The Cold War Era

Cold War Vocabulary

The Emergence of Two Super Powers: The United States and Soviet Union

After World War II, several powerful nations of the past were in decline. Germany was defeated and divided. France and Britain were economically drained and needed to concentrate on rebuilding. The United States and the Soviet Union emerged from World War II as the two world Super Powers. The word SUPERPOWER has been used to describe each of the rivals that came to dominate global politics in the period after World War II. Many other states in the world came under the domination or influence of these two powers.

As the war ended, so did cooperation between the United States and the Soviet Union. In many cases, trust was broken. This chart below will go over some of the key meetings held during the war and how the countries interpreted those decisions and actions following those decisions. This tension would cause many differences in political thinking.

The Cold War originated near the end of World War II as plans for peace were made and implemented. It was a period of strain between the United States and the Soviet Union as they competed for power. The two global Super Powers, as they were known, also had significant ideological differences. Aside from tension that was caused by both vying for power, these nations also had different outlooks on politics and the economy.

Watch this google presentation below to get an overview of the first years of the Cold War along with the overview of events from this Crash Course video on the Cold War.

The Western Powers feared the spread of communism. Stalin had forced pro-communist governments in Poland, Czechoslovakia, and elsewhere. This map below shows how separated Europe was during this period. The countries became known as SATELLITES of the Soviet Union. When Stalin began to put pressure on Turkey and Greece, the U.S. took action. This interactive will give you some background into some of the events during this period and what life was like in the United States.

The Truman Doctrine

In March 1947, President Truman established a policy known as the TRUMAN DOCTRINE. This was an economic and military program designed to help other nations resist Soviet aggression. It was based on the theory of CONTAINMENT. which involved limiting communism to areas already under Soviet control. The United States pledged to resist Soviet expansion anywhere in the world. Truman sent military and economic aid to Greece and Turkey so they could resist the threat of communism.

The Marshall Plan

The Marshall Plan, also proposed in 1947, was a massive economic aid package designed to strengthen democratic governments and lesson the appeal of communism. Billions of American dollars helped Western European countries recover from World War II. Although the United States also offered this aid to Eastern Europe, Stalin forbade these countries to accept it.

The Cold War: Germany

After World War II, Germany was divided into four zones. The goal was for this division to be temporary. Soon Great Britain, France, and the U.S. combined their democratically ruled zones. Tension grew between the democratic western Germany and the Soviet controlled Eastern Germany. Germany became a major focus of Cold War tension. The Allies were trying to rebuild the Germany economy, but Stalin feared a strong, united Germany. Berlin, the divided capital was located in East Germany.

In 1948, Stalin hoped to force the Allies out of Berlin by closing all land routes from bringing in essential supplies to Western Berlin. In response, the Western powers mounted a successful airlift. For almost a year, food and supplies were flow into West Berlin. Finally, the Soviets ended the blockade.

The incident however, led to the creation of the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) in 1949. Germany, like most of Europe, remained divided. In 1961, the East German government built a wall that separated East Berlin from West Berlin. East German soldiers shot anyone who TRIED TO ESCAPE from East Germany.

Opposing military alliances

After the Berlin airlift and the division of West Germany from East Germany, Western European countries formed a military alliance. It was called the North Atlantic Treaty Organization or NATO. Members of NATO pledged to support each other if any member nation was ever attacked.

In 1955, The Soviet Union formed the Warsaw Pact. It included the Soviet Union and seven of its satellites in Eastern Europe. This was also a defensive alliance, promising mutual military cooperation. In 1956, Hungary (a communist satellite controlled by the Soviet Union) tried to break away from Soviet control. The Soviet Union sent in the army and repressed the rebellion.

Some nations chose NOT to ally with either side in the Cold War. These were known as NON-ALIGNED nations. These nations

The map below shows you the make up of NATO and the Warsaw Pact.

The Cold War: Korea

After World War II, Korea, like Germany, was divided into two parts. North Korea was occupied by Soviet forces and South Korea was occupied by American Forces. North Korean forces, seeking to unify the country under communist rule, invaded South Korea in 1950. United Nations forces, commanded by General Douglas McArthur, drove the Koreans back, invaded North Korea, and approached the Chinese border. Chinese soldiers then entered the war and pushed the UN forces back into the South. In 1953, an armistice was signed, leaving Korea divided at the 38th parallel with a demilitarized zone between the two countries. This map below shows clearly the different phases of the Korea War.

