1.

Cold War Origins

Following World War II, the United States and the Soviet Union emerged as global superpowers. The two nations held vastly
different ideas and beliefs, which led to fierce conflict. The two nations never directly engaged in combat. Instead, the two
powers competed for global influence in the areas of military, economics, politics, and even culture. From 1947 to 1991, the
intense rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union, referred to as the Cold War, caused conflict around the globe.

The United States and the Soviet Union clashed over their economic and political philosophies. The U.S., as a capitalist,
democratic nation, sought to promote free elections and free markets. The Soviet Union was communist and totalitarian. They
wanted to ensure the security of their borders and the political dominance of the Communist party. After the end of World War
II, the Soviet Union expanded communist governments into much of Eastern Europe. U.S. President Harry S. Truman wanted to
keep the Soviets from expanding into other parts of the world. He adopted a policy of containment, which was the use of military
and nonmilitary means to stop communist expansion. American leaders viewed the spread of communism as a threat to
democracy. When communism threated to overtake the governments of Greece and Turkey in 1947, America enacted the
Truman Doctrine. As part of the Truman Doctrine, America gave money to help Greece and Turkey. Many other European
nations were in ruins after World War II. In 1948, Congress approved the Marshall Plan, which gave $13 billion in aid to Western
Europe. By helping European nations rebuild, the Marshall Plan reduced the threat of communist revolutions in Western Europe.

Germany became a Cold War battleground after World War II when it was divided into two separate parts: East Germany and
West Germany. East Germany was controlled by the Soviets, while British, French, and Americans controlled West Germany.
Even Berlin, the capital of Germany, was divided although it lay inside the Soviet zone. Soviet leader Joseph Stalin refused to
reunite Germany. He ordered a blockade to cut off West Berlin from American, British, and French aid. American and British
planes were forced to drop tons of supplies to West Berliners from the air. Eventually, Stalin lifted the blockade, but Germany
and Berlin remained divided. In 1961, the East German government built a huge concrete wall in Berlin to completely seal off East
Germany from West Berlin. The Berlin Wall became a symbol of the Cold War and a divided world.

In 1949 the United States learned that the Soviet Union had tested an atomic bomb. America was no longer the only nation with
nuclear capabilities. America and 11 other allies formed the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in 1949. In 1955 the
Soviets and Communist governments of Eastern Europe formed their own military alliance, the Warsaw Pact. The Soviet Union
gained a powerful ally in Asia when China formed a Communist state. Most of the world became divided into two armed camps.

Countries shown by Cold War alliance

Source: Berson, M. J., Green, R. P., McGowan, T., & Salvucci, L. K. (2003). Harcourt horizons. United States history: From civil war to
present. Orlando, FL: Harcourt.
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 2. The Korean War
From 1910 to 1945, Japan controlled Korea, a peninsula in East Asia, as a
colony. Japan lies east of Korea, and Russia and China border Korea to the
north and west. Following World War II, the United States and the Soviet
Union agreed to temporarily divide Korea at the 38th parallel of latitude. North
Korea’s communist government was supported by the Soviet Union. The
United States backed a noncommunist government in South Korea.
On June 25, 1950, the communist leader of North Korea, Kim Il Sung, launched
a surprise invasion of South Korea. North Korean troops swept across the 38th
parallel and quickly overwhelmed South Korean forces. By September, the
Communist forces controlled much of South Korea. President Harry Truman
maintained his policy of containment, refusing to allow communism to spread
anywhere in the world. He persuaded the United Nations to send military
forces to Korea, however most of the UN troops were American. President American forces from the 2nd Infantry Division in
Truman selected General Douglas MacArthur as commander of UN forces. action, November 20th, 1950

North Koreans, armed with new Soviet tanks, pushed steadily southward. They soon occupied almost all of South Korea.
MacArthur launched a daring counterattack by sea, landing forces in territory held by North Korean forces at Inchon, on South
Korea’s western coast. Caught by surprise, the North Koreans were forced back across the 38th parallel. Originally, MacArthur’s
orders were to drive the invaders out of South Korea, however Truman wanted to unite Korea. MacArthur was given approval to
advance into North Korea.

MacArthur advanced into North Korea, towards the Chinese border. Communist China viewed this as a threat to its own security.
Chinese troops crossed the border and drove the UN forces back to South Korea. Then, UN forces pushed the Communists back
across the 38th parallel. The war became a stalemate, in which neither side was able to gain ground or achieve a decisive victory.
Heavy fighting occurred along the 38th parallel for two years as the stalemate continued.

In July 1953, both sides signed an armistice to end the fighting. The border between North Korea and South Korea was redrawn
near the 38th parallel, where it had been before the war. A demilitarized zone, or area with no military forces, was established
between North and South Korea. Neither side won the Korean War. About 36,000 American soldiers died in the war. Nearly 2
million Koreans and Chinese were killed. By fighting in Korea, American and its allies demonstrated that they were ready to fight
to prevent Communist expansion.

