Monday:
The Second Red Scare----1947--1957:
Causes:
- Julius and Ethel Rosenberg Trial
- Found guilt of spying for the Soviets--executed in 1953
Causes of the 2nd Red Scare Cont.
- the iron curtain surrounding eastern Europe--1945
- the USSR detonating their atomic bomb---1949
- china became communist in 1949
- the Korean war starting in 1950--Domino effect
- Stalin's actions in Germany-Berlin Blockade
Alger Hiss Trial---1950:
- in 1948, Alger Hiss was accused of being a member of a Communist group whose purpose had been to infiltrate the US government
- Hiss maintained innocence throughout trials
- In 1949, the trials ended with a hung jury-8-4 in favor of conviction
- the second trial began later in 1949 and found Hiss guilty
- Hiss' conviction was later upheld bu the Court of Appeals and the US Supreme Court
- Hiss served 5 years in prison
- in 1992, a former Soviet intelligence officer said that Hiss was not a Soviet spy, but rather a victim of Cold War hysteria
East and West Germany--1949---1990
Chiang Kai Shek vs Mao Zedong
Alien Registration Act of 1940(smith act)
- made it illegal to advocate the overthrow of the US government
- Required all non citizen adult residents to register
- approximately 215 people were indicted under the Anarchists, and fascists
- Prosecutions under the smith act continued until a the supreme court decision declared law unconstitutional in 1957
McCarthy and McCarthyism:
- Joseph McCarthy(1908--1957) was a republican senator from Wisconsin
- in 1950, he gave a speech where he claimed to have a list of 205 communists in the state department
- no one in the press actually saw the names on the list, but McCarthy's announcement made national news and caused panic throughout the country
- McCarthy became one of the most powerful people in the US
Supporters of McCarthy:
- Republicans
- Catholics
- Conservative Protestants
- Blue-collar workers
- Joseph Kennedy and his family
McCarthy's Downfall:
- McCarthy's downfall finally began in October 1953, when he started to investigate communist infiltration into the military
- this was the final straw for president Dwight D. Eisenhower, who realized that McCarthy's movement needed to be stopped
- in late 1954, the senate voted to censure him for his conduct and to strip him of his privileges
- McCarthy died three years later from alcoholism
McCarthyism:
- the practice of making accusation of subversion or treason without proper regard for evidence
House Un-American Activities Committee-HUAC-1945--1975:
- this organization went after directors and doctors in Hollywood
- the committee believed that films were spreading communist propaganda
- they set up hearings to investigate the movie industry
- Hollywood Ten
- each man was found guilty and sentenced to spend a year in prison and pay a $1,000 fine
- Blacklisted Directors/Actors/Actresses
US Test Hydrogen Bomb-1952:
- 1000 times more powerful than the Hiroshima atomic bomb
- set off on Bikini Island in the Marshall Islands
USSR Launches Sputnik--1957
Yuri Gagarin-1961:
- caused US to panic
- JFK's Moonshot speech
Francis Gary Powers Shot Down in USSR--1960
Eisenhower Embarrassment:
- Khrushchev:
- i must tell you a secret. when i made my first report i deliberately did not say that the pilot was alive and well.........and now just look how many silly things(the americans) have said
Berlin Wall----1961
Brandenburg Gate and Checkpoint Charlie:
- one check point to go from east to west Germany
Tuesday:
watched a video over the Berlin wall and how it divides the west and east Germany
Fidel Castro Overthrows Batista
Bay of pigs:
- what is it?
- an invasion of Cuban's to take over Castro
- these Cubans left when Castro came to power and moved to the US
- the US trained the Cubans and then they went back and took it over
- they wanted to save the people from communism
- what were the results?
- it was a failed invasion that US trained
- Castro found out that Kennedy was in charge of this and was nit happy
- Kennedy was really embarrassed
- The us kind of lost trust of Kennedy after that
- they thought he was weak
- how did it hurt president Kennedy?
The compromise:
- the soviets would remove their missiles from Cuba
- the US would compromise never to invade Cuba
- The US would secretly remove our nuclear missiles from Turkey within 6 months
Wednesday:
13 Days:
- be able to describe what happened in the crisis
- be able to describe the different choices that Kennedy had to choose from in dealing with this threat
- be able to explain the compromise that was reached to end the crisis
- be able to explain how this crisis was an example of brinkmanship
Leonid Brezhnev-1964-1982
Detente-1970's
Nixon Visits China
Nixon Visits Moscow
Soviets Invade Afghanistan-1979
Ronald Reagan Becomes President--1981
- ran on a very strong anti-communist platform
- Soviets had just invaded Afghanistan
Yuri Andropov-USSR Leader--1982
SDI-Star Wars:
Strategic Defense Initiative:
- 1983-Ronald Reagan- large scale funding
- intended to be a defensive shield against the potential soviet
- aim was to make nuclear weapons obsolete
- this would be achieve by developing technology to shoot down inter-continental ballistic missiles(ICBM's) in space
Konstantin Chernenko Takes Over--1985
Mikhail Gorbachev Comes to power in USSR-1985
Perestroika and Glasnost -1985:
- perestroika-Restructuring of the soviet economy and political system
- more democracy
- free elections
- Glasnost -more openness of the soviet government and for it's people
- free speech and press
Berlin Wall comes down--November 9, 1989
Boris Yeltsin-President of Russia-1991-1999
Discussion:
why did the US win the Cold War?
why did the USSR lose the Cold War?
1. we had close ties with our Allies and the USSR didn't
2. china started siding with us after 1972
3. the soviet economy was in shambles whereas the US's s flourishing
- Huge deficit
- High inflation
- Corruption
- Social problems
- shortage of basic needs(food, housing)
4. the strong anti-communist presidency of Reagan
5. Gorbachev's willingness for change and reform
- glasnost and perestroika
- admitted soviet mistakes
- too blame for the cold war
- communist system had failed
- allowed eastern Europe to do what they wanted
6. arms reduction talks
- SALT, INF, Reagan-Gorbachev meetings
7. Soviet Mistakes
- invasion of Afghanistan
- ignoring social concerns
- spent everything on military
Post-Cold War:
- in the 1990's, the world seemed to be a much more peaceful place
- we didn't have any major threat to worry about
- president Clinton closed down numerous military bases around the country reducing the size of the US military
- 9-11 caught the US off guard
Poland, Czech Republic and Hungary Join NATO-1999
Putin New Leader in Russia-----1999----2008 and 2012--??
Russia vs. Ukraine-2014-15
- Ukraine wanted to join the European Union but leader did not want to as he Pro-Russia
- Ukrainian leader is forced out
- Russia moves troop in the Crimean Peninsula and annexes it after Crimean voters vote to approve annexation
- the US declares this act by Russia as Illegal
- Russia invades Ukraine to protect pro-Russians in Ukraine
- Cease-fire was signed in February, 2015
Cease-Fire
Friday:
work day for presentation
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