Week of May 2nd-6th

Monday: Forum posts and took Cold War Notes

Tuesday: Cold War Notes

Wednesday: Cold War Notes

Thursday: Cold War Notes

Friday: Cold War Notes

Cold War Notes

Second Red Scare-1947-1957
- Causes:
  - Julius and Ethel Rosenberg Trial
    - Found guilty of spying for the Soviets-executed in 1953
  - The Iron Curtain surrounding Eastern Europe-1945
  - The USSR detonating their atomic bomb-1949
  - China becoming communist in 1949
  - The kOrean War starting in 1950-Domino Effect
  - Stalin's actions in Germany- Berlin Blockade
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 with the government
- Approximately 215 people were indicted under the legislation, including alleged communists, Anarchists, and fascists
- Prosecutions under the Smith Act continued until 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
McCarthy's Downfall
- McCarthy's downfall finally began in Oct. 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 accusations of subversion or treason without proper regard for evidence.
House Un-American Activities Committee-HUAC-1945-1975
- This organization went after directors and actors 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
US Test Hydrogen Bomb- 1952
- 1000 times more powerful than the Hiroshima atomic bomb
- Set off on Bikini Island in the Marshall Islands

Cuba
- Fidel Castro Overthrows Batista
- Bay of Pigs- 1961
  - What was it?
    - Invasion of Cuba by anti-Castro Cubans. Went to overthrow Fidel Castro
  - What were the results?
    - They were captured and we had to trade with them
    - Failed invasion
  - How did it hurt President Kennedy?
    - The attack led back to the US which made us look bad
- Cuban Missile Crisis- October, 1962
- Range of Soviet Missiles launched From Cuba
  - The Compromise
    - The Soviets would remove their missiles from Cuba
    - The US would promise never to invade Cuba
    - The US would secretly remove our nuclear missiles from Turkey within six months
- Leonid Brezhnev- 1964-1982
  - Replaced Castro
Ronald Reagan becomes President 1981
- Ran on a very strong anti-communist platform
- Soviets had just invaded Afghanistan
Yuri Andropov-USSR Leader- 1982
Konstantin Chernenko Take over 1985
Mikhail Gorbachev Comes to Power in USSR- 1985
Perestroika and Glasnost-1985
Berlin Wall Comes Down- Nov. 9, 1989
Boris Yeltsin- President of Russia 1991-1999
Discussion
- Why did we win?
  - We had close ties with our Allies and the USSR didn't
  - China started siding with us after 1972
  - The Soviet economy was in shambles whereas the US's was flourishing
    - Huge deficit
    - High inflation
    - Corruption
    - Social problems
    - Shortage of basic needs (food, housing)
  - The strong anti-communist presidency of Reagan
  - Gorbachev's willingness for change and reform
    - glasnost and perestroika
    - admitted Soviet mistakes
    - took blame for the Cold War
    - Communist system had failed
    - allowed Eastern Europe to do what they wanted
  - Arms Reduction Talks
    - SALT, INF, Reagan-Gorbachev meetings
  - 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 US military
- 9-11 caught the US off guard
Cease-Fire Signed-Minsk 2

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Week of May 2nd-6th

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