Events of the Cold War

1
Events of the Cold War
USSR V. USA
2
What is the Cold War?

• Who was it between?
• The USA and the USSR
• What was it between?
• Capitalism and democracy vs. communism

3
Your Directions

• Your task is to summarize the events of the Cold
  War
  
• For each of the events of the Cold War, you will
  need to

• Copy the information onto your Cold War Events
  hand out
  
• Add the event onto your time line
• Add an illustration for each event
• Eventually, you will also add the events onto
  your map

4
Time Line Time!

• On your time line chart, please write the year in
  the date box
  
• 1945
• Soviet Domination of Eastern Europe

5
Soviet Domination of Eastern Europe

• After WWII, the Soviet Union set up Communist
  governments in the Eastern European countries
  that they occupied
  
• Germany was divided into two countries West
  Germany (democratic) and East Germany
  (communist)
  
• This split Europe into two regions the
  democratic West and the communist East
  
• The phrase behind the iron curtain was used to
  describe the area under communist control

6
Quick Question

• Where would you have rather lived? The East or
  the West? Why?

7

• There was much inequality between the two sides
• Less consumer goods were available to the people
  living in the East.
  
• Many citizens tried to defect to the West

8
(No Transcript)
9
Time Line Time!

• On your time line chart, please write the year in
  the date box
  
• 1949
• Rise of Communism in China

10
Rise of Communism in China

• After Japan surrendered in WWII, a civil war
  began in China between the nationalists and the
  communists
  
• The communists were lead by Mao Zedong and won
  the civil war because they had the support of the
  peasants
  
• The Peoples Republic of China was established as
  a Communist nation in 1949

11
Quick Question

• Why do you think the peasants supported the
  communists rather than the traditional Chinese
  government?

12
Time Line Time!

• On your time line chart, please write the year in
  the date box
  
• 1950s
• The Korean War

13
Korean War

• After WWII, Korea was divided along the 38th
  Parallel
  
• Communist in the north
• Non-Communist in the south

• North Korea invaded South Korea to unite the two
  under communism
  
• The US and the UN supported the South
• The USSR and China supported the North
• The war ended with neither side victorious and
  remained divided along the 38th Parallel

14
(No Transcript)
15
Quick Question

• Why is the Korean War considered part of the Cold
  War?

16
Time Line Time!

• On your time line chart, please write the year in
  the date box
  
• 1961
• Building of the Berlin Wall

17
Building of Berlin Wall

• The German capital of Berlin was split along with
  Germany
  
• The western part of Berlin was controlled by West
  Germany and the eastern part by Eastern Germany
  
• In 1948, the Soviets blocked allied access into
  West Berlin
  
• The allies responded with the Berlin Airlift
  and airlifted supplies into West Berlin

18
(No Transcript)
19
Berlin Wall

• The Soviets eventually ended the blockade, but
  Berlin was still a problem
  
• Many people living in East Berlin would flee to
  West Berlin
  
• The communists built a wall surrounding Western
  Berlin to prevent their citizens from leaving in
  1961
  
• The Berlin Wall was a physical symbol of the Cold
  War
  

20
Divided Germany
21
Divided Berlin
22
Quick Question

• How does the Berlin Wall symbolize the Cold War?

23
Time Line Time!

• On your time line chart, please write the year in
  the date box
  
• 1962
• Cuban Missile Crisis

24
Cuban Missile Crisis

• Fidel Castro lead a communist revolution in Cuba
  in 1959
  
• The USA discovered that the Cubans allowed the
  Soviets to bring missiles into Cuba 90 miles off
  the coast of Florida!
  
• The USA and UN attempted blockades and
  intervention, but the world feared nuclear war
  was imminent
  
• Eventually both sides made concessions and the
  missiles were removed. War was avoided

25
(No Transcript)
26
Quick Question

• Why was the Cuban Missile Crisis such an
  important event during the Cold War?

27
What is this cartoon saying? Who are the two men
and what are they doing?
28
Time Line Time!

• On your time line chart, please write the year in
  the date box
  
• 1965-1973
• Vietnam War

29
Vietnam War

• Like Korea, Vietnam was divided with communists
  in the north and non-communists in the south
  
• The northern communists invaded the south in
  order to make Vietnam a unified communists
  nation
  
• The US sent troops to fight against the northern
  communists and the Vietcong (communists in South
  Vietnam)
  
• The US could not defeat the North due to
  opposition at home and guerrilla warfare tactics
  
• The US withdrew their forces and North Vietnam
  unified the country under communism

30
(No Transcript)
31
Quick Question

• Why is the Vietnam War considered part of the
  Cold War?

32
Time Line Time!

• On your time line chart, please write the year in
  the date box
  
• 1960s
• Revolutionary Movements in Africa

33
Revolutionary Movements in Africa

• Nationalists movements increased and strengthened
  in Africa after WWII
  
• European countries feared independent African
  nations would allow communism to grow
  
• Many African countries fought for their
  independence and freedom from the oppressive
  colonial rule of Europeans

34
Quick Question

• Why did European countries fear independent
  African nations could lead to communism in Africa?

35
Time Line Time!

• On your time line chart, please write the year in
  the date box
  
• 1950s-1980s
• Development of New Military, Nuclear, and Space
  Technology
  

36
Development of New Military, Nuclear, and Space
Technology

• The USA and USSR also competed for global
  domination through their arms and space races
  
• Both countries built up their militaries,
  armaments and nuclear weapons
  
• This competition would continue until the very
  end of the Cold War

37
Development of New Military, Nuclear, and Space
Technology

• The Soviets were the first to launch a satellite
  (Sputnik) into outer space
  
• In response, the USA created the National
  Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
  
• The USA quickly launched their own satellite and
  eventually landed the first men on the moon in
  1969

38
Quick Question

• What could these new developments lead to? What
  concerns would you have?

39
Time Line Time!

• On your time line chart, please write the year in
  the date box
  
• 1950s-1980s
• Threat of Nuclear Annihilation

40
Threat of Nuclear Annihilation

• The USA and the USSR both had nuclear weapons by
  the 1950s
  
• By the 1960s the countries developed nuclear
  missiles
  
• Both sides continued to produce more and more
  nuclear weapons
  
• The world lived with the threat of nuclear
  annihilation
  
• If the cold war turned hot there was a
  realistic possibility that the world could be
  destroyed
  

41
Quick Question

• Do you think the two sides were willing to use
  the nuclear weapons? Why or why not?