suspicion between the two nations caused a lot of tension. • Remember that in Communism the state controlled all property and in the U.S. individual people did. • The U.S did not like that the Soviets were allies with the Germans until 1941. • Stalin did not like that the “Western Allies” did not attack Germany sooner or that the U.S. kept their nuclear bombs secret.
The United Nations Forms • After the bloodshed of WWII something positive did arise, the United Nations (UN) was officially established in June of 1945. • The UN was composed of 50 nations and intended on promoting world peace. • However the UN became a stage for the U.S. and the Soviets to compete on and spread their influence over other nations.
Truman and the Potsdam Conference • In April of 1945 Harry Truman suddenly becomes president when FDR dies in office. • Many Americans worried when this happened because Truman was not involved in much of the policy decisions under FDR. • Truman’s abilities as a leader were put to the test when in July of 1945 the U.S., Great Britain, and the Soviet Union met at Potsdam. • At the conference Stalin made it clear that the Soviet occupied territories, including Poland, would not have free elections. • This made President Truman begin to not trust Stalin.
Tensions Mount: US vs. USSR • At Potsdam, the Soviets thought they would get war reparations from Germany to help pay for war time losses. • Truman objected to the USSR getting reparations but it was agreed that Great Britain, France, the Soviet Union and the U.S. would take reparations from Germany. • They would only take reparations from their separate zones. • Truman wanted to have access to the raw materials that were in Germany so that the now booming U.S. business could continue to grow.
Soviets and Eastern Europe • The Soviets felt that they should occupy Eastern Europe. • The Soviets suffered a lot during the war because of intense fighting on their soil and their near 20 million deaths. • The Soviets felt that by claiming Eastern Europe they could prevent attacks from the west.
Containment • American diplomat in Moscow, George Kennan proposed a policy of containment in 1946. • Containment = prevent the spread of communist rule to other countries. • This policy would dominate U.S. foreign policy until the fall of the Soviet Union. • Europe was now divided into two regions; the Western half being mostly democratic and the Eastern half being communist. • This division of the two halves of Europe was called, the “iron curtain”
Truman Doctrine and Marshal Plan • The U.S.’s first attempt in containing communism was in Greece and Turkey. Congress was asked by Truman to give $400 million to the two nations so that they could fend off communist influence. • Truman declared that the U.S. must help other nations to resist outside pressures (communism). This statement before congress became known as the Truman Doctrine. • The U.S. also gave aide to the European countries. George Marshall proposed that this aide was “against hunger, poverty, and chaos. Not against any other nation.” • This plan to aide European countries was named “The Marshall Plan.”
Superpowers Struggle Over Germany • The U.S. and its allies next clashed with the Soviets over German unification. • The French, British, and the Americans decided to combine their German zones into one nation, without consent from the Soviets. • This led to Stalin closing off roads and blockading West Berlin from food and supplies. • To counter this, the U.S. started the Berlin Airliftsto fly food and supplies into West Berlin.
NATO • Because of the blockade in Berlin, the Western European countries began to fear the Soviets more and more. • To counter act these fears the Western European countries along with the U.S. and Canada formed NATO(North Atlantic Treaty Organization) • This was an alliance that guaranteed military support of one of its members would come under attack from an enemy.
