The Cold War Name: Learning Targets Hour:
1. Define & contrast the conflicting values between the U.S. and Soviet Union that led to the Cold War: Be able to contrast each pair of terms (a-b, c-d, e-f, g-h) a. capitalism: private ownership of industry; freedom of competition; survival of the fittest; laissez faire; creates different economic classes. (USA)
b. socialism: government ownership of industry; created as a reaction to capitalism; goal is to bring economic equity to people; classless society. (USSR)
c. democracy: government by the people; two forms: representative & direct. (USA)
d. totalitarianism: government by one or a few; total control over many aspects of people‟s lives; no/limited freedoms (USSR)
e. individualism: stresses the need for people to do things on their own; competition-the best individuals reach higher levels of power, status or money. (USA)
f. collectivism: stresses the need for people to work together to benefit the whole; “all for one and one for all”. (USSR)
g. freedom: the condition of being free; highly valued: freedom of press, freedom of speech, freedom to do business. (USA)
h. equality: condition of being equal; highly valued: basic needs-food, housing, education and jobs-supplied for all people (USSR) USA = equality before the law & equality of opportunity USSR = equality of condition
2. Locate the important regions of conflict during the Cold War: Soviet Union, West/East Germany, West/East Berlin, Poland, Hungary, Greece, Turkey, Czechoslovakia, North Korea, South Korea, the 38th parallel, Cuba, China, North Vietnam, South Vietnam, the 17th parallel.
Be prepared to find each country/city on a world map.
3. Define terms important to the Cold War Era: a. Cold War: a period of hostility between the U.S. and Soviet Union: includes the nuclear arms race, the space race, and wars fought “by proxy”
b. Iron Curtain: term coined by Winston Churchill-represents the buffer zone of countries around the Soviet Union
c. containment: policy supported in the Truman Doctrine: U.S. would work to restrict the spread of communism around the word 4. Describe the roots of the Cold War: Economic and Military Alliances:
a. Marshall Plan: U.S. plan to aid the rebuilding of Western European countries after WWII. Countries had to agree to buy American products. $17 billion in aid
b. Molotov Plan: Soviet plan to counter the Marshall Plan. Offered aid to Eastern European countries to keep them from joining the Marshall Plan.
c. North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO): Military alliance between the U.S., Canada, France, Great Britain, Italy, & the Netherlands. Built to protect countries from Soviet (communist) expansion.
d. Warsaw Pact: Military alliance between Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and the Soviet Union.
e. Truman Doctrine: President Truman‟s foreign policy: justified U.S. intervention to stop the spread of communism. Introduced idea of “containment” = restrict the spread of communism. Used to aid Greece & Turkey.
Events:
f. the development of nuclear weapons (the arms race): Competition between the U.S. and Soviets as military superpowers. Each side believed having more weapons than the other would keep each other “in check”. Increased fear & suspicion between the countries.
g. the Berlin Crisis: The East German city of Berlin was cut off by a Soviet blockade. The U.S. airlifted supplies to the people of Berlin to keep millions from starving. The Soviet Union responded by building a wall around West Berlin to keep East Germans out.
h. the Korean War: North Korea (aided by the Soviet Union & China) invaded South Korea in June 1950. The U.S. sent troops to try to push the North Koreans out. General Douglas MacArthur led a successful ground invasion & had the North Koreans pushed almost to the China border, but 1 million Chinese troops pushed the American & South Korean forces south of the capital Seoul. The war ended after 3 years in a stalemate (July 1953). U.S. casualties topped 130,000. Korean & Chinese casualties topped 2 million. This war represents the U.S. and Soviet Union fighting “by proxy”.
5. Describe and give reasons for the rise of McCarthyism in the United States:
a. description: the practice of making accusations of disloyalty to the U.S. or accusing people to be communists during the Cold War (early 1950s) without any proof or evidence. Teachers, government workers, and entertainment industry were favorite targets. Led to the Communist Control Act of 1954.
b. reasons for: Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin preyed upon Americans‟ fears and suspicions to accuse people of be- ing “red” or „pinks” and to root out communism in the U.S. He interrogated people in front of the House Un-American Activities Committee but never proved anyone of being conspirators.
