Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Continued
Hideki Tojo
was the prime minister of Japan who convinced
Emperor Hirohito to attack the U.S. at Pearl Harbor
After being found guilty at his trial for war crimes,
he was executed after the war
Albert Einstein
Played a key role in developing the atomic bomb
He had fled Germany after Hitler came to power
and came to the U.S.
During the war, he feared Germany was
developing atomic weapons
Continued
The destruction of WWII was unparalleled
As many as 70 million people died
Much of Europe and Asia was in ruins
Germany, Italy, and Japan were occupied and
turned into democratic nations
Brought about the end of imperialism in Africa
and Asia
Cost more than two trillion dollars
UNITED NATIONS
Replaced the League of Nations
Guaranteed the security of member
nations
Fostered good will through equal rights
Encouraged economic, cultural, and
humanitarian cooperation
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization
was a military alliance
Formed in April 1949
Original members: Belgium, Luxembourg,
France, the Netherlands, Great Britain, Italy,
Denmark, Norway, Portugal, Iceland, the
United States, and Canada
Sought security during the Cold War
OTHER ALLIANCES
The Warsaw Pact: Soviet Union, Albania,
Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany,
Hungary, Poland, and Romania
SEATO (Southeast Asia Treaty
Organization): U.S., Great Britain, France,
Pakistan, Thailand, the Philippines,
Australia, and New Zealand
CENTO (Central Treaty Organization):
Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Great Britain,
and U.S.
U.S. ACTIONS
THE TRUMAN DOCTRINE
NATIONAL POLICIES
Western allies wanted to achieve security
by strengthening democracy
Soviets wanted to establish pro-soviet
governments in Eastern Europe
The iron curtain, a soviet-made barrier
that split Europe into communist and noncommunist countries, developed
The U.S. implemented a policy of
containment or keeping communism
within its existing boundaries and prevent
further Soviet aggression.
Korean War
A fight to halt the spread of communism in
Korea
A civil war attempting to reunite Korea,
fought by opposing regimes (the North
backed by Soviet forces and the South
backed by U.S. forces)
June 25, 1950 to July 27, 1953
Bay of Pigs
Unsuccessful attempt by
American-backed Cuban
exiles to overthrow Fidel
Castro
April 1961 (three months
after John F. Kennedy took
office as president)
Further strained U.S.
Cuban relations
Vietnam War
A fight to halt the spread of communism in Viet Nam
by nationalist leader, Ho Chi Minh
North Vietnam (Viet Cong) backed by communist
allies were opposed by the South Vietnamese rebels
backed by U.S. forces
U.S. military advisors first arrived in 1950
U.S. involvement escalated in the early 1960s and
combat units were deployed beginning in 1965
The Tet Offensive in 1968 demonstrated the strength
of the Viet Cong
A peace treaty was signed in 1973 by all parties and
the U.S. withdrew its troops
1975 Saigon fell to North Vietnam
Cambodia
American withdrawal from Vietnam led to
the collapse of the government in Cambodia
Khmer Rouge (Cambodian Communists)
seized control
Pol Pot (leader of Khmer Rouge) carried out
the genocide of city dwellers and other
opponents
As many as four million died between 1975
and 1978
Afghanistan
Long, drawn-out war against local nationals
Tied up large numbers of forces and soldier deaths
USSRs Vietnam
Detente
A relaxation of tensions between the U.S.
and Soviets
1972
Continued
This promoted a lifting of the Iron Curtain
in other places (East Germany,
Czechoslovakia, etc.)
November 1989 The Berlin Wall fell
Free elections were held throughout
Eastern Europe which brought nonCommunist governments to power
Changes, continued
Gorbachev resigned on December 15, 1991,
and turned over responsibility to Boris Yeltsin
who became the new president of Russia (the
Soviet Union had ceased to exist when a
number of Soviet republics voted for
independence).
Yeltsin resigned at the end of 1999 and was
replaced by Vladimir Putin who was elected
president in 2000. The economy greatly
improved due to his reforms.