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T he Cold War. Origins of the Cold War. Yalta – February, 1945 A. The Big Three met -- Franklin Roosevelt Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Elections in Poland became the big issue The U.S. wants the Poles to be able to choose their own government
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Origins of the Cold War • Yalta – February, 1945 • A. The Big Three met • -- Franklin Roosevelt • Winston Churchill • Joseph Stalin • Elections in Poland became the big issue • The U.S. wants the Poles to be able to choose their own government • Communists wanted to control it because they saw it as an invasion route to the USSR
The United Nations • All three agreed on the UN • Used to maintain world peace • Provided mutual security • 50 Nations met in San Francisco • There would be two parts • The General Assembly • The Security Council
Harry S. Truman • Ascended to Presidency when FDR died • Met with Stalin in Potsdam, July 1945 • Stalin still wanted war payments from Germany • Truman still wanted Polish elections
Differing Goals • The U.S. desired Democracy and economic opportunity • The USSR desired satellite nations in its borders • Totalitarian Communist governments • Controlled by USSR
The Cold War had begun • Stalin predicted Communism would defeat Capitalism • Churchill asked America to prevent Stalin’s “Iron Curtain” from falling on other nations (Western Europe) • The U.S. began a policy of CONTAINMENT – Preventing Communism from escaping Eastern Europe • Truman issued the TRUMAN DOCTRINE declaring that the U.S. would help countries threatened by Communism
Polish Elections • Poland got elections two years later • Too late… the Soviets eliminated the competition in • Albania • Bulgaria • Czechoslovakia • Hungary • Romania • East Germany • Finland • Yugoslavia
Cold War on the World Scene • The Marshall Plan (1947) • Enacted to support the policy of CONTAINMENT • Said that the U.S. would provide financial aid to help Europe rebuild in the post war • U.S. tried to prevent the DOMINO THEORY… the belief that if one nation falls to Communism, they all would • The Eisenhower Doctrine (1947) • Political measure of the cold war • Stated the U.S. will safeguard the countries of the Middle East
Germany • Germany became a Cold War struggle • Stalin attempted a blockade of goods and people from East Berlin to West Berlin • The U.S. began the BERLIN AIR LIFT… moving supplies in by plane
Problems in the United Nations • The USSR constantly vetoed things in the UN • North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) • Formed in 1949 • Comprised of 10 nations, including the U.S. and Canada • Designed to promote the safety of Western Europe • Used the idea of COLLECTIVE SECURITY
China • Fell to Communism in 1949 • Mao Zedong leads communists to power • Police state
Fear of each other • Soviets detonated their first A-bomb in 1949 • U.S. jumped ahead with the development of the Hydrogen Bomb (H-bomb) in 1952 • USSR sent SPUTNIK, the first satellite, into orbit in 1957 • USSR developed the Inter Continental Ballistic Missile (ICBM)
Each side used BRINKMANSHIP, coming right up to the edge of war, to protect their national interests • U-2 spy plane shot down over the USSR (Francis Gary Powers captured) • Embarrassment for US
Cold War at Home • The Hollywood Ten • Fear of Communism ran rampant throughout the U.S. • The House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) formed to investigate Communism • HUAC put many Hollywood persons under the gun • Many – even Humphrey Bogart – were accused of being Communists • Eventually, ten people, known as the Hollywood 10, were jailed and placed on a “blacklist”, never to work again • 2nd Red Scare (1950’s) • Led by Joseph McCarthy • Accused many of being Communist, even political and military personnel
Society • WWII Veterans • Came home and started families – BABY BOOM • The GI Bill helped them buy houses and go to college • Industry flourishes • Many new cars made • New roads and related industries developed as a result • Drive-in restaurants • Drive-in movies • Motels and Hotels
Culture • Beatniks challenged the conformity of the 1950s by stressing spontaneity • Rock and Roll came of age as teens broke out of societal norms