CW - The Cold War Module Overview

The Cold War

Introduction

Photograph of a portion of the Berlin Wall in Germany.The long struggle with Fascism was over and Americans celebrated the end of World War II with vigor. However, the celebration was short lived as a new conflict emerged between two former allies, the United States and the Soviet Union. This conflict dominated America's politics and its foreign policy, leading to a war in Korea, a crisis in the Middle East, and widespread suspicion of disloyalty at home. Although the Cold War had an enormous impact on domestic affairs in the 1950s, many Americans experienced a time of prosperity rather than a time of anti-Communist fear. Popular culture celebrated the growing middle class and its suburban lifestyle, although many minorities and poor people were excluded from economic gains.

In the early 1960s, the mood of the country dramatically shifted as the new Democratic president, John F. Kennedy, faced some of the most dangerous Soviet-American confrontations of the nuclear age. After Kennedy's assassination in 1963, President Lyndon B. Johnson launched a campaign against poverty and discrimination known as the Great Society.

Essential Questions

  • What were some of the factors that led to the Cold War in the Post-World War II Era?
  • What were some flashpoints and responses to them by the U.S. in the first 2 decades of the Cold War?
  • Culturally and politically, what were some of the major characteristics of the Post-World War II Era?

 

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Textbook Assignment

 Read the chapter in your textbook that relates to this module. Your instructor will provide you with a specific reading schedule. 

 

Key Terms

Look over your key terms for this module. Then review them with the activity below.

  • Cold War - the struggle between the free nations, led by the United States and the communist nations, led by the Soviet Union for world influence following World War II until around 1990 when Soviet communism collapsed. The Soviet Union and the United States never directly went to war, but often became involved in conflict and engaged in competition for influence.
  • Marshall Plan - a plan that provided billions for rebuilding Europe from World War II, this also worked to make communism less appealing in western Europe.
  • Containment - the basis of U.S. foreign policy throughout the Cold War, the idea was to stop communism from spreading.
  • Truman Doctrine - President Truman’s application of the containment policy, it called on the U.S. to “support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures.”
  • Collective Security - the idea that nations should work together for defense. “An attack on one is an attack on all.” The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was an example of a collective security organization.
  • Decolonization - the process that accelerated after World War II where the colonies of the European powers in Africa and Asia gained independence. This was a major flashpoint in the Cold War as the free world and communist nations competed for influence in these emerging nations.
  • Military Industrial Complex - term used by President Eisenhower to describe the relationship between military spending by the government and the buildup of armed forces in the Cold War. Government spending on defense was high during the Cold War and it helped fuel economic expansion, but others felt it created opportunities for abuse.
  • Korean War - 1950-1953, the U.S. and other nations came to the aid of South Korea when they were invaded by communist North Korea. The war saved South Korea but was unable to dislodge the communist regime from the North.
  • Chinese Civil War - Mao Zedong and the communists won and overthrew the pro-Western government in China - these nationalists fled to the island of Taiwan.
  • McCarthyism - this term applied to a Second Red Scare in the 1950s, Senator Joseph McCarthy often accused people in government of being communists with little evidence.
  • Cuban Revolution - in 1959 communists led by Fidel Castro overthrew the pro-American leader Batista. This placed a communist country only 90 miles from the U.S.
  • Bay of Pigs - in 1961 a force of 1,500 U.S. trained Cuban exiles landed in Cuba to try to overthrow the Castro regime, the invasion was a disaster as it was quickly crushed and many of the attackers held for ransom.
  • Cuban Missile Crisis - President Kennedy ordered a blockade of Cuba when it was discovered that the Soviet Union was placing nuclear missiles there. The standoff came perilously close to nuclear war, but the Soviets eventually backed down.
  • Baby Boom - this is the name for the time period where there was a huge growth in population as millions of babies were born in the years following the end of World War II.
  • Levittown - was the first master-planned community in Long Island, New York. It ushered in an era of the rapid growth of suburbs and subdivisions.
  • Interstate Highway Act - largest public works project in American history; built 41,000 miles of interstate highways connecting major cities and making travel much faster.
  • Sunbelt - is the term used to describe the southern and western United States that experienced the highest levels of population growth in the post-World War II era.
  • Kennedy/Nixon Presidential Debates - 70 million people tuned in to see the first televised Presidential debate in history. Most felt that Kennedy performed better on television and this was likely a factor in his close election win in 1960.
  • Sputnik I - in 1957 the Soviet Union launched this first satellite into space. Many Americans feared that we were falling behind the Soviets in technology and a renewed emphasis was placed on education and developing an American space program.
  • Assassination of President Kennedy - in 1963, JFK was shot and killed while riding in a Dallas motorcade. There are many conspiracy theories that have arisen over the assassination.
  • Great Society - the name given to President Lyndon Johnson’s domestic plan that began many new programs to combat poverty.
  • Medicare - a Great Society program which provides government funded health care for senior citizens.

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