• Summer 1945 • Followed the Yalta Conference in Feb. • US, UK, & Soviet Union continue plans for postwar Europe & division of Germany • Soviets block access to Berlin in 1948
• US & UK respond with the Berlin Airlift • Soviets demand Western forces leave Berlin • US refuses and the Soviets begin building the Berlin Wall in 1961
• Begun by President Truman in 1947
• US will give economic & military aid to stop spread of communism
• Aligns with domino theory that communism would spread
• Similar to Germany, Korea left divided after WW2 • North Korea invades the South in 1950 • US leads UN forces to support South Korea • Cease-fire and DMZ created at the 38th Parallel in 1953 • Long, slow building guerrilla war from 1950s to 1973 • Increased with the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution in 1964 • The 1968 Tet Offensive turned many against the war in the US • US involvement ended in 1973 but Vietnam united under communism in 1975 • Pres. Eisenhower threatens “massive retaliation” if provoked • Hopeful this would deter any Soviet strike
• Like a game of chicken • “Mutually Assured Destruction” if bombs ever used • Pres. Kennedy made it part of his “Flexible Response”
• US discovers Soviet missile buildup in Cuba in October 1962 • Results in a 13-day standoff • After a US blockade, an agreement is reached • Moscow-Washington hotline established
• An easing of tensions after years of both nations on edge • Begun by Nixon & Brezhnev in the 1970s • More talks & treaties until the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 • Strategic Arms Limitation Talks • US and Soviet Union agreed to limit their missile and weapon build-up • SALT 1 was signed, SALT II was agreed to but never ratified
• Russian reforms in the 1980s • Glasnost promotes greater transparency • Perestroika allows for some private companies • Protests begin the Baltic Republics
• Satellite states break away and attempt democracy • Berlin Wall torn down in 1989 • Soviet Union collapses and becomes Russia
• A 2nd wave of anti-communism in the 1950s • Sen Joseph McCarthy and HUAC fuel fears of communism • Leads to McCarthyism “witch hunt”
• Began with Soviet launch of Sputnik satellite in 1957
• Soviets send 1st man (Yuri Gagarin) into space in 1961
• US catches up with Apollo 11 sending first men to the moon in 1969
Match each Cold War policy to its best definition.
1. Containment A. Going as close to war as possible. 2. Brinkmanship B. An easing of tensions 3. Détente C. Keeping communism from spreading 4. Glasnost D. More openness