Cold War (1945-1960) PPT Notes

(Global) Superpower:

• Military (Nuclear Weaponry)

  • Main 3: USA, Russia, China

  • Others: France, England, Israel, North Korea, India, Pakistan, England

• Money - Economic Stability

  • trade

• Political Power (Leadership)

  • allies

  • strength

    • Ex: Biden (2021-25) was seen as weak due to his age and inability to uphold himself strongly in international affairs and public speaking

    • Ex: Trump is setting high tariffs and taking an aggressive stance in international affairs (Gulf of Mexico → Gulf of America) which alienates the USA from allies and creates a worse image

Two Main Ideologies:

1) Soviet Union & Eastern Bloc: Aim to spread Communism.

2) U.S. & Western Democracies: Containment policy to stop Communism’s spread.

Methods Used:

• Espionage (KGB vs. CIA)

• Arms Race (nuclear escalation)

• Proxy Wars (influence in Third World nations)

• NATO (West) vs. Warsaw Pact (East)

Post-War Tensions & Early Conflicts

• Iron Curtain Speech (1946): Churchill highlights division in Europe.

• Partition of Germany:

  • Split into four zones (U.S., Britain, France, USSR).

  • Western allies sought independence; USSR wanted control.

• Berlin Blockade & Airlift (1948-49):

  • Soviets blocked ground transport to Berlin.

  • U.S. airlifted supplies; Soviets lifted blockade.

  • Germany officially split: West (democratic), East (communist).

U.S. Containment Policies

• Long Telegram & Article X (1946): George Kennan warns of Soviet expansionism.

• Truman Doctrine (1947): U.S. aids nations resisting communism (e.g., Greece & Turkey).

• Marshall Plan (1948): $12.5 billion in aid to rebuild Europe & prevent communism.

Cold War Military Alliances & Escalation

• NATO (1949): U.S. & allies form military alliance.

• Warsaw Pact (1955): Soviet counter to NATO.

• Nuclear Arms Race:

  • USSR develops atomic bomb (1949).

  • U.S. develops hydrogen bomb (1952), USSR follows (1953).

• China Becomes Communist (1949):

  • Mao Zedong wins civil war; Nationalists flee to Taiwan.

  • U.S. sees this as a failure of containment.

Korean War (1950-1953)

• North Korea (Communist) invades South Korea.

• U.S. & UN intervene to stop communist spread.

• China enters war; stalemate at 38th parallel.

• MacArthur fired for wanting to use nuclear weapons.

• 1953: Armistice signed; Korea remains divided.

Further Cold War Developments

• Massive Retaliation (1950s): U.S. strategy of threatening nuclear war instead of conventional warfare.

• Death of Stalin (1953): Khrushchev becomes Soviet leader, promoting "peaceful coexistence."

• Sputnik (1957): First Soviet satellite; U.S. sees it as a technological threat.

  • Response: National Defense Education Act (1958) & NASA formed.

Late 1950s Tensions

• Berlin Crisis (1958-60): Khrushchev demands U.S. leave West Berlin; Eisenhower refuses.

• U-2 Spy Plane Incident (1960):

  • U.S. caught spying on USSR.

  • Worsens relations before a planned summit.

• Cuban Revolution (1959):

  • Fidel Castro overthrows Batista.

  • Aligns with USSR; U.S. cuts diplomatic ties.

  • Encourages communist revolutions in Latin America.