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POST WAR ERA. The Cold War and Civil Rights. THE BIG QUESTIONS:. Why did the United States and Soviet Union enter into the Cold War? Why did the Cold War last so long? How did Civil Rights leaders change American Society?. THE COLD WAR. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
POST WAR ERAThe Cold War and Civil Rights
THE BIG QUESTIONS:Why did the United States and Soviet Union enter into the Cold War?
Why did the Cold War last so long?
How did Civil Rights leaders change American Society?
THE 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
ROOTS OF THE COLD WAR 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
Category
Organizations
Political System
Economic System
Religion
Individual Rights
Soviet Communism
American Democracy
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
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
USE THE NOTES ON THE PREVIOUS SLIDES TO COMPLETE THE GRAPHIC ORGANIZER BELOW.
Category Soviet Communism American Democracy
Political System
Organizations
Economic System
Religion
Individual Rights
THE YALTA AND POSTDAM CONFERENCES In Feb. 1945, Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin
met at Yalta to plan the reorganization of Europe at the end of the war
Agree on the formation of the United Nations Agreed that Germany would be divided into 4
occupation zones Agreed to allow free elections in the countries
they liberated (including Poland) 6 months later, when Truman and Stalin met
at the Potsdam Conference in Germany, serious differences began to emerge
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
ORIGINS OF THE U.S. CONTAINMENT POLICYAmerican 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
APPLYING WHAT YOU HAVE LEARNED: Speaking on a visit to Missouri, Winston
Churchill told Americans in 1946 that “from Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the Continent.”
What did Churchill mean by the phrase “iron curtain”?
TRUMAN DOCTRINEWhen 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
THE MARSHALL PLAN (1948) After 6 years of war, much of Europe faced
famine due to decreased farm production Whole cities had to be rebuilt Truman believed miserable and desperate
people were more likely to turn to Communism
George C. Marshall (Sec. of State) proposed that massive aid be given to war-torn European countries to help rebuild their economies
Unlike WWI, it included aid to Germany and Italy
Created strong allies and trading partners for the U.S.
SUCCESS OF THE MARSHALL PLANGreatly benefited the American
economy in helping to rebuild war-torn Europe
Speeded the economic recovery of Western Europe (from 1948 to 1952, European economies grew at an unprecedented rate)
Created good will towards the U.S.
A DIVIDED GERMANYIn 1948, the French, British, &
Americans merged their German zones of occupation into a single state, West Germany
Berlin, the old capital, was located in the Soviet zone
The Soviets reacted to the merging of the Western zones by announcing a blockade of West Berlin, closing all highway and railroad links to the West
THE BERLIN AIRLIFTWestern Allies refused to abandon
West BerlinThey began a massive airlift to feed
and supply the cityWithin a year, Stalin lifted the
Soviet blockadeThe U.S. and its allies had shown
that they would not retreat when faced with aggressive behavior by the Soviet Union
ASSIGNMENT: Using the previous slides on the
powerpoint, complete the first three boxes on your graphic organizer “Roots of The Cold War”.
Soviet vs. American Systems:
Truman Doctrine Marshall Plan:
Berlin Airlift: Formation of NATO: Communism in China:
ROOTS OF THE COLD WAR
FORMATION OF NATO AND THE WARSAW PACT
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was made up of the U.S., Canada, and 10 Western European countries (1949)Based on the concept of collective
securityEach member pledged to defend every
other member if attackedThe U.S. extended its umbrella of
protection from nuclear weapons to Western Europe
The Soviets responded by creating the Warsaw Pact with its Eastern European satellites in 1955
FRICTION BEHIND THE IRON CURTAIN Although Americans condemned Soviet
acts of force, the U.S. never directly intervened behind the Iron Curtain
Soviet leaders successfully suppressed an anti-Communist revolution that broke out in Hungary in 1956
They erected the Berlin Wall in 1961 to prevent East Germans from escaping to the West
invaded Czechoslovakia in 1968 to overthrow a Czech reform government
CONTAINMENT IN ASIA Just when Americans believed their
containment policy had stopped the spread of Communism in Europe, the world’s most populous country became Communist in Asia
The question was raised: could American leaders check the spread of Communism, not only in Europe, but around the world?
CHINA FALLS TO COMMUNISM, 1949 Communists had tried to overthrow the
Nationalist government in China since the 1920s
After 1945, they were helped by the Soviets Communists led by Mao Zedong defeated the
Nationalists in 1949 Nationalist leaders fled to the island of
Taiwan Mao created the world’s largest Communist
state
U.S. REACTION TO COMMUNIST CHINAConsidered a crushing blow to the U.S.Truman refused to extend diplomatic
recognition to Communist ChinaUsing its veto power in the United
Nations, the U.S. also prevented “Red China” from being admitted to the U.N.
Also pledged to protect the Nationalist government on Taiwan against any Communist attacks
ASSIGNMENT: Using the previous slides on the
powerpoint, complete the graphic organizer “Roots of The Cold War”.
