Chapter%2018%20Cold%20War%20Conflicts

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Chapter 18Cold War Conflicts

• I. Origins of the Cold War

A. Former Allies Clash

• The U.S. and the U.S.S.R. were Allies at the end
  of World War II.
• (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics)

2. Problems had been developing between these two
nations both before and during World War II.
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a. The economic and political systems were
incompatible.

• 1) The USSR practiced Communism-the government
  owned all property and industry, no opposition
  was allowed to the government, personal freedom
  was restricted.

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2) The US believed in Democracy-private ownership
of property and businesses, free elections,
personal freedoms guaranteed.
b. The USSR had signed a nonaggression pact with
Germany in 1939.
c. The US did not officially recognize the
existence of the USSR until 16 years after the
Communist revolution.
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• d. The leader of the USSR distrusted the other
  Allies. (the US had kept the atomic bomb a
  secret)

3. In April of 1945 representatives from 50
nations met in San Francisco and agreed to form
an international peacekeeping body.
a. the charter of the United Nations was
approved in June of 1945 .
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• b. The UN headquarters was built in New York
  City.

c. The UN became a forum where both the US and
the USSR tried to spread their influence to other
nations.
B. The Potsdam Conference
1. Trumans first meeting with world leaders
after he became president was a wartime
conference of the Big Three at Potsdam, Germany
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a. Great Britain-Clement Atlee
b. US-Harry Truman
c. USSR-Joseph Stalin
2. At Potsdam, the US and GB demanded that the
Soviet Union allow free and democratic elections
in Poland and other Eastern European nations.

• 3. Soviet armies already occupied those countries
  so Stalin refused.

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1. Stalin began to take control of the governments
   in these nations.

5. These countries became known as Soviet
satellite nations dependent upon and dominated by
the Soviet Union.

1. Stalin turned Soviet industry to production of
   weapons because he believed a war between
   Communism and capitalism was inevitable. (USSR
   and US)

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C. The Policy of Containment
1. American officials adopted a policy of
containment against Communism.
2. Containment meant to block the spread of
Communist influence by forming alliances and
supporting weaker nation.
3. Winston Churchill, former prime minister of
GB, said in a speech that an iron curtain had
descended across the continent of Europe.
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• 4. Behind the iron curtain the nations in
  Eastern Europe had fallen under the domination of
  the Soviet Union.

5. Stalin called Churchills statement a call to
war.
D. The Cold War
1. The term Cold War refers to the increasing
state of tension and hostilities between the two
world superpowers-the US and USSR.
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2. These hostilities often stopped short only of
military confrontation.
3. The Cold War lasted until the breakup of the
Soviet Union in 1991 and dominated world affairs.
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• 4. The US created several programs to try to
  stop the spread of Soviet domination.

