Post WWII and the Cold War

By: Mr. Mitchell

But first…

• What countries won in the WWII effort?

• What countries lost in the WWII effort?

• What continent had the most damage after WWII ended?

• Who is the US President at the conclusion of WWII?

Plans for Post WWII Europe

• Truman Doctrine• USA would provide assistance to ALL DEMOCRATIC nations that would be

under the threat of any AUTHORITARIAN regime or force • The aid would be..

• Politically • Militarily • Financially

• Marshall Plan• Plan to help Europe (and parts of Asia) recover FINANCIALLY after WWII

• Berlin Wall • Wall erected separating East and West Berlin. • East Berlin (as well as Eastern Europe) seen as being “Communist”

• Berlin Airlift• Food and supplies brought into West Berlin. • Brought over by American and British forces.

NATO

• North American Treaty Organization

• Created to provide military support to one another in case of war time.

• Consisted of 12 member nations

What was the Cold War

• The Cold War was a time period of strained political relations between the USA and the USSR • Technically lasted from 1945-1991• Never had a true military conflict between the two nations

Containment

• Containment refers to the policy by the United States to contain the spread of communism in countries that could be influenced by the USSR or other communist nations.

Communist revolutions in China

• Mao Zedong helps Communist forces defeat Nationalist forces.• US was supporting Nationalists in China.• Chiang Kai-Shek led Nationalist forces

• Communists in China were funded by the USSR • Pushed to have support from farmers and other

rural citizens• Pushed for higher learning of lower classes

Korean War

• North of the 38th parallel (Northern portion of Korea) was under Soviet influence after WWII • The Southern portion was under

American influence.

• North Korea- COMMUNIST • South Korea- DEMOCRATIC

• June 25th, 1950- North Korean forces crossed the 38th Parallel and attacked South Korea.

Douglas MacArthur

• Leader of UN/US forces in the Korean War

• MacArthur had helped advance UN troops northward, getting closer to the goal to unify Korea. • Chinese forces step up and begin to turn the tide

of the war.

• Wanted to attack China• Truman would not allow him to do so. • MacArthur disagreed and spoke openly on how

he felt. • Truman disapproved of this, and eventually fired

MacArthur.

Joseph McCarthy

• Struggling senator from Wisconsin that began a “witch hunt” to hunt down Communists whom he believed were trying to take over the US government. • Attacks made in the early 1950s against Communists

were known as McCarthyism.

• McCarthy made claims against many people from many different facets of life. • Ex: Scientists, Hollywood Actors, Protesters against

the govt,

Revolutions in Cuba

• Fidel Castro welcomes the Communist regime and ideals of the Soviet Union. • US government was

suspicious of Castro• Castro seizes oil refineries

of the US. • Castro also took Soviet

aid

Bay of Pigs

• President Eisenhower gives CIA permission to secretly train former Cuban citizens to invade Cuba. • Hope to inspire a potential mass uprising

• Around 1500 of these trained operatives went to invade Cuba, but were met by 25,000 Cuban soldiers and Soviet tanks.

Cuban Missile Crisis

• Nikita Kruschev, the Soviet Premier, orders for many nuclear missiles to be shipped, flown to Cuba.

• Cuba had Soviet missiles in their country, which were pointed towards the USA. • Remember, Cuba is within 100 miles of Florida.

• This event greatly worried JFK. • US was in a state of turmoil. • High alert of potential military action and threat

• Kruschev ordered for the crisis to end, as long as the USA would pledge to NOT invade Cuba

Vietnam War

• Conflict in Vietnam similar to the conflict in Korea. • North Vietnam supported by Communists • South Vietnam supported by Nationalists,

Democratic nations.

• First real war ever televised on TV

Heavy Opposition to the war

• Mass protests broke out in the US. • Ex: Kent State Massacre of 1970

• Protests against US involvement in war led to many different forms of protest other than just normal ways of protesting. • Ex: Musical Artists

• Bob Dylan • Edwin Starr • Marvin Gaye • John Lennon