Friday April 4th-Friday 11th
Today we took notes on The Cold War and talked about the Cold War Project.
Communism-A political,strategic and ideological struggle between the US and the soviet union. Spread throughout the world-Europe,Asia, Africa
Democracy-people have power and freedoms
Socialism-The government owns business' (schools etc.)
Capitalism-people own their business and they all get equal pay
Causes of the cold war:We all had different political systems
-The US was a democracy, capitalism, and freedom
-USSR is based on dictatorship,Communism, and control
-Both thought their system was better and distrusted the others intentions
-Stalin despised capitalism
-Stalin breaking his promise to allow free elections 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
-This feeling of suspicion lead to mutual distrust and this did a great deal of deepen the Cold War
Post WWII/Cold War Goals for the 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
Post WWII/Cold War Goals for the USSR
-Wanted to create greater security for itself
-Lost 10 million people in WWII and Stalin's purges
-Establish defensible borders
-Encourage friendly governments on its borders
-Spread communism around the world
Yalta conference
-The establishment of the UN
-Germany to be divided into four zones
-Free elections allowed in the states of eastern Europe
-Russia promised to join the war against Japan
Key Terms
-Iron Curtain Speech was Churchill talking about the eastern half of Europe was Communist and were in charge of the Iron fist. That Europe was separated with communists in the East
-Domino Theory (Effect) was the thought that if one country becomes communist then all the counties become
-Policy of Containment was the US goal to stop the spread of communism (Contain the spread of communism)
-Truman Doctrine was Truman's doctrine was so the US would help Greece and Turkey with money & military supplies to help stop communism from spreading
-Marshall Plan was the American initiative to aid Europe, in which the United States gave economic support to help rebuild European economies after the end of World War II in order to prevent the spread of Soviet Communism (
-Brinkmanship was trying to be able to talk and act tough with threats to start a war but making sure there isn't actually a war. Goin to the brink of war without really going.
-Massive relation was when someone strikes you with missiles you hit them back
-Mutual Deterrence was the threat of massive retaliation meaning people were to scared to die so we didn't want to start a war
-Mutual Assured Destruction was that everyone knows that everyone will die if they use these weapons
-NATO was our alliance with western Europe that fought against the communist countries
-Warsaw pact was a military alliance for communism (all these countries that were involved in the Iron Fist)
-CIA was the central intelligence agency who found out information about other countries (during the cold war it was mainly Russia)
-KGB was the main Russia security and spy organization (spies, double agent, triple agent, etc.)
-Peaceful coexistence was the Soviet Union living with other countries peacefully
-De-Stalinization was the process of trying to stop Stalin killing people by getting rid of the propaganda and death
-Detente was the easing of tension between the countries f us and the soviet union
-Perestroika was a political movement to reform the communist countries
-Glasnost was
-Nuclear Test Ban Treaty 1963 was banning all the tests for Nuclear products
-Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty 1968 was a treaty to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons throughout the world
-Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (Treaty) 1972 was a treaty that limited missiles and other weapons
-Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty 1972 was just like it sounds the treaty to have much less missiles
Monday 14th-Tuesday 17th we went over Cold war songs
Berlin Blockade/Airlift
Germany split into 4 different zones. Germany wanted to control Berlin so they built a blockade to make the US give up the city. The west wanted the East to join , but Stalin feared it would hurt Soviet security. Stalin decided to try to gain control of West Berlin which was deep inside the western section. Germany was split into four zones. Berlin was also split into four zones. Soviets wanted control over all of Berlin. Germans blockaded the city, so we airlifted supplies to West Berlin. A very tense situation between Soviet Union and the United States and neither country wanted war. Dropping off supplies every hour for 10-11 months.
Red Scare/McCarthyism
The fear that we were going to be overrun by communism. McCarthyism was when Joseph McCarthyism told everyone he had 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 in McCarthy was Republicans, Catholics, Conservative Protestants, Blu-collar workers, Joseph and Robert Kennedy. McCarthy's Downfall was when everyone realized all he was doing was bullying these people and witch hunting (accusing people of being something they are not and giving them repercussions for it). The term McCarthyism live on to describe anti-communist fervor, reckless accusations, and a guilt by association. Second Red Scare Both happened after World Wars Communists International- trained people for communist revolutions. Senator Joe McCarthy gave a speech that said he had over 200 hundred names of communist people. McCarthy was one of the most powerful people in the US at this time. No one saw the names, but it spread panic throughout the country. Supporters of McCarthy were republicans, Catholics, conservative Protestants, Blue collar workers Joesph and Robert Kennedy. Joesph Kennedy raised his kids to be presidents of the US. His eldest son died in WWII. John F became president. In spring of 1954 he accused US army of being communist and then the Senate silenced him. Term McCarthyism means anti-Communists fervor, reckless accusations, and guilt by association.
