The Cold War

Glossary and Terms

Arms Race - A competition between the United States and the Soviet Union to manufacture the most nuclear weapons. They also tried to outdo each other in weapons technology and defense.

Capitalism - An economic system based on private ownership (rather than government ownership) and the free market system.

Communism - An economic system based on government ownership and control of resources.

Détente - A softening or easing of relations between the United States and the Soviet Union. It started around 1971 and included President Nixon's visit to Moscow as well as the SALT talks. It ended when the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1979.

Eastern Bloc - The Eastern Bloc was a name given to the Soviet Union and its communist controlled states in Eastern Europe such as Poland, East Germany, and Bulgaria.

Eisenhower Doctrine - The Eisenhower Doctrine stated that a country could ask for military support from the United States if it was threatened by another country. It was based on a speech President Eisenhower gave to Congress and was a warning to the Soviet Union.

Glasnost - Glasnost was a policy introduced by Mikhail Gorbachev that allowed for more openness in the Soviet government as well as some level of freedom of speech.

Iron Curtain - The iron curtain was a descriptive term or symbol used to describe the border between the communist and democratic countries of Europe. The idea of the iron curtain was that it kept information and people from crossing from the communist east to the democratic west.

Marxism - Marxism is an economic and political philosophy named after its author German philosopher Karl Marx. It is the basis of many communist governments.

McCarthyism - This is the term given to accusations of treason or disloyalty without having evidence. It comes from a time when Senator McCarthy of the US made several accusations of people being communists and traitors during the Cold War.

NATO - NATO stands for North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It is an alliance of democratic and western countries including much of Western Europe, Canada, and the United States.

Nuclear weapon - A nuclear weapon is a device that uses nuclear forces to create a huge explosion capable of destroying an entire city.

Perestroika - A term used by Mikhail Gorbachev to describe a reconstruction of the Soviet economy and industry. It included some private ownership of businesses.

Proxy War - A proxy war is when two sides use third parties to fight rather than fighting each other directly. The United States and the Soviet Union fought proxy wars during the Cold War such as the Korean War and the Vietnam War.

Red Scare - The Red Scare was a time of extreme anti-communism in the United States. People were scared that communists had infiltrated the government.

SALT - SALT stands for Strategic Arms Limitation Talks. It was when the United States and the Soviet Union agreed to limit the number of nuclear weapons they made.

Solidarity - Solidarity was a movement in Poland to create a trade union that was not controlled by the communist party. It was led by Lech Walesa who became President of Poland in 1990.

Space Race - The Space Race was a competition between the United States and the Soviet Union to explore space. Russia got off to a fast start by putting up the first satellite and the first manned flight into orbit. The United States, however, was the first to put a man on the Moon.

Superpower - A superpower is a country that is significantly stronger, especially in regards to their military, than most other countries. During the Cold War the Soviet Union and the United States were the two world superpowers.

Truman Doctrine - The Truman Doctrine was an effort to stop the spread of communism. It said that the United States would help countries that were threatened by "armed minorities or outside pressures".

Warsaw Pact - The Warsaw Pact was an alliance between the Soviet Union and other Eastern Europe communist nations.

The Cold War

Arms Race

During the Cold War the United States and the Soviet Union became engaged in a nuclear arms race. They both spent billions and billions of dollars trying to build up huge stockpiles of nuclear weapons. Near the end of the Cold War the Soviet Union was spending around 27% of its total gross national product on the military. This was crippling to their economy and helped to bring an end to the Cold War.

The Nuclear Bomb

The United States was the first to develop nuclear weapons through the Manhattan Project during World War II. The US ended the war with Japan by dropping nuclear bombs on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Nuclear bombs are extremely powerful weapons that can destroy an entire city and kill tens of thousands of people. The only time nuclear weapons have been used in war was at the end of World War II against Japan. The Cold War was predicated on the fact that neither side wanted to engage in a nuclear war that could destroy much of the civilized world.

Start of the Arms Race

On August 29, 1949 the Soviet Union successfully tested its first atomic bomb. The world was shocked. They did not think the Soviet Union was this far along in their nuclear development. The Arms Race had begun. In 1952 the United States detonated the first hydrogen bomb. This was an even more powerful version of the nuclear bomb. The Soviets followed up by exploding their first hydrogen bomb in 1953.

ICBMs

In the 1950s both countries worked on developing Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles or ICBMs. These missiles could be launched from long range, as far away as 3,500 miles.

Defense

As both sides continued to develop new and more powerful weapons, the fear of what would happen if war broke out spread throughout the world. Militaries began to work on defenses such as large radar arrays to tell if a missile had been launched. They also worked on defense missiles that could shoot down ICBMs. At the same time people built bomb shelters and underground bunkers where they could hide in the case of nuclear attack. Deep underground facilities were built for high ranking government officials where they could reside safely.

