Origins and Expansion of the Cold War
BY: MADELINE CREIGHTON, SETH JORKON, BELLA SABERNIAK, YADIEL MENDOZA, JEREMIAH CLARK,
JOHNATHAN SPARKS
Democracy and Capitalism
Democracy: a system of government where people have the power to vote. The United states is a
democratic republic where the people elect candidates to make decisions for them. Every citizen gets
the right to vote. This is our chosen form of government. Democracy originated in classical Greece
Capitalism: A free market system, where people can buy and sell the goods. The united states. Allows
the people to set the prices for goods through supply and demand. This is our chosen form of
economics.
Pros and Cons:
Free market system (pro)
Consumers have power (pro)
Creates inherent class conflict between capital and labor. (con)
Generates enormous wealth disparities and social inequalities. (con)
Can incentivize corruption and crony capitalism in the pursuit of profit. (con)
Encourages innovation (pro)
Communism and Socialism
Communism: A political theory where every person works and is paid according to their
needs and abilities. Created by Karl Marx as an alternative to capitalism who saw its evils.
Socialism: a political and economic theory where property is publicly owned and regulated
by the community as a whole
Pros and Cons:
No employee exploitation (pro)
Lower unemployment rates (pro)
Food supply is assured (pro)
Fewer innovation incentives (con)
Powerful unions create tension between workers and employers (con)
Depends on cooperation (con)
United States of America VS. The Soviet Union
Country United States of America The Soviet Union
Abbreviation USA USSR- unions of soviet
socialist republic
Government Democracy Communism
Economy Capitalism Socialism
Leader The President The soviet premier
Legislative body The Congress The Party/Politburo
Capital Washington, D.C.-usa Moscow, Russia
Headquarters The white House The Kremlin/Red Square
End Goal End goal- Freedom End goal- Equality
The Cold War: Freedom vs. Equality
Cold war- A "Cold War" means that there is no physical battles
but instead tension between two nations which builds over time.
In comparison you could refer to war with physical battles as
“hot”.
Freedom- End goal for the United States is Freedom. The United
States’ end goal manifested from wanting independence from
Great Britain.
Equality- End goal for the Soviet Union is equality. The wealth
disparity between royalty and the common people resulted in the
russian revolution which is how the end goal for the Soviet Union
came to be
The Iron Curtain - Seth
Winston Churchill came up with the idea of the iron curtain.
He believed that an “iron curtain” had descended across the
continent of Europe. However many nations in Eastern Europe
did not want to be under the control of the Soviet Union.
Therefore Unrest was exploding behind the “iron curtain”.
In the video is the speech I feel that it is important for us to
hear it therefor we can understand why.
The Iron Curtain Video
The Iron
Curtain Map
Berlin Crisis and Berlin Airlift
Germany was divided into four occupied
zones
Threaten European peace and security
again.
The Berlin Crisis started when the USSR
launched an ultimatum demanding
withdrawal of all armed forces from Berlin,
including the Western armed forces in West
Berlin.
The Berlin Airlift
Soviet forces blockaded the railroad and
water access to allied controlled areas of
Berlin.
Satellite states
Satellite states- an independent nation under the
control of a more powerful nation
The Eastern Bloc was composed of satellite states
controlled by the Soviet union and included East
Germany, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania,
Bulgaria, and Albania
Being a satellite state of the USSR meant that your
country would be under heavy political, economic, and
military influence or control
Espionage and The Rosenberg Trials
Soviet Spies- More commonly known as the KGB,
they were Russia’s foreign intelligence and domestic Ethel and Julius
security agency during the cold war. They were highly Rosenberg
feared by the public due to their usage of
psychological warfare by spreading false propaganda
to feed false ideals into the general public and
amongst their enemies. The KGB also employed
individuals ( see espionage) of influence to sway
public opinion and foreign governments in favor of the
Soviets.
Espionage- The practice of spying and/or using spies.
Typically used by governments to obtain political or
military related information to gain an upper hand
Rosenberg Trials- Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were an
Americans who supplied military secrets to the Soviet Union
regarding the construction of the atomic bomb in 1951. This
trial garnered a conviction and eventually execution of the
married couple by electric chair.
NATO vs Warsaw Pact
What is nato?
An alliance focused on collective defense and strives
to guarantee freedom and security of their members by political and military means.Made after
the aftermath of the second world war, the treaty was officially signed in april 4th 1949.
What is the the warsaw pact?
A collective treaty Between the
soviet union, poland and many eastern bloc nations. The warsaw pact itself was a military and
economic counterweight,dominated by the soviet union. It was made to balance the power
between it and NATO thought there was never a direct military conflict between the two.
How are these two thing related?
After the formation of NATO the warsaw pact was made
in may 1955. The warsaw pacts formation can almost be seen as a spiteful gesture seeing as
unlike NATO russia held most the power. Another difference between the two is that NATO is
still a thing today while the warsaw pact ended in 1991 the reunification of east ger many.
Discussion Question
Compare and contrast Capatalism and Socialism. Which system is better?
Defend your answer
Works Cited
All slides: Herold, Joshua “Cold war in the 1950s”, “Cold war and Postwar Confidence
and anxiety”,2016,pp.1-37
Slide 7: “Churchill’s “Iron Curtain” Speech.” YouTube, 7 Mar. 2011,
www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2PUIQpAEAQ.
Slide 6 picture: Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Iron Curtain." Encyclopedia
Britannica, February 2, 2024. https://www.britannica.com/event/Iron-Curtain.
Slide 9 picture: Berlin Declaration
https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/report/other/us-army_germany_1944-46
_map3.htm
