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THE

1945- 1991 WHAT WAS IT?

The Cold War: A period of tension, competition, and hostility between the (and their allies) and the (and their allies) following World War II ORIGINS

• The division of Germany • Great Britain, France, and the U.S. were all Democratic nations • The Soviet Union was a Communist nation DEMOCRACY V.

Democracy Communism • The people elect • The government representatives who controls everything make the decisions • “Common ownership” • No social classes exist • Everyone pulls his/her weight and is equal ORIGINS

• Stalin’s deception • Vowed to allow free elections in eastern Europe • Instead created pro-Soviet (Communist) governments ORIGINS

• The Berlin Airlift • The Western Powers (Great Britain, France, the U.S.) merged their territory in Germany • Stalin blocked access to Berlin (located in the eastern half of the country) • The Western Powers airdropped supplies (food, fuel, equipment) into the city THE

• The Iron Curtain: the boundary between the Democratic nations of the West and the Communist nations of the East

“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.” – Winston Churchill

PRESIDENT TRUMAN

• War strategy: • Stop the spread of Communism • The : Truman’s promise to aid people fighting to maintain Democracy • The : $13 billion given to western and southern European countries rebuilding after World War II

VIDEO NATO V. THE

NATO The Warsaw Pact An agreement between The Soviet response to the U.S., Canada, and 10 NATO which created an European countries to alliance between 8 protect each other if communist countries attacked NATO V. THE WARSAW PACT THE

• The House Un-American Activities Committee • 4 million government workers underwent loyalty checks • The • Joseph McCarthy • Claimed that 205 members of the government were Communists • Launched a hunt for Communists in the U.S.(McCarthyism) • Army-McCarthy hearings accused the U.S. Army of “coddling Communists” THE HOLLYWOOD BLACKLIST JOSEPH MCCARTHY ARMY-MCCARTHY HEARINGS ACTIVITY: THE TRUMAN DOCTRINE

The Truman Doctrine "At the present moment in world history nearly every nation must choose between alternative ways of life. The choice is too often not a free one. One way of life is based upon the will of the majority, and is distinguished by free institutions, representative government, free elections, guarantees of individual liberty, freedom of speech and religion, and freedom from political oppression. The second way of life is based upon the will of a minority forcibly imposed upon the majority. It relies upon terror and oppression, a controlled press and radio, fixed elections, and the suppression of personal freedoms. I believe that it must be the policy of the United States to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures. I believe that we must assist free peoples to work out their own destinies in their own way. I believe that our help should be primarily through economic stability and orderly political process." -- President Harry S. Truman, March 12, 1947 in an Address Recommending aid to Greece and Turkey.

Discussion Questions 1. Who is Truman addressing? 2. What is Truman asking for? 3. What are the first and second "ways of life" that Truman refers to? Give textual examples of the differences Truman mentions between these two “ways of life.” 4. Who is President Truman referring to when speaking of the two different "ways of life"? 5. Give a modern day example of a country that lives by the first "way of life". 6. Give a modern day example of a country that lives by the second "way of life". 7. How are the conditions (quality of life) in these two countries (from questions 5 & 6) different? ACTIVITY: THE TRUMAN DOCTRINE

Extract from Oral History Interview with CLARK M. CLIFFORD Assistant to White House Naval Aide, 1945-46; Special Counsel to the President, 1946-50. Washington, D. C. March 16, 1972 by Jerry N. Hess. "We weren't concerned about markets; we were concerned about preventing Soviet control of larger areas of the world than they already controlled. When the Second World War ended, France was decimated. England was almost brought to its knees, you'll remember, and if Hitler had moved at one time, he could have probably brought them to their knees. The Soviet Union had gone through the most traumatic experience of its career. I read that in the Second World War it's estimated that the Soviet Union lost between twenty-five and thirty million men. So I think they were just determined that it was never going to happen to them again. But an enormous vacuum had been left in the free world by the end of World War II, and the Soviet Union was determined to move into that vacuum. Now, that was the basis of the Marshall plan when we were thinking about reviving Europe. At the time the Soviets were pressing and searching and trying to find every soft spot where they could insert themselves. That was the reason for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization; it was the reason for the Truman Doctrine."

Discussion Questions 1. What does Clifford mean when he says, "an enormous vacuum had been left in the free world by the end of World War II?" 2. Why would the Soviet Union be determined to avoid another conflict as devastating as World War II? 3. What does Clifford say was the main reason for NATO and the Truman Doctrine? 4. What does NATO stand for? 5. Compare Truman's address in the previous reading with Clifford's statements in his oral history. Make a list of similarities and differences between the two sources of information. What can you conclude from this comparison? 6. What influence does the Truman Doctrine have on American foreign policy today? THE

• The 38th Parallel: a boundary between the Soviet-backed Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) and the Republic of Korea (South Korea) • Created after WWII (Japan had owned Korea) • Half went to the Soviets, half to the U.S. • More than 10,000 soldiers from both sides had died before the war even began due to crossing the border

What is ironic about the name “Democratic People’s Republic of Korea?” SOUTH KOREA NORTH KOREA WAR!

