The Origins of the Cold War

1
The Origins of the Cold War

• U.S. vs. U.S.S.R.

2
The Economic Conflict

• Capitalism
• Based on competition in a Free Market Economy.
• Free Competition results in wealth for some and
  poverty for others.
• Competition creates motivation towards production
  and work.
• The system needs to expand markets globally to
  grow.
• The supreme Ideal is Freedom or Liberty.

• Communism
• Based on planned production in a Command Economy.
• Government control limits wealth and poverty
  creating a norm.
• Sanctions move workers to cooperate towards State
  goals.
• The system needs to spread to other nations to
  survive.
• The Supreme Ideal is Equality or Justice.

These two systems could not coexist peacefully.
3
Reasons for Distrust

• The United States tried to stop the Bolshevik
  Revolution. (Russian Civil War)
• The United States openly suppressed Communism
  within their borders. (Palmer Raids)
• The Allies were hesitant to start a 2nd front in
  West Europe. Sicily Invasion--1943 D-Day
  Invasion--1944

• Stalin made a pact with Hitler before World War
  II. (Nazi-Soviet Pact)
• The Soviet Union openly supported revolution
  outside their borders. (COMINTERN)
• The Soviet Union was hesitant to join the war
  against Japan. (Potsdam Conference)

This shows that they were once enemies!
They actively opposed each other politically!
They did not cooperate well during the War!
4
Question on the Fate of Eastern Europe

• After the war the U.S. and British lobbied for
  two goals The reunification of Germany and free
  elections for Eastern European Nations occupied
  by Soviet Troops.
• Stalin blocked both these goals in order to
  insure a weak Germany and provide a buffer
  between the Soviet Union and Western Europe.
• Winston Churchill publicly condemned the Soviet
  Union through the famous Iron Curtain speech in
  1946.
• By 1947 the U.S. and Soviet Union were competing
  over the fate of Greece and Turkey. The U.S.
  pledged support to Anti-Communists through the
  Truman Doctrine.

5
The Issue Over a United Germany

• After the War Germany was divided into three
  occupation zones by the Allies.
• The Soviet Union was against unification and
  wanted to retain control of the Eastern Zone.
• When Britain, France and the U.S. unified their
  zones, the Soviets put a blockade around Berlin
  to deny Western access to the German Capital.
  (Berlin Blockade)
• The Allies responded by sending supplies to
  support West Berlin via airplane. (The
  Berlin Airlift).
• By 1961 East Germany built a fortified wall
  surrounding West Berlin. (The Berlin Wall)
• Germany would stay divided until 1990.

6
Why did this result in a Cold War?

• The development of the Atomic Bomb made the
  prospect of another World War too terrible to
  justify.
• By the 1960s both the U.S. and the Soviet Union
  had enough nuclear weapons to destroy the entire
  world.
• This threat of Mutually Assured Destruction
  (M.A.D.) resulted in a change in diplomatic
  policy on both sides.
• The Western Democracies struggled to contain
  Communism through financial aide (The Marshall
  Plan) alliances such as NATO, SEATO, and CENTO.
  
• The Soviet Bloc supported revolution and
  maintained itself through the Warsaw Pact.

7
Review Questions Sentences

1. What is the supreme ideal of Capitalism?
2. What is the supreme Ideal of Communism?
3. How did the United States suppress Communism
   within its border in the 1920s?
4. What did Stalin do at the beginning of the war
   which made the Allies distrust him?
5. Why did Stalin block the Allied goals for Germany
   and Eastern Europe after the war?
6. Why did the Soviets put a blockade around West
   Berlin?
7. How did the Allies overcome this blockade?
8. How long did Germany remain divided after World
   War II?
9. What was the primary symbol of this division?
10. What caused the superpowers (U.S. Soviets) to
    avoid a full conflict during the Cold War?

8
Reflection Essay Paragraph

• Choose any two and write an eight-sentence
  paragraph for each
• Explain how Capitalism and Communism come into
  conflict.
• Describe the most important reasons for mistrust
  between the Soviets and the Allies.
• Describe the conflict between the Soviets and the
  Allies over their goals for Europe after the war.
• Explain how nuclear weapons impacted the
  formation of diplomatic alliances at the
  beginning of the Cold War.