Outcome 2.1-cold-war-introduction

PAG

E 1

WWW.NICKJORDAN.CA

HORTON HIGH SCHOOL 2014GLOBAL HISTORY 12

Unit 2 – The Cold War

PAG

E 2

Causes of the Cold WarSoviet Union vs. United States

Bomb Envy US and USSR had no one to compete against

After the battle of Stalingrad in Europe and the Battle of the Midway in the Pacific, the Axi s Powers were steadily in retreat and victory for the Allies was certain. Ironically at the first signs of victory the wartime Alliance of the USSR, the UK and the USA became increasingly strained. What were the issues?

Atomic Race

No retreating for the U.S.

World Police?

Communism vs Democracy

IdeologiesBi Polar

PAG

E 3

Why the Tension?Soviet Union vs. United States

Soviet dislike of Soviet expansion in Eastern Europe

There were a variety of other reasons why the two Super Powers were not fond of each other.

Capitalism

Soviets feared an American invasion. This was a

mutual fear.

Attack

Soviets wanted to secure their Western border

SecurityExpansion

PAG

E 4

Soviet Justification of DistrustThe Soviet Union believed they had good reason to distrust the West

Western Opposition to Bolsheviks

In 1919, Russia’s former World War I allies (Britain, France and the United States) joined the "White Russians" to fight off the Bolsheviks following the revolution.

This intervention failed and the Red Army of the

Bolsheviks secured the power of the new Soviet

state. The young USSR government never quite

trusted the western democracies after that.

The Bolsheviks won

PAG

E 5

Soviet Justification of Distrust

Soviet Perspective

The Soviet Union believed they had good reason to distrust the West

So What?

Disregard for Soviet Diplomatic Goals

The western democracies did not invite the Soviet Union to participate in the World War I peace talks or the League of Nations.

The Soviets saw this as a slap in the face and proved that the West was not

interested in listening to them or seeing them as an equal.

PAG

E 6

Soviet Justification of Distrust

Soviet Perspective

The Soviet Union believed they had good reason to distrust the West

So What?

West Did Not Aid in Spanish Civil War

The west did not aid the Republicans fighting the fascists in the Spanish Civil War. The Soviets had to pay a heavy price to

fight the rise of fascism without help from the West.

PAG

E 7

Soviet Justification of DistrustThe Soviet Union believed they had good reason to distrust the West

So What?

USSR Not Invited to Munich Conference

The west did not invite the Soviets to the Munich Conference which decided the fate of Czechoslovakia in the years leading up to World War II, even though the Soviet Union had a security pact with Czechoslovakia.

The Soviets saw this as a threat to their territory and West not including them in

important discussions.

PAG

E 8

Western Distrust of the Soviets

The avowed purpose of the International Communist

Party was to secure world wide communist

revolution. There was a great fear of socialism in

Europe and America.

COMMUNISTS

The Soviets negotiated an agreement with Hitler

and annexed eastern Poland.

By the end of the war Britain and the United States distrusted the Soviet

motives in eastern Europe.

POLAND EMPIRE BUILDING

The Soviets were necessary Allies but not necessarily trustworthy.

PAG

E 9

Germany DividedGLOBAL HISTORY 12

The separation of Berlin began in 1945 after the collapse of Germany.

The country was divided into four zones, where each superpower controlled a

zone. In 1946, reparation agreements broke down between the Soviet and

Western zones. Response of the West was to merge French, British, and

American zones in 1947.

SEPARATION OF BERLIN

PAG

E 1

0

Protect the Western FrontGLOBAL HISTORY 12

It was agreed that the Soviet Union would have the greatest influence in eastern Europe, where

Soviet troops were concentrated.

They already occupied Poland, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary and parts of Czechoslovakia

and Yugoslavia, and it would have been difficult to come to an agreement which involved

removing these troops.

Roosevelt agreed because he had little choice.

