Mr. Bruns talked about the Cold War. It lasted from 1945-1990. We won and had the best of both worlds, as stated by him and Hannah Montana. He also talked a little bit about the project.
Cold War
1) Definition
a) A political, strategic and ideological struggle between the US and the Soviet Union
b) Spread throughout the world-Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America
2) Communism vs. Democracy
a) Democracy
i) Basically the “right” to do what we want
ii) Government for and by the people
iii) Elect representatives to make decisions for us
b) Communism
i) The government is in complete control
ii) No freedom, very strict rules, equality-generally poor
iii) Country is controlled by a Dictator
3) Socialism vs. Capitalism
a) Capitalism
i) People own businesses
ii) In the US we have a bit of both- School system is controlled by government- Restaurants and
iii) Creates a larger gap between rich and poor… no middle class
b) Socialism
i) Government owns businesses
ii) There is no incentive to work hard as workers have a set salary with no possibility of a raise
4) Causes of the Cold War
a) Different political systems
i) US is based on democracy, capitalism, and freedom
ii) USSR is based on dictatorship, communism, and control
b) Both sides though their system was better and distrusted the others intentions
c) Stalin despised Capitalism- Thought it was inevitable for US and Great Britain to go to war with
each other… Believed that we were money driven and would eventually butt heads with Great
Britain
d) Stalin breaking his promise to allow free elections at the Yalta Conference
e) American fear of a communist attack (Red Scare) and USSR’s fear of a US attack
f) USSR’s fear of the atomic bomb
g) USSR’s actions in their German zone
h) USSR’s goal to spread communism around the world
i) This feeling of suspicion lead to mutual distrust and this did a great deal to deepen the Cold War
5) Post WWII/ Cold War Goals for US
a) Wanted to promote open markets for US goods to prevent another depression
b) Promote democracy throughout the world, especially in Asia and Africa
c) Stop the Spread of Communism
6) Post WII/ Cold War Goals for USSR
other small businesses are owned by people
a) Wanted to create greater security for itself
i) Lost tens of millions of people in WWII and Stalin’s purges
ii) Feared a strong Germany
b) Establish defensible borders
c) Encourage friendly governments on its borders
d) Spread communism around the world
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