This is a powerpoint presentation I did for one of my classes.

1. Cold War
The foundations and
events of the war
between the Soviet
Union and the United
States

2. Student Learning Outcomes
Identify specific events and actions
which initiated the Cold War between
the United States and the Soviet Union.
Characterize the general mistrust
between the two nation states.
Link the disagreements at the Potsdam
conference to the beginning of the Cold
War.

3. Introduction
“The personal meeting with Stalin
enabled me to see what the West
had to face in the future. Force is
the only thing the Russians
understand. Stalin showed what he
was after ... the Russians were
planning world conquest.”
President Harry Truman

4. Origins of the Cold War
Soviet Union after World War II
More than twenty million lives lost in the
war
Wanted to retain control of the nations
states in Eastern Europe
Promotion of Communism abroad into
Europe
Inherit distrust of the West (the conflict of
the second front during the war and
previous episodes)

5. Origins of the Cold War
United States after the World War II
Conflict among President Harry Truman
and his Cabinet about whether or not to go
back to isolationism like World War One
Bring the boys home
Seen as the protector of Europe
The superpower that stood against the
Soviet Union

6. Potsdam Conference (1945)
July 17 -August 2
th nd
The Triumvirate Cast:
 U.S. President Harry Truman
President Franklin Roosevelt had died in
April
England’s Prime Minister Clement Attlee
Winston Churchill had been defeated in
the last election
Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin

7. The Potsdam Conference
Soviet establishment of satellite states (buffer
zone or expansion)
The atomic bomb disclosure
The issue of the second front
The continual distrust between the Soviet Union
and the West
The Cultural and Economic difference between
the two institutions
The development of the Cold War

8. Iron Curtain Speech
The Iron Curtain Speech
Made in at the College at
Westminster College at Fulton
Missouri
Distrust of Joseph Stalin and
Totalitarian regimes in Eastern
Europe
Pressed the U.S. to remain active in
Western Europe

9. Iron Curtain Speech
He pressed for U.S. presence in
post war Europe
No abandonment like the first
European War
Joint Anglo unification that
opposed Soviet Communism

10. The Berlin Airlift
“When Berlin falls, Western
Germany will be next. If we
withdraw our position in Berlin,
Europe is threatened ...
Communism will run rampant.”—
General Clay the American
Commander of the Berlin Zone

11. The American Response
Greece and Turkey
Communist insurgents verses nationalist
The Civil War
England and France contributed aid
The well was running dry
President Harry Truman and George Kennan
The Policy of Containment (Truman
Doctrine)

12. The American Response
The Marshall Plan
NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization)
Unification of the zones of Berlin
The Soviet Response cutting off all aid to the
area
The Berlin Airlift
This is a sign of item to come in regards to
deterrence

13. The United Nations
Similarities to the League of Nations
However there are significant
differences
U.S. and the Soviet Union hoped to
establish a open dialogue
The Security Council
Condemnation of Imperialism

14. The fate of Western Europe
England, France, Netherlands, Belgium,
Scandinavia, and even Italy turn to Socialism
The creation of the Welfare State
What this means for Western Europe
The push towards decolnialization
India, Africa, Southeast Asia, the Middle East
The Jewish State

15. Truman verses Stalin
The shift of China to Communism
The retreat to Formosa (Taiwan)
The Korean Crisis
President Truman deploys the military
General Macarthur
Congress is not consulted however, UN
security council approves

16. The Korean War
Stalemate
Korea becomes split in two
The question of containment
U.S. response back home and the
blacklisting
Are their differences or just two
stubborn nations

17. The Cold War post Stalin
The death of Stalin
Nikita Khrushchev and his
condemnation of Stalin’s policies
New relations with the United States
Khrushchev visit to the U.S.
Shift in Cold War Tactics
John Foster Dulles “Spirit of
Resistance”

18. The Middle East
Removal of European presence
Complicated area/the issue of tribes and oil
The problem of Israel
Israel attack on the Gaza strip and the
response by Egypt
Nassar “Cotton for Arms” dealings with the
Soviet Union
France, Britain, Israel, Soviet Union, U.S.

19. Middle East
The establishment of CENTO
Jordan, Syria, Lebanon,
The Eisenhower Doctrine

20. Latin America
Guatemala
CIA overthrow
The issue of Cuba
Fidel Castro
The reheating of the Cold War

21. Soviet and U.S. Relations
The U-2 Spy Plane affair
Khrushchev and Kennedy
The issue of Berlin
Once again both sides go to the brink
East and West Berlin
The Berlin Wall

22. The Cuban Missile Crisis
Background
Castro switches to Communism
Bay of Pigs
Cuban Soviet Relations (Sugar for Missiles)
U.S. response
The closest we come to a Cold War

23. Southeast Asian Affairs
Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam
Chinese Soviet Relations
Mao Ze Tong and President Richard Nixon
Justification for opening the relations

24. U.S. Soviet Relations post Vietnam
The promotion of Dentate
Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger
SALT talks (Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty)
The Six Day War in the Middle East
The issue this will promote between the two

25. Russian Moves into Southeast
Asia
Afghanistan
The Resistance
The pinnacle of Russian Strength

26. The ending of the Cold War
Conservatism in the West: Election of both
Margret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan
Pope John Paul II
Breakdown in East European Control
Mikhail Gorbachev and Glasnost
Talks with Reagan in Iceland

27. The End of the Cold War
Fall of the Berlin Wall
Free Elections in the Eastern Europe
The Unification of Germany as well as Berlin
The failed coup in Russia
The Communist State Disintegrates
The shift to autocracy

28. The End of the Cold War
Fall of the Berlin Wall
Free Elections in the Eastern Europe
The Unification of Germany as well as Berlin
The failed coup in Russia
The Communist State Disintegrates
The shift to autocracy