SOVIET SPHERE OF INFLUENCE

PAG

E 1

1

The Iron CurtainGLOBAL HISTORY 12

Finally, it was agreed that independent governments would be established in

these lands, and that elections would be free, but the governments would be

"friendly to the Soviet Union."

This is the beginning of what British Prime Minster Winston Churchill would

later call the "Iron Curtain" which divided Europe for

45 years.

Governments friendly to the Soviets

PAG

E 1

2

Different VisionsGLOBAL HISTORY 12

ROOSEVELT´S KEY POST-WAR AIMS

• INTERNATIONAL PEACE AND CO-OPERATION (UNITED NATIONS)

• NO FORMAL SPHERES OF INFLUENCE• SPREAD OF DEMOCRACY (FREE SPEECH, FREE

ELECTIONS)• FREE TRADE (OPEN DOOR)• RECONSTRUCTION OF WORLD ECONOMY

(IMF, WORLD BANK)

DIFFERENT AGENDAS

STALIN´S KEY POST-WAR AIMS

• CO-OPERATION WITH AMERICA• RUSSIAN SECURITY• SPHERE OF INFLUENCE ON SOVIET PERIMETER• RESTORATION OF RUSSIA´S 1914 BORDERS• LIMITING GERMAN POWER• ECONOMIC RECONSTRUCTION OF SOVIET UNION

PAG

E 1

3

Different VisionsGLOBAL HISTORY 12

• Capitalism (USA) Communism (USSR)• Limited government Strong central state

• Multi party politics One party government

• Individual rights • Free enterprise economy A command economy

• Open society Closed society

PAG

E 1

4

Different VisionsGLOBAL HISTORY 12

Political Spectrum

The political spectrum is a concept for representing different political stances in relation to one another.

At its most basic, the political spectrum consists of a line or continuum from left to right, with varying shades of opinion in-between. Some people, particularly those at the far sides of the spectrum, will tend to simplify it futher to be just two positions; left or right, with no room for compromise. More realistic ways of assembling a political spectrum tend to be far more complex, but the single dimensional spectrum from "left" to "right" is the most commonly used and most popular.

PAG

E 1

5

Different VisionsGLOBAL HISTORY 12

Political Spectrum

Communism -- Social Democracy -- Liberalism -- Conservatism --- Fascism

PAG

E 1

6

Different VisionsGLOBAL HISTORY 12

Political Spectrum

Communism -- Social Democracy -- Liberalism -- Conservatism --- Fascism

DEFINITIONS: THE POLITICAL "ISMS"Communisma form of socialism that abolishes private ownershipa political theory favoring collectivism in a classless society

Conservatisma political or theological orientation advocating the preservation of the best in society and opposing radical changes

Democracy a political system in which the supreme power lies in a body of citizens who can elect people to represent them

PAG

E 1

7

Different VisionsGLOBAL HISTORY 12

Political Spectrum

Fascisma political theory advocating an authoritarian hierarchical government (as opposed to democracy or liberalism)

Liberalisma political orientation that favors social progress by reform and by changing laws rather than by revolutionan economic theory advocating free competition and a self-regulating market

Socialisma political theory advocating state ownership of industry

Totalitarianisma form of government in which the ruler is an absolute dictator (not restricted by a constitution or laws or opposition etc.)the principle of complete and unrestricted power in government

PAG

E 1

8

Who’s Who?Who were the main historical figures in the Cold War Era

Soviet Union

Winston Churchill Harry Truman Joseph Stalin

United StatesGreat Britain

PAG

E 1

9

Winston Churchill

Great Britain

Winston Churchill (1874-1965) served as the prime minister of Great Britain from 1940 to 1945 and again from 1951 to 1955. He led Britain's fight against Nazi Germany in World War II.

Churchill was a talented orator, giving many stirring speeches to boost national morale during the war. A close friend of American presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman, Churchill hoped to join the Americans in building a postwar order that limited Soviet leader Josef Stalin's ability to dominate European affairs.