Source: Berson, Michael J., et al. Harcourt Horizons. United States History: from Civil War to Present. Harcourt, 2003.
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 3. The Cuban Missile Crisis
In 1959, Fidel Castro led a revolution that established a communist state in
Cuba. Cuba is an island located just 90 miles off the coast of Florida. The
proximity of a communist government alarmed many Americans. Castro’s
communist government took over private companies, including many
American businesses. Thousands of Cubans fled to America in order to
escape Castro’s communist rule.

The Soviet Union began supplying Cuba with large amounts of aid as the two
countries became allies. The relationship between the Soviet Union and
Cuba concerned American officials. In 1961, President John F. Kennedy
approved a plan to overthrow Castro. The plan called for Cuban exiles –
individuals forced out of Cuba by Castro – to land in Cuba to start an uprising
against Castro. A force of 1,400 Cuban exiles landed at the Bay of Pigs in
Cuba. The invaders were outnumbered and quickly rounded up and jailed.
The Bay of Pigs invasion embarrassed America and strengthened Castro’s
President Kennedy meets with Soviet Foreign Minister power in Cuba.
Gromyko in the Oval Office – October 18, 1962

Following the Bay of Pigs invasion, the Soviet Union began sending more weapons to Cuba. In October 1962, an American spy
plane took photographs that showed the Soviets were secretly building nuclear missile sites in Cuba. The nuclear sites would
enable atomic missiles to reach many American cities within minutes. Kennedy informed Americans of the situation and
announced that American warships would blockade, or close off, Cuba until the Soviets removed the missiles. The world waited
tensely as Soviet ships churned toward Cuba and a possible engagement that would result in nuclear conflict. As the Soviet ships
neared the American blockade, they turned back at the last moment.

After 13 tense days, the Soviet Union agreed to stop sending missiles to Cuba and remove all the missiles that were already there.
The United States agreed to stop the blockade and remove U.S. missiles from near the Soviet Union. The two nations worked to
improve their relations and even took the step of putting in an emergency telephone line for leaders from each nation to
communicate in times of crisis. Despite a peaceful ending, the Cuban missile crisis had shaken leaders from both countries and
brought the world closer to a full-scale nuclear war than at any other point during the Cold War.

A U.S. Navy plane flying over a Soviet cargo ship with crated war planes on deck during the Cuban Crisis

Source: Berson, Michael J., et al. Harcourt Horizons. United States History: from Civil War to Present. Harcourt, 2003.
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 4. The Vietnam War
Vietnam is a narrow country that stretches roughly 1,000 miles along the
South China Sea in Southeast Asia. Vietnam was a French colony, however,
in 1954, Vietnamese forces under communist leader Ho Chi Minh won their
independence. As part of the peace agreement, the nation was divided.
North Vietnam was communist and support by the Soviet Union, China, and
other communist countries. Noncommunist South Vietnam was backed by
the United States and its anticommunist allies.
During the late 1950s, South Vietnamese communists, called the Vietcong,
fought to take over the South Vietnamese government. The Vietcong were
guerrillas fighters supported by North Vietnam. Vietcong successes alarmed
U.S. leaders. They feared that if South Vietnam fell to communism,
countries around them would follow. The idea became known as the
Domino Theory because it foresaw communism toppling surrounding
nations like a row of falling dominos. To contain communism, the U.S.
government sent billions of dollars in aid to South Vietnam. Helicopters airlift U.S. infantry soldiers, 1966

In August 1964, President Lyndon Johnson announced that North Vietnamese forces had attacked an American ship in the Gulf of
Tonkin. Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, which gave the President broad power to use American troops in Vietnam.
With the resolution, America’s role shifted from supporter and adviser to active fighters. U.S. involvement in the war continued to
escalate. American forces attempted to destroy enemy positions, but the guerilla warfare tactics used by the Vietcong made it
difficult to achieve success. In 1965, the U.S. began an intense bombing campaign in Vietnam. U.S. ground troops began search-
and-destroy missions to find Vietcong units and destroy them. The missions killed thousands of North Vietnamese and Vietcong,
but the communist troops were always replaced. Americans at home and in service began to grow frustrated with the lack of
progress in the war.
In January 1968, the Vietcong launched surprise attacks on cities throughout South Vietnam. The attack is known as the Tet
Offensive because it took place during Tet, the Vietnamese New Year’s holiday. Eventually, American and South Vietnamese
forces were able to repel the enemy, but the attack convinced many U.S. officials that the war could not be won at a reasonable
cost. President Richard Nixon was elected to office in 1968. He ultimately expanded the war into neighboring Laos and Cambodia,
but also began to withdraw U.S. troops and allow South Vietnamese troops to take on more of the fighting. He agreed to a cease-
fire in 1973. After the United States withdrew from the conflict, North Vietnam invaded the South in 1975 and united the country
under a communist government.
As American casualties mounted during the war, American public opinion largely turned against U.S. involvement in the conflict.
Opposition to the war bitterly divided Americans. When U.S. troops returned home, most were not given a hero’s welcome. The
public mainly wanted to forget the war. 58,000 Americans were killed, and more than 3 million people died in the war. The U.S.
government, motivated by the ongoing Cold War, spent more than $150 billion on the war.

