APWH Unit 8.1-8.3
Cold War and Decolonization
Cold War: Climate of hostility between two countries maintained via treaties, propaganda, arms race rather than open warfare
WW2 Ended and US,UK, Russia help meetings on how to move forward
- Yalta Conference
- Potsdam Conference
Cold War between Soviet Union and United States
Decolonization: empires broken up and former colonies gained independence
8.1 Setting the Stage for the Cold War and Decolonization
(1994) Yalta Conference
Roosevelt pushed for free elections in Eastern Europe
Stalin wanted Eastern Europe under Soviet influence to keep them as a buffer between Soviet Union the West
Roosevelt understood there was little he could do to convince Stalin to hold free elections, other than pursuing another war, but Stalin at least gave vague assurance they would have free elections
(July 1945) Potsdam Conference
Roosevelt died, Truman also insisted on free Eastern european elections, but Stalin’s troops already occupied much of Eastern Europe and he refused
Deepened the split between US and Soviet Union, two largest superpowers after WW2
Russians surprised by US creation of the a-bomb, displeased US hadn’t told its allies
A- bomb began setting the stage for the Cold War
US Vs Russia
|
|
Meanwhile…
Empire building and colonialism peaked at the start of WW1
Post WW1 President Wison supported self-determination (allowing colonized nations right to choose own government)
Self-determination was never granted, but colonists stull fought for parent countries in WW2
Post WW2 patent countries financially drained and burying their soldiers, not in a position to repress rebellions in the colonies
Colonies received support from the US and Soviet Union for decolonization
8.2
The United States and Soviet Union had different Economic and Governmental Systems
US | Soviet Union |
Economics | Capitalists: private ownership individuals make their own economic decisions in their own self interests to make a profit | Communists: Govt ownership, goods distributed to people equally |
Government | Democracy w Free and fair elections | Authoritarian w single political party |
United States structured Western Europe in it’s likeness by supporting them w/ Marshall Plan
| Soviet Union took the Soviet Bloc countries: Bulgaria, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania and others
|
Arms Race: Stalin envious of a US a-bomb (1 mile radius) and hurried to create his own
(1945) Hiroshima -> (1947) Soviet created their own bigger and more destructive bomb
(1950) US and Soviets created hydrogen bomb, 1000x more powerful, 5-10 mile radius
(1959) Soviets developed intercontinental ballistic missile that could reach the US
Didn’t fire at each other, since it would result in mutual destruction
Space Race
(1957) Soviets launched Sputnik: first satellite
(1958) Soviet launched satellite
(April 1961) Soviets sent 1st man to space (Yuri Gagarin)
(May 1961) Americans sent 2nd man to space (Alan Shepard)
(1969) Americans landed manned capsule on the moon (Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin)
Non-Aligned Movement: new Asian and African nations free of colonial rule wanted nothing to do w/ tension between the superpowers
Movement’s Goal: represent interest of developing nations, led by:
- Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana: won independence from Great Britain and created Organization of African Unity
- Sukarno: first president of Indonesia (1945) who organized bandung conference (1955) which established the Non-Aligned movement
8.3 Effects of the Cold War
The Cold War did not involve direct conflict, but instead new military alliances, proxy wars, and building nuclear arsenals
Military Alliances
The Soviet Bloc: Soviet Union occupied Eastern Europe and installed communist gov’ts to serve the Soviet Union
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) (1949): Western European countries anxious w/ Soviet Bloc, formed their own alliance against soviets
- US, Great Britain, France, Canada, Belgium, Norway, Luxembourg, Denmark,
Portugal, Iceland, Italy, Netherlands
Warsaw Pact (1955): Soviets created their own alliance in response
- Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Romania, Hungary, Poland, Albania,
Bulgaria
Proxy war: indirect fighting where one various conflicts represents the actual tension between US and Russia
Korean War: After WW2, North Korea occupied by Soviets, south Korea by US and allies
1950 North Korean attempts to conquer South Korea, so allies (mostly the US) sent troops to South Korean;s aid, Russian’s sent weapons to North Korea's aid
NATO forces pushed North Koreans up to the Chinese board, China thus sent their own troops and North Koreans pushed back down to 38th parallel.
1953 stalemate, 3 million dead
Angola Civil War (1975)
Portuguese colony in West Africa had combined rival groups in Africa
But when Portuguese relinquished their colony in West Africa (Angola) it fell part into civil war, w/ the US supporting one faction and Russia supporting two other factions
Contra War in Nicaragua
Sandinista National Liberation Front (self-claimed socialists) seized power (1979) US anxious w/ socialists to their continent, so 2 years later, US backed a group of contras (US funded rebel groups) in an attempt to overthrow Sandinistas, Russia supported Sandinistas.
