The Cold War: A Conflict of Ideologies

Political Realignment after World War II

Fractures of Allied Forces
Development of Two Camps; Partition
Definition of Cold War
Causes of the Cold War (Whos to Blame?)

American & Soviet Domestic Policies

McCarthyism, Red Scare; Paranoia & Dissent
Stalinism, Khrushchev; Economic Security

Foreign Policies & the Global Theater

American Containment of Communism
Capitalist Dominance vs. the Left Map of U.S. & Soviet Ships in the Atlantic;
Communist International 1962, Height of the Cuban Missile Crisis
Socialist Countries vs. Exploitation
Colonies & Client States (Domino Theory)
Asia, Latin America, Africa

Short- & Long-Term Effects of the Cold War

 Political Realignment after World War II
Fractures of Allied Forces
Britain, France, U.S., U.S.S.R, Associates
Alliance as Fragile as Hitlers Regime in 45
Tension on Lands, Economies, Reparations
Yalta, February, 45; Potsdam, July, 45

Development of Two Camps

Western Capitalist Countries; NATO, 49
Eastern Communist Bloc; Warsaw Pact, 55 Berlin Airlift, Supplies to West Berlin

German Partition; Soviet Gains; U.S. Influence

Marshall Plan to Rebuild Europe
Berlin Airlift, 48/9; Berlin Wall, 61

Definition of Cold War

Hostilities short of armed conflict, consisting
in threats, violent propaganda, subversive
political activities, or the like. OED
Territorial Impact of WWII & Spheres of Influence

d
 Partition of Germany, Berlin

The Berlin Wall, early 1960s

Areas of Occupation by (former) Allies

 Causes of the Cold War (Whos to Blame?)
Matter of Perspective & Polarity
All Soviets or All Americans Fault?

Russians Fault
Aggressive Communist Revolutionaries
Worked with Hitler to Divide Poland
Only Last-Minute vs. Japan
Imposed Regimes in Eastern Europe
Buffer Border vs. Capitalist West

Americans Fault
Aggressive Political Rhetoric vs. Comintern
Broken Promises on Rebuilding Russia
Large Military Presence in W. Germany
Collaboration with U.K./France
Open Threat/Signal of Atomic Bomb
Anti-Communist Comic Book, 1960

Cyclical Problem of Competing Conspiracy Theories

 American Domestic Policies
McCarthyism, from 1950 Forward
Senator Joe McCarthy, R-Wisconsin
Minor Figure, Little-Respected
List of 205 in the State Department
Strong Anti-Communist Polemic
Conservative, Nationalist Supporters
Falls in 54; Groundless Accusations of a Bully

Red Scare
Fear of Communist Espionage; Soviet H-Bomb
Federal Employees Loyalty Program, 47
House Un-American Activities Committee

Paranoia & Dissent

Stringent Attempt on Social Conformity Senator McCarthy, 1954
Simple Polarizing Message of Us & Them
Liberal, Socially-Minded were Targeted
Strong Tinge of Anti-Intellectualism
 Soviet Domestic Policies
Stalinism
Strict Obedience to the State
Political Dissidents Imprisoned, Killed
Political Conformity > Personal Liberties

Nikita Khrushchev, 56-64

De-Stalinization (Correcting the Wrongs)
Massive Military Expenditure (cf. U.S.)
Missile Defense Systems
Whether you like it or not, history is on
our side. We will bury you. 1956
Agricultural Reforms; Space Exploration

Economic Security
Pride in the Experience of Everyman
Safety Net for All People; Common Wealth Russian Stamp Commemorating
Vapid Consumerism < Educated Communism the 1st Sputnik, October 4, 1957
 Foreign Policies & the Global Theater
American Containment of Communism
Capitalist Dominance vs. the Left
Extension of Domestic Policy
Truman Doctrine, 47; Encircling U.S.S.R.
Massive Retaliation: Nuclear if Needed
To the Brink, but not Abyss
Military-Industrial Complex
Interested Coalition for Arms Race
Superpower w/o Western Parallel
It must be the policy of the United States to
support free peoples who are resisting
attempted subjugation by armed minorities or
by outside pressures. . . . The free peoples of
the world look to us for support in
maintaining their freedoms.
Harry Truman, March 1947, regarding
$500 Million in aid for Greece & Turkey

