History of the Cold War

Historical Intro to Alas Babylonhttp://

users.humboldt.edu/ogayle/sed741/SEDColdWar.html

Enormous human and economic costs. Germany divided into occupation zones by the Allied powers

Berlin - which was within the Soviet occupation zone - was divided among the Allies

An "iron curtain" was drawn as Stalin expanded the USSR by installing pro-Soviet governments in Bulgaria, Hungary, and Romania; supporting communist governments in Albania and Yugoslavia; and barring free elections in Poland.

The creation of two visions of the post war world, both of which will contribute to the Cold War era: the American/Western vision in which a strong world organization would be

created to deter aggression (the United Nations) and collective security would ensure that member nations would not appease future aggressor nations.

The Russian vision in which the USSR would be treated as a major world power, Germany's power would be reduced through division and demilitarization; and Russia would be surrounded by "friendly" governments in neighboring east European states that embraced socialism.

Introduction of nuclear weaponry and escalation of arms race - another characteristic of the Cold War era.

Consequences of WWII

http://education-portal.com/academy/lesson/the-cold-war-definition-causes-early-events.html#lesson Common Belief - The Cold War was the postwar economic and ideological

global rivalry between the United States and the Soviets during which each side fought - without engaging in military warfare - to reshape the world to conform to its own image.  Both sides used all their resources - short of war - to keep the other side from achieving its postwar goals.

In reality - During the 45 year-period of the Cold War, the Americans and Russians were involved in dozens of "hot wars" around the globe (Korea, Cuba, Vietnam, El Salvador, Honduras, etc.)  But because these were not wars in which the U.S. and Soviets were officially at war with one another, each nation could use the Cold War rhetoric to justify their involvement elsewhere.

Thus, the Cold War witnessed a political, social, economic, and military rivalry between the U.S. and the Soviet Union - a rivalry that dramatically affected American foreign policy as well as American domestic policy.

Myth vs. Reality

International Phase: 1945 to 1991 - when

foreign policy was shaped by U.S./Soviet tensions that erupted in a series of proxy wars

Domestic Phase: 1954 to 1991 - when the U.S. was wracked with anti-communist hysteria

Two Phases of the Cold War

Both the USSR and the United States contributed to the Cold War through a variety of policy decisions and actions.  Soviet Actions Contributing to the Cold War

Soviet control over Poland, Bulgaria, Rumania, and Hungary (early 1946)

Stalin's "inevitability" of future wars thesis (Feb. 1946) Stalin's order that satellite nations end trade with Western

nations (mid-46) Soviet refusal to halt work on nuclear weapons (June 46) Molotov Plan to incorporate Eastern Europe economies into

Soviet system (1947) Soviet overthrow of Czech government and installation of

communist government (Feb. 1948)

International Phase

American Actions Policy of Containment (1947) - In January 1947, George

Kennan - U.S. Ambassador to the USSR - submitted a report to the U.S. Defense Secretary using the word "containment" for the first time: "In these circumstances [that the Soviets were in a perpetual war with capitalism] it is clear that the main element of any United States policy toward the Soviet Union must be that of long-term, patient but firm and vigilant containment of Russian expansive tendencies." Containment fostered an ideological opposition to communism by creating a "us versus them" theme that divided the world into democratic versus autocratic governments.

International Phase (American Actions)

Truman Doctrine  (March 1947).  Pledged the US to containing

communism in Europe and elsewhere and impelled the US to support any nation with both military and economic aid if its stability was threatened by communism or the Soviet Union.  Became the foundation of Truman's foreign policy and places the U.S. in the role of global policeman.

Marshall Plan (June 1947).  Designed by General George Marshall who became Truman's Secretary of State, the Marshall Plan pledged economic aid to help rebuild war-torn Europe. After several meetings with Stalin, Marshall became convinced that a weak, starving, disheartened Europe was precisely what Stalin wanted because it would offer the best recruitment for communism. The Marshall Plan's primary goal was to stop the socialist and communist electoral bids for power in northern and western Europe while, at the same time, promoting democracy through the economic renewal of Europe. Sixteen nations signed the Marshall Plan and consequently, industrial production in those nations rose by 200% between 1947-52. Became the cornerstone of the US use of economic policy to contain communism.

International Phase (American Actions)

National Security Act (July 1947).  Laid the

foundation for expanded military forces and surveillance agencies within the federal government and was the first step in the creation of permanent, large-scale military spending as the basic stimulus for economic growth in America (the military industrial complex.)   The goal was to keep the nation in a ready state of preparedness for war. It became the first program of peacetime military preparedness in US history.  The NSA

International Phase (American Actions)

The Berlin Blockade and Airlift - end of the blockade cleared the way for

the Western powers to merge their occupation zones into a single nation - West Germany.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) - Ten western European nations, the U.S., and Canada formed a military alliance declaring that "an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against all of them." In response, the Russians formed the Warsaw Pact in 1955.

The Iron Curtain - After the Berlin blockade cleared the way for the western powers' creation of West Germany, the USSR countered by establishing the German Democratic Republic in their sector, thus creating what Winston Churchill called an "iron curtain" between free and unfree Germany and the free and unfree worlds.

The Nuclear Race - In January 1950, Truman ordered his scientific advisors to develop a fusion-based hydrogen bomb hundreds of times more powerful than the atomic bomb. In November 1952, the U.S. exploded its first H-bomb in the Marshall islands. The Soviets exploded their first H-bomb 9 months later.

The Korean "Conflict" - June 1950-July 1953

Significant events of the international

phase

The Cuban Missile Crisis - October 1962. In his speech to the

nation on October 22, 1960, President Kennedy told the American people, "This government, as promised, has maintained the closest surveillance of the Soviet military buildup on the island of Cuba. Within the past week, unmistakable evidence has established the fact that a series of offensive missile sites is now in preparation on that imprisoned island.  The purpose of these bases can be none other than to provide a nuclear strike capability against the Western Hemisphere."

Vietnam - 1954 - 1973. Sputnik - 1957. The USSR launched Sputnik in October, 1957. The 23

inch satellite travelled at 18,000 miles per hour, took 96.2 minutes to complete an orbit, and emitted radio signals that were monitored by amateur radio operators throughout the world. The signals continued for 22 days until the transmitter batteries ran out. Sputnik burned up on January 4, 1958 when it fell from orbit upon reentering Earth's atmosphere. It had traveled about 37 million miles during its three months in orbit.

Fall of the USSR - 1991

Significant events of the international

phase

At the same time that the international arena was

wracked by the Cold War, the U.S. experienced and internal period of domestic turmoil often referred to as the second American Red Scare.

He May Be A Communist - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWeZ5SKXvj8

More Doctors Smoke Camels - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PybgH_ItUik&feature=related

The Trouble with Women - 1959 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOxGRuKFwJg&feature=related

The Threat of Communism - Propaganda Film http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ss0yaO6VJvU&feature=related

Domestic Phase

Three factors that began in federal circles

launched the Second Red Scare - a period of hysteria that occurred within the United States throughout the Cold War era:  President Truman's anti-communist beliefs and rhetoric; Congressional anti-communist actions; and Senator Joe McCarthy's "Witch Hunt."

Domestic Phase