The+Cold+War

Cold War  1945-1989   Abbie Breidenbach, Kaicy Copley, & Devon Blackwelder





















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//The aftermath of World War Two left the United States and Russia as the dominant military powers in the world, but they had very different forms of government and economy, the former a capitalist democracy, the latter a communist dictatorship. The two nations were rivals who feared each other, each ideologically opposed. The war also left Russia in control of large areas of Eastern Europe, and the US led Allies in control of the West. While the Allies restored democracy in the West, Russia began making Soviet satellites out of its 'liberated' lands; the split between the two was dubbed the Iron Curtain.// //The West feared a communist invasion. The US countered with the Truman Doctrine with its policy of containment to stop communism spreading and the Marshall Plan, massive aid aimed at supporting collapsing economies which were letting communist sympathisers gain power. Military alliances were formed as the West grouped together as NATO and the East as the Warsaw Pact. By 1951 Europe was divided into two power blocs, American led and Soviet led, each with atomic weapons. A 'cold war' followed which spread globally, leading to a nuclear standoff.// The D-Days landings were in many ways the key battle of the Cold War in Europe. The conflict has often been described a substitute for a final post-Second World War peace settlement which never came and the Cold War deeply permeated life in East and West, affecting culture and society as well as politics and the military. The Cold War has also often been described as a contest between democracy and communism, while in reality the situation was more complicated, with the 'democratic' side, led by the US, supporting some distinctly non-democratic, some brutally authoritarian, regimes in order to deny countries to the Soviet sphere of influence.

10 Key Terms- 1. Satellite States- economically and politically dependent Eastern European. The Marshall Plan was not to shut these out. 2. Policy of Containment- to keep communism within its existing boundaries and prevent further Soviet aggressive moves. 3. Arms Race- This is when both countries built up their armies and weapons. 4. Domino Theory- If the Communists succeeded in South Vietnam, the argument went, other countries in Asia would also fall (like dominoes) to communism. 5. Heavy Industry- the manufacture of machines and equipment for factories and mines. 6. De-stalinization- The process of eliminating the more ruthless policies of Stalin. 7. Welfare State- A state in which the government takes responsibility for providing citizens with services and a minimal standard of living. 8. Bloc- A group of nations with a common purpose. By the 1960s the EEC had become and important trading bloc. 9. Real Wages- The actual purchasing power of income, this grew an average of 3 percent a year. 10. Women's liberation movement- By the late 1960s, women had begun to assert their rights again.

10 Links Yalta Conference-This website tell you that in the year of 1945, Joseph Stalin, Winston Churchill, and Franklin D. Roosevelt met in Yalta. Winston Churchill-This site lets us know that he was educated at Harrow and Sandhurst. Also that he had a american mother. United Nations-This tell us that in 1945, 50 representatives of 50 countries met in San Francisco to talk about this charter. Truman Doctrine-On March 12, 1947, president Truman decided to assist any country whose stability was threatened by Communism. Marshall Plan-Truman's secretary of state announced the Marshall Plan, also known as the European Recovery Program (ERP). George Kennan-This site mentions that he was born in Wisconsin on the 16th of February, 1904. And he graduated from St. Johns Military Academy. Warsaw Pact-This tells us that in April 1985 a bunch of countries got together to sign a treaty about friendship and other ideas. Arms Race- This talks about how it just clouds rather than clarifies the understanding of the dynamics of international rivalries. Nikita Khrushchev-This website tells us that he was the first Secretary of the Communist Part of the Soviet Union between the years of 1953 -1964. Berlin Wall-This talks about how the dates between the rise and the fall were August 13, 1961 -- November 9, 1989

"A freely elected government in any of these East European countries would be anti-Soviet, and that we can not allow." Stalin Note Packet 

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