The Early Cold War

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The Early Cold War
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Conflict in Europe

• Western Allies were democracies with capitalist
  market systems
• Soviet Union was a socialist state led by the
  Communist party.
• Western Allies did not want to occupy the
  territory that they had conquered
• Soviet Union decided it must maintain control
  over Eastern Europe

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Iron Curtain

• A shadow has now fallen an iron curtain had
  descended across the continent. ---- Winston
  Churchill
• The term Iron Curtain became the common term used
  to refer to the dividing line between eastern and
  western Europe

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U.S Post War Policies in Europe

• U.S Diplomat George Kennan recommended that the
  U.S should focus on containment of Communism in
  the countries where it existed.
• Truman Doctrine stated that the U.S would not
  hesitate to intervene and aid nations to resist
  communism

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U.S Post War Policies in Europe

• Truman Doctrine also featured a financial plan to
  rebuild Europe physically and economically.
• The Marshall Plan gave financial support to war
  torn Nations and sparked an economic revival and
  prosperity in those countries.
• Lack of economic hardship closed the door to
  Communist revolutionaries.
• Crowning achievement of the containment policy

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A Divided Germany

• When World War II ended, the Allies divided
  Germany among themselves
• The German capital of Berlin, though in the
  Soviet section, was also divided.
• The Allies saw the division as temporary, but
  Stalin had no intention of giving up the eastern
  section of the country or Berlin

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A Divided Germany

• By 1948, The Allies realized that Stalin would
  not relent, so they combined their sectors into
  one nation- The Federal Republic of Germany (West
  Germany)
• The U.S.S.R. responded by establishing the German
  Democratic Republic ( East Germany)

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A Divided Germany

• People began to flee the Communist controlled
  section of Berlin to make their way to freedom.
• To stop this, Stalin decided to force the West to
  surrender its portion of Berlin.
• He cut off the city, not allowing the needed
  supplies to reach Berlin.

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Berlin Air Lift

• To avoid war, yet deal firmly with Stalin, Truman
  authorized the Berlin Airlift
• Over 15 months, British and American plans
  delivered the needed supplies to the West Berlin.
  
• Soviets gave up in May of 1949, but this was the
  first event in the Cold War.

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Cold War

• This refers to the tension between the United
  States and the Soviet Union that dominated both
  nations foreign policies and which many feared
  would lead to actual war.

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Chinas Communist Revolution

• Prior to the Japanese invasion during WWII,
  Nationalist leader, Chiang Kai-shek ruled China.
• The communist were headed by Mao Tse-tung
• After WWII, tensions sparked again.
• The U.S. backed the Nationalist
• The U.S.S.R. backed the Communist

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Chinas Communist Revolution

• By 1949, Maos forces controlled the mainland and
  Chiangs forces had retreated to the island of
  Taiwan.
• The U.S. used its veto power at the U.N. to stop
  Maos government from being recognized as the
  official China.

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Korean War

• Japan had occupied Korea during WWII
• The U.S. and U.S.S.R. divided the nation along
  the 38º parallel.
• Democracy in the South Communist in the North.
• The Korean war started when the Communist crossed
  the 38º parallel

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Korean War

• The United Nations elected to come to the aid of
  South Korea
• General Douglas MacArthur was chosen to lead the
  U.N. forces.
• Never a declared war but a U.N. police action
• MacArthur pushed the Communist back very close to
  the Chinese Border

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Korean War

• Chinese wanted to maintain a communist government
  in North Korea, so they sent troops to help
• A stalemate soon developed
• Truman fires MacArthur for criticizing his
  handling of the war.
• Both signed a truce in 1953 that left the country
  divided.

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Attitudes at Home

• The U.S. and USSR were engaged in a nuclear arms
  race in which both sides continually built
  updated weapons aimed at one another
• Private citizens built fallout shelters
• Schools taught duck and cover in the event of a
  missile strike

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Attitudes at Home

• People were convinced that the Communist would
  stop at nothing less than world domination.
• This fear found its way into the government where
  it conducted investigations into peoples private
  lives
• This was known as the Red Scare

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Government Policies Dealing with Communism

• Truman established the Department of Defense
• The National Security Council to coordinate
  national security policy
• The Central Intelligence Agency to spy on the
  USSR and its allies
• Congress established the House Un-American
  Activities Committee

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House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC)

• Purpose was to root out communist in the Federal
  Government
• Albert Hiss was accused of giving the Soviets
  classified info during the 1930s
• He denied the charge but was convicted of perjury
  and sent to prison.
• They also targeted Hollywood People and many
  actors were blacklisted because of suspected
  communist activity

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Joseph McCarthy

• Wisconsin Senator
• Convinced that communist had infiltrated high
  levels of the government and military.
• By 1954, people viewed him as paranoid if not
  crazy
• McCarthyism the fear of communism promoted by
  him began to diminish

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Effects of the GI Bill

• GI stands for government issue
• Servicemens Readjustment Act
• Provided military veterans with job priority,
  money for education, training, and loans for
  purchasing homes and property
• Caused a social revolution!