6. Describe and evaluate the events of the Cuban Missile Crisis. A U-2 spy plane discovered that the Soviet Union was installing nuclear missiles onto the island of Cu- ba in October 1962. These short range missiles could have reached most major cities in the U.S. within minutes. President Kennedy set up a U.S. Navy blockade “quarantine” around the island of Cuba to stop advancing Soviet ships loaded with nuclear materials. The world was concerned nuclear war would break out. The Soviet ships turned back & Khrushchev agreed to move the missiles out of Cuba if the U.S. agreed to stay out of Cuba & removed the blockade, (Kennedy also secretly agreed to remove our missiles from Turkey).
7. Define terms important to the Vietnam War:
a. domino theory: American fear that if one country in a region fell to communism the whole region would also fall to communism-coined by President D. D. Eisenhower used to assist South Vietnam
b. Gulf of Tonkin Resolution: passed by Congress-gave the President (Johnson) the authority to “take all necessary measures” to defend the U.S. and repel any armed attack
c. search and destroy missions: U.S. strategy in Vietnam: U.S. patrols searched for hidden enemy camps, then destroyed them with massive firepower and air raids. Troops in helicopters were then sent in
d. napalm: jellied gasoline bomb--burned anything it touched caused terrible casualties increased unpopularity of the war in U.S.
e. Twenty-sixth Amendment: ratified in 1971, lowered federal voting age from 21 to 18 passed in response to the Vietnam War--soldiers could fight at 18, but not vote until 21.
f. War Powers Act: passed in 1973: requires the President to get congressional approval before committing U.S. troops to an armed struggle.
8. Describe U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War.
a. Reasons for involvement: the U.S. wanted to stop the spread of communism from North Vietnam to South Vietnam (domino theory, containment theory, Truman Doctrine)
b. Hardships faced by U.S. soldiers: wet, dense jungle terrain; elusive enemy; flooded rice fields; 100 degree heat; monsoons-rain; leeches; land mines & traps; Ho Chi Minh Trail; VC tunnel system; waning U.S. support for the war; exposure to Agent Orange
8. c. Reasons for growing disillusionment: Americans began to question U.S. involvement in the war: did the Vietnamese want us there? Wasn‟t it a Vietnamese civil war?; more troops meant more casualties; horrifying images on TV; concerned about high number of civilian casualties; use of napalm; war continued for years with no end in sight
d. Violence at Home during the war: anti-war protests spread across the U.S. JFK‟s/Dr. King‟s/Robert Kennedy‟s assassinations Jackson State University (2 killed 9 wounded by police) Kent State University (4 killed by Ohio National Guard)
e. Violence abroad during the war: My Lai Massacre: March 16, 1968--30 U.S. soldiers killed 200 civilians bombings in Cambodia & Laos
f. End of the war: “Tet Offensive”: major surprise attack on S. Vietnam cities on Jan. 31, 1968 (killed 2,000 Americans & 50,000 NVA and VC). Seen as turning point in the war as media covered it as an emotional victory for the N. Vietnamese Vietnamization: plan by Nixon & Kissinger to pull out U.S. troops and turn war over to the South Vietnamese January 27, 1973-after 5 years of negotiations--cease-fire; allowed 150,000 N.V. soldiers to re- main in the South; South leader stayed in power; U.S. left by March 1973 Fighting between N & S began again--South surrendered on April 30, 1975
3 million Americans served (58,000 died; 303,000 injured; 750 POWs; 2,000 MIA) 4 million Vietnamese killed or injured (1/2 civilians) Veterans had lasting effects of Agent Orange, depression, drug & alcohol addiction
9. Evaluate the escalating arms race of the Cold War.
10. Analyze events of the late Cold War (1970-1990) and the end of the Cold War.