Mutual Assured Destruction

One of the major factors in the Cold War was termed Mutual Assured Destruction or MAD. This meant that both countries could destroy the other country in the case of attack. It wouldn't matter how successful the first strike was, the other side could still retaliate and destroy the country which first attacked. For this reason, neither side ever used nuclear weapons. The cost was too high.

Other Countries Involved

During the Cold War, three other nations also developed the nuclear bomb and had their own nuclear weapons. These included Great Britain, France, and the People's Republic of China.

Détente and Arms Reduction Talks

As the Arms Race heated up, it became very expensive for both countries. In the early 1970s both sides realized that something had to give. The two sides began to talk and take a softer line towards each other. This easing of relations was called détente. In order to try and slow down the Arms Race, the countries agreed to reduce arms through the SALT I and SALT II agreements. SALT stood for Strategic Arms Limitation Talks.

End of the Arms Race

For the most part, the Arms Race came to an end with the collapse of the Soviet Union at the end of the Cold War in 1991.

The Cold War

The Berlin Airlift

The Berlin Airlift could be called the first battle of the Cold War. It was when western countries delivered much needed food and supplies to the city of Berlin through the air because all other routes were blocked by the Soviet Union.

After World War II

at the end of the World War II the country of Germany was divided by the Allies into four zones. Great Britain, France, the United States, and the Soviet Union each controlled a different zone. The capital of Germany, Berlin was located in the Soviet Union zone, but control of this city was split into four zones between the four countries.

Tensions Between the East and West

With the war over, tensions began to mount between the democratic countries of the west and the communist countries controlled by the Soviet Union of the east. The west was determined to stop the spread of communism and the Marshall Plan and the Truman Doctrine made this clear. The west also wanted the country of Germany to be united under one democratic government. The Soviet Union did not want this. Soon the two sides were at odds over the future of Germany. The west introduced a new currency called the Deutsche Mar, but the Soviets refused to use it in their zone.

Blockading Berlin

The city of Berlin was an island in the middle of the Soviet controlled zone. The west sent supplies there via railroads and roads. However, the Soviets wanted total control of Berlin. The figured if they cut off Berlin from their external supplies and food, then it would fall under their control. On June 24, 1948 the Soviets blocked all rail and road traffic to Berlin. They cut off the electricity coming from the Soviet part of the city. They halted all traffic going in and out of the city. The only way in was to fly.

Running Out of Food

When the blockade first started, the city of Berlin had around 36 days worth of food. They also needed tons of coal for energy and other items such as medical supplies.

The Airlift

Without going to war or giving up the city of Berlin, the only option the western countries had was to try and fly in supplies. This was a huge task. There were over two million people living int eh city at the time. The Army estimated that it would take over 1500 tons of food each day to keep them alive. The Soviets did not believe the airlift would work. They felt that the people of Berlin would eventually give up. Over the next ten months the United States and Great Britain flew around 277,000 flights into Berlin. They carried over 2.3 million tons of supplies into the city. On May 12, 1949 the Soviet Union stopped the blockage and the airlft was over.

The Cold War

Collapse of the Soviet Union

The collapse of the Soviet Union started in the late 1980s and was complete when the country broke up into 15 independent states on December 25, 1991. This signaled the end of the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States.

Mikhail Gorbachev Becomes General Secretary

Mikhail Gorbachev was elected General Secretary of the Soviet Union in 1985. When he took over the Soviet Union economy was in bad shape and his idea was to reform the economy and modernize the political situation in the country.

Glasnost and Perestroika

There were two main platforms of Gorbachev's reform. The first he called Glasnost. Glasnost allowed more freedom of speech and openness in government. Government officials would be held accountable to the people for their actions. Although Glasnost was a good thing for the people, it also allowed people to protest and the media to report on issues for the first time. Many of the outlying states used this new found freedom to express their desire for independence. The other major reform was called Perestroika. Perestroika meant "restructuring". Gorbachev meant to restructure the Soviet economy to work more efficiently. He allowed some private ownership and released some of the tight control the government had on the economy. However, the people and economy of the Soviet Union were used to the government doing everything. Things got worse before they got better.

Baltic Region

With the new found freedom of Gorbachev's reforms, some outlying Soviet states began to rebel. The first states to demand their freedom were the Baltic states of Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia.

Nationalist Movement Spreads

Soon more states wanted their independence including Armenia, Moldova, Ukraine, and Georgia. The central government of the Soviet Union began to feel the pressure of so many states wanting independence.

Attempted Takeover of the Government

With the communist government on the verge of collapse, Soviet hardliners decided to take action. In August of 1991 they kidnapped Gorbachev and announced to the world that he was too sick to govern. They would be taking over. When the Soviet citizens began to protest, the hardliners called in the military to shut them down. However, the soldiers refused to shoot and arrest their own people. Without the military to back them up, the takeover had failed.

The Soviet Union Breaks Up

On December 24, 1991 the Soviet Union was dissolved. At the same time Mikhail Gorbachev announced his resignation. The Soviet Union divided up into 15 separate independent countries.