The Cold War is a conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union. The Cold War would dominate global affairs.
Events
Origins of the War
The satellite nations were in Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, and Poland. In 1946 Stalin gave a speech saying that communism and capitalism were incompatible. These countries were dominated by the Soviet Union.
In February 1946, George F. Kennan, an American diplomat in Moscow, proposed a policy of containment. The containment is the blocking of another nation's attempts to spread its influence. Europe is divided into two political regions now.
Iron curtain came to a stand for the division of Europe. The Iron Curtain was the ideological conflict in the end of Cold war. This is a phrase used by Winston Churchill in 1946 to describe an imaginary line that separated Communist countries in the soviet bloc of Eastern Europe from countries in Western Europe.
The Truman Doctrine was created to set the tone for US foreign policy throughout the world. A set of international policies put forth by Truman. Arose was a speech Truman gave to the Congress. This declared that the United States, as the leader of the free world, must support democracy worldwide and fight against communism.
Later on, the Marshall Plan revived European hopes. Over the next four years, 16 countries received some $13 billion in aid. By 1952, Western Europe was flourishing, and the Communist party had lost much of its appeal to voters.
The Berlin airlift was started by the American and British officials. It was used to fly flood and supplies into West Berlin. For 327 days, planes left and landed every few minutes. They bring in food, fuel and medicine all from planes' crews who bought it with their money.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was a defensive military alliance. The members of NATO pledged military support to whoever in case there was an attack on someone. For the first time, the United States had entered into a military alliance with other nations during peacetime.
In February 1946, George F. Kennan, an American diplomat in Moscow, proposed a policy of containment. The containment is the blocking of another nation's attempts to spread its influence. Europe is divided into two political regions now.
Iron curtain came to a stand for the division of Europe. The Iron Curtain was the ideological conflict in the end of Cold war. This is a phrase used by Winston Churchill in 1946 to describe an imaginary line that separated Communist countries in the soviet bloc of Eastern Europe from countries in Western Europe.
The Truman Doctrine was created to set the tone for US foreign policy throughout the world. A set of international policies put forth by Truman. Arose was a speech Truman gave to the Congress. This declared that the United States, as the leader of the free world, must support democracy worldwide and fight against communism.
Later on, the Marshall Plan revived European hopes. Over the next four years, 16 countries received some $13 billion in aid. By 1952, Western Europe was flourishing, and the Communist party had lost much of its appeal to voters.
The Berlin airlift was started by the American and British officials. It was used to fly flood and supplies into West Berlin. For 327 days, planes left and landed every few minutes. They bring in food, fuel and medicine all from planes' crews who bought it with their money.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was a defensive military alliance. The members of NATO pledged military support to whoever in case there was an attack on someone. For the first time, the United States had entered into a military alliance with other nations during peacetime.
CHINA & KOREA
Communists ruled in northern China. They also relied heavily on financial aid from Soviet Union. The communists attracted peasants with promises of land reform. Also they benefited from experienced guerrilla army and a highly motivated leadership. Mao Zedong gained strength throughout the country. Around the areas where he controlled, Communists worked to win peasant support. Japan ruled Korean in 1910 and ruled it until 1945. As World War II ended, Japanese troops headed to the north of 38 degrees north latitude. The U.S. thought Korea was unstoppable. After a while of combat, the North Koreans forced the United Nation and Southern Korean troops into a small defensive zone.
Mao Zedong led the communists and gained strength throughout the country. In the areas they controlled, communists worked to win peasant support. They encouraged and helped communists to read and improve on food production. By 1945, much of northern China was under communist control.
BRINK OF NUCLEAR WAR & SPACE RACE
1942, scientists discovered that they can make deadly weapons such as a hydrogen bomb. One H-bomb had around 67 times the power of the bomb dropped in Hiroshima. CIA used spies to gather information abroad. The CIA also began to carry out convert, or secret, operations or weaken overthrow governments unfriendly to the United States. The Warsaw pact is a military alliance formed in 1955 by the Soviet Union and its Eastern European satellites. The Warsaw pact linked the Soviet Union with seven Eastern European countries. Sputnik was launched on October 4, 1957. It was the world's first satellite. Sputnik traveled around the earth 18,000 miles per hour. The launch was a triumph of Soviet technology. On March 1960, President Eisenhower gave the CIA permission to secretly train Cuban exiles for an invasion of Cuba.
Dwight D. Einsenhower
POST WAR & the American Dream
GI Bill of Rights was passed in 1944. This helped veterans get an education by the years of unemployment. Truman's Fair Deal was an extension of Roosevelt's New Deal which included proposals for a nationwide system to provide a steady income for farmers. Baby boom is the sharp increase in the U.S. birthrate following World War II. The automobile culture helped us travel faster and makes it easier. The rate of automobiles went up and many were sold. Mass media means of communication that reach large audiences. This was television developed by lightening speed. It was first widely available in 1954. The beat movement expressed the social and literary nonconformity of artists, poets, and writers. The word "beat" means "weary". For the first time, the teenage years were recognized as an important and unique developmental stage between childhood and adulthood.
Harry S. Truman
Harry Truman, son of a Missouri livestock trader and his wife, did not seem destined for greatness. After high school he moved from job to job. After World War I, he invested in men's clothing stores but the business had failed. He still sought a career in politics. As president, his decisiveness and willingness to accept responsibility for his decisions earned him respect that has grown over the years.
Elvis Presley, King of Rock 'n' Roll, first starting to sing to the gospel, country, and blues music on the radio. When he was young, his mother gave him a guitar, and years later he paid four dollars of his own money to record two songs in 1953. Sam Phillips was the one to discover Presley's voice. In 1955, he hold Presley's contract to RCA for $35,000. Presley's live appearances were getting popular. Most of his records sold more than millions of copies. In few cities, Rock 'n' Roll was banned. But good thing it wasn't banned in television and radios. By 1960, 600 million records were sold.