-
Nuclear Weapons Threat and Detente cont.
country that the world would end in a nuclear doom. Both countries would try and outdo the other and eventually it was about trying to convince the other not to launch their missile. Many treaties were signed between the U.S. and Soviet Union. These treaties include the limit of ABMs (anti-ballistic missiles). Ronald Reagan who was president during the 1990s would want to build a star wars missile and would be prohibited because of this ABM treaty. Another treaty they would both sign is the -
Nuclear Weapons Threat and Detente cont. cont.
would both sign is the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START). This is when the Détente would begin. This is a time period of relaxation of tensions. Everything would be running smoothly with this plan until the Soviets decide to invade Afghanistan in 1979. -
Nuclear Weapons Threat and Detente
Once WW2 would end then the nuclear arms race would start. First it was U.S. being the only world power that had nuclear bombs when the war ended in 1945. Then a short 4 years later the USSR would have developed their nuclear bombs. This would begin the race to see who would have the better missiles. All of the world’s people lived in fear because they knew if one of those bombs was to be sent to bomb another country that the world would end in a nuclear doom. Both countries would try and -
NATO and Warsaw PAct cont.
East would be under the control of NATO and west belonged to the Warsaw -
NATO and Warsaw Pact
NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization was born in 1949. It was a group of countries including the United States that had an agreement to help each other if one should be attacked. The Warsaw Pact, like the NATO, was a group of countries but this group included USSR and seven satellites in Europe. The main difference with these organizations is that the Warsaw Pact would also monitor their satellites. These groups would basically split up Europe into East and West blocs. -
Korean Conflict
Korea got divided into north and south Korea after World War II. North Korea then was ruled by Kim II Sung, which became a communist ally of the Soviet Union. In the South Korea, the United
States backed the dictatorial but non communist leader, Syngman Rhee. Early 1950, Kim II Sung called for a “heroic struggle” to reunite Korea. North Korean troops attacked in June 1950 and soon overran most of the south. The United States then organized a United Nation force to help South Korea. -
Korean Conflict cont.
The United Nations forces stopped them in August along a line known as the Pusan Perimeter. In September 1950, United Nations troops landed on the beaches around the port of Inch’on, behind enemy lines. These U.S troops quickly captured Korea’s north-south rail lines and cut off North Korean troops from their supply of food and ammunition. By November, United Nations forces had advanced north to the Yalu River, along the border of China. Mao Zedong sent hundreds of thousands of Chinese troops to -
Korean Conflict cont. cont.
hundreds of thousands of Chinese troops to help the North Koreans. They forced United Nations troops back to the south of the 38th parallel. This war turned to stalemate. Finally, in 1953, both sides signed an armistice. The armistice held for the rest of the old War, but no peace treaty was ever negotiated. -
Chinese Civil War
After WWII, Communists lead by Mao Zedong fought a civil war against China’s Nationalists and China came under the control of the Communists. The communists won the war, because they had the support of the peasants, and they captured Tibet in 1950. In the People’s Republic of China, Mao built a one-party totalitarian state. The communist government reshaped the economy and society, as well as other traditional Chinese beliefs. They also collectivized farms to increase productivity. Then from -
Chinese Civil War cont.
1958 to 1960, Mao led a program called the Great LEap Forward. Mao wanted people to increase their farm and industrial output, but instead many people starved to death, and the program failed. Slowly, China recovered from the disaster, and in