April 18th-22nd

Monday- I was gone, but i received information about the Decades project from my group.

Tuesday- I started the WWII test, while the rest of the class took notes. I got my notes from Kara Rueschenberg

The Cold War, 1945-1990, US v. Union of Soviet Socialist Republics 

  • The Cold War Definition
    • A political (US democracy v. USSR communism), strategic, and ideological struggle between the US and the Soviet Union from 1945-1990
    • Spread throughout the world- Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America 
  • Communism v. Democracy
    • Democracy: form of government in which people have the ultimate say 
    • Theory of Communism: the poor will rise up and overthrow the rich and create a classist society where everyone is equal 
    • Practice of Communism: dictatorship, no freedoms, not a lot of opportunities 
      • Laos, North Korea, Vietnam, Cuba, China 
  • Socialism v. Capitalism
    • Capitalism: people own businesses, income inequality 
    • Socialism: everyone is paid equally, everything is provided 
  • History of the Soviet Union
    • Bolshevik Revolution
      • Lenin goes to Russia and starts the communist revolution
      • Russia drops out of WWI to fight in the Bolshevik revolution
      • Communists win
      • Lenin takes over
    • Stalin takes power
      • Starts purging people he can't trust
      • Starts collectivization (government taking farms)
      • Starts nationalization (government takes businesses)
    • Soviet-German Non-Aggression Pact 
    • War with Germany in WWII after Germany invaded them
    • Battle of Berlin (April-May, 1945)- USSR wins 
  • Causes of the Cold War
    • Different political systems
      • US is based on democracy, capitalism, and freedom
      • USSR is based on dictatorship, communism, and control
    • The Red Scare- 1919
      • US was fearful that communism was going to come to the US
      • We stopped immigration
      • We had the Palmer Raids where we deported communists and radicals 
      • Took away people's rights
    • Both thought their system was better and distrusted the others intentions 
    • Stalin despised capitalism
    • Distrust during WWII, lack of communication 
      • Worked together reluctantly
      • Stalin was ticked off (he thought US was playing games in North Africa and Italy, he thought US should be invading France)
      • Promised to declare war on Japan but didn't until after US dropped atomic bombs
      • Wouldn't allow US planes to land in USSR
      • Had a spy at Los Alamos (atomic bomb)
    • Stalin breaking his promise to allow free election at the Yalta Conference
    • American fear of a communist attack (Red Scare) and USSR's fear of a US attack
    • USSR's fear of the atomic bomb
    • USSR's actions in their German zone
    • USSR's goal to spread communism around the world 

Wednesday- I finished the WWII Test, and got notes from Kara Rueschenberg

The Cold War (continued)

  • Yalta Conference
    • February 1945
    • Before the end of WWII, Stalin, Churchill, and Roosevelt met at Yalta to plan what should happen after the war ended. They agreed on many points:
      • 1. The establishment of the United Nations
      • 2. Germany to be divided into four zones
      • 3. Free elections allowed in the states of eastern Europe
      • 4. Russia promised to join the war against Japan
  • Cold War Terms
    • The "West"
      • America, Canada, Britain, France, Holland, Belgium, Luxembourg, Portugal, Denmark, Norway, and Italy 
    • The "East"
      • Soviet Union, East Germany, Eastern Europe
  • If the Cold War Would've Been WWIII...
    • NATO v. Warsaw Pact 
      • Warsaw- "the East"
      • NATO (North Atlanitc Treaty Organization)- "the West
  • Post WWII/Cold War Goals for US
    • Wanted to promote open markets for US goods to prevent another depression
    • Promote democracy throughout the world, especially in Asia and Africa
    • Stop the spread of communism
      • Policy of Containment 
  • Post WWII/Cold War Goals for the USSR
    • Wanted to create greater security for itself
      • lost tens of millions of people in WWII and Stalin's purges
      • feared a strong Germany
    • Establish defensible borders
    • Encourage friendly governments on its borders
    • Spread communism around the world
  • Key Terms
    • Iron Curtain Speech
    • Domino Theory (Effect)
    • Policy of Containment
    • Truman Doctrine
    • Marshall Plan
    • Brinkmanship
    • Massive retaliation/Mutual Deterrence/Mutual Assured Destruction
    • NATO v. Warsaw Pact
    • CIA v. KGB
    • Peaceful coexistence
    • De-Stalinization
    • Detente
    • Perestroika
    • Glasnost 
    • Nuclear Test Ban Treaty- 1963
    • Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty- 1968
    • Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (Treaty)- 1972
    • Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty- 1972
    • Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty- 1996
    • Missile Defense System
  • Iron Curtain Speech
    • Winston Churchill
    • 1946
    • Speech by Churchill talking about Eastern Europe (communist) and Western Europe (democratic)
    • You could not travel between the two sides 
  • Domino Effect
    • Eisenhower 
    • 1952
    • If one country becomes communist, all the rest will follow (like dominoes) 
  • Policy of Containment
    • 1946
    • The US wanted to contain communism 
  • Truman Doctrine
    • In 1947, the British were helping the Greek government fight against communist guerrillas
    • They appealed to America for aid and we responded with the Truman Doctrine
    • Greece received large amounts of arms and supplies, and by 1949 had defeated the communists 
    • This also happened in Turkey
  • Marshall Plan
    • In 1947, US Secretary of State Marshall announced the Marshall Plan
    • This was a massive economic aid plan for Western Europe to help it recover from the damage caused by the war
    • There were two motives for this:
      • Helping Europe to recover economically would provide markets for American goods, benefiting American industry
      • A prosperous Europe would be better able to resist the spread of communism 
  • Brinkmanship
    • 1950's-1960's
  • Massive Retaliation/Mutual Deterrence/Mutual Assured Destruction 
  • NATO
    • In 1949, the Western nations formed the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to coordinate their defense against Russia
    • NATO was a defensive alliance
    • This was the first peacetime alliance in US History
    • It consisted of:
      • America, Canada, Britain, France, Holland, Belgium, Luxembourg, Portugal, Denmark, Norway, and Italy 
    • Still around today and has expanded 

Thursday- Our group began work on the Decades Project

Friday- Continue working on the Decades Project

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