1. The Cold War 1945-1990
US vs Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
2. Semester Test Questions over
Cold War
• 1. Understand the causes, effects, goals and
major events of the Cold War.
2. Understand the causes, effects and major
events of the Korean Conflict.
3. Understand the causes, effects and major
events of the Vietnam Conflict.
3. Definition
• A political, strategic and ideological struggle
between the US and the Soviet Union from
1945-1990.
• Spread throughout the world-Europe, Asia,
Africa and Latin America.
9. Discuss History of the Soviet Union
• Bolshevik Revolution
• Lenin
• Stalin
– Purges
– Collectivization
– Nationalization
– Five Year Plans
• Soviet-German Non-Aggression Pact
• War with Germany
• Battle of Berlin-April-May, 1945
12. Causes of the Cold War
• Different political systems
-US is based on democracy, capitalism and
freedom
-USSR is based on dictatorship, communism and
control
• The Red Scare-1919
• Both thought their system was better and
distrusted the others intentions
• Stalin despised capitalism
• Distrust during WWII
14. Causes of Cold War
• Stalin breaking his promise to allow free
elections at the Yalta Conference
• American fear of a communist attack(Red Scare)
and USSR’s fear of a US attack
• USSR’s fear of the atomic bomb
• USSR’s actions in their German zone
• USSR’s goal to spread communism around the
world
16. Yalta Conference--February 1945
• Before the end of the World War II, Stalin,
Churchill and Roosevelt met at Yalta to plan what
should happen when the war ended. They agreed
on many points:
1. The establishment of the United Nations.
2. Germany to be divided into four zones.
3. Free elections allowed in the states of eastern
Europe.
4. Russia promised to join the war against Japan.
19. Post WWII/Cold War Goals for
US
• Wanted to promote open markets for US
goods to prevent another depression
• Promote democracy throughout the world,
especially in Asia and Africa
• Stop the spread of communism
–Policy of Containment
20. Post WWII/Cold War Goals for
the USSR
• Wanted to create greater security for itself
-lost tens of millions of people in WWII and
Stalin’s purges
-feared a strong Germany
• Establish defensible borders
• Encourage friendly governments on its borders
• Spread communism around the world
21. Key Terms
• Iron Curtain Speech
• Domino Theory(Effect)
• Policy of Containment
• Truman Doctrine
• Marshall Plan
• Brinkmanship
• Massive retaliation/Mutual Deterrence/Mutual
Assured Destruction
• NATO vs. Warsaw Pact
• CIA vs. KGB
22. • Peaceful coexistence
• De-Stalinization
• Detente
• Perestroika
• Glasnost
• Nuclear Test Ban Treaty 1963
• Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty 1968
• Strategic Arms Limitation Talks(Treaty)-1972
• Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty 1972
• Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty-1996
• Missile Defense System
23. Winston Churchill “Iron Curtain” Speech
1946
• “From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the
Adriatic an iron curtain has descended
across the Continent. Behind that line lie all
the capitals of the ancient states of Central
and Eastern Europe. Warsaw, Berlin,
Prague, Vienna, Budapest, Belgrade,
Bucharest and Sofia, all these famous cities
and the populations around them lie in
what I must call the Soviet sphere, and all
are subject in one form or another, not only
to Soviet influence but to a very high and,
in some cases, increasing measure of control
from Moscow. Athens alone -- Greece with
its immortal glories -- is free to decide its
future at an election under British,
American and French observation. The
Russian-dominated Polish Government has
been encouraged to make enormous and
wrongful inroads upon Germany, and mass
expulsions of millions of Germans on a
scale grievous and undreamed-of are now
taking place. The Communist parties,
which were very small in all these Eastern
States of Europe, have been raised to pre-
eminence and power far beyond their
numbers and are seeking everywhere to
obtain totalitarian control. Police
governments are prevailing in nearly every
case, and so far, except in Czechoslovakia,
there is no true democracy.”
28. Truman Doctrine
• In 1947, the British were
helping the Greek
government fight
against communist
guerrillas.
• They appealed to
America for aid and we
responded with the
Truman Doctrine.
• Greece received large
amounts of arms and
supplies, and by 1949
had defeated the
communists.
30. Marshall Plan
• In 1947, US Secretary of State
Marshall announced the Marshall
Plan.
• This was a massive economic aid
plan for Europe to help it recover
from the damage caused by the
war.
• There were two motives for this:
– Helping Europe to recover
economically would provide
markets for American goods,
benefiting American industry.
– A prosperous Europe would be
better able to resist the spread
of communism.