When war broke out in 1939, Churchill became first lord of the Admiralty. In May 1940, Neville Chamberlain resigned as prime minister and Churchill took his place. His refusal to surrender to Nazi Germany inspired the country. Churchill is often referred to as the greatest orator of the 20th century. The speeches he made during the summer of 1940 established the policy of 'no surrender', and made people feel they were not alone in the struggle against Hitler. He worked tirelessly throughout the war, building strong relations with US President Roosevelt while maintaining a sometimes difficult alliance with the Soviet Union.

PAG

E 2

0

Winston Churchill

Great Britain

British voters turned Churchill out of office in 1945, but he carried on in his efforts to build a strong anti-Soviet consensus in the West. In a famous 1946 speech delivered in Missouri, Churchill warned that the Soviet Union had built an "Iron Curtain" to divide Soviet-dominated Eastern Europe from the West. He thus coined one of the most defining terms of the Cold War era.

PAG

E 2

1

Harry Truman

United States

Harry S. Truman (1884-1972) became the 33rd President of the United States upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt in April 1945.

Truman, who had only a high-school education and had been vice president for just 82 days before FDR's sudden death, inherited the monumental task of leading the United States through the end of World War II and the beginning of the Cold War. Truman—who was, while in office, one of the least popular presidents in modern American history—won a surprising second term by defeating Republican Thomas Dewey in the election of 1948. Many historians today rate Truman's performance much more positively than did his constituents at the time.

PAG

E 2

2

Harry Truman

United States

Truman served as president of the United States and, therefore, Commander in Chief of the United States military during the final months of World War II. Under his command, the U.S. dropped two atomic bombs—the first to be used in warfare—on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, effectively ending the war. For many Americans, Truman's legacy as the nation's leader centers on these controversial decisions.

PAG

E 2

3

Joseph Stalin

Soviet Union

Josef Stalin (1878-1953) served as the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee from 1922 until his death in 1953. Initially, Stalin's role in the Committee was limited, but he gradually accumulated power and became the Party's leader and absolute ruler of the Soviet Union. Under his leadership, the Soviet Union played a major role in the defeat of Hitler's Germany during World War II.

PAG

E 2

4

Joseph Stalin

Soviet Union

Several years into World War II, Russian dictator Josef Stalin demanded the immediate assistance of the Allied nations, believing—rightly so—that his nation bore the brunt of the war against Germany. Stalin realized that without help, Germany would triumph. President Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill agreed to limited cooperation with Stalin, concluding that Nazi Germany was, in fact, far worse a threat than Communist Russia. In return, Stalin pledged his aid in the war against Japan once Germany had been defeated.

PAG

E 2

5

Who’s Who?Who were the main historical figures in the Cold War Era

Soviet Union

Nikita Krushchev Leonid Brezhnev

Mikhail Gorbachev

Soviet UnionSoviet Union

PAG

E 2

6

Nikita Krushchev

Soviet Union

Khrushchev was leader of the Soviet Union from 1955 until 1964, succeeding Joseph Stalin. He presided over the Cuban Missile Crisis.Stalin died in March 1953. Khrushchev became leader of the party shortly afterwards, but it took him several years to consolidate his position. In February 1956, he made a secret speech to the 20th Party Congress, denouncing Stalin. It caused a sensation in the Communist Party and in the West, although Khrushchev failed to mention his own role in the Stalinist terror.

PAG

E 2

7

Nikita Krushchev

Soviet Union

1] Initiated a campaign of 'de-Stalinisation’ to improve Soviet living standards and allow greater freedom in cultural and intellectual life.

2] In relations with the West, Khrushchev's period in office was marked by a series of crises:

- the shooting down of an American U2 spy-plane over the Soviet Union in 1960- the building of the Berlin Wall in 1961 and, most significantly- the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, which brought the world to the brink of nuclear war.

