Cold War

Topic: Cold War

What was the Cold War?
The Cold War was a period of sustained
(constant) political and military tension
between the US and the Soviet Union
after WWII.
Why was it called the Cold War?
It was "cold" because there was no largescale fighting directly between the two
sides

Cold War
A major reason for the Cold War was due
to competition between the US and Soviet
Union for power and influence in the
world.
US wanted to ensure Democracy would
rule, and the Soviet Union wanted
Communism to be dominant through out
the world.
Weren't both nations allies during
WWII?

Cold War
Yes, however once Germany was defeated it
was soon realized the only common goal
both nations had was to defeat Nazi
Germany.
The Soviet Union was now seen as a threat
to the security of the noncommunist world.
The United States had now emerged as a
superpower after WWII
Seeing the Soviets and spread of
communism as a threat, what would the
US policy be to ensure it wont spread?

Cold War
The policy of the United States would be
one of containment.
Containment limiting communist
expansion. Confine communism to the
area in which it already existed.
As a result of containment, the US put
plans into action to stop communism from
spreading.

Cold War
Seeking access to the Mediterranean Sea
through Turkey, the Soviets supported
communist rebels who wanted to overthrow
the government in Greece.
In response to this, President Truman asked
congress for $400 million in aid to support
free people in resisting the communist threat.
Congress approved the request and more
than $600 million in economic and military aid
was provided. Became know as the Truman
Doctrine.

Cold War
WWII left much of Europe in ruins.
Many struggled to find food, shelter and
clothing. Many people were growing
dissatisfied with these conditions.
To avoid the spread of communist
influence, which tried to offer solutions in
to the people in many of these ruined
areas, the US issued a new economic aid
plan called the Marshall Plan after General
George C. Marshall.

Cold War
Under the Marshal Plan the US made it
clear they were against hunger, poverty,
desperation, and chaos. $13 billion of aid
went to rebuilding Western Europe.
It was believed that with stabilized and
improved economies, the expansion of
communism would be stopped.

Cold War

After WWII, Germany and its capital city of

Berlin were divided up among the victors.
(US, Britain, France, and Russia)

Cold War

City of Berlin divided

Cold War
The US, Britain and France agreed on
running their sectors of Germany as one.
The Soviets would not agree to unification
and Germany remain split as West
Germany and East Germany.
In an effort to force Western powers out,
the Soviet set up a Blockade by cutting off
all roads to Berlin. Berlin is in the center of
Soviet controlled East Germany.

Cold War
Realizing west Berlin would not receive
food, medicine and other essential
supplies by road; the US, France and
England began airlifting supplies into the
city and did so for a full year.
After a year of the airlift, the Soviets
recognized they were defeated in this
political action of the blockade and ended
it soon after.
The Berlin Airlift was a US victory

Essential Questions
What conditions and issues led to mistrust between the U.S. and
USSR, thereby leading to the Cold War?
What methods did the U.S. use to attempt to stop the spread of
communism in eastern Europe?
Why did the U.S. turn to military action to stop communist
aggression in Korea and Vietnam?
Why did Americans respond in the manner they did to perceived
internal threats, such as blacklisting and McCarthyism?
How did the Cuban Missile Crisis change the scope of the Cold
War?
How did the Nixon and Ford Administrations approach the
evolving nature of the Cold War in the late 1960s and 1970s?
What role did the Reagan and Bush Administrations play in the
eventual end of the Cold War in the late 1980s?

U.S. and USSR:

Allies Become Enemies
Different economic
systems
Ideological differences
Growing mutual
suspicions

A U.S. government poster from WWII

portraying the Soviets as friendly

The Yalta Conference

The Big Three: Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin meet

at Yalta, February 1945

Yalta: Significant Events

Creation of the United Nations
Demand for Germanys
unconditional surrender
Postwar Germany split into
four zones of occupation
Stalin agreed to enter war
against Japan
Status of Poland
Demilitarization of Germany
A WWII-era poster celebrating the
UN

Truman Takes Over

FDR died suddenly in
April 1945
Vice President Harry
Truman sworn in
Had served as VP for
just 82 days
Truman previously
unaware of the
Manhattan Project

President Harry S. Truman at his desk

The Potsdam Conference

Truman, Stalin, and
Churchill (later Attlee)
Restated agreement to
partition Germany
Agreed to prosecute war
criminals
Set new boundary line
for Poland
Truman hinted at atomic
bomb to Stalin

Churchill, Truman, and Stalin

The Soviet Bloc

The USSR felt that
by controlling
satellite nations,
it could stop future
western invasions
Communist
governments
installed in much of
central and eastern
Europe

Discussion Questions
1. What reasons existed for the distrust and suspicion
between the U.S. and USSR? Why did the WWII
alliance between the two nations fall apart?
2. Did FDR give away too many concessions to Stalin at
the Yalta Conference? Explain your answer.
3. Should Truman have given Stalin any advanced
knowledge about the atomic bomb during the Potsdam
Conference? Why or why not?
4. Should the United States have taken military action to
stop the development of the Soviet Bloc? Why or why
not?

The Iron Curtain

Popularized by a 1946
Churchill speech
Metaphor for the divide
between Western Europe
and the Soviet Bloc
Stalin called speech a
call to war

Churchill and Truman on stage

at Westminster College