U.S. soldiers searching a village for potential Vietcong

Source: Berson, Michael J., et al. Harcourt Horizons. United States History: from Civil War to Present. Harcourt, 2003.
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 5. The Arms Race/Space Race
During the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union became
committed to an ever-escalating arms race. An arms race is when two or
more countries increase the size and quality of military resources to gain
superiority over one another. Both nations built-up their nuclear arsenal
and eventually both sides developed intercontinental ballistic missiles as the
arms race rose to terrifying new levels.
As both the United States and Soviet Union stockpiled nuclear weapons,
fear flooded American society and culture. The U.S. government
encouraged the building of bomb shelters in basements or backyards.
School children watched government funded films that demonstrated how
to protect themselves from injury during a nuclear attack. The arms race led
to great alarm among Americans that nuclear war could happen at any time.
Replica of Sputnik I
Cold War tensions reached every possible area – even space. The “space race” was a Cold War competition between the two
superpowers to develop aerospace capabilities, including artificial satellites, unmanned space probes, and eventually human
spaceflight. In October 1957, the Soviets launched Sputnik I, the world’s first artificial satellite. Americans feared the
achievement signaled that the Soviet Union had surpassed the technological achievements of the United States. One month
later, the Soviets launched Sputnik II, which carried a dog named Laika into space. By 1959, the Soviets sent a space probe to
photograph the dark side of the moon.
In response to perceptions of Soviet technological success, America established the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA) on October 1, 1958. NASA’s earliest objective was to launch a manned vehicle into Earth’s orbit. Again,
the Soviets beat the Americans to it, as Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first man to enter Earth’s orbit in April 1961.
The Americans were not far behind, however, as Alan Shepard became the first American in space. In February 1962, John Glenn
became the first American to enter Earth’s orbit.
Early Soviet successes were eventually eclipsed as the Americans launched the Apollo program in the 1960s. U.S. astronauts Neil
Armstrong, Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin and Michael Collins completed the first lunar landing on July 20, 1969. Armstrong was the first
man to walk on the moon’s surface. By landing on the moon, the United States effectively “won” the space race.

Buzz Aldrin on the moon

Source: The start of the Space Race (article). Retrieved from https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-us-history/period-8/apush
america-as-a-world-power-lesson/a/the-start-of-the-space-race
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 6. The Close of the Cold War
After the Vietnam War, Cold War tensions briefly declined. The growing threat of
nuclear war, and America’s defeat in Vietnam led to an easing of hostilities. Then, in
1979, Soviet troops invaded Afghanistan, a country in South Central Asia. U.S.
President Jimmy Carter called the invasion a threat to world peace and cut back
trade with the Soviet Union and stopped supporting arms control. The Soviets
wanted a communist-leaning group to win control of the country and sent troops
and aid to help them. The United States backed Soviet enemies in Afghanistan with
money and weapons. Ultimately, the Soviet Union was unsuccessful, and the U.S.-
backed forces won control of the region.

Ronald Reagan was elected President in 1980. He vowed to fight communism and Elvis Presley, 1957
began a massive buildup of the military. He also committed U.S. forces and aid to
fight communism. In response, the Soviet Union continued to build more weapons,
too, and worked to expand communist governments all over the world. Then, in
1985, Mikhail Gorbachev became the new Soviet leader. His country faced dire
economic problems. Many Soviet citizens had limited access to food and goods were
in short supply. In order to prevent Soviets from revolting, he implemented
economic reforms that reduced government control of the economy and allowed
local decision making. Gorbachev also called for “glasnost,” or openness, which
relaxed restrictions on freedom of expression. The reforms, however, proved to be
too little too late.

Soviet influence in Eastern Europe diminished. In 1989, most communist states in

the region replaced its government with a noncommunist one. In November of 1989,
the Berlin Wall – one of the most visible symbols of the Cold War – was torn down Map of Eastern Europe displaying Soviet
and East and West Germany were finally reunited. Similar waves of anti-communism control over the region following WWII.
spread throughout Eastern Europe. In 1991, the Soviet Union was dissolved and
broken into over a dozen independent nations. The Cold War was over.

Germans climb the Berlin Wall, 1989

Source: Cold war - an OVERVIEW. (n.d.). Retrieved March 19, 2021, from https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities-1880-ce-to-the-
future/a/read-cold-war-an-overview-beta Little History Monster 2021
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