Cold War: Causes and Consequences

• Causes and Consequences of the Cold War

Origins of the Cold War

• Atlantic Charter (1941): FDR & Churchill agreed on post-war ideals.
• Key tenets: no territorial expansion, free trade, self-determination, and disarmament.
• It laid the foundation for the United Nations (UN) and the post-WWII world order.
• Yalta Conference (February 1945): The "Big Three" (Roosevelt, Churchill, Stalin) planned the post-war world.
• Germany was divided into four zones (US, UK, USSR, France).
• Stalin agreed to free elections in Eastern Europe, but ignored this later.
• The USSR pledged to join the war against Japan after Germany's defeat.
• Potsdam Conference (July 1945): Leaders met after Germany's surrender to determine its fate.
• Truman replaced FDR and no longer trusted Stalin.
• Truman hinted at the atomic bomb; Stalin was secretly aware due to Soviet spies.
• No agreement on Eastern Europe was reached, leading to Soviet control over Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Hungary.
• Dropping of Atomic Bombs (August 1945): Hiroshima (Aug 6) & Nagasaki (Aug 9).
• Japan surrendered, ending WWII.
• The bombs served as a warning to the USSR about U.S. military superiority, according to historians.
• Churchill's "Iron Curtain" Speech (1946): Described the Soviet Union expanding communist influence in Eastern Europe.
• Officially marked the beginning of Cold War hostilities.

US Containment Strategy & Proxy Wars

• Truman Doctrine (1947): US policy was to contain communism, preventing its spread.
• Applied to Greece & Turkey - the US provided $400 million to prevent Soviet influence.
• Set a precedent for future US interventions in Korea, Vietnam, and Latin America.
• Marshall Plan (1947): $13 billion economic aid package to rebuild Western Europe.
• Prevent communism by stabilizing economies.
• The USSR refused aid and forced Eastern Bloc countries to follow suit, solidifying Europe's division.
• Berlin Airlift (1948-49): Soviets blockaded West Berlin, attempting to starve out the Western-controlled zones.
• US & UK responded with a massive airlift, flying supplies for almost a year.
• The Soviets backed down, showing US commitment to containment.
• North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) - a military alliance of Western democracies founded in 1949.
• Its purpose was mutual defense against Soviet aggression.
• Soviets responded with the Warsaw Pact in 1955, forming their military bloc.

China and the Cold War

• Chinese Civil War (1927-1950): Nationalists (Chiang Kai-Shek) vs. Communists (Mao Zedong).
• Nationalists (KMT) were corrupt and failed to gain support.
• Communists (CCP) won support by promising land reform and ending corruption.
• The Soviets backed Mao, and the US backed Chiang.
• Mao declared the People's Republic of China (PRC) in 1949, and Chiang fled to Taiwan.
• Impact on the Cold War: The US refused to recognize Communist China (PRC) until 1971.
• Sino-Soviet Split (1960s) - Mao and the USSR clashed over ideology and leadership of global communism.
• China later moved closer to the US with Ping Pong Diplomacy in 1971.

Proxy Wars: Korea & Vietnam

• Korean War (1950-1953): Korea was divided at the 38th parallel after WWII.
• North (Kim Il-sung, Communist) vs. South (Syngman Rhee, Anti-Communist).
• North Korea invaded the South in 1950, with Soviet backing.
• US Involvement (Containment Policy): The UN, led by the US, sent troops to push North Korea back.
• China entered the war when US forces approached its border.
• Stalemate led to an armistice in 1953, and Korea remains divided.
• Vietnam War (1955-1975): French Indochina (Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia) was a colony of France.
• Ho Chi Minh (Communist) fought for Vietnamese independence.
• US Involvement: The US feared the "Domino Theory," that if Vietnam fell, other Asian countries would follow.
• Money & advisors were sent to South Vietnam in the 1950s.
• After the Gulf of Tonkin Incident in 1964, US troops were fully deployed.
• Viet Cong (communist rebels in South Vietnam) used guerrilla tactics.
• The US withdrew in 1973; by 1975, Saigon fell to communism.

The Use of Propaganda

• Cold War propaganda fueled fear and nationalism.
• Examples: McCarthyism & Red Scare, "Duck and Cover" drills, and Hollywood anti-communist films were used in the US.
• The USSR controlled the media, glorified Stalin, and denounced capitalism as imperialism.
• The Olympics was also used as a propaganda tool where the Soviets and the US competed for ideological superiority.

US Actions in Iran, Guatemala, Cuba, Chile, and Congo

• Iran Intervention (1953): The CIA overthrew Prime Minister Mossadegh (who had nationalized oil).
• The pro-US Shah was installed, leading to anti-American sentiment and the 1979 Iranian Revolution.
• Guatemala Intervention (1954): A coup removed Jacobo Arbenz (who wanted land reform).
• This led to decades of military dictatorship and civil war.
• Cuba Intervention (1959-1962): Fidel Castro overthrew US-backed Batista.
• The failed Bay of Pigs Invasion (1961) led to the Cuban Missile Crisis (1962).
• Chile Intervention (1973): The CIA backed a coup against President Allende, replacing him with dictator Pinochet.
• The US supported Pinochet despite human rights abuses.
• Congo Intervention (1960s): The US & Belgium helped assassinate Patrice Lumumba, fearing he was a Soviet ally.
• Mobutu was installed as a pro-US dictator.

End of the Cold War

• Détente (1970s) - A period of eased tensions, including SALT Treaties and Nixon's visit to China.
• Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan (1979): The US supplied weapons to Afghan rebels (Mujahedeen).
• Reagan's Arms Race (1980s): US military spending increased, forcing the USSR's economy to collapse.
• The Fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the Dissolution of the USSR in 1991 ended the Cold War.