34. NATO
• In 1949 the Western nations formed the
North Atlantic Treaty Organization to co-
ordinate their defense against Russia
• NATO was a defensive alliance
• This was the first peacetime alliance in US
History
• It consisted of:
-America, Canada, Britain, France, Holland,
Belgium, Luxembourg, Portugal, Denmark,
Norway and Italy
– Still around today and has expanded
48. Perestroika and Glasnost-1985
• Video
• Perestroika-Restructuring
of the Soviet economy and
political system
– More democracy
– Free elections
• Glasnost-More openness of
the Soviet government and
for it’s people
– Free speech and press
53. Nuclear Power Treaties/Organizations
• Nuclear Test Ban Treaty-1963
–Underground nuclear testing
• Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty-1968
– More on next slide
• SALT I Treaty-1972-More on future slides
55. “As I Was Saying, a Test Ban Agreement Might Have Resulted in a Fatal Gap”
56. • Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty-1970
–“Prevent the spread of nuclear weapons
and weapons technology”
–“Promote cooperation in the peaceful
uses of nuclear energy”
–“Further the goal of achieving nuclear
disarmament and general and complete
disarmament”
57.
58.
59. Anti-Ballistic Missile -1972-US/USSR
–Limited weapons that would seek out and
destroy nuclear weapons once launched
–In the 1980’s, President Ronald Reagan
announces the Strategic Defense
Initiative(SDI)
–US withdraws in 2002 under George W.
Bush
•Withdrew due to missile defense system
60.
61. The Ballistic Missile Defense System
-Missile Defense Agency
• Program is designed to counter any nuclear missile
attack on the US or allies
• Video
63. • SALT I froze the number of strategic
ballistic missile launchers at existing levels
• Limited new submarine-launched ballistic
missile (SLBM).
RICHARD NIXON
President of the United States of America
L.I. BREZHNEV
General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU
• SALT II was signed but never ratified by
Congress
–Due to Soviet Union’s invasion of
Afghanistan in 1979
64. • Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty-
1996
–Signed by President Bill Clinton
–Not ratified by the Senate
–Why? Senate reasoning:
–“A ban on testing would damage the
safety and reliability of America’s
existing nuclear arsenal, and it would be
impossible to guarantee treaty
compliance by all countries.”
67. INF Treaty-1987
• Eliminated nuclear
and conventional
ground-launched
ballistic and cruise
missiles with
intermediate ranges
(300-3,400 miles).
• USSR and US
68. The START Treaties
• Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty
• START I(1991)
• Largest and most complex arms control treaty
in history
• Resulted in the removal of about 80 percent of
all strategic nuclear weapons in existence
• The START I treaty expired in 2009
70. SORT-2003
• Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty
• Between US and Russia
• Stockpile of both deployed and reserve nuclear
weapons was to be cut in half by 2012.
• The goal was achieved in 2007 for US
• Lasted from 2003-2011 when New Start took it’s
place
71.
72. New START-2011
• Signed by President Obama and former
Russian President Medvedev
• The number of strategic nuclear missile
launchers will be reduced by half
• A new inspection and verification system will
be established
• Lasts until 2021
77. • In 1948, the three western controlled
zones of Germany's(US,France, UK) were
united, and grew in prosperity due to the
Marshal Plan.
• The West wanted the East to rejoin, but
Stalin feared it would hurt Soviet security.
• In June 1948, Stalin decided to try to gain
control of West Berlin which was deep
inside the eastern sector.
78. • Stalin cut road, rail and canal links with
West Berlin, hoping to starve it into
submission.
• The West responded by airlifting in the
necessary supplies to allow west Berlin to
survive.
• In May 1949, Russia admitted defeat and
lifted the blockade.
79.
80.
81.
82.
83.
84.
85. The Second Red Scare-1947-57
• Causes:
1. Julius and Ethel Rosenberg Trial
-Found guilt of spying for the Soviets-executed in 1953
86. Causes of 2nd
Red Scare Cont.
