The Cold War

The Cold War: 1945-1991

Click on the interactive map on the right to learn about the major events of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union

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Origins of the Cold War Interested in learning more? Watch OR Read about the Cold War by clicking on the links below!

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The Cold War at Home

After World War II, the United States emerged as a superpower in competition with the Soviet Union for influence around the globe. U.S. foreign policy after WWII was framed in this context for decades and had a great effect on the people of the nation, as well.

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The policy of containment fueled American foreign policy leading into the Cold War. Read below to learn more about this policy Containment and Marshall Plan

Nuclear War? In the period between the end of World War II and 1949, little attention was given to the topic of civil defense as the nation was demobilized from wartime. However, when the Soviet Union detonated its first atomic weapon in August of 1949, the Truman administration created the Federal Civil Defense Administration (FDCA) agency to coordinate military, industrial, and civilian mobilization should the Soviet Union attack the United States with a nuclear weapon. The United States was no longer the only nation with atomic technology. The Cold War superpowers could potentially use the world's deadliest weapons against each other. The FDCA created materials about public bomb shelters, evacuation plans, and training programs for local and state governments to build and use for preparedness for a nuclear attack in their areas. Scroll down and watch videos and click on links to learn more! This video was created by FDCA in 1951. The intended audience for this video was schoolchildren. Want to learn more about the American fallout shelter? Look no further!

The Second Red Scare... In the beginning years of the Cold War, many Americans became fearful that communism would spread to the United States. Americans watched the news reports as the Iron Curtain fell across Europe and communism took hold in China and Korea. This fear resulted in the Second Red Scare. Similar to the post-World War I Red Scare, this fear that communism was infiltrating American government and life produced distrust and hysteria that permeated American culture and politics. Click the links below to learn more!

• The HUAC
• Joseph McCarthy

Problems with Cuba Fidel Castro came to power in Cuba in 1959. He led a successful communist revolution to overthrow U.S.-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista. The Eisenhower administration initially recognized the new government. However, when Castro seized U.S. sugar businesses there, which controlled about 75% of the crop in Cuba, relations between the countries deteriorated. In 1961, the United States cut diplomatic relations with Cuba and Castro aligned himself with the Soviet Union. Tensions rose during the Kennedy administration TWICE. Take a look at the videos below to learn more!

The Cold War in Europe

American officials believed if Western European nations did not have help in rebuilding their economies, there would a good chance that some of these Western nations might be taken over by communist leaders. To meet this emergency, Secretary of State George Marshall proposed a solution in line with the Truman Doctrine. He argued that European nations should create a plan for their economic reconstruction and that the United States should provide economic assistance. President Truman urged Congress to adopt Marshall's idea. Congress overwhelmingly passed the Economic Cooperation Act of 1948, and President Truman signed the act that became known as the Marshall Plan.

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The Cold War in Europe CLICK HERE to read an article for more information! Listen to Churchill's IRON CURTAIN SPEECH

Problems with Germany Remember after WW2, Germany was divided into 4 quadrants as a result of the Yalta Conference. As the Allies (France, Great Britain, and the United States) tried to reunite Germany and Berlin, they met resistance with the communist Soviet Union. Watch the videos below to refresh your memory on the Berlin Airlift and the Berlin Wall.

The History of NATO and the UN! From April to June 1945, representatives from 50 nations met in San Francisco, California, to finalize the Charter of the United Nations, the founding treaty of the United Nations. The original idea that Churchill and Roosevelt discussed at the Atlantic Conference in 1941 and that Roosevelt urged Stalin to join at the Yalta Conference in 1945 became a reality. According to the charter the organization's objectives include:

1. maintaining international peace and security,
2. protecting human rights,
3. delivering humanitarian aid,
4. promoting sustainable development across its members,
5. and upholding international law.

Soviet Satellite States What is a satellite state? a country that is formally independent in the world but under heavy political, economic, and military influence or control from another country

The Warsaw Pact and the eventual fall of the Soviet Union

The origins of the Cold War in Southeast Asia are most often located in the immediate aftermath of the Second World War, in the late 1940s. Historians sometimes trace its origins to Japan's expansionist phase in the 1930s, which accelerated the decline of the European and American colonial order in this part of Asia. The Cold War in Southeast Asia was not only about the postwar fight against the spread of communism, but also closely intertwined with the decolonization and nation-building efforts of every country in the region

Cold War in Asia

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Check out the Cold War for Kids website here!

China becomes Communist Civil war erupted between the Communist Party of China (CPC), led by Mao Zedong, and the Nationalists in 1927. The factions fought against each other until the Japanese invasion of China in 1937 and the years of World War II. They became uneasy allies fighting the common enemy of Japan. The Nationalists, who maintained control of the government, faced the double threat of Japanese invasion and Communist uprisings. The Nationalists used needed resources to contain the Communists, rather than focusing entirely on Japan. Most of their control and support lay in major cities. Meanwhile, the Communists worked to strengthen their influence in rural society. They gave farmers the land they seized and provided other services in rural areas, like teachers and schools to expand education.

Origins of the Korean WarThe Korean peninsula had been under Japanese control since 1910. In the final months of World War II, the Soviet Union invaded Korea from the north. At the Potsdam Conference in 1945, the United States and the Soviet Union agreed to temporarily divide Korea at the imaginary line of latitude, the 38th parallel. Similar in goal to the division of Germany, the two nations would oversee the removal of Japanese forces until a new government could be formed in Korea. Look at the picture of the 38th parallel below. Keep scrolling to watch a video about the Korean War.

The Korean War The Korean peninsula had been under Japanese control since 1910.

• In the final months of World War II, the Soviet Union invaded Korea from the north.
• At the Potsdam Conference in 1945, the United States and the Soviet Union agreed to temporarily divide Korea at the imaginary line of latitude, the 38th parallel.
• Similar in goal to the division of Germany, the two nations would oversee the removal of Japanese forces until a new government could be formed in Korea.

Look at the picture below, then scroll down to watch the video.

The Vietnam War Recall after World War II and the Japanese withdrawal from Indochina, Ho Chi Minh led a war for independence from France, which had controlled Indochina as a colony since 1887. During the Truman administration, the United States supported the French with aid in a proxy war to contain communism. President Eisenhower continued Truman's policy, citing the importance to contain communism. However, Eisenhower did not want to expand U.S. activity in Indochina so soon after the end of the Korean Conflict in 1953. CLICK HERE TO READ ABOUT THE VIETNAM WAR!