a. The Truman Doctrine stated that the US should
support free people throughout the world who were
resisting takeovers by outside pressures.
b. The Marshall Plan provided billions of
dollars in aid to provide stable governments in
Europe to resist Communism.
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E. The Struggle over Germany
1. At the end of World War II, Germany was
divided into four zones, each zone occupied by an
allied nation. (France, GB, US, USSR)
2. In 1948, France, GB, and the US joined their
three zones into one nation.
3. Berlin, the capital city was deep within the
Soviet zone of occupation, and had also been
divided into four zones.
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4. When the Allied zones rejoined, the Soviet
Union cut off all highway, water and rail traffic
into their zone.
5. Democratic West Berlin was now totally cut
off from the rest of the world by the Soviets.
a. no supplies could get in or out and the city
faced starvation.
b. Stalin believed this would force the Western
nations to give control of the city to the
Soviets.
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6. West Berlin contained 2.1 million people and
would have run out of food and fuel within five
weeks.
7. American and British officials began the
Berlin Airlift in an attempt to break the
blockade.
a. every day for 327 days, American and British
supply planes flew supplies, food, and medicine
to West Berlin.
b. a supply plane landed every three minutes 24
hours a day.
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8. American prestige around the world rose and
Soviet prestige dropped.
9. In May of 1949, the Soviets gave up and
lifted the blockade.
10. The western part of Germany formed its own
nation called West Germany with its capital of
Bonn.
11. The Soviet Union turned its zone into East
Germany with Berlin as its capital.
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F. NATO is formed.
1. The Berlin blockade increased Western
Europes fear of Soviet aggression.
2. Ten of these nations joined with the United
States and Canada in April of 1949 to form a
mutual defense agreement. (NATO)
a. Belgium
b. Denmark
c. France
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d. Great Britain
e. Iceland
f. Italy
g. Luxembourg
h. the Netherlands
i. Norway
j. Portugal
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3. Members of the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization (NATO) promised that an attack on
any one member would be considered an attack on
all.
4. This was the first time that the US had
entered into a military alliance during peacetime.
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II. The Cold War Heats Up
A. Civil War in China
1. A Civil War had started in China over
Communism.
2. They stopped their civil war in 1937 and
united to fight the Japanese.
3. After the war the country separated again
a. North-Communist led by Mao Zedong (Tse-tung)
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b. South-Nationalists (Democratic) led by Chiang
Kai-shek.
4. The US supported the Nationalists because
they were fighting Communism.
5. Eventually the Nationalists were driven from
China and fled to the island of Formosa and
formed the country of Taiwan.
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B. War in Korea
1. When World War II ended Korea was occupied by
both the Soviets and the Americans.
2. The Soviets occupied territory north of the
38th parallel and the Americans south of the 38th
parallel.
3. Both the US and the Soviets created new
governments in their territories
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a. North Korea-Communist-Kim Sung Lee-Pyongyang.
b. South Korea-Democratic-Syngman Rhee-Seoul
4. In 1949 both the Soviet Union and the US
withdrew their troops from Korea.
5. In 1950 North Korea invaded South Korea
starting the Korean War.
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6. President Truman ordered supplies and naval
and air support to prevent South Korea from
falling to Communism.
7. The UN also voted to send troops and other
forms of aid to South Korea.
a. 16 nations sent troops but the US provide 90
of the forces.
b. The UN and South Korean forces were commanded
by General Douglas MacArthur.
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C. The US Fights in Korea
1. The North Korean Army was unstoppable at
first.
2. They pushed the UN forces back into a small
zone around Pusan in SE South Korea.
3. In September of 1950 MacArthur launched a
counterattack trapping North Korean troops
between two UN forces.
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4. Half of the North Korean army surrendered and
the other half fled back across the38th parallel.
5. The UN forces had to decide whether to invade
into North Korea to unify the country
6. The UN told MacArthur to advance into North
Korea and reclaim the country. (as far as the
Chinese border)
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7. Chinese leader Zhou Enlai warned that China
would not let Americans advance that far.
8. In November of 1950 300,000 Chinese troops
crossed the border forcing UN forces to retreat.
9. For the next two years the Korean War was a
stalemate fought around the 38th parallel.
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10. General MacArthur called for the US to
extend the war to include China
a. to invade into southern China.
b. to blockade Chinese ports.
c. use atomic bombs on Chinese cities.
11. President Truman did not want to invade
China-they had an agreement with the Soviet
Union-attacking China could set off World War III.
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12. MacArthur wrote to newspapers, magazines,
