Cold War

U.S. HistoryChapter 18

United States vs. Soviet Union

• United States:• Democracy• Private citizens control

economic activity• People elect

government official with political parties – offers a CHOICE

• Soviet Union:• State-controlled

property and economic activity

• Totalitarian – NO CHOICE

• Upset over no 2nd Front, secret atomic bomb

United Nations

• 50 nations • Promote peace• San Francisco meeting• Competition between the

U.S. and Soviet Union

Potsdam Conference

• July 1945 – U.S., GB, S.U. • Final war-time conference• Clear Stalin NOT allowing free elections in

Poland like he promised at Yalta• Showed U.S./S.U. at big odds• So..– Truman fought against large reparations from

Germany

Satellite Nations

• Page 605• Countries

dominated by the Soviet Union – communist governments established

Containment **

• Taking measures to prevent communism from spreading to other countries – “containing” it where it exists

• George Kennan

“Iron Curtain”

• Winston Churchill• Refers to the division between democratic

Western Europe and Communist Eastern Europe

The Cold War

• Conflict between the U.S. and the S.U. that does not take place on a battlefield

• 1945 – 1991 (when S.U. breaks up)

Truman Doctrine

• Greece and Turkey – civil wars – communists vs. pro-western governments. Fall of either opens up Western Europe and Asia to Soviet influence

• Truman Doctrine - $400 million in aid to Greece and Turkey.– Why? U.S. must support free people everywhere

from outside pressure

Marshall Plan

• Western Europe torn up!• Sec. of State George Marshall – give aid to

European nations that need it• 16 nations - $13 billion

over 4 years• Promoted democracy• Our industries/banks

profited

German reunification

• 4 zones – GR, FR, US combine their areas – Democratic

• Western Berlin – cut off by S.U.• Berlin Airlift – 327 days –

U.S. airlifts food, supplies• Increased our prestige• Protected flights with threat of bomb!• Germany – Western part – The Federal Republic of

Germany. Eastern part – German Democratic Republic

NATO

• North Atlantic Treaty Organization• 12 nations• Defensive military alliance• **1st peacetime alliance for the U.S.• **end of isolationism

China

• National government led by Chiang Kai-shek, supported by the U.S.

• Sent $3 billion to help fight communist take over. He had no public support though.

• Mao Zedong – Communist leader – won people’s support, defeated Kai-shek, est. the People’s Republic of China

Korea

• 38th parallel – North – Soviet, South – American controlled

• KNOW MAP PAGE 613• General Douglas MacArthur – commander of

troops– Wanted to invade China, Truman rejected idea,

MacArthur spoke out against Truman, fired

The Cold War at Home

Executive Order 9835

• Called for loyalty boards for government employees.

• 91 organizations labeled “subversive” – watched members

• 3.2 million investigated, not allowed to see evidence against them

HUAC

• House Un-American Activities Committee – investigated communism in the movie industry

• “Hollywood 10” – 10 screen writers, producers, directors – associated with communism

McCarran Act

• Against the law to establish a totalitarian government in the U.S.

• Required Communist organizations to register with the government

Alger Hiss

• Accused of being a Soviet spy• Guilty, prison

Rosenberg’s

• Sept. 1949 – Soviets exploded an atomic bomb. How so fast???

• Jan. 1950 – Truman orders creation of hydrogen bomb – finished in ‘52. Soviets do the same 9 months later

• Ethel and Julius Rosenberg – accused of leaking atomic secrets to the Soviets

• Guilty, put to death in electric chair

McCarthyism

• Joseph McCarthy – Rep Senator – accused government employees of being members of Communist party (205 names)

• Later charged the Army of being filled with communists – put on trial – TV– Lost a lot of support

• McCarthyism – public charges ofdisloyalty in the government without evidence

Dwight D. Eisenhower

• 1952 election• 1956 election

John Foster Dulles

• Secretary of State• “Massive Retaliation” – use ALL force to stop

communism• “Brinkmanship” – going to the brink of war

with S.U. to keep peace – relies on nuclear weapons

• Fear of nuclear war comes home – air raid procedures, fall-out shelters

CIA

• Central Intelligence Agency – spies, information.

• Secret operations to weaken/overthrow unfriendly governments

• PAGE 623 - 624

Warsaw Pact

• 1953 – Stalin dies• Nikita Khrushchev took over – “Peaceful Co-

existence” • Warsaw Pact – S.U. and 7 Eastern European

countries

“Spirit of Geneva”

• Meeting between Eisenhower/Khrushchev. Wanted “open skies” – does not get, but does get an agreement to stop nuclear testing

Eisenhower Doctrine

• U.S. would defend any Middle Eastern nation against any Communist nation

• Hungarian Revolt – Hungary revolted against S.U., denounced Warsaw Pact. Soviet tanks rolled in, 30,000 killed. 200,000 fled.– U.S. did nothing, UN did nothing – it was a satellite

nation

The Space Race

• Sputnik – artificial satellite launched by Soviets• Increase in education – science and math• CIA – making secret flights over Soviet territory

taking photos• May 1, 1960 – U-2 plane shot down, evidence of

spying shown to world– We agree to stop spying

• Caused the ‘60s to begin with tension!!!