Bay of Pigs
We trained ex-Cubans who were anti-Castro to be able to attack them. In 1961 the United States sent trained Cuban exiles to Cuba to try and overthrow Fidel Castro's government. They failed miserably. The invasion is considered part of the Cold War because the United States was trying to prevent communism from taking hold in the Americas. A year earlier Fidel Castro came to power in Cuba and became Communist. Eisenhower had the plan to attack Cuba, but lost his presidency so JFK. JFK agreed. United States train anti-Castro Cubans in Mexico. We didn't want it to look like we were being aggressive to a smaller, weaker country. 1400 men were trained to go against Cuba. We didn't do the airstrikes, because it would have looked like the US was doing it. We were hoping civilians would join the revolutionists. After this, Cuba aimed missiles at the US.
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis was when the Soviet Union began to install nuclear missiles in Cuba. The United States refused to allow this and, after thirteen tense days and many secret negotiations, the Soviet Union agreed to remove the missiles. This is perhaps the closest that the United States and the Soviet Union came to nuclear war during the Cold war. We pledged that we would never invade/bomb Cuba and we would take out our nuclear missiles from Turkey and we kept it a secret from the rest of the world. Never been closer to war with Russia. Kennedy said we could not allow Cuba to keep missiles. The quarantine would keep missiles from being put on Cuba, but it did not get rid of the missiles on Cuba. We were going to do airstrikes to get rid of the missile sites, and then we would send troops. We were hours away from nuclear war with Cuba. Our compromise would be US not invading Cuba and Russia would get rid of their missiles in Cuba. Six months later, we promised to take our missiles out of Turkey. Cuba was the hot spot of the Cold War in the early 60's.
Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was built by the communist government of East Berlin 1961. The wall separated East Berlin and West Berlin. It was built in order to prevent people from fleeing East Berlin. In many ways it was the perfect symbol of the "Iron Curtain" that separated the democratic western countries and the communist countries of Eastern Europe throughout the Cold War. Mikhail Gorbachev came to power in USSR and the 'Iron Grip was loosened' so they all were able to reunite to get over the wall..After World War II the country of Germany ended up dividing into two separate countries. East Germany became a communist country under the control of the Soviet Union. At the same time West Germany was a democratic country and allied with Britain, France, and the United States. The initial plan was that the country would eventually be reunited, but this didn't happen for a long time.
Korean War
The Korean War was fought between South Korea and communist North Korea. It was the first major conflict of the Cold War as the Soviet Union supported North Korea and the United States supported South Korea. The war ended with little resolution. The countries are still divided today and North Korea is still ruled by a communist regime. Stalin and Mao we're talking both were evil. The Korean War was the first armed confrontation of the Cold war, and it set a model for many later conflicts. It created the idea of a limited war, where the two superpowers would/could fight without using nuclear weapons. 1961 East Berlin wanted to keep the communists in. West Berlin was democratic. 61-89 The wall was a symbol of the Cold War. Government officials had to go through a checkpoint. Families were split apart. Mid-1980's a new person (Mikhail Gorbachev) came to power in USSR. If countries tried to break away from Russia, Russia would come in and crush them. Countries broke free after his speech. Momentum couldn't be stopped, people tested going through the Berlin Wall, and then people started tearing the Berlin Wall down.
Vietnam War
Know these topics
1. Beginnings
2. US Involvement (the escalation)
-Under escalation, US involvement increased over a period of years. Started with the deployment of non-combat military advisers to the South Vietnamese army.Then started using special forces (Green Berets) for commando-style operations. Use of regular troops whose purpose was to be defensive only. Use of regular
3. Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
-Several US ships were supposedly attatcked by North Vietnamese torpedoes in the Gulf of Tonkin. Most experts today don't think ships were actually attacked, they think it was Johnson's ploy to get more involved with the war in Vietnam.
4. Tet offensive
-was a series of Attacks that the US did to Vietnam in just two days
5. Unpopular War
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6. De-escalation & "Peace with Honor"
-Nixon called for "Vietnamization of the war which is the US policy of withdrawing its troops and transferring the responsibility and direction of the war effort to the government of South Vietnam
7. The End
Vietnam was partitioned temporarily into a Northern and a Southern zone in Vietnam at the 17th parallel.
The Geneva Conference was where they set up elections to unify the country by July. France had control of Viet Minh Ho Chi Minh- was called Uncle Ho disguised himself to look poor so he could fit in better with the Vietnamese and to be their leader. Vietnam was partitioned temporarily into a Northern and a Southern zone of Vietnam at the 17th parallel. Geneva Conference set up elections to unify the country, but it was never held because neither side wanted to lose. North wanted communism, and south didn't. Army of the Republic of Viet Nam (ARVN south Vietnamese Army) People's Army of Viet Nam (PAVN the North Vietnamese army) US Involvement Escalation-slowly getting more involved in the conflict Late 50's we sent military advisors to the South The we started using special forces (Green Barets) for commando style operations. Use of regular troops whose purpose was to be defensive only. Use of regular troops in offensive combat. Once US troops were in active combat, escalation shifted to the adding of more US troops. Napalm was an oily sticky substance that burns and we
The escalator was 50's was Military to the french-->60 was Military Advisers to help in the South-->Green Berets sent in-->Combat and troops for defense-->Combat and Troops for offense-->More troops till 68
For the Post WWII President Project my partner Megan and I have Eisenhower.
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