Despite this, Khrushchev also attempted to pursue a policy of co-existence with the West.

PAG

E 2

8

Leonid Brezhnev

Soviet Union

Brezhnev was the driving force in the Soviet government for 18 years, leading the Soviet Union during much of the Cold War Era. His government took part in the Arms Race with the United States building up huge stockpiles of nuclear weapons. In 1971 he instituted a thawing of relations with the US termed "détente". This included signing the SALT I agreement in 1972 in an effort to reduce nuclear arms as well as meeting with US President Richard Nixon

As leader, Brezhnev was able to stay in power for many years. This was because he was a great politician. He worked with his fellow leaders, listened to them, and made sure they agreed on major decisions.

PAG

E 2

9

Leonid Brezhnev

Soviet Union

Domestic Policy - Brezhnev's government had a policy of repression. He clamped down on cultural freedoms including freedom of speech and the press. He also largely ignored the economy, building a massive nuclear arsenal and army that, over the long term, nearly crippled the Soviet economy.

Vietnam War – was already ongoing when he took office. He supported North Vietnam until their victory

Afghanistan War - Brezhnev made the decision to send Soviet troups in 1979. The war drug on for years and eventually became his country’s Vietnam.

PAG

E 3

0

Mikhail Gorbachev

Soviet Union

Mikhail Gorbachev was the last General Secretary of the Soviet Union. Appointed in 1985, Gorbachev's domestic reforms and nuclear disarmament deals helped end the Cold War but ultimately led to the dramatic downfall of communism in Europe.

PAG

E 3

1

Mikhail Gorbachev

Soviet Union

Becomes General Secretary of the Soviet UnionBy the 1980s the Soviet economy was in drastic need of reform. In 1985, after three elderly leaders died in quick succession, Gorbachev, a protégé of former Soviet leader Yuri Andropov, was appointed General Secretary and head of the Soviet Union. At 54 he was one of the youngest leaders and was seen as the new broom that could clean up the decrepit Soviet system.

Glasnost and PerestroikaGorbachev hinged his efforts to revitalise the Soviet Union on two plans: glasnost (meaning openness) and perestroika (meaning restructuring). By relaxing bureaucracy and censorship Gorbachev hoped to transform the Stalinist Soviet regime into a more modern social democracy. While glasnost was widely celebrated, his attempts to restructure the Soviet economy largely floundered.

PAG

E 3

2

Mikhail Gorbachev

Soviet Union

Nuclear summitsGorbachev saw that vast sums of money were being poured into the military to keep up with the US. Desperate to free up this money, Gorbachev fostered a warmer relationship with the West. In a series of high-profile summits Gorbachev met President Reagan and the two men made important nuclear disarmament agreements. The thaw in relations effectively signalled the end of the Cold War.

The rise of nationalismInspired by glasnost, and comforted by Gorbachev’s refusal to use military power, several Warsaw Pact nations and Soviet republics declared their intentions to free themselves from Communist rule. By the end of his tenure the Berlin Wall had been pulled down and large republics such as Ukraine, Belorussia and Lithuania had declared their independence.

PAG

E 3

3

Mikhail Gorbachev

Soviet Union

The August CoupIn 1991 reactionary hard-liners in the Communist Party, fearing the collapse of the Soviet Union, attempted to remove Gorbachev. Imprisoned in his dacha holiday home in the Crimea Gorbachev listened on the radio as the military attempted to seize control of the Russian parliament. Thwarted by the efforts of Russian President Boris Yeltsin and mass protests the coup failed. Gorbachev returned to Moscow but soon realised that the balance of power and popular support had shifted to Yeltsin.

PAG

E 3

4

Mikhail Gorbachev

Soviet Union

The end of the Soviet UnionAfter the failed coup Yeltsin struck two blows that effectively ended the Soviet Union – and in the process the career of Gorbachev. First, as President of Russia, he banned all Communist Party activity on Russian soil. Secondly he, along with the presidents of Ukraine and Belorussia, signed a treaty to create a new commonwealth of republics. Without these key nations the Soviet Union was defunct. Gorbachev recognised the inevitable and resigned.

