Here are 3 possible responses the US could have considered besides containment: 1. Isolationism - Retreating from global affairs and focusing only on defending the US homeland. 2. Appeasement - Making concessions to the Soviet Union in hopes of satisfying their demands and avoiding conflict. 3. Preemptive military action - Launching attacks against the Soviet Union and its allies to rollback communism by force rather than just containing its spread.

1. THE COLD WAR BEGINS
Unit 5, Section 1, Lesson 1

2. Objectives
• Trace the reasons that the wartime alliance
between the United States and the Soviet
Union unraveled.
• Explain how President Truman responded to
Soviet domination of Eastern Europe.
• Describe the causes and results of Stalin’s
blockade of Berlin.

3. Terms and People
• iron curtain − imaginary barrier separating Soviet-
controlled countries and the free world
• containment − American policy to keep communism
contained within its existing borders
• Marshall Plan − U.S. aid program to help Western Europe
rebuild after World War II
• Berlin airlift − operation in which the U.S. and Britain broke
the Soviet blockade of West Berlin
• NATO − North Atlantic Treaty Organization; military alliance
to counter Soviet expansion
• Warsaw Pact − rival military alliance formed by the Soviet
Union and its satellite states

4. How did U.S. leaders respond to the
threat of Soviet expansion in Europe?
World War II convinced U.S. leaders that the
policies of isolationism and appeasement had
been mistakes.
To counter the growing Soviet threat, they
sought new ways to keep the U.S. safe and
protect its interests abroad.

5. General George S. Patton, October
1945
“Russia knows what she wants. World domination!...
Let’s keep our boots polished, bayonets
sharpened, and present a picture of force and
strength to the Russians. This is the only language
that they understand and respect. If we fail to do
this, then I would like to say that we have had a
victory over the Germans and have disarmed
them, but we have lost the war.” ccording to Patton, what is the
A
goal of the Soviet Union?
How was Germany left post-
WWII?
How can you interpret Patton’s
feelings towards the Soviets?

6. Despite their alliance during World War II,
the U.S. and the Soviet Union had little in
common.
The United States The Soviet Union was a
was a capitalist dictatorship. Stalin and
democracy. The the Communist Party
American people wielded total control over
valued freedom and the lives of the Soviet
individual rights. people.

7. AS
These differences were apparent as the Allies
made decisions about the future of postwar
Europe.
Postwar Goals
U.S. and Britain U.S.S.R.
Strong, united Germany Weak, divided Germany
Independence for nations Maintain Soviet control
of Eastern Europe of Eastern Europe

8. When the Big Three met at Yalta, Stalin agreed to
allow free elections in Eastern Europe, yet free
elections were not held.
When the Big Three met again at Potsdam, the U.S.
and Britain pressed Stalin to confirm his commitment
to free elections; Stalin refused.
The Big Three alliance crumbled.

9. The nations of Eastern Europe and the eastern part of
Germany became satellite states of the Soviet Union,
separated from the free world by an “iron curtain.”
Cold War Europe, 1949
In his speech in
Fulton, Missouri,
Winston Churchill
described the extent
of the Soviet “iron
curtain” shown on
the map.

10. Winston Churchill:
“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… Central and
Eastern Europe… The Communist parties, which
were very small in all these Eastern States of Europe,
have been raised to preeminence and power far
beyond their numbers and are seeking everywhere
to obtain totalitarian control”
March 5, 1946 Where might the Cold War have been most likely to erupt into a hot
war?
According to Churchill’s speech, did communists make up the
majority in Eastern European countries?
What does the term iron imply about the division? Why do you think
Churchill used the phrase?

11. After the Big Three split at Potsdam, the
Cold War struggle between the world’s two
superpowers began.
The Soviets were
determined to The Americans
spread were determined
communism to to stop them.
other lands.
Containing communist expansion became
the United States’ top priority.

12. The Truman
Doctrine
Complete the
question to inference
chart provided.

13. With the Truman Doctrine, the U.S. promised to
support nations struggling against communist
movements.
Money was sent to
Greece and Turkey to
provide aid to people
who needed it.

14. The U.S. sent about $13 billion to Western
Europe under the Marshall Plan.
The money
provided food,
fuel, and raw
materials to help
rebuild war-torn
cities and towns.

15. Germany, and the city of Berlin, became
flashpoints in the Cold War.
After the war, Germany was divided into four zones.
The zones
controlled by the The Soviet zone
U.S., Britain, and became East
France were Germany.
combined to form
West Germany.

16. Berlin was also divided.

17. West Berlin was controlled by the Allies.
The prosperity Determined In response,
and freedoms to capture the U.S. and
there stood in West Berlin, Britain sent
stark contrast Stalin aid to West
to the bleak blockaded Berlin
life in the city, through a
communist cutting off massive
East Berlin. supplies. airlift.

18. The Berlin airlift saved West Berlin and
underscored the U.S. commitment to contain
communism.
The Soviet blockade cuased
more then 2 million West
Berliners to face severe
shortages of food and other
vital supplies.
For more than a year,
American and British pilots
flew round-the-clock
deliveries into the city –
sometimes at the rate of a
plane per minute.
Each flight brought food,
fuel, and occasionally candy
to the desperate
population.

19. The Berlin Airlift

20. As Cold War tensions mounted, both sides formed
military alliances for collective security.
NATO Warsaw Pact
Belgium Netherlands Albania
Canada Norway Bulgaria
Denmark Portugal Czechoslovakia
France Turkey East Germany
Greece United Kingdom Hungary
Iceland United States Poland
Italy West Germany Romania
Luxembourg Soviet Union

21. Ticket out the Door:
1. How did the U.S. leaders respond to the threat of
communism and the Soviet Union?
2. What options besides containment might
Truman have considered in response to Soviet
expansion?
Do you believe that the United States should, or
should not have, expanded their military globally
during the early years of the Cold War? Why, or
why not? Use evidence from your notes to explain.