USA chapter 6- the cold war rivalry 1945 -1973 Flashcards
key dates
1945 – Peace conferences in Yalta and Potsdam
March 1947 – The Truman Doctrine
June 1947 ‐ The Marshall Plan
1948 – France, Britain and the USA merged their
zones into West Germany
1949 – NATO set up
1955 – The Warsaw Pact
1961 – The Berlin Wall is built
1961‐ Failed US invasion of Bay of Pigs
1962 – Cuban Missile Crisis
1964 – The Gulf of Tonkin (USA directly involved
in Vietnam War)
1973 – US Troops withdrawn from Vietnam
Potsdam Conference 1945
Truman (USA), Stalin (USSR) and Attlee (Britain) meet to discuss the end of World War Two and what should happen with Germany It was agreed that Germany would be split into four zones each occupied by the Allies (America, Britain, France and the USSR) Stalin wanted to cripple Germany as revenge for 20 million Russians killed in
WW2. Truman disagreed and wanted to be less harsh.
The Truman Doctrine and containment
The Domino Theory – was the idea that if one country fell to Communism the countries next to it would too
The Truman Doctrine was a turning point in history because the USA promised to contain the spread of
Communism. This was announced in a speech by Truman in March 1947 As a result, the USA was able to support the Greek Government and stop them becoming Communist This also led to increased rivalry between the USA and USSR
The Marshall Plan (June 1947)
It was believed that Communism generally won support in countries with economic problems and poverty The USA believed that by giving money and financial help to countries, their economy would recover which would boost employment and countries would not need to turn to Communism By 1953 the USA provided $17 billion in Marshall Aid Stalin was originally involved but he withdrew support because he did not trust the USA and he didn’t want to make Communism look weak
Berlin Crisis (1948‐49) causes
In June 1948, Britain, France and America united their zones into a new country, West Germany The Allies then introduced a new currency in 1948, which they said would help trade The Marshall Plan gave aid, food and money to West Berlin but not the Soviet zone Berlin was firmly in the Russian zone The USSR thought this unfair and that the Allies were purposefully leaving USSR out
Berlin Crisis (1948‐49) Events
24th June 1948 Stalin cut off road, rail and canal traffic to West Berlin from the Western Zones This was an attempt to starve the Allies out of Berlin The Allies decided to Airlift supplies to their bases in West Berlin The airlift lasted 10 months with an average of 4,000 tonnes of supplies being airlifted each day
Berlin Crisis (1948‐49) Results
12th May 1949 Stalin called the blockade off however tensions had increased The West set up NATO in 1949 The North Atlantic Treaty was a defensive alliance with the main purpose of preventing Communism spreading Subsequently, the East set up The Warsaw Pact in 1955 The Warsaw Pact’s main purpose was a military defense to counter NATO This built up tension led to another Crisis in 1961 and eventually the building of the Berlin Wall
Cuban Missile Crisis (1962) causes
Tensions were high after the construction of the Berlin Wall In 1959 there was a Revolution in Cuba (90 miles from US) and the dictator Fidel Castro became the leader The Bay of Pigs (1961) was a failed US attempt to invade Cuba and assassinate Castro. Castro was popular in Cuba and hatred of the US increased and Cuba announced it would become Communist 1962 US placed nuclear missiles in Turkey and Italy pointing at the USSR In response the USSR put missiles in Cuba pointing at the US
cuban missile crisis (1962) events
The crisis lasted 13 days (16th – 28th October) and was the closest that the Cold War got to a Nuclear War President Kennedy called for a naval blockade stopping any ships from the USSR coming into Cuba Khrushchev (USSR leader) sent a letter to Kennedy stating that the USSR would force their way through the blockade and use nuclear weapons in the event of a war Kennedy responded by asking Khrushchev to remove missiles from Cuba A deal was made between the US and USSR which agreed that USSR would remove missiles from Cuba. The
condition being that the US also had to withdraw their missiles from Turkey…. This part was kept secret though
Cuban Missile Crisis (1962) Results
Kennedy came out looking strong (especially since US withdrawing missiles from Turkey was kept secret) The closest the world had ever been to nuclear war – which could have destroyed much of the world There was relief on both sides that the crisis was over – led to eased relations To improve communications, ‘The Red Telephone’ connected the White House in Washington DC to the Kremlin in Moscow
US involvement in Vietnam (1954 – 75) causes
After the Geneva Agreement in 1954 Vietnam was divided. North Vietnam held by Ho Chi Minh (communist) and South Vietnam by Ngo Dinh Diem (non‐communist) 1959 ‐ Ho Chi Minh ordered the Vietcong terror campaign against the South 1964 – The Gulf of Tonkin ‐ President Johnson called for direct military involvement
US involvement in Vietnam (1954 – 75) US Involvement
US methods in Vietnam – Chemical warfare (‘Agent Orange’ and Napalm) and ‘Search and destroy’ (raids,
high civilian loss) My Lai massacre – March 1968, US troops murdered 347 men, women and children
US involvement in Vietnam (1954 – 75) Results
23rd January 1973 a Ceasefire was signed in Paris and the US withdrew all troops US had failed to contain Communism. Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia fell to Communism The War made Lyndon B. Johnson unpopular and he decided not to stand for a second term as President Richard Nixon won the 1968 election by promising he would end US involvement in Vietnam
reasons for us defeat strengths of communists
Fighting for a united cause – reunification They refused surrender ‐ accepted heavy losses Effective guerrilla tactics – This ‘low tech’ warfare suited the jungle terrain Support from Soviet Union and China
supplied tanks, weapons and fighter planes Support from South Vietnamese – they wanted reunification with the North and/ or hated US brutality
Reasons for the US defeat Weakness of the US
US troops – young, inexperienced, low spirits Opposition at home – seen increasingly by
Americans as unwinnable which undermined the
war effort Failure of US tactics – Failed to respond to guerrilla tactics, ‘search and destroy’ and the use of
chemical warfare was unpopular The Tet Offensive – A massive success for the Vietcong against the US. The spirit of the US public and army feel further.