and Republican leaders in an attempt to gain
support for war against China
13. Truman with unanimous approval of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff relieved MacArthur of command.
14. In November of 1951 the Soviet Union
suggested a cease-fire.
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15. Truce talks to end the war lasted two years
and had two main points
a. location of a cease fire line. (38th
parallel)
b. creation of a demilitarized zone between the
two countries.
16. Results of the Korean War.
a. Korea is divided into North Korea and South
Korea.
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b. 54, 000 Americans were killed.
c. US still has 37, 000 troops stationed in
South Korea.
III. The Cold War at Home.
A. Fear of Communist Influence.
1. In the late 1940s and early 1950s an
anti-Communist hysteria gripped the US.
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2. This widespread fear of Communists or Reds
became known as the Red Scare or the Great Fear.
3. In response to the Red Scare, President Truman
created the Loyalty Review Board which
investigated government employees and dismissed
those found to be disloyal to the US government.
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4. The House Committee on Un-American Activities
(HUAC) also investigated disloyalty to the US.
5. The HUAC became famous for its investigations
into Hollywoods movie industry.
6. The HUAC subpoenaed 43 witnesses from the
film industry.
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7. Most of these were considered to be
friendly witnesses-they cooperated with the
investigation and agreed that Communists had
infiltrated the film industry.
8. Ten witnesses were termed unfriendly-they
refused to answer the committees questions
because they believed the investigations was
unconstitutional.
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9. These ten became known as the Hollywood Ten
and were sent to prison.
10. In all over 500 actors, writers, producers,
and directors were found to have a Communist
background and blacklisted.
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B. Spy Cases in the US
1. During this period two cases of spying in the
US added to the fear of Communism.
2. The first case involved a former State
Department official named Alger Hiss.
a. a former Communist spy accused Alger Hiss of
selling secret documents to the Soviet Union.
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b. Hiss could not be tried for espionage but he
was convicted of perjury and sent to jail.
c. Congressman Richard Nixon gained national
fame for pursuing the charges against Hiss.
3. The second case was intensified by
international event.
4. In September of 1949, the Soviet Union
exploded an atomic bomb.
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5. Experts predicted that this was 3-5 years
ahead of what they should be able to do.
6. Most people believed the Soviets had stolen
secrets of how to build the bomb from the US.
7. This suspicion was confirmed in the Rosenberg
case.
a. a British physicist admitted giving the Soviet
Union information about the American atomic bomb.
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b. he implicated Ethel and Julius Rosenberg who
belonged to the American Communist Party.
c. they were found guilty and given the death
penalty.
d. they were executed in the electric chair in
1953 becoming the first US civilians to be
executed for espionage.
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C McCarthys Witch Hunt
1. The most famous anti-Communist activist was
Senator Joseph McCarthy.
2. McCarthy use fear of Communism as an issue to
be reelected in 1952.
3. McCarthy made one accusation after another
about Communists taking over the government.
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4. These attacks on suspected communists became
known as McCarthyism.
5. He accused government officials and
especially the Democratic Party of being
Communist.
6. He never produced any evidence to support his
charges.
7. A televised Senate investigation cost him
public support and he was condemned by the rest
of the Senate.
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IV. Two Nations on the Edge.
A. Brinkmanship Rules US Policy
1. After the Soviet Union successfully exploded
an atomic bomb in 1949, the US began work on a
more powerful weapon.
2. The H-bomb or hydrogen bomb would be 67 times
more powerful than the atomic bomb dropped on
Hiroshima.
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3. Within one year after the first successful US
H-bomb, the Soviets had developed one of their
own.
4. The arms race had begun.
5. The US developed a policy of brinkmanship to
deal with the possibility of nuclear war.
6. The US would promise to use all of its force
including nuclear weapons against any aggressor.
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7. We would be willing to go to the brink of war
if necessary to keep peace.
B. Other Important Events, Terms, People of the
Cold War.
1. CIA-Central Intelligence Agency created to
gather information about governments abroad.
2. Warsaw Pact-agreement between the Soviet
Union and its satellite nations.
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3. Nikita Kruschchev-head of the Soviet
Communist Party during the Cold War.
4. 1957-the Soviets developed ICBMs-Intercontinen
tal ballistic missiles capable of traveling great
distances.
5. 1957-the Soviets launch the first satellite
into orbit-Sputnik I.
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6. U2 incident-in 1960 an American U2 spy plane
was shot down 1300 miles inside of Soviet
territory-The American pilot Francis Gary Powers
was captured by the Soviets.