The Cold War: Ideologies and Global Impact

• The Cold War was a 50-year-long confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union, characterized by increased military capabilities and competition for global influence, without direct combat.
• The United States advocated for a capitalist system with free markets and multiple political parties.
• The Soviet Union supported a communist system with a centralized state and a single political party.

Ideological Differences

• Communist societies favored wealth redistribution and state-run economies, resulting in low unemployment but potentially unequal distribution of goods.
• The US capitalist system promoted free markets and freedom of religion but often led to economic inequalities.
• Both sides used propaganda to negatively portray each other.

Key Features of the Cold War

• The threat of nuclear war
• Competition for allegiance of newly independent nations
• Military and economic support of each other’s enemies worldwide
• The United States demonstrated military strength by dropping atomic bombs on Japan.
• The Soviet Union sought nuclear technology to deter American aggression.
• The United States had fewer casualties and an expanding economy.
• The Soviet Union experienced a devastating invasion and heavy losses.

A Divided Europe

• Soviet leader Josef Stalin aimed to expand territory and create a buffer between the Soviet Union and Europe, establishing communist parties in Central and Eastern Europe (the Eastern Bloc).
• The United States provided over $12 billion to rebuild Western European nations that agreed to open trade.
• Europe was divided economically and militarily along the Iron Curtain, restricting travel and cultural exchange.
• Germany was divided into East and West, with separate governments and capital cities.
• Berlin was split, with the British, French, and Americans controlling West Berlin and the Soviets controlling East Berlin.
• The Berlin Wall was built in 1961 to prevent defections, becoming a key symbol of the Cold War.

The Cold War Heats Up Around the World

• From 1945 to 1953, the Soviet Union expanded influence in Eastern Europe, setting up puppet communist governments and suppressing resistance.
• The United States implemented a policy of containment to prevent the spread of communism.
• In the 1950s, competition expanded to the Middle East, Asia, and Latin America.
• In the 1960s, Africa became involved due to decolonization and the superpowers' support for dictatorships.
• In 1949, Communists took power in China.
• The United States sent troops to contain communism in South Korea, leading to a stalemate and a divided Korea.
• In the 1960s, the United States invaded Vietnam to contain the communist north, with the Soviet Union supporting communist forces.
• By 1975, the United States was defeated, exposing the hypocrisy of US policies and inspiring self-determination.
• After the Vietnam War, tensions briefly decreased, but the Soviet Union intervened in Afghanistan in the 1980s.
• The United States supported Soviet enemies in Afghanistan, leading to the rise of the Taliban.

The End of the Cold War

• The Cold War ended in the 1990s due to the Soviet Union's economic problems and inability to keep up with US military spending.
• Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev introduced perestroika (economic restructuring) and glasnost (openness) reforms.
• In 1989, the Berlin Wall was torn down, and anti-communism spread throughout the Eastern Bloc.
• The USSR disintegrated into independent nations.
• Fear of nuclear war prevented direct combat between the superpowers.
• The Cold War created a bipolar system of global power, forcing nations to choose sides.
• The Soviet war in Afghanistan led to economic troubles.
• In the 1990s, Eastern European countries chose non-communist governments and joined the European Union.
• The Cold War left a major imprint on nations worldwide.