THE KOREAN WARMany Americans criticized U.S.
foreign policy, because they believed the government had not done enough to prevent the fall of China to Communism
After WWII, Korea (a former Japanese colony) was divided into two zones
The South was a non-communist state with an elected government
The North was under communist rule
CONTINUED… In 1950, North Korean forces invaded
South Korea to try to unify the country under Communist rule
Reminded of Nazi aggression before WWII, President Truman decided to oppose the North Koreans
The U.S. was able to get the United Nations to pass a resolution to send U.N. troops to Korea
This was the first time an international peace keeping force was used to force a halt to aggression
CONTINUED… General Douglas MacArthur commanded
U.N. forces The U.N. forces were able to push the
North Koreans back to their border and liberate Seoul
MacArthur then attacked North Korea and advanced toward the North Korean border with China
This brought a large Chinese army into the war, forcing MacArthur to retreat
CONTINUED… Truman and MacArthur openly disagreed
about tactics of the war MacArthur was relieved of his command
(an unpopular step in the U.S.) In 1952, Dwight Eisenhower was elected
President and pledged to end the war An armistice was signed in 1953 It provided for a demilitarized zone
between North and South Korea and a transfer of prisoners of war (Korea was divided exactly as it had been before the war)
COMPLETE THE FLOW CHART USING INFORMATION FROM THE POWERPOINT ABOUT THE KOREAN WAR:
In 1950, NorthKorean forces invaded SouthKorea
An armistice was signed in 1953 – Korea is divided as it was before the war
KOREAN WAR FLOW CHART
THE ARMS RACE By 1949, the Soviets had developed the
atomic bomb leading to a nuclear “arms race”
In 1952, the U.S. developed the hydrogen bomb, which was immensely more powerful than the original atom bomb
The Soviet Union exploded their first hydrogen bomb a year later
In the 1950s, U.S. military leaders used nuclear weapons as a deterrent rather than rely on a large military force
HTTP://WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/WATCH?V=IUNCBZHFKBQ
THE SPACE RACE In 1957, the Soviet Union launched the
first man-made satellite into space Sputnik was a little larger than a
basketball, weighed 184 pounds, and orbited the earth once every 98 minutes and was tracked by transmitting radio signals
This began a space race, since Americans were afraid the Soviets would use missiles to launch bombs and felt the U.S. was falling behind
The U.S. government started new programs in science education and also launched its own satellite in 1958
ADVANCES IN MEDICINE The post-war period saw many advances in
medicineAntibiotics treated infections and gave
new hopes for curesJonas Salk developed the first vaccine for
polio (paralyzed thousands of American children each year). He used a dead virus as the basis for the vaccine
Measles vaccineFirst heart transplantDiscovery of streptomycin, an antibiotic
to treat tuberculosis
THE HOUSE UN-AMERICAN ACTIVITIES COMMITTEE
Truman established Loyalty Review Boards to investigate individual “un-American” activities (such as participation in the American Communist Party)
Many Americans were accused of actions on very little evidence and had no way to defend themselves (this violated their constitutional rights)
Congress established the House Un-American Activities Committee to conduct its own loyalty checks
The committee questions actors, directors, writers, and others about possible Communist sympathies
Those identified with ties to Communism were frequently “Blacklisted” and lost their jobs
Some, like Alger Hiss, were later prosecuted for perjury
Those that cooperated, were often asked to inform on others
CONTINUED…
THE ROSENBERG TRIALS In 1950, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were
charged with selling national secrets to the Soviet Union about making the atomic bomb
They were found guilty and executed for spying
Some people doubted their guilt (they were reminded of the Sacco & Venzetti case in the 20s)
However, the Verona Papers (released in 1997) revealed the identities of several Americans who had spied for the Soviets, and Julius Rosenberg was on it
THE MCCARTHY HEARINGS The fall of China increased fears of
internal subversion (people wanting to break up our democracy)
Senator Joseph McCarthy claimed he knew the names of hundreds of Communists who had influenced the State Department and other government agencies
Like the Red Scare, McCarthy’s allegations created fear
Three years of hearings never provided concrete evidence or proof of his charges
“McCarthyism” is making harsh accusations without evidence
THE ARMS RACE: THE SPACE RACE: ADVANCES IN MEDICINE:
HOUSE UN-AMERICAN ACTIVITIES COMMITTEE:
ROSENBERG TRIAL/VENONA PAPERS:
“McCARTHYISM:
THE COLD WAR AT HOME
THE EISENHOWER PRESIDENCY (1953-1960) Foreign Policy:
Gave control of foreign policy to John Foster Dulles, his Secretary of State
Sought to contain the spread of Communism by preventing the Soviets from gaining additional influence
In 1957, Eisenhower announced he would send U.S. forces to any Middle Eastern nation that requested help in defending against Communism (Eisenhower Doctrine)
Signed a series of treaties around the world to contain Communism
CONTINUED…Domestic Policy:
The 1950s was a period of recovery and economic growth
Veterans received special benefits like low interest rates and educational grants
Eisenhower signed the Interstate Highway Act (1956) creating a system of federal highways
Defense spending remained high because of the Cold War
A time of prosperity and growth of the middle class
Housing Boom. This was a time of high birth rates, known as the “baby boom.” This boom and the G.I. Bill (Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944) helping veterans led developers to build cheaper, mass-produced housing. Home ownership increased by 50%. The movement of middle-income families to the suburbs led to a declining urban tax base and decaying inner cities.
Economic Prosperity. The demand for consumer goods reached all-time highs. Millions of autos and TV sets were sold. The use of refrigerators and other appliances became widespread. The gross domestic product doubled between 1945 and 1960. America dominated world trade.
Conformity. In the 1950s, there was a greater emphasis on conformity. Unusual ideas were regarded with suspicion. Fear of Communism strengthened the dislike of non-conformist attitudes.
DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS DURING THE EISENHOWER PRESIDENCY