Cold war and ideologies

• Main topic: Causes of Cold War

Bomb Shelter Selection

• A group will be safe from nuclear attack inside a bomb shelter
• The ability to select others to enter the shelter exists
• Assume everyone else in the US may become a victim and only the people in the shelter may survive
• Individuals rank their selections of profiles 1-5 after reading and discussing each profile

Bomb Shelter Profiles

• Person #1: A 22-year-old married, 3 months pregnant retail store clerk with a high school diploma in good health and no children. Her husband is away on business
• Person #2: A 75-year-old retired widower for 10 years. He trains for the Senior Olympics and holds world records in three swimming events. Has three children and seven grandchildren living elsewhere
• Person #3: A 45-year-old married man with one child and president of the largest bank in the area. He coaches his daughter's soccer team, is in good health, and works out daily.
• Person #4: A 40-year-old female school librarian, married to Person #3, and volunteers in the Food for Elders Program
• Person #5: A 15-year-old female daughter of Person #3 and Person #4, who is an average high school student and excellent athlete and volunteers with her mother. She plays varsity volleyball and soccer
• Person #6: A 62-year-old retired widow medical doctor for 25 years, who survived a stroke two years ago and now has partial paralysis and walks with a cane
• Person #7: A 33-year-old single man, has worked for the fire department for five years, is in excellent health, an atheist and leader of a growing atheist social group
• Person #8: A 53-year-old single Catholic priest for 10 years in excellent health. His brother and parents live in another state
• Person #9: A 12-year-old male, moderately healthy. Asthmatic and uses an inhaler. His parents are divorced. His father is a U.S. Congressman and lives with a paid housekeeper. He has not seen his mother in a year, as she lives out of state
• Person #10: A 29-year-old single female police officer for four years, recently returned after a three-month medical leave from an in-house treatment center for alcoholism, although she is otherwise in good health

Bomb Shelter Selection Questions

• Is it hard to make a decision, and why?
• What are the reasons for the people included in the shelter?
• What is the social effect of using atomic bombs in war or conflict?

Economic Systems

• An economic system is a system of production and exchange of goods and services, and allocation of resources
• Two major economic systems are communism and capitalism

Capitalism

• Belief in individual ownership and competition
• Theory states when everyone is selfish and concerned for personal profit, everyone will benefit
• Adam Smith felt humans were self-serving but that fulfilling individual self-interest would meet society's needs
• Adam Smith wrote "Wealth of Nations," in which he said capitalism was good for society and the best economic system

Pros of Capitalism

• Freedom and choice to work and buy wherever
• Great success is possible
• "Survival of the fittest" mentality

Cons of Capitalism

• No "safety net", resulting in potential inability to recover from failure
• Great failure is possible
• A big gap may exist between rich and poor

Communism

• Belief in collective (group) ownership and a planned economy, with the government making decisions
• Theory involves everyone pooling resources and labor to evenly distribute everything.
• Karl Marx condemned capitalism as a system that alienated the masses
• Karl Marx wrote "The Communist Manifesto" with Engels about class struggle and the problems of capitalism

Pros of Communism

• Security, basic needs met.
• Everyone has a job, house, and healthcare
• "NO SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST PROBLEM HERE"

Cons of Communism

• Lack of choice
• No reward for hard work or punishment for slacking
• Everyone expected to be the same, lacking focus on individual growth

The Cold War: Motivation(1947)

• Europe was in ruins after World War II
• Many countries were struggling with poverty, food shortages, and political instability
• The Soviet Union was encouraging communist revolutions
• The United States was determined to stop the spread of communism
• US President Harry Truman introduced the Truman Doctrine, promising to support countries threatened by communism
• The U.S. launched the Marshall Plan, offering billions in aid to help rebuild European economies and prevent them from turning to communism

Question

• If a leader of a war-torn European country in 1947, they would respond to the Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan by:
  • A) Accepting U.S. aid through the Marshall Plan to rebuild the economy and strengthen ties with Western democracies.
  • B) Rejecting U.S. aid and aligning with the Soviet Union, believing that communist policies provide a better future
  • C) Remaining neutral and try to rebuild without taking sides in the Cold War
  • D) Requesting aid from both the U.S. and the USSR, hoping to benefit from both superpowers

Processing Questions

• Why did some countries accept the Marshall Plan while others refused?
• How did these policies increase tensions between the U.S. and the USSR?

The Cold War

• A competition between the United States and the Soviet Union for political domination
• It was a battle of ideologies: Communist VS Capitalist
• The Cold war resulted in anti-communist suspicions
• The Cold War led the two superpowers to the brink of nuclear disaster

Causes of the Cold War

• Long Term Causes
  • Ideology: capitalism vs communism
  • Tensions before WW2 over western involvement in the Russian Civil War, Appeasement, and Nazi-Soviet Pact of 1939
• Short Term Causes
  • Disagreements over Germany's future
  • Spread of communism in Eastern Europe
  • US use of the Atomic Bomb
  • Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan

Means of Control - New Alliances

• 1949: North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
• 1954: Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO)
• 1955: Central Treaty Organization (CENTO)
• 1955: Warsaw Pact

Means of Control - Economic Aid

• USA
  • Truman Doctrine
  • Marshall Plan
  • quote: "The seeds of totalitarian regimes are nurtured by misery and want." by Harry S. Truman, March 3, 1947 (ahead of the Marshall Plan)
• Soviet Union
  • Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (COMECON)

Truman Doctrine

• A policy of containment was announced by President Truman in March 1947
• The purpose was to prevent communism from spreading further
• Truman believed the world was becoming increasingly divided, and accused the Soviets of running and encouraging dictatorial regimes and stifling the world economy
• Aid was pledged to governments threatened by communist subversion

Added Pressure: Political Divide in Germany

• There were four occupation zones
• The occupation zones were merged (France, Britain, USA)
• This led to the creation of the Federal Republic of Germany (West) and the German Democratic Republic (East)

Berlin Wall

• The Berlin Wall was built by the East German government in August 1961
• The wall separated East and West Berlin
• The wall was built to stop the flow of refugees from East Germany through West Berlin

Synthesis Questions

• Do border walls work?
• How do these walls affect people?

Explore key events and ideologies of the Cold War, including the Marshall Plan and the Truman Doctrine. Understand the differences between communism and capitalism, and the roles of figures like Adam Smith and Karl Marx. Review the formation of NATO and COMECON.