• June 25, 1950: 75,000 North Korean soldiers crossed the 38th Parallel • In response, the United States sent soldiers

AMERICAN PARANOIA

• Americans feared this was the first step in the Communists plan to take over the world

“If we let Korea down, the Soviets will keep right on going and swallow up one place after another.” – Harry Truman THE STRATEGY

• Plan #1: attempt to force North Korea back across the 38th Parallel • FAILURE! • The North Korean Army: well-disciplined, well-trained, well- equipped • The South Korean Army: Frightened, confused, and prone to fleeing • Plan #2: Liberate ALL of Korea (even North Korea) from the Communists • SUCCESS! • At first… • Communist China feared the U.S. would come for them next and joined the North Koreans

COMMUNIST CHINA

THE DILEMMA

• Solution #1: Keep fighting General MacArthur’s plan • The problem: The Soviets might step in, starting a nuclear war

• Solution #2: Agree to peace • The problem: This would be a clear sign of weakness and show that Communism was winning President Truman’s plan THE OUTCOME

• After two years of negotiations, they agreed to end the war • South Korea gained an extra 1,500 square miles of territory • It created a 2-mile wide “demilitarized zone” that still exists today • Though it only lasted 3 years, nearly 5 million people died (40,000 Americans) DEMILITARIZED ZONE DEMILITARIZED ZONE THE KOREAN WAR

“If the best minds in the world had set out to find us the worst possible location in the world to fight this damnable war, the unanimous choice would have been Korea.” VIDEO ACTIVITY: THE KOREAN WAR

5th Recording 6th Recording 1. Why does Truman say the United States 1. Truman states that McArthur was too busy did not occupy all of Korea after World to come to the United States. Where did War II? Truman meet McArthur? 2. Truman says that atomic weapons were 2. Some of the “boys” told Truman that not used in Korea when the Chinese McArthur failed to show him respect. crossed the Yalu River. Why did Truman Although, Truman did not care that insist atomic weapons should not be McArthur failed to show him respect, what used? was the disrespectful action? 3. Truman speaks of the aggression of the 3. Truman was afraid of what future event, if 1920’s and 1930’s in these recordings. we fought a war in China? Name two of the aggressor nations 4. How does Truman describe McArthur’s Truman is referring to. personality? 4. How does Truman feel about war 5. How would you have dealt with the atrocities and the accountability they McArthur controversy if you were in should face? Truman’s shoes? 5. Discuss how Truman believed his experiences as a World War I veteran help guide his decisions as Commander and Chief. 6. After listening to the recordings of President Truman, name and describe at least two decisions you believe were positive and beneficial. Name and describe at least two decisions you believe were negative and detrimental. Explain your answer. This question is graded with a higher score. DWIGHT EISENHOWER

• War strategy: • The U.S. would raise tensions with Communist nations, even threatening to go to war to fight Communism • The Soviet Union created its first atomic bomb, which began an with the U.S. • The U.S. built the world’s first H-Bomb (hydrogen bomb) • 3 years later, the Soviet Union created their own NIKITA KHRUSHCHEV

• Strategy: De- Stalinization • The process of undoing what Stalin had done • Freed political enemies • Renamed Stalingrad to Volgograd • Reduced the “status” of the dictator • Preferred peaceful relations with the West • Hated Chinese dictator Mao Zedong • Approved the construction of the THE

• The Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the world’s first space satellite • Eisenhower responded by creating NASA and pouring billions of dollars into space research • Before the U.S. could respond, the Soviet Union sent the first animal (a dog!) and the first person (Yuri Gagarin) into space YURI GAGARIN VIDEO ACTIVITY: THE SPACE RACE

• View the timeline of the space race. • Develop two arguments (one per partner) supporting why you believe the United States won the space race. • Develop two arguments (one per partner) supporting why you believe the Soviet Union won the space race. • Group 1: Support the U.S. winning • Group 2: Support the U.S.S.R. winning • Group 3: Compare and contrast the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. ASSIGNMENT

Now that you have become familiar with both sides of the argument, “Who ‘won’ the Space Race?”, you are to write a 2-3 page response (double spaced) picking one side, either American or Soviet, explaining why you think that side won. Use at least 3 examples of accomplishments the side you picked achieved, and explain why each accomplishment helped that side win.