PAG

E 3

5

Who’s Who?Who were the main historical figures in the Cold War Era

United States

John F Kennedy Richard Nixon Ronald Regan

United StatesUnited States

PAG

E 3

6

John F. Kennedy

United States

John F. Kennedy (1917-1963) was the 35th president of the United States. Elected in 1960 at the age of 43, he became the youngest person ever to be voted into the White House. Kennedy served from 1961 until his assassination in November 1963. To this day, many Americans remember Kennedy as an idealistic champion of freedom at home and abroad, despite the fact that his policies on civil rights, on Vietnam and Cuba failed to live up to his soaring rhetoric.

PAG

E 3

7

John F. Kennedy

United States

In 1960, Kennedy won the party's presidential nomination and defeated Richard Nixon in the subsequent election that same year. He was the country's youngest president as well as its first Catholic head of state. He presented himself as a youthful president for a new generation. His wife Jackie added glamour to the presidency, although it was later revealed that he had numerous affairs.

PAG

E 3

8

John F. Kennedy

United States

Kennedy's years in power were marked in foreign affairs by Cold War tension, together with a rhetorical commitment to introducing domestic reforms - most of all to expanding the civil rights of African Americans.He inherited a plan that was devised under the preceding Eisenhower presidency for anti-communist Cuban exiles in the US to invade Cuba and overthrow Fidel Castro’s governments. In April 1961, ‘The Bay of Pigs invasion ended in embarrassing failure.

PAG

E 3

9

Richard Nixon

United States

Richard Nixon was the 37th president of the United States and is the only one to resign from office, following the Watergate scandal. His presidency was also marked by the first moon landings.

In 1952, at the age of 39, Nixon was selected by Dwight Eisenhower to be his running mate in Eisenhower's presidential campaign. They won a resounding victory. As vice president, Nixon frequently stood in for Eisenhower at home and on trips abroad. Nixon and Eisenhower easily won re-election in 1956.

Nixon was nominated as the Republican candidate to run for president in 1960, but lost by a narrow margin to John F Kennedy.

PAG

E 4

0

Richard Nixon

United States

He returned to his former career as a lawyer. In 1968, he again received the Republican Party's nomination and won the presidential election.

The most important issue facing Nixon when he became president was the war in Vietnam. He began to withdraw American troops, but in April 1970, authorised the invasion of Cambodia to pursue North Vietnamese troops. Simultaneously, Nixon pursued a policy of improving relations with China and the Soviet Union, and in 1972 he visited both Beijing and Moscow.Later the same year, Nixon was re-elected president in a landslide victory. In January 1973, a ceasefire was signed between the US and North Vietnam.

During the 1972 election campaign there was a break-in at the offices of the Democratic Party's national headquarters in the Watergate complex in Washington DC. Five men connected with Nixon's campaign team were arrested. Evidence of a cover-up was gradually uncovered and President Nixon was himself implicated. On 8 August 1974, following months of a growing sense of scandal, he announced his resignation. Vice President Gerald Ford was sworn in as president.

PAG

E 4

1

Ronald Regan

United States

Reagan was 40th President of the United States, regarded as a key figure in the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War.

By the early 1960s Reagan was closely associated with the Republican Party and in 1966, he won the governorship of California. He was re-elected in 1970. In 1980, he was elected president, serving two four-year terms. Reagan presided over a period of economic growth in the 1980s, and over the beginning of the end of the Soviet Union. In his final year in office, however, he visited Moscow for a summit meeting with the Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev. Reagan's supporters credit Reagan's anti-Soviet rhetoric and increased defence spending as a key factor in bringing the Cold War to an end, because it forced the USSR to recognise it could not compete with the American-led capitalist west.