Communist International
Socialist Countries vs. Exploitation
Communist Parties in Network
Opposition to Capitalist Imperialism
Similar Military Build-up; Keeping up
Strength in Uniformity of Ideology
President Truman at Potsdam, with
Polarized Ideas & Militaries; Mutual Distrust Stalin & Churchill, August 1945
 Eisenhowers Farewell Speech, 1961
We now stand ten years past the midpoint of a century that has witnessed four major
wars among great nations. Three of these involved our own country. Despite these
holocausts America is today the strongest, the most influential and most productive nation
in the world. Understandably proud of this pre-eminence, we yet realize that America's
leadership and prestige depend, not merely upon our unmatched material progress, riches
and military strength, but on how we use our power in the interests of world peace and
human betterment. . . . Throughout America's adventure in free government, our basic
purposes have been to keep the peace; to foster progress in human achievement, and to
enhance liberty, dignity and integrity among people and among nations. . . . Progress
toward these noble goals is persistently threatened by the conflict now engulfing the world.
It commands our whole attention, absorbs our very beings. We face a hostile ideology --
global in scope, atheistic in character, ruthless in purpose, and insidious in method. . . .
Crises there will continue to be. In meeting them, whether foreign or domestic, great or
small, there is a recurring temptation to feel that some spectacular and costly action could
become the miraculous solution to all current difficulties. A huge increase in newer
elements of our defense . . . may be suggested as the only way to the road we wish to
travel. . . . Disarmament, with mutual honor and confidence, is a continuing imperative.
Together we must learn how to compose differences, not with arms, but with intellect and
decent purpose. . . . As one who has witnessed the horror and the lingering sadness of
war . . . I wish I could say tonight that a lasting peace is in sight.
 Colonies & Client States (Domino Theory)
Post- Neocolonialism
Battleground for Politics & Ideas

Asia
Conflict in Korea, 1950-3
U.S. vs. Communists/China
Vietnam War, 1964-75
U.S. vs. Communists/Soviet Union

Latin America
Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962
Greek Australians in Vietnam: A Strange
U.S. vs. Castro/Soviet Union Mix of Imperialism, Immigration, & Anti-
Warheads in Cuba, Europe/Turkey Communism
Che Guevara in Bolivia, 67

Africa
Guevara in the Congo, 65
Exporting Marxist Guerrilla Tactics
 Khrushchev to Kennedy, Oct. 26, 1962
I think you will understand me correctly if you are really concerned about the welfare of
the world. Everyone needs peace: both capitalists, if they have not lost their reason, and,
still more, Communists, people who know how to value not only their own lives but, more
than anything, the lives of the peoples. We, Communists, are against all wars between
states in general and have been defending the cause of peace since we came into the world.
We have always regarded war as a calamity, and not as a game nor as a means for the
attainment of definite goals, nor, all the more, as a goal in itself. Our goals are clear, and
the means to attain them is labor. War is our enemy and a calamity for all the peoples. It is
thus that we, Soviet people, and, together with US, other peoples as well, understand the
questions of war and peace. I can, in any case, firmly say this for the peoples of the
Socialist countries, as well as for all progressive people who want peace, happiness, and
friendship among peoples. . . . Armaments bring only disasters. When one accumulates
them, this damages the economy, and if one puts them to use, then they destroy people on
both sides. Consequently, only a madman can believe that armaments are the principal
means in the life of society. No, they are an enforced loss of human energy, and what is
more are for the destruction of man himself. If people do not show wisdom, then in the
final analysis they will come to a clash, like blind moles, and then reciprocal extermination
will begin.
 Short- & Long-Term Effects of the Cold War
Massive Military Build-up
Nuclear Arms Race; Armageddon Anxiety
American Bases around the Globe
Alliances between Business & Govt
Mental War in the Interest of Both

Social Developments
Civil Liberties Infringed; Dissent Quelled
Culture of Youth Protests; 1968
Polarization of Popular Ideologies
Govt Spending Reallocated

International Boundaries University Teachers at the Protest in Paris,

May 1968
Post- & Neocolonialism
Territorial < Cultural Imperialism
Success & Failure of Diplomacy
Need for Peaceful Resolutions
 Defense Spending: N.B. 50 to 97

Spodek, 732