The Cold War Flashcards
What was the Cold War Roots?
.The Western democracies and the Soviet Union discussed the progress of World War II and the nature of the postwar settlement at conferences in Tehran (1943), Yalta (February 1945), and Potsdam (July-August 1945). After the war, disputes between the Soviet Union and the Western democracies, particularly over the Soviet takeover of East European states, led Winston Churchill to warn in 1946 that an “iron curtain” was descending through the middle of Europe. For his part, Joseph Stalin deepened the estrangement between the United States and the Soviet Union when he asserted in 1946 that World War II was an unavoidable and inevitable consequence of “capitalist imperialism” and implied that such a war might reoccur.
What Was The Containment?
The Department of State reached the zenith of its power and influence in the period immediately after World War II under the guidance of three strong and influential Secretaries of State: George Marshall, Dean Acheson, and John Foster Dulles. The “Cold War” brought major changes to U.S. policy abroad, while McCarthyism targeted the Department at home.
IN 1950’s?
The U.S. and the USSR emerged from World War II as the two sole superpowers in the world. The two quickly became enemies and rivals, battling in politics, technology, and military power. The arms race, in which each nation developed an arsenal of nuclear weapons that could destroy the other numerous times over, was a defining fact and metaphor of the conflict. Neither side wanted to face destruction, however, which is what made the Cold War cold: though crisis after crisis loomed, the two sides avoided direct conflict. Policies of containing communism influenced virtually all U.S. foreign policy decisions.
Fear of communist subversion of the U.S. government led to intense domestic anticommunist fervor. Communists and suspected communists were closely watched, vilified, blacklisted, and, in one case, tried and executed. Domestic anticommunism reached its peak in the mid-1950s with the rise of Senator Joseph McCarthy and waned after he lost influence and power. But fear of communism remained a part of American culture for decades to follow.
Bolstered by the landmark 1954 Supreme Court decision in Brown v.Board of Education, the civil rights movement began to come into its own. Following an ethic of nonviolence, blacks in the South began to win their first battles for equality.
1950s postwar prosperity helped propel the creation of suburbs and the popularization of the automobile, which in turn caused the decline of cities as wealthy whites left urban areas for suburban ones. Prosperity also led to a baby boom and the promotion of conservative values. In the late 1950s, artists began to rebel against this conservatism.
In 1960’s?
Trends and Themes of the Era
Democrats, who held the presidency in the 1960s, tried to bring about the liberal social reforms that were the hallmarks of their party’s philosophy.
Led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the civil rights movement achieved its greatest successes, culminating in the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Act. The civil rights movement gained massive public support and helped convince the nation of the power of social action.
The Cold War continued throughout the decade, and nearly erupted in nuclear war during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962. Cold War anxieties and concerns over Soviet domination in Asia led to the buildup of American forces in Vietnam and the Vietnam War.
In the tradition of social action built during the civil rights movement and in response to U.S. involvement in a foreign war that took over 50,000 American lives and seemed unwinnable, a vocal minority of Americans formed the antiwar movement. Supporters and critics of the war often opposed each other bitterly.
The 1960s was a time of dramatic social engagement and action. In addition to the civil rights and antiwar movements, a powerful women’s rights movement also took root.
In 1970’s?
Trends and Themes of the Era
The Cold War varied in intensity during this 30-year period. Nevertheless, it dominated foreign policy throughout the era and influenced domestic policy, as well. The Cold War ended in 1989 with the fall of the Soviet Union.
After the fall of the Soviet Union, the world stage changed dramatically. U.S. interests ceased to be so easily defined, because there was no longer a huge entity to oppose. As the sole superpower, the U.S. debated about but ultimately maintained its role as an international policeman.
Domestically, the United States underwent cycles of economic boom and bust, and shifted between Republican and Democratic presidents.
In 1980’s?
President Carter proclaimed the Carter Doctrine as “An attempt by an outside force to gain control of the Persian Gulf region will be regarded as an assault on the vital interests of the United States of America, and such an assault will be repelled by any means necessary, including force.”
What was the Fall Of the Soviets?
In December of 1991, as the world watched in amazement, the Soviet Union disintegrated into fifteen separate countries. Its collapse was hailed by the west as a victory for freedom, a triumph of democracy over totalitarianism, and evidence of the superiority of capitalism over socialism. The United States rejoiced as its formidable enemy was brought to its knees, thereby ending the Cold War which had hovered over these two superpowers since the end of World War II. Indeed, the breakup of the Soviet Union transformed the entire world political situation, leading to a complete reformulation of political, economic and military alliances all over the globe.
