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Yalta Conference
When- February 4, 1945 - February 11, 1945
Where- Yalta in Crimea [U.S.S.R]
Why- To discuss the progress of the war and the future of the postwar world.
Who- FDR, Joseph Stalin, Winston Churchill.
What- Germany would be split up into four zones. Discussed that if Stalin went against Japan and the Soviet Union went to war with Japan then the Soviet Union would get a piece of the sphere of influence in Manchuria. Which Stalin agreed to. -
Yalta Conference (cont)
Germany would have to pay for some, but not all the reparations of the war. To have a voting of five permanent nations that would the ability to veto on decisions before they were final. The nations were U.S, Britain, France, China, and the U.S.S.R. U.S.S.R. would hold free elections in Eastern Europe. War crime trials would be held after the war was over.
Significance- Decided how to split up Germany. Soviets get a piece of Germany, gives five permanent nations the power to veto. -
Potsdam Conference
Potsdam Conference
When-July 17, 1945 - August 2, 1945
Where-Potsdam,Germany
Why- To meetup to discuss how to handle Germany and how to deal with Japan.
Who- Harry Truman, Joseph Stalin, Winston Churchill (later replaced by Clement Attlee). -
Potsdam Conference (Cont) 1
What- Agreed to demilitarize and disarm Germany, along with democratic ideas to govern Germany. Four powers, U.S, France, Britain, and the Soviet union would govern Germany. Poland received a part of German territory. Germans evacuated out of Hungary, Poland, and Czechoslovakia back to Germany. Make treaties with Germany’s allies. Came up with the potsdam declaration to get Japan to surrender. T -
Potsdam Conference (Cont) 2
Truman revealed that the U.S was building an atomic weapon and Stalin already knew about it.
Significance- Finds ways to deal with Germany. The first time atomic weapons are being brought to light and starts an arms race with the Soviet Union. Finds a way to deal with Japan and get them to surrender once and for all. -
Iron Curtain Speech
Where- Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri
Why- Churchill wanted to warn America and western world about the threats posed by Josef Stalin and the Soviet Union.Churchill wanted to argue for a closer “special relationship” between the United States and Great Britain
Who- Winston Churchill and Harry Truman
What- Speech given by Churchill to argue the threats that Stalin had imposed on America and expressing that Great Britain and America should strengthen their relationship and become allies -
Iron Curtain speech cont...
Significance- The speech was the beginning of The Cold War. -
Truman Doctrine
Where- A speech given by Truman, before the joint session with Congress
Why- Truman established it to provide political, military, and economic assistance to all democratic nations, under the threat from external or internal authoritarian forces.
Who- Harry Truman came up with the Doctrine
What- A reorientated foreign policy to not directly involve the United States but aid others from a distance.
Significance- It overturned the Monroe Doctrine and led directly to the Marshall Plan -
OAS formed
Who:The United States and 20 Latin American nations
What: the OAS Charter was signed on April 1948
Where: the Ninth Pan-American Conference, held in Bogotá, Colom
Why:To serve as a barricade against communist penetration of the Western Hemisphere. And strengthen the peace and security of the Western Hemisphere, to promote the peaceful settlement of disputes between member states.
Significance:The OAS never truly functioned as either the United States or the Latin American members had hoped. -
OAS formed continued
Significance:
-For the United States:Castro’s Cuba–the OAS refused to give its approval of direct action to remove what the United States felt were “communist threats.” Also, the U.S. intervention in the Dominican Republic in 1965, the OAS gave only grudging support after long after it.
- The Latin American member states:The U.S.-orchestrated overthrow of the government of Guatemala in 1954, the failed Bay of Pigs invasion in Cuba in 1961, the intervention in the Dominican Republic in 1965. -
Marshall Plan
Who: State Department leadership under Secretary of State George Marshall with expertise provided by George Kennan, William Clayton and others crafted the Marshall Plan concept
What: $13 billion dollars provided by the U.S. helped finance the economic recovery of Europe.
-Resulted in shipments of food, staples, fuel, and machinery from the U.S.
Where: 16 nations, including Germany became apart of the program. -
Marshall Plan continued
When: Jun 3, 1948 to 1951
Why: Europe was devastated by years of conflict during World War II, Industrial and residential lay in ruins. And Europe was on the brink of famine as agricultural production had been disrupted by war. Transportation infrastructures were in shambles.
Significance: 1948 to 1952 European economies grew
Resulted in trade relations that led to the formation of the North Atlantic alliance.
Economic prosperity led by coal and steel industries helped to shape Europe today -
Berlin Airlift
Where- From bases in England and Western Germany into West Berlin
Why- United States wanted to help the besieged cities because the citizens were starved because the Soviet Union blocked all grounds into West Berlin.
Who- The United States [Truman]
What- The United States airlifted food, water, and medicine to the citizens in the besieged city because the citizens of the besieged cities were threatened with starvation. -
Berlin Airlift cont...
Significance- The Berlin Airlift prevented West Berlin from falling in the Soviet Union's hands -
NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) formed
Where- Washington DC
Why- USSR had been capturing surrounding countries and other countries felt threatened
Who- Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom and the USA founded it. Many countries joined later
What- NATO was formed. Countries in the NATO would protect each other from possible Soviet invasion
Significance- Warsaw Pact formed due to West Germany joining NATO. The NATO is still active to this day -
Chinese Civil War
When- 1946-October 1, 1949
Where- China.
Why- China had fell to communism due to the influence of the Soviet Union.
Who- Mao Zedong (Chinese Communist party), Chiang Kai-shek (Kuomintang aka the Chinese nationalist party).
What- When China fell to communism two parties, the Chinese Communist party and the Kuomintang went against each other in a all out civil war. -
Chinese Civil War (cont) 1
Mao Zedong (communist) and Chiang Kai-shek (nationalist) met up to discuss China’s future, but it didn’t go so well and China had a civil war. Communist victory seemed more possible as the war went on due to better organizations and weapons taken from Manchuria when the Japanese surrendered. The vote for the nationalist went down due to corruption and mismanagement. -
Chinese Civil War (cont) 2
The vote for the nationalist went down due to corruption and mismanagement. The U.S sent supplies and resources to the nationalist party because they didn’t want communism to spread and win in China. Mao made the PRC (People's Republic of China) after several significant military victories and Chiang fled to Taiwan to regroup and figure out how to win the mainland. Before 1949 the war started three years ago in 1946. -
Chinese Civil War (cont) 3
Significance- It shows the influence of communism and the Soviet Union.The first major country in Asia to become a communist country. -
Warsaw Pact formed
Where- Warsaw, Poland
Why- Soviet Union felt threatened by West Germany joining NATO and being allowed to remilitarize
Who- USSR, Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, the German Democratic Republic (East Germany), Hungary, Poland and Romania founded it
What- A treaty that put the Soviet Union into command of the other countries’ armies
Significance- became a large opponent to NATO and the ideas of capitalism
