Post-World War II

Foreign Policy
Ch. 16

The Yalta Conference

Roosevelt, Stalin, Churchill
Stalin

Wanted

Germany weak and divided and Eastern

Europe under Soviet control

Roosevelt and Churchill

Wanted

strong, unified
Germany and Eastern
Europe independent

Decisions at Yalta

Free elections in Poland, Bulgaria, & Romania

..or

not
Eastern European countries become satellite
states controlled by the Soviet Union

Division of Korea at 38th Parallel

Communist North &
Non-communist South

Potsdam Conference

A different Big Three?

(Stalin, Truman, Atlee)
Germany divided into four
zones: French, British,
US, USSR goal was to
eventually reunify
Germany
Truman felt the US/USSR
alliance was failing

Balance of Power

From several Great Powers

Britain,

France, Germany, Russia, etc.

To two Superpowers
United

States v. Soviet Union

US- wealthy, powerful military, confident
USSR- Red Army controlled Eastern
Europe
(largest military force)

United Nations
Goals? Succeed where League of Nations failed
Universal Declaration of Human Rights

first global expression of rights to which all human

beings are inherently entitled

Structure of UN
Security

Council

15 members 10 rotate, 5 permanent

5 permanent members
(US, USSR, Britain, France, China)
General Assembly

The Cold War

What was the Cold War, really?

Is it called that because the Soviet Union is cold?
NO.
It really was.

A competition

for global power and influence

between the United States (and its allies) and the
Soviet Union (and its allies)

The Cold War never resulted in direct military

conflict between the US and the USSR
Instead, they competed by supporting other
countries economically or militarily

Why did it happen?

Paranoia, fear, and mistrust at the end of

World War II

Europe

US goals:
Free

elections
Democratic governments
Capitalist economies
Strong unified Germany

Soviet goals:
A buffer

against attack from the US

Communist bloc
satellite states
Weak,

divided Germany

Divisions in Europe
Division of communist and
Noncommunist countries in Europe
East (Communist) &
West (noncommunist)
Iron Curtain Speech

Winston

Churchill

From Stettin on the Baltic to

Trieste on the Adriatic, an
Iron Curtain has descended
across the Continent

Containment

What is containment?
Preventing

the spread of communism

George Kennans idea

Containment policy was anything the US

government did to prevent the spread of
communism including:
Economic

aid
Military action
Diplomatic negotiation

Much of US foreign policy from 1946-1991 had

containment as its goal

US Containment Policies
Truman

The Marshall Plan

Give

$$ to European countries to help rebuild their

economies

The Truman Doctrine

Give

$$ to any country to help them resist communist

rebellions in their own nation

Founding of NATO
North Atlantic Treaty

Organization
Military alliance that promised protection against
aggression

Berlin Airlift
Sends aid and advisors to China to support
Nationalists during Chinese Civil War
Intervention (with the UN) in the Korean War

A divided
Berlin.
A divided
Germany.
A divided
Europe.
A divided
world.

Berlin Airlift
Stalin wanted to capture West Berlin
Stopped all highway, railway, and
waterway traffic into West Berlin
Without supplies they would fall to the
communists
US and Britain supplied West Berlin
through the air

Toys,

food, clothing, medicine

Showed US would go to extreme to

protect noncommunist areas

Berlin Blockade/Airlift
June 27, 1948 to May 12, 1949

NATO (BLUE)
Warsaw Pact (Red)

Chinese Civil War

Nationalists led by Jiang Jeishi (US support)

Communists led by Mao Zedong (Soviet support)

Chinese Civil War

Maos forces dominated the war
US refused to send in troops
Jiang fled and took control of Taiwan
Mao renamed China Peoples Republic of
China

The Korean War

North Korea invades South Korea
UN forces drive North Korea back to the Yalu River
China enters the war and drives UN forces down
past the 38th Parallel

The

Frozen Chosin

Truman v. MacArthur
Peace talks drag on

And

on
And help lead to an Eisenhower victory in 1952
election

Containment Policy Eisenhower

Korean War - Threatens nuclear attacks on China & North

Korea
Eisenhower Doctrine
The

US will use military force to support nations who are

resisting communist rebellions or communist aggression

Arms buildup- US and Soviet nuclear warheads

MAD

Brinkmanship
US

Mutually Assured Destruction

threaten devastation, go to the brink of war

Creation of the CIA

Iran
Guatemala

Send $$ and advisors to support dictator in South Vietnam

Send $$ and advisors to support dictator Batista in Cuba

The Soviets get the H-bomb - The mushroom cloud

from the first "true" Soviet hydrogen bomb test in
1955.

YouTube Atomic Bomb Footage

YouTube Bikini Atoll Footage

War Crimes Trials

Nuremburg Trials
against

key leaders of Nazi Germany

Hanged, long prison terms

Tokyo Trials