cold war

• 1945 marked the end of World War II
• Victory in Europe was achieved by the military overthrow of Germany by the USA, the UK, France, and the Soviet Union
• Victory in Japan was caused by the U.S. dropping nuclear weapons on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
• Superpowers


  Countries with huge economies, military might, and industrial capacity
• The two global superpowers after WWII were the USA and the USSR
• The USSR was immediately concerned about the USA having possession of nuclear weapons in 1945
• Capitalism


  Economic system found in the USA and much of Western Europe, with a focus on individual liberty, human rights, free markets, and limited government
• Communism


  Economic system found in the USSR and Eastern Europe, with everything owned by the state, no private business, and an emphasis on equality and an advanced living standard for all
• Harry Truman succeeded Roosevelt as President of the USA after WWII
• The USA's primary focus was to limit the spread of communism after WWII
• The UK was an empire gradually breaking up, seeking to restore its former supremacy and importance
• The USSR was massively damaged by the war and was seeking to establish dominance over Europe and Eastern Europe
• The Yalta and Potsdam conferences in 1945 shaped the immediate events after the war
• Germany was divided into four zones of occupation after the war
• Berlin was also divided into four zones, despite being nominally within the Soviet zone
• The USA's four main foreign policy goals after WWII


  • Prevent further Soviet expansion in Europe and Asia
  • Develop alliances with friendly Western European states
  • Encourage Western Europe to work together economically and politically
  • Consolidate the USA's position as a global policeman and hegemon
• Truman Doctrine


  Idea to contain communism and prevent its spread to other countries using US influence, military might, and industrial resources
• The Truman Doctrine did not succeed in preventing communism in China and worsened US-Soviet relations
• Marshall Plan


  US financial aid to encourage the development and integration of Europe, especially Western Europe
• The Marshall Plan resulted in a transfer of billions of dollars to Europe, mostly to France, the UK, and Italy
• The Marshall Plan was politically unpopular in some parts of US society and the money was not distributed equally
• The USSR set up COMECON and the Cominform in response to the Marshall Plan
• The Berlin Blockade and Airlift marked a major escalation in superpower tensions and the first major foreign policy defeat for the Soviet Union after WWII
• The communist victory in China under Mao Zedong was a development of deep concern for the US government, leading to the development of the Domino Theory
• Korea was partitioned into a Soviet-controlled communist North and an American-influenced capitalist South after WWII
• Mao Zedong

  Aimed to develop Chinese industry and transform the country into a modern industrial state
• China had up until roughly 1945 to 1950 been a primarily agricultural state
• Mao Zedong

  Wished to expand Chinese communist influence especially within Southeast Asia
• Mao Zedong


  Was initially supported by and very friendly towards the USSR
• After the death of Stalin in 1953

  The USSR was taken over by a younger, slightly more liberal generation of communists
• Following the end of World War II, the Korean peninsula had been occupied by Japanese forces
• Korea had been partitioned into a Soviet-controlled communist North and an American controlled or at least influenced capitalist South
• Kim Il-sung, the leader of North Korea, made the decision to invade the South with Soviet and Chinese backing
• The UN sent troops to Korea, and after brutal fighting, a stalemate was reached on the 38th parallel
• North Korea became a withdrawn and communist totalitarian state supported by the USSR and China
• South Korea became a capitalist country and usually a democracy, supported by the USA and Japan
• Prior to World War II, Vietnam had been a French colony ruled with the French usual style of colonialism with some brutality
• Following the end of the war and the withdrawal of Japanese forces, the French struggled to contain a communist uprising in Vietnam led by Ho Chi Minh
• Vietnam was quickly divided into a communist USSR and China supported North and the capitalist USA supported South Vietnam
• There were repeated skirmishes between North and South Vietnam, eventually leading to the US sending advisors and then ground troops to the nation