This document provides an overview of key concepts related to the emergence of the Cold War between the United States and Soviet Union after World War II. It discusses the competing ideological systems of democracy/capitalism and communism that divided the two superpowers. As the Soviets expanded their influence over Eastern Europe, the US responded with a policy of containment to prevent further spread of communism and provided military aid to countries under threat through the Truman Doctrine. Key events and policies that shifted US international engagement during the Cold War are examined.

1. The Cold WarHow did countries interact after WWII?

2. Today’s Objectives
● Question of the Day: In what ways did the Cold War shift United States
international policies?
● Harry Potter and the Evil Lord Voldemort!
● Vocabulary
o Red Scare, Cold War, Gulags, Free Enterprise, Superpowers,
Containment, Truman Doctrine
● Timeline - post-WWII to the end of the Cold War
● Graphic organizer activity/assignment
● Exit Slip

3. Harry Potter vs Lord Voldemort
● What obstacles did Harry
have to overcome to
convince people they
needed to stand up
against Lord Voldemort?

4. The Red Scare
● Red Scare - the promotion of fear of a
potential rise of communism or radical leftism
o First Red Scare was about worker (socialist)
revolution and political radicalism
o The Second Red Scare was focused on national and
foreign communists influencing society, infiltrating the
federal government, or both
● The United States used the fear of a
Communist take-over to fuel the fight against
the U.S.S.R. in what would be called the Cold
War
o Harry Potter gathered a loyal team of wizards to fight
against the tyrannical take-over of Voldemort, even
though most did not believe the problem existed (until
the end of the fifth movie!)

5. Cold War
• The superpowers, the U.S.
and Soviet Union were the big
rivals after WWII
• Called the “Cold” war because
both sides had nuclear
weapons but never confronted
each other directly in open
warfare

6. The Roots
● Competing ideological systems
(democracy/free enterprise vs. communism)
● The U.S. wanted to spread democracy and
free enterprise
● The Soviets wanted to spread Communism.
○ Stalin was supposed to be creating a
classless society that helped all workers,
but actually established a brutal
dictatorship under his absolute control.
○ Suspected critics and opponents were
arrested and sent to gulags (forced labor
camps) in Siberia

7. Why did the United States and Soviet
Union enter into the Cold War?
● Consider the following to answer the question:
o What were the competing ideological systems
 U.S. wanted to spread..
 Soviets wanted to spread..

8. The Soviet Union’s Ideology
● One political party – Communism
● All labor groups and associations are run by the
Communist Party
● Industries and farms are owned by the state,
central planners determine economic needs for
the nation, private property was limited,
education and health care provided by the state
● Religion was discouraged
● Secret police arrested opponents, censorship
was common, people could not exercise beliefs
freely

9. American Ideology
● A multi-party democracy
● Unions and other organizations negotiated
openly with employers
● Free enterprise, private ownership of
property, supply and demand determined
prices, people met their own needs with
some limited government involvement
● Freedom of religion
● Freedom of the press and expression
Video:
Crash Course - Cold War Ideologies

10. The Cold War Begins
• After the war, the Soviets saw a growing threat from
capitalist governments
• Stalin distrusted the West
• He created a wall of satellite countries as a buffer
against future invasions
• Refused to allow free elections in Poland and other
countries it occupied in Eastern Europe
• Cut off trade between Eastern and Western Europe
(closed the East to the West)
• The U.S. refused to share the secrets behind the
atom bomb

11. U.S. Containment Policy
• American leaders responded to the
Soviet domination of Eastern Europe
by developing a policy of containment.
• Under this policy, they did not attempt
to overturn Communism where it
already existed, but resolved to
prevent it from spreading further

12. The Truman Doctrine
• When Communist rebels
threatened Greece and Stalin
pressured Turkey, Truman
offered them military aid
• He believed that economic and
financial aid should be used first
• Did not want to make the mistake
of “appeasement” that had failed
against Hitler
Question of the Day: In what ways
did the Cold War shift United States
international policies?