Kennedy and the Cold WarChapter 20

1960 Election

• Republican – Richard Nixon• Democrat – John F. Kennedy• Things that cost Republicans – Sputnik, long range

missiles, U-2 spy plane, Cuba and Soviet Union• TV and Civil Rights turned the election:– TV – 4 debates where JFK looked more “polished”

than Nixon– Civil Rights – MLK arrested in Atlanta. Eisenhower did

nothing, Kennedy got him out of jail

• Kennedy wins by small margin – just over 100,000 popular votes

A New Military Policy

• Flexible Response – less reliance on nuclear weapons, increase spending on conventional arms and mobile military

• Created the Green Berets

Cuba

• 1959 – Fidel Castro came to power• Nationalized American-owned

businesses/property• Eisenhower cut off trade• Castro turned to Soviet Union• Est. a communist Totalitarian government• Eisenhower – train anticommunist Cuban

exiles to retake Cuba

Bay of Pigs

• April 17, 1961 – 1,300 to 1,500 Cubans exiles trained by the CIA landed at Bay of Pigs

• Nothing went as planned, trapped by Cubans backed with Soviet tanks

• Forced to surrender• Made us look BAD

Cuban Missile Crisis

• Oct. 1962 – spy photos show Soviet missile bases in Cuba, some with missiles ready to launch

• Page 675• Oct. 22 – “any attack

from Cuba would trigger an all-out attack on the Soviet Union”

• For 6 days – Soviet ships heading toward Cuba, naval blockade around Cuba, 100,000 troops sent to Florida

• “Eyeball to eyeball”• S.U. backed down

• Khrushchev – removed missiles from Cuba• Kennedy – will not attack Cuba, removed

missiles from Turkey• Both sides criticized • Hot line established• Nuclear Test Ban Treaty – end testing of

nuclear weapons in the atmosphere

Berlin Wall

• U.S. troops still in Berlin• People still escaping from east to west• Khru – ordered us to leave, JFK – no.• August 1961 – Berlin wall built• Symbol of the Cold War

The Vietnam War Years

U.S. HistoryChapter 22

Moving Toward Conflict

• French controlled Vietnam until WWII• Ho Chi Minh – leader of Vietnamese Communist

Party• Japan took over Vietnam• Ho Chi Minh returned and helped from the Vietminh

– determined to gain independence• Japanese left after WWII, Ho Chi Minh declared

Vietnam an independent nation

• French send troops, gain control of Southern half

• 1950 – U.S. sends nearly $15 million in economic aid to France

• Domino Theory – Eisenhower – if one nation falls to communism they all will fall (just like dominos)

• French surrendered May 1954

• Geneva Accords – temporarily divided Vietnam along the 17th parallel

– Communist north, nationalists south. Election to unify the country would be held in 1956

The United States Steps In

• Ho Chi Minh – North Vietnam• Ngo Dinh Diem – South Vietnam – strong

anticommunist• Diem refused to take part in the elections• Vietcong – Communist opposition group in the

South – began attacking Diem’s government

http://www.neatorama.com/2007/01/02/13-photographs-that-changed-the-world/

Kennedy and Vietnam

• Increased financial aid to Diem• Sent military advisors to train South

Vietnamese troops (16,000 by 1963)• Diem becoming unpopular• Corruption• Moved villagers from their homes• Attacked Buddhism

• Diem had to go• Nov. 1, 1963 – U.S. supported military coup

overthrew Diem, Diem killed.

Johnson Expands the Conflict• Unstable leadership in South Vietnam• Aug. 2, 1964 – U.S. destroyer fired on by North

Vietnamese• Johnson called for bombing strikes on N.V.• Tonkin Gulf Resolution – granted Johnson broad

military powers in Vietnam• Operation Rolling Thunder – sustained bombing of

North Vietnam• Troops began arriving

U.S. Involvement and Escalation

• More and more troops sent – containing communism. By end of 1965 – 180,000 troops, 1967 – 500,000

• Vietcong – hit and run tactics, attacked in cities and countryside

• Tunnel system• Land mines, traps, heat, leeches

• U.S. – wear down the Vietcong (receiving supplies from China and S.U.). Vietcong remained defiant

• U.S. needed to get support of South Vietnamese.

• Napalm (set fire to jungle) and Agent Orange (toxic chemical) – often injured civilians and destroyed villages

• Search-and-destroy missions• Low troop morale

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/08/US_riverboat_using_napalm_in_Vietnam.jpg

Early War at Home

• Great Society suffered, tax increase• “living room war”• Young Americans resisting draft

Roots of Opposition• New Left – growing youth movement• SDS – Students for a Democratic Society –

more power to the people, individual freedom

• College campuses – “teach ins”• Why oppose? Vietnam was a CIVIL war, no

need for us to be there, South Vietnamese leaders no better than Communist leaders, and morally unjust

• Central Park demonstration – half a million protesters – “Burn cards, not people,” and “Hell no, we wont go.”

• Oct. 1967 – march in Washington

• Doves – believed the U.S. should withdraw• Hawks – do whatever to win the war

1968

• Tet Offensive – Tet – our New Year’s Eve. Villagers were celebrating. That night, Vietcong launched an attack on 100 towns in South Vietnam and the U.S. embassy in Saigon. Continued for a month until stopped by U.S.

• Vietcong lost 32,000 soldiers• Greatly upset the American public – open criticism

• Robert Kennedy assassinated• MLK assassinated – riots• College campus riots/demonstrations (200)• Riots/demonstrations during Democratic

Convention

Richard Nixon

• Wins 1968 election• 1969 – Nixon announced troop withdrawals• Vietnamization – called for gradual

withdrawal of U.S. troops, let South Vietnam take more control– Henry Kissinger – Security Advisor

Trouble Continues …• My Lai – massacre of innocent civilians in

South Vietnam by troops• Cambodia – U.S. invaded Cambodia to clear

it of Vietcong and North Vietnamese

• Kent State – National Guard fired on demonstrators, killed 4

• Jackson State – same, 2 killed

America’s Longest War Ends

• March 1972 – heaviest bombing of North Vietnam

• Dec. ’72 – “Christmas bombings” – 100,000 bombs/11 days

• Mar. ’73 – last American troops left Vietnam• North still attacked South• April ’75 – South surrendered to North