origins of the cold war

**how did the 1920s

over reliance on credit and speculative investments contribute to the Great Depression

**Cold War

A 45-year ideological, strategic, and geo-political conflict between the United States and its allies (the West) and the Soviet Union and its allies (the East). Core causes included power vacuums after WWII, an ideological struggle between capitalism and communism, competition for influence in new nations, and the threat of nuclear war.**

**Harry S. Truman

Became president after FDR's death. Lacked a college degree and was initially doubted by some, but was known for his drive, integrity, and courage. His early actions, like cutting off Lend-Lease to the USSR, set the tone for post-war tensions.**

**Initial Post-War Tensions

Included Truman cutting off Lend-Lease aid and denying the USSR a reconstruction loan. The Soviets created a communist "buffer zone" in Eastern Europe. Winston Churchill's "Iron Curtain" speech in 1946 described the division of Europe.**

**George F. Kennan's "Long Telegram"

An 8,000-word message in 6 that analyzed Soviet psychology and strategy. It argued the USSR was expansionist and would try to divide capitalist nations, leading to the official U.S. policy of Containment.**

**Containment (Kennan's view)

The primary U.S. foreign policy strategy during the Cold War. Kennan's concept was primarily an economic and political strategy to block the spread of communism, believing the Soviet system would eventually collapse from within if it could not expand.**

**Truman Doctrine (1947)

A policy that clarified and implemented containment, giving it a more military focus. It stated the U.S. would "support free peoples resisting subjugation." It led to $400 million in aid to Greece and Turkey and committed the U.S. to a global role against communism.**

**Marshall Plan (1948)

A massive U.S. program providing over $12 billion in economic aid to rebuild Western Europe. Its goals were to create stable economies, prevent post-war chaos, and make communism less appealing. It was successful and was seen by Stalin as a threat, prompting the Berlin Blockade.**

**Berlin Blockade and Airlift (1948-49)

Stalin blocked all land/water routes to West Berlin to force the Allies out. In response, the U.S. and Britain supplied the city entirely by air for nearly a year. The Airlift was a success, the blockade was lifted, and it led to the formal creation of East and West Germany.**

**NATO (1949)

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, a defensive military alliance. Its key principle was that an attack on one member was an attack on all, formally ending U.S. isolationism and unifying Western military power against the Soviet threat.**

**National Security Act of 1947

Major U.S. reorganization that created the Department of Defense (unifying the military), the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and the National Security Council (NSC) to coordinate foreign policy.**

**Creation of Israel (1948)

After the UN voted to partition Palestine in 1947, Jewish leaders declared the state of Israel. Neighboring Arab nations immediately invaded, creating a lasting conflict that became a flashpoint in the Cold War as superpowers backed different sides.**