• The Iron Curtain surrounding Eastern Europe-
1945
• The USSR detonating their atomic bomb-1949
• China becoming communist in 1949
• The Korean War starting in 1950-Domino
Effect
• Stalin’s actions in Germany-Berlin Blockade
88. Alger Hiss Trial-1950
• In 1948, Alger Hiss was accused of being a
member of a Communist group whose purpose
had been to infiltrate the U.S. government
• Hiss maintained innocence throughout trials
• In 1949, the trial ended with a hung jury- 8-4 in
favor of conviction
• The second trial began later in 1949 and found
Hiss guilty
89. • Hiss' conviction was later upheld by the Court of
Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court
• Hiss served five years in prison
• In 1992, a former Soviet intelligence officer said
that Hiss was not a Soviet spy, but rather a
victim of Cold War hysteria
93. Alien Registration Act of 1940
(Smith Act)
• Made it illegal to advocate the overthrow of the U.S.
government
• Required all non-citizen adult residents to register
with the government
• Approximately 215 people were indicted under the
legislation, including alleged communists,
Anarchists, and fascists
• Prosecutions under the Smith Act continued until a
the Supreme Court decision declared law
unconstitutional in 1957
95. McCarthy and McCarthyism
• Joseph McCarthy (1908-1957) was a Republican
Senator from Wisconsin
• In 1950, he gave a speech where he claimed to
have a list of 205 Communists in the State
Department
• No one in the press actually saw the names on the
list, but McCarthy's announcement made
national news and caused panic throughout the
country
• McCarthy became one of the most powerful
people in the US
96.
97.
98. Supporters of McCarthy
1. Republicans
2. Catholics
3. Conservative Protestants
4. Blue-collar workers
5. Joseph Kennedy and his family
99. McCarthy’s Downfall
• McCarthy’s downfall finally began in October
1953, when he started to investigate
“communist infiltration into the military.”
• This was the final straw for President Dwight D.
Eisenhower, who realized that McCarthy’s
movement needed to be stopped
• In late 1954, the Senate voted to censure him for
his conduct and to strip him of his privileges.
• McCarthy died three years later from
alcoholism.
100. McCarthyism
• The practice of making accusations of
subversion or treason without proper
regard for evidence.
101.
102.
103.
104. House Un-American Activities
Committee-HUAC-1945-1975
• This organization went after directors and actors in
Hollywood
• The committee believed that films were spreading
communist propaganda
• They set up hearings to investigate the movie
industry
• Hollywood Ten
– Each man was found guilty and sentenced to spend a year
in prison and pay a $1,000 fine
• Blacklisted Directors/Actors/Actresses
110. Eisenhower Embarrassment
• Khrushchev:
• “I must tell you a secret. When I made my first
report I deliberately did not say that the pilot was
alive and well… and now just look how many silly
things [the Americans]” have said.
123. The Compromise
• The Soviets would remove their missiles from Cuba
• The US would promise never to invade Cuba
• The US would secretly remove our nuclear missiles
from Turkey within six months
124. Thirteen Days
• Be able to describe what
happened in the crisis.
• Be able to describe the
different choices that
Kennedy had to choose from
in dealing with this threat.
• Be able to explain the
compromise that was reached
to end the crisis.
• Be able to explain how this
crisis was an example of
brinkmanship.
128. Nixon Visits Moscow
Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev toasted United States President Richard Nixon in
Moscow,
marking the signing of the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty on May 26, 1972.
136. Perestroika and Glasnost-1985
• Video
• Perestroika-Restructuring
of the Soviet economy and
political system
– More democracy
– Free elections
• Glasnost-More openness of
the Soviet government and
for it’s people
– Free speech and press
140. Discussion
• Why did the US win the Cold War?
• Why did the USSR lose the Cold War?
141. 1. We had close ties with our Allies and the USSR
didn’t.
2. China started siding with us after 1972.
3. The Soviet economy was in shambles whereas
the US’s was flourishing.
a. Huge deficit
b. High inflation
c. Corruption
d. Social problems
e. Shortage of basic needs(food, housing)
142. 4. The strong anti-communist presidency of
Reagan.
5. Gorbachev’s willingness for change and reform.
a. glasnost and perestroika
b. admitted Soviet mistakes
c. took blame for the Cold War
d. communist system had failed
e. allowed Eastern Europe to do what they
wanted
6. Arms Reduction Talks
a. SALT, INF, Reagan-Gorbachev meetings
143. 7. Soviet Mistakes
a. invasion of Afghanistan
b. ignoring social concerns
c. spent everything on military
144. Post-Cold War
• In the 1990’s, the world seemed to be a much
more peaceful place
• We didn’t have any major threat to worry
about
• President Clinton closed down numerous
military bases around the country reducing the
size of the US military
• 9-11 caught the US off guard
149. Russia vs. Ukraine-2014-15
• Ukraine wanted to join the European Union but
leader did not want to as he was Pro-Russia
• Ukrainian leader is forced out
• Russia moves troops in the Crimean Peninsula and
annexes it after Crimean voters vote to approve
annexation
• The United Nations declares this act by Russia as
illegal
• Russia invades Ukraine to protect pro-Russians in
Ukraine
• Cease-fire was signed in February, 2015
