Cold War Origins: After being Allies during WWII, the U.S. & U.S.S.R. soon viewed each other with increasing suspicion...

Cold War Origins:After being Allies during WWII, the U.S. & U.S.S.R. soon viewed each other with increasing suspicion...

United NationsAgreed to by the “Big Three” @ the Yalta Conference (Feb. 1945); Debated for two months by 50 countries in San Francisco (April 1945)

Headquarters in NYC

GOAL:

Promote globalism

Create something stronger than the League of Nations

Recognize isolationism is a failure

UN Organization:Secretariat – oversees day-to-day programs, policies, & operations

General Assembly – Members bring ideas forward to all for open discussion

Security Council – Responsible for maintaining international peace and security; enforces rules through resolutions

Permanent Members: U.S., G.B., France, China, Russia = veto power

Economic & Social Council – 54 member countries serve on Council that conducts programs in medicine, education, and social needs

Trusteeship Council - overseas transition of colonies to independent states

International Court of Justice - judicial body of UN

Ideologies CLASH!• United States:

• Capitalism (Market economy): private citizens control almost all economic activity (ex. What to produce, who produces it, and for whom it is produced?)

• Democracy: right to vote, competing political parties

U.S.S.R.

• Communism (Command Economy): state controls all property & economic activity

• Totalitarian: one political party - the Communists; little to no rights for the citizens

Soviets Spread Communism

• WWII: Soviet troops occupied most of Eastern Europe

• USSR prevents free-elections which lead to communist governments

• 1948: these nations become "satellites" of Soviet Union (A country ruled by another nation)

• These nations serve as a buffer (security) for USSR from an invasion by Germany

Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, romania, Yugoslavia, east Germany, poland

Satellite nations (1948):

"Iron Curtain Across Europe"

• Europe was now divided into TWO political regions; a mostly democratic Western Europe and a communist Eastern Europe

• 1946: Churchill said, "An iron curtain has descended across the continent."

• The phrase "iron curtain" came to stand for the division of Europe

Division between the democratic Western Europe & communist eastern Europe

"Iron curtain" (1946):

U.S. Containment Policy

• Faced with Soviet threat, Truman decided it was time to "stop babying" the Soviets

• Containment meant the U.S. would prevent any further Soviet expansion

Truman Doctrine• Containment policy

expanded into a policy known as the Truman Doctrine in 1947

• Truman Doctrine: provided aid (money & military supplies) to support "free peoples who are resisting pressures"

• First used in Greece & Turkey (By 1950, the U.S. had given $400 mil.)

Marshall Plan• Post-war Europe was devastated

economically

• By June 1947, Secretary of State George Marshall proposed a U.S. aid package to European nations

• Western Europe accepted the help, while Eastern Europe (Stalin) rejected the aid

• Over the next 4 years...16 countries received $13 billion in U.S. aid

• By 1952 Western Europe's economy was flourishing

Struggle Over Germany

• At the end of WWII, Germany was divided into four occupation zones

• U.S., France, & Great Britain combined their 3 zones into one zone - West Germany

• U.S.S.R. controlled East Germany

• Now the superpowers were occupying an area right next to each other - problems were bound to occur

Berlin Airlift

• 1948: Soviets attempted to block the three Western powers from access to Berlin

• 2.1 million residents of Berlin had only enough food for five weeks, resulting in a dire situation!

• For 327 days, planes took off and landed every few minutes (277,000 flights) - delivering 2.3 million tons of food, fuel, & medicine to West Berlin

• Realizing they were beaten & suffering a public relations nightmare, the Soviets lifted their blockade in May 1949

NATO Formed• Berlin blockade increased Western

Europe's fear of Soviet aggression

• 1949: USSR detonates its first atomic bomb

• As a result, ten Western European nations joined the U.S. & Canada (April 1949) to form defensive alliance

• An attack against one member was an attack against all

• NATO = North Atlantic Treaty Organization

U.S., Canada, great Britain, Belgium, Denmark, france, iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, netherlands, Norway, portugal, Greece, Turkey, West Germany

Nato members (1949):

Warsaw Pact• Soviet Union responded

to NATO by setting up the Warsaw Pact (1955)

• Made up of its satellite nations

• Communist counteraction

• “Treaty of mutual friendship, co-operation and mutual assistance”

Ussr, poland, east Germany, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, romania, Bulgaria

Warsaw pact (1955):

Communism Spreads to Asia

• China becomes Communist (1949)

• U.S. supported nationalist government of Chiang Kai-shek (fought Japan in WWII)

• Gov = inefficient & corrupt

• Communist leader, Mao Zedong gained support of peasants

• Led to civil war between Nationalists & Communists

• U.S. sent $3 billion in aid (military equipment & supplies)

• Communists win...containment failed!

• Truman criticized for giving limited aid