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• The Cold War raises questions about conflict resolution and its causes.
• Key questions include:
• Does more conflict lead to resolution?
• What were its underlying causes?
• How exactly was it fought?

Origins of the Cold War Agenda

• Pre-Test to assess knowledge
• Includes discussion of the antecedents, including:
• Events and perceptions from World War I to World War II
• Tragic losses of the wars
• Examination of prevailing ideologies
• Yalta and Potsdam Conferences set the stage for post-war agreements.
• The Marshall Plan was initiated, which prompted a Soviet Response.
• The Truman Doctrine and Zhdanov Response defined opposing views.
• Containment strategy emerged, exemplified by the Berlin Blockade.

The Age of Ideology - 20th Century World View

• Communism or capitalism dominated economic policies.
• Authoritarian (Totalitarian) and democratic systems competed for political dominance.
• Ideologies significantly influenced human evolution.
• Excessive violence and deprivation, became common.
• Germany, Italy, the USSR, China, and Japan were key fascist states.
• The USA, Canada, and Western Europe were key liberal states.

Political Compass

• X-axis represents economic policy, while the Y-axis represents social policy.
• Authoritarianism favors bigger government.
• Libertarianism favors smaller government.
• Actual policies have both social and economic impacts, complicating placement on the compass.

Authoritarianism/Totalitarianism (Facism)

• Strongly associated with nationalism.
• Emphasis on belonging to the "right group" through birth and heritage.
• Limits participation or eradicates those who don't fit into the "right group".

Characteristics of Fascist States

• The state is ultranationalist and dictates laws/behaviors for all.
• Limited acceptance of individual rights/freedoms.
• State policy always takes precedence.
• Nation socialism involves state control of the economy.
• Aims is to develop the "mother country" without individual profit.
• Paramilitary groups enforce behaviors and state policies
• Secret police organizations function above traditional police forces.
• The state determines "best interests.”
• Detention centers, concentration camps, and gulags used for enforcement.
• The Gestapo secret police was established by Hermann Göring in Nazi Germany in 1933.

Cult of Personality

• Involves idealizing a heroic leader.
• Portrays the leader as infallible and superior.
• Uses unquestioning flattery/praise through all communication mediums.
• Disseminates concepts through extensive propaganda.
• Uses continuous messaging and removes challenges.
• Accomplished with secret police, purges, and mass communication.

American Ideology - 1930's Isolationism & Liberalism

• Isolationism arose after the Roaring '20s.
• There was remembrance of the losses of WWI and during the Great Depression.
• America practiced non-involvement and non-entanglement.
• Strong belief in human rights, rule of law, and democratic principles.
• Individuals are held responsible for their success.
• Government has a limited role in the economy and lives of citizens.

American Foreign Policy at the Close of WWI

• The goal was to avoid future conflict after massive WWI casualties.
• League of Nations failed in attempt to settle disputes.
• There was support for self-rule with Wilson's support.
• Free and open access to the sea was advocated for all ships.

Union Soviet Socialist Republics USSR

• Led to Russia on a communist path.
• Alienated Russia from the world (USA and Britain fought against the Bolsheviks).
• Involved 5 years of internal chaos
• It was an authoritarian political system, that included:
• Russian famine killed 12.5 million
• Reorganization of the entire economy
• Challenges involved a massive centralized industrialization and agricultural production.
• Implemented Stalin Purges and responded to the depression with a centralized state.

Communist Manifesto

• Communism based on the Communist Manifesto.
• Written by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels.
• Commissioned by the Communist League.
• Published in London in 1848

Why Workers Unite

• To counter exploitation
• To enable collective bargaining
• To overcome class divisions
• To establish a classless system

Theory of History

• Rests on economic foundations
• Driven by class struggle
• Involves a dialectical struggle of thesis/antithesis
• Seen as an inevitability

Perspective Taking Ally

• Germany and the Soviet Union signed a nonaggression pact in 1939, the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact.
• They agreed not to attack each other.
• They secretly divided countries.
• The USSR entered the war against Germany in June 1941.
• The U.S. entered the war against Germany in Dec. 1941 after Pearl Harbor.

Wartime Experience: US vs. USSR

• The US had FDR and Churchill who issued Atlantic Charter in 1941
• The USSR had Stalin and Molotov who signed the Nazi-Soviet Pact in 1939
• US entered WWII in Dec. 1941 (Pearl Harbor)
• The USSR entered in June 1941 (Germany invaded)
• US fielded an army of 9 million
• The USSR fielded an army of 34 million
• The US had no damage or loss of resources except Pearl Harbor
• The USSR had 25% of factories and resources destroyed
• The US military deaths amounted to 400,000
• The USSR military deaths amounted to 8-10 million
• Success against Japan at Midway in 1942
• There was no major victory until Stalingrad (1942)
• The US spent $341 billion
• The USSR spent $192 billion
• The US advocated for the UN and free elections
• The USSR insisted on friendly/communist governments

Cost of World War Two

Include:

• Military and civilian fatalities.
• Data from charts and videos, like the impact of the atomic bomb.
• More than 200,000 civilians died during the bombings

The costs of World War I

• The costs includes:
• $125-186 billion (direct)
• $151 billion (indirect)
• Allies spent $147 billion and Germans & Allies spent $61 billion (1913 US dollars)
• During the war, the UK spent 45% of GDP.
• Inflation more than doubled between 1914-1920.

WWII

• Included Fascism/militarism v. liberalism.
• Took approximately 75 million lives.
• Ended with atomic blasts that killed around 200,000 civilians.

Yalta and Potsdam Conferences

• Involved Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin in Yalta (Feb. 1945)
• They organized the defeat of Germany and world order.
• Truman, Attlee, and Stalin met in Potsdam (July-Aug. 1945).
• Poland would be a Soviet Satellite.
• Germany surrendered unconditionally.

Defining the Cold War

• Understanding the term "Cold War" in relation to WWI and WWII.
• It is important to consider the period after WWII.
• Class definition to be determined.

American Foreign Policy: Marshall Plan

• Examine Secretary of State George Marshall's address.
• Discuss Europe's requirements for foreign aid.
• Discuss the potential for economic, social, and political deterioration in Europe
• Consider vicious cycles and confidence.
• Analyze Marshall's arguments for helping Europe's economy.
• Differentiate between cures and palliatives in assistance.
• Consider behaviors that would meet opposition from the United States.
• The initiative must come from the Europeans.

Churchill-Stalin Perspectives

• Involves an examination of Churchill's "Iron Curtain" speech
• Includes Stalin’s response.
• Consideration of whether the governmental/military system situation was more of a "perception" or "reality"
• Truman Doctrine focused on Andrei Zhdanov
• Containment Theory

Secretary of State George Marshall Commencement Address, June 15, 1947

• Europe's requirements for the next three or four years are principally from America.

The Berlin Blockade

• The blockade was a major point during initial Cold War tensions.

Cold War Recap

• Timeline includes 1946-1948 installation of communist governments.
• Countries included Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Poland, East Germany, Romania, and Poland.
• Beliefs involve conflicts in communist vs. capitalist ideals.
• Aims centered on Stalin's desire for reparations from Germany.
• Aims also included buffer states in Eastern Europe.
• The US and Britain wanted Germany to recover.
• History, there was mistrust between the Soviet Union, Britain, and the USA.
• As a Result, the Yalta & Potsdam conferences were not as good as they could have been.