Phase 1- Pre war boundary on 38th parallel. North Korea invades South Korea seeking to unify the country under Communist Rule.

Phase 2- The United Nations with a great deal of U.S. assistance pushes the North Koreans back.

Phase 3- Chinese soldiers push U.N. forces back into South Korea.

Phase 4- Armistice is signed. A demilitarized zone is set up at the 38th parallel.

The Cold War: Vietnam

In 1954, Vietnam was temporarily divided into a northern half, ruled by communist leader, Ho Chi Minh, and a Southern half head by non-communist Ngo Dinh Diem, this is shown on the map below. Large numbers of U.S. forces were eventually sent to Vietnam to prevent Ho Chi Minh from uniting Vietnam under northern rule. American forces, however, were not able to defeat the communist forces in Vietnam. Due to guerilla tactics and a secret supply trail known as the Ho Chi Minh Trail, it was nearly impossible to the U.S. to beat the harsh conditions. In 1973, President Richard Nixon ordered a cease-fire and began to pull American forces out of Vietnam. In 1975, the North Vietnamese captured Saigon, reuniting Vietnam.

This map shows the division of Communist North Vietnam and the non-Communist South Vietnam.

This graphic is a quick summary of the major events of the Vietnam war.

The Cold War: Cuba

Cuba won independence from Spain in 1898. For 60 years, Cuba was strongly influenced by the United States. To see a timeline of the events in Cuba related to the Cold War, view this Timetoast that was created. In 1952, Fulgencio Batista seized power. His government was repressive and corrupt. Among those that opposed Batista was a young lawyer, Fidel Castro. He organized a guerrilla army and fought Batista. He gained control of Cuba making it a communist dictatorship.

Castro turned to the Soviet Union for support. Cuba became involved in the rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union. In 1961, the United States backed a plot by Cuban exiles to invade Cuba at the Bay of Pigs. However, the invading forces were quickly crushed. In 1962, The United States imposed a trade embargo on Cuba.

Angered by American interference, Castro sought closer ties with the Soviet Union. Castro allowed the Soviets to build nuclear missile sites in Cuba, just 90 miles off the coast of Florida. In 1962, President Kennedy of the U.S. demanded the removal of the missiles from Cuba and ordered a naval blockade of Cuba. This incident is known as the Cuban Missile Crisis. It ended when the Soviet leader, Nikita Khrushchev, agreed to remove the missiles in exchange for a pledge by Kennedy that the U.S. would not invade Cuba. The United States established a trade embargo with Cuba, which was heavily supported by the Soviet Union until the collapse of communism. Cuba's economy has since suffered greatly from the loss of trading partners. Watch this video on the Cuban Missile Crisis.

The Cold War: The Middle East

Rivalries over oil resources fueled Cold War tensions. The United States and the Soviet union both became interested in Iran after vast oil fields were discovered there. An Iranian nationalist leader who had communist support tried to nationalize the oil industry in the early 1950s. The United States helped to keep him in power. The United States then supported the repressive anticommunist shah of Iran with weapons and advisors. An Islamic revolution in 1979 toppled to shah's regime.

The Soviet Union meanwhile supported Iraq, which had become a socialist dictatorship in the 1960s and also had oil reserves. The Soviet Union eventually also supported governments in Syria and Libya.

Then in 1979, the Soviets invaded Afghanistan that was involved in a Civil War between a government, led by Prime Minister Amin, that favored western traditions and those that wanted a return to conservative Islamic beliefs called the Mujahdeen. The Russians claimed that they were invited by the Amin led government to suppress the "terrorist" mujahdeen.

In December 1979, the Soviets shot Amin and replaced him with Babrak Kamal. In order for the Soviets to maintain power, they had to beat the Mujadeen that by 1982 controlled 75% of Afghanistan despite fighting the second most powerful nation in the world.

The United Nations condemned the invasion of the Soviet Union into Afghanistan, but the Soviet Union vetoed the decision to withdraw. The United States put a ban on the export of grain to Soviet Union. Ended the SALT talks taking place. They boycotted the Olympic games due to being held in Moscow in 1980. Other than that, America did nothing....they did not take a hard stand.