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Effects of the GI Bill

• For the first time, average people could afford
  to buy their own homes.
• Developers like William Levitt built entire
  communities of new houses.
• He built his homes quickly and efficiently
• His developments became known as Levittown's

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Effects of the GI Bill

• The nation experienced a population explosion
  known as the Baby Boom.
• These babies would be your grandparents!
• The GI Bill also had a lasting effect on
  Education most people before the war did not
  get a college education.
• The middle class grew as college education
  translated into better paying jobs.

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National Highway Act

• Concerns about a possible nuclear act led
  President Eisenhower to support the National
  Highway Act.
• Called for the construction of a federal
  interstate highway system
• Interstates were designed to rapidly move
  military troops and personnel
• Caused an expansion of Suburbs

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Prosperity and Consumerism

• People had not been able to spend their money
  during the War.
• During the 1940s and 1950s the nation once again
  became a consumer society.
• People began to use credit cards and stopped
  saving
• Shopping becomes a popular past time.

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The Impact of Television

• Television changed the way people were
  entertained. They no longer had to go to the
  movies.
• Shows like I Love Lucy became regular parts of
  peoples weekly schedule
• Television also changed Politics

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Kennedy- NixonPresidential Debate

• First televised debate in history.
• People who listened on the radio thought that
  Nixon had won
• People who watched on TV though Kennedy looked
  more presidential.
• Kennedy defeats Nixon in one of the closest
  presidential races in history

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The Impact of Television

• Revolutionized Media coverage.
• People could now see events happen instead of
  reading an account in the newspaper or listen to
  it on the radio
• Showing the violence of the Civil Rights Movement
  changed peoples opinions
• Vietnam was the first war fought in peoples
  living rooms.

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The Space Race

• The Russians launched Sputnik in 1957, the first
  artificial satellite to orbit the earth.
• The U.S eagerly entered the Space race
  competition with the Soviet Union to gain the
  upper-hand in space travel and technology
• 1961, The Soviet Union launched the first manned
  space flight Yuri Gagarin first cosmonaut

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The Space Race

• President Kennedy issued a challenge to the U.S.
  to put a man on the moon before the end of the
  1960s
• NASA, National Aeronautics and Space
  Administration sent John Glen into space a year
  later.
• Seven years later 1969, Neil Armstrong became the
  first man to walk on the moon.

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The Eisenhower Doctrine

• Eisenhower was elected in 1952 concerned about
  the spread of communism and Soviet aggression.
• Believed in the Domino Theory if one nation
  fell to communism its neighbors would soon fall
  as well.
• Eisenhower saw to it that the CIA overthrew the
  pro- Communist leader of Iran and restored the
  pro-US Shah of Iran

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Eisenhower Doctrine

• 1957, the president stated that the United States
  would not hesitate to aid any country in the
  Middle East that asked for help resisting
  communist aggression.

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Eisenhower and Khrushchev

• Nikita Khrushchev became Soviet leader following
  the death of Stalin in 1953.
• Tensions of Berlin increased when the Soviets
  demanded that western powers withdraw
• Khrushchev visited Washington D.C. to negotiate
  and invited Eisenhower to Moscow

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U-2 Incident

• A U.S. U-2 spy plane was shot down over the
  Soviet Union.
• Soviets withdraw their invitation to the
  President.
• Eisenhower refused to apologize for the incident

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Bay of Pigs

• Fidel Castro overthrew the Cuban government in
  1959.
• He allied himself with the Soviet Union and
  seized American property.
• Eisenhower breaks off relations with Cuba and
  authorized the CIA to train Cuban exiles for an
  invasion.

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Bay of Pigs

• President Kennedy is elected and authorizes the
  go ahead of the operation.
• The invasion landed at the Bay of Pigs in 1961.
• Turned out to be a terrible failure and a huge
  embarrassment for the president.

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Berlin Wall

• The Soviets were determined to stop the flow of
  refugees from East Germany into West Berlin.
• The Soviet Union built a wall that separated the
  communist East from the Democratic west.
• It stood for more than 25 years as a symbol of
  the cold war.

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The Cuban Missile Crisis

• Castro feared another invasion by America
• Castro allowed the Soviet Union to put nuclear
  missiles in Cuba- 90 miles from Florida.
• 1962, Spy planes spotted the missiles and Kennedy
  ordered a blockade of the Island.
• For Thirteen days the world watched as the US and
  USSR stared each other down.

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The Cuban Missile Crisis

• Soviets agreed to remove missiles for assurances
  that the US would not invade Cuba.
• Secretly, the US said it would remove nuclear
  missiles that it had it Turkey
• Fidel Castro is the worlds longest ruling leader
  in the world. (Over 50 years)

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Vietnam

• Former French Colony that sought independence
  after WWII
• Concerned the US because of the Vietnamese
  Nationalist communist ties
• Geneva Accords 1954- divided the nation into two
  countries.
• Communist controlled North South pro-democracy
  led by corrupt leader.

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Vietnam US involvement begins

• Eisenhower and Kennedy sent military advisors to
  assist the South against the North and Communist
  rebels in the South, known as the Viet Cong
• Kennedy looked into how to get Americans out of
  Vietnam
• Kennedy is assassinated before this happens.

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Vietnam- US involvement

• Lyndon Johnson takes over as president and vows
  to not allow the communist to get Vietnam
• An escalation of war begins
• Johnson elected in 1964 by down playing his own
  intentions to escalate the war.

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Vietnam- US Involvement

• Gulf of Tonkin Incident Vietnamese had attacked
  US. Ships!?!?
• Gulf of Tonkin Resolution gave the president
  the authority to take all measures to repel any
  armed attack against the US
• Declaration of War never made.

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U.S. War Effort in Vietnam

• South Vietnamese were drawn to the Norths cause.
• Key to the Viet Congs efforts were the supplies
  that came through the Ho Chi Minh Trail.
• Johnson ordered an intense bombing campaign named
  Operation Rolling Thunder
• U.S Dropped more bombs than were dropped by us in
  WWII.

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U.S War Effort in Vietnam

• U.S did not bomb certain military targets for
  fear of starting a war with China and USSR
• Critics said, Johnson is quick to send US
  soldiers to fight but then would not let them win
  once they got there.
• Between 1965 and 1968, American presence greatly
  increased.

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Tet Offensive

• In 1968, the Viet Cong launched a major
  coordinated attack against South Vietnam and the
  US
• It was known as the Tet offensive
• The Viet Cong were eventually turned back , but
  they won a psychological victory
• It caused people back home to question how the
  war was being conducted.

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Nixon and the End of US Involvement

• Nixon had promised to reduce the number of troops
  in Vietnam
• He combined this with more bombing of Vietnam,
  Cambodia, and Laos
• In 1970, Nixon ordered troops to invade Cambodia
  to destroy a training camp
• He did not expect these moves to win the war, but
  to put us in a better bargaining position.

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Nixon and the End of US Involvement

• 1973 Paris Peace Accords ended U.S. involvement
  in Vietnam
• Called for
• Withdrawal of U.S. troops from Vietnam in 60 days
• The release of war prisoners
• All military activity would end in Cambodia and
  Laos
• The 17th Parallel would continue to divide North
  and South

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End of US Involvement

• Following the US withdrawal, fighting quickly
  resumed
• Spring of 1975, North Vietnamese forces
  surrounded Siagon
• April 29, 1975, US military carries out a last
  minute evacuation of the city
• Vietnam fell to the communist the next day
• To this day, Vietnam is the only war that America
  lost.

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Attitudes at Home about the War

• Some Americans supported the war, but were angry
  at the government for limiting the militarys
  ability to win the war.
• Other Americans thought the war was criminal and
  protested loudly about it.
• President Johnsons approval ratings plummeted
  and he decided not to run in 1968

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Attitudes at Home about the War

• College campuses became places of protests
  against the war.
• Students For a Democratic Society launched
  protest against the war and supported social
  causes and civil rights

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Kent State

• By invading Cambodia, Nixon set off a firestorm
  of protest
• Kent State University the protest turned violent
• Protestors attacked businesses and burned the
  ROTC building on campus
• Governor of Ohio sent in the National Guard

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Kent State

• Students started throwing rocks at the guardsmen.
  The guardsmen retreated to higher ground and
  began firing on the students
• Guardsmen killed four students and injured nine
  others.

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Pentagon Papers

• Another factor that caused public support to
  dwindle was the publishing of the Pentagon Papers
  in the NY Times.
• They showed that the executive branch had lied to
  Congress concerning the war Presidents had made
  secret decisions and undertaking unapproved
  military actions

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Pentagon Papers

• The U.S. Government actually sued the NY Times
  for publishing the story.
• The Supreme Court ruled that the times had done
  nothing wrong and that the paper had the right
  under the First Amendment to publish the articles.

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The Troops Come Home

• The return of US soldiers caused almost as much
  division as the war itself.
• Some appreciated the efforts of their soldiers
  and saw them as returning heroes.
• Others viewed them as having participated in an
  unjust war against a third world country

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The Troops Come Home

• Others felt let down and were unsure why the US
  had gone in the first place.
• The US appeared to by limping out of Vietnam
• The soldiers bravery and sacrifice was
  overshadowed by controversy and disgust.
• Many who returned suffered from health effects,
  mental trauma and drug addictions.