Sandinista committed many human rights violations -> ceasefire -> sandinistas ….
Cuban Missile Crisis (1962): US had placed nukes in Turkey boarding Soviet Union, so Soviet Union retaliated w/ sending nukes to Cuba, especially after US failed attempt to oust Cuban communist leader Fidel Castro
Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchevsent nukes to Cuba, they were now in US backyard
President Kennedy ordered naval blockade to prevent nukes from reaching Cuba, w/ US ships surrounding Cuba, Cuba could see this as a declaration of war
13 tense days people world wide feared nuclear war
1968 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty: nuclear powers had to prevent non-nuclear nations from developing nukes
The Cold War was concerned about the spread Communism versus Capitalism
China
1927 Chinese communists vs chinese nationalists fought over who’d control China
1931 Japanese invaded Northern china so by 1935 nationalists and communists united briefly
By the time WW2 ended, Communists had won and had a Communist Revolution
Chairman Mao in Tiananmen Square1949 and declared funding of the People’s Republic of China
The Great Leap Forward: Chairman Mao nationalized industry and agriculture (took it from private ownership) and redivided it among peasants, who were required to work the land
Chairman Mao established reeducation camps for those who rebelled, if you failed to be brainwashed into supporting Mao’s policies you’d be killed
Farm harvest failed, but Mao didn’t want to admit his program a failure so continued exporting the little grain they did grow, so 15-55 million starved to death (6-11 million died in Hitler’s Holocaust )
Land Reform
Iran
During WW2 Iran remained neutral, but the shah, Rezas Shah, stated he supported Hitler
So Britain and Russia invaded Iran and set up their own shah sympathetic to the west
(1951) Iranian nationalists overthrew the shah and established their own prime minister in 1953, so Britain and Russia again overthrew the prime minister and replaced him AGAIN with someone they liked: Muhammad Reza Pahlavi
Muhammad Reza Pahlavi: could be a harsh authoritarian, but did dd some good policies, such as women’s suffrage and social welfare, and lead the White Revolution: Pahlavi forcibly brought land from the wealthy and resold to peasants as a fraction of the cost, which helped some but ignored others.
Cold War and Decolonization
Cold War: Climate of hostility between two countries maintained via treaties, propaganda, arms race rather than open warfare
WW2 Ended and US,UK, Russia help meetings on how to move forward
- Yalta Conference
- Potsdam Conference
Cold War between Soviet Union and United States
Decolonization: empires broken up and former colonies gained independence
8.1 Setting the Stage for the Cold War and Decolonization
(1994) Yalta Conference
Roosevelt pushed for free elections in Eastern Europe
Stalin wanted Eastern Europe under Soviet influence to keep them as a buffer between Soviet Union the West
Roosevelt understood there was little he could do to convince Stalin to hold free elections, other than pursuing another war, but Stalin at least gave vague assurance they would have free elections
(July 1945) Potsdam Conference
Roosevelt died, Truman also insisted on free Eastern european elections, but Stalin’s troops already occupied much of Eastern Europe and he refused
Deepened the split between US and Soviet Union, two largest superpowers after WW2
Russians surprised by US creation of the a-bomb, displeased US hadn’t told its allies
A- bomb began setting the stage for the Cold War
US Vs Russia
|
|
Meanwhile…
Empire building and colonialism peaked at the start of WW1
Post WW1 President Wison supported self-determination (allowing colonized nations right to choose own government)
Self-determination was never granted, but colonists stull fought for parent countries in WW2
Post WW2 patent countries financially drained and burying their soldiers, not in a position to repress rebellions in the colonies
Colonies received support from the US and Soviet Union for decolonization
8.2
The United States and Soviet Union had different Economic and Governmental Systems
US | Soviet Union |
Economics | Capitalists: private ownership individuals make their own economic decisions in their own self interests to make a profit | Communists: Govt ownership, goods distributed to people equally |
Government | Democracy w Free and fair elections | Authoritarian w single political party |
United States structured Western Europe in it’s likeness by supporting them w/ Marshall Plan
| Soviet Union took the Soviet Bloc countries: Bulgaria, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania and others
|
Arms Race: Stalin envious of a US a-bomb (1 mile radius) and hurried to create his own
(1945) Hiroshima -> (1947) Soviet created their own bigger and more destructive bomb
(1950) US and Soviets created hydrogen bomb, 1000x more powerful, 5-10 mile radius
(1959) Soviets developed intercontinental ballistic missile that could reach the US
Didn’t fire at each other, since it would result in mutual destruction
Space Race
(1957) Soviets launched Sputnik: first satellite
(1958) Soviet launched satellite
(April 1961) Soviets sent 1st man to space (Yuri Gagarin)
(May 1961) Americans sent 2nd man to space (Alan Shepard)
(1969) Americans landed manned capsule on the moon (Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin)
Non-Aligned Movement: new Asian and African nations free of colonial rule wanted nothing to do w/ tension between the superpowers
Movement’s Goal: represent interest of developing nations, led by:
- Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana: won independence from Great Britain and created Organization of African Unity
- Sukarno: first president of Indonesia (1945) who organized bandung conference (1955) which established the Non-Aligned movement
8.3 Effects of the Cold War
The Cold War did not involve direct conflict, but instead new military alliances, proxy wars, and building nuclear arsenals
Military Alliances
The Soviet Bloc: Soviet Union occupied Eastern Europe and installed communist gov’ts to serve the Soviet Union
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) (1949): Western European countries anxious w/ Soviet Bloc, formed their own alliance against soviets
- US, Great Britain, France, Canada, Belgium, Norway, Luxembourg, Denmark,
Portugal, Iceland, Italy, Netherlands
Warsaw Pact (1955): Soviets created their own alliance in response
- Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Romania, Hungary, Poland, Albania,
Bulgaria
Proxy war: indirect fighting where one various conflicts represents the actual tension between US and Russia
Korean War: After WW2, North Korea occupied by Soviets, south Korea by US and allies
1950 North Korean attempts to conquer South Korea, so allies (mostly the US) sent troops to South Korean;s aid, Russian’s sent weapons to North Korea's aid
NATO forces pushed North Koreans up to the Chinese board, China thus sent their own troops and North Koreans pushed back down to 38th parallel.
1953 stalemate, 3 million dead
Angola Civil War (1975)
Portuguese colony in West Africa had combined rival groups in Africa
But when Portuguese relinquished their colony in West Africa (Angola) it fell part into civil war, w/ the US supporting one faction and Russia supporting two other factions
Contra War in Nicaragua
Sandinista National Liberation Front (self-claimed socialists) seized power (1979) US anxious w/ socialists to their continent, so 2 years later, US backed a group of contras (US funded rebel groups) in an attempt to overthrow Sandinistas, Russia supported Sandinistas.
Sandinista committed many human rights violations -> ceasefire -> sandinistas ….
Cuban Missile Crisis (1962): US had placed nukes in Turkey boarding Soviet Union, so Soviet Union retaliated w/ sending nukes to Cuba, especially after US failed attempt to oust Cuban communist leader Fidel Castro
Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchevsent nukes to Cuba, they were now in US backyard
President Kennedy ordered naval blockade to prevent nukes from reaching Cuba, w/ US ships surrounding Cuba, Cuba could see this as a declaration of war
13 tense days people world wide feared nuclear war
1968 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty: nuclear powers had to prevent non-nuclear nations from developing nukes
The Cold War was concerned about the spread Communism versus Capitalism
China
1927 Chinese communists vs chinese nationalists fought over who’d control China
1931 Japanese invaded Northern china so by 1935 nationalists and communists united briefly
By the time WW2 ended, Communists had won and had a Communist Revolution
Chairman Mao in Tiananmen Square1949 and declared funding of the People’s Republic of China
The Great Leap Forward: Chairman Mao nationalized industry and agriculture (took it from private ownership) and redivided it among peasants, who were required to work the land
Chairman Mao established reeducation camps for those who rebelled, if you failed to be brainwashed into supporting Mao’s policies you’d be killed
Farm harvest failed, but Mao didn’t want to admit his program a failure so continued exporting the little grain they did grow, so 15-55 million starved to death (6-11 million died in Hitler’s Holocaust )
Land Reform
Iran
During WW2 Iran remained neutral, but the shah, Rezas Shah, stated he supported Hitler
So Britain and Russia invaded Iran and set up their own shah sympathetic to the west
(1951) Iranian nationalists overthrew the shah and established their own prime minister in 1953, so Britain and Russia again overthrew the prime minister and replaced him AGAIN with someone they liked: Muhammad Reza Pahlavi
Muhammad Reza Pahlavi: could be a harsh authoritarian, but did dd some good policies, such as women’s suffrage and social welfare, and lead the White Revolution: Pahlavi forcibly brought land from the wealthy and resold to peasants as a fraction of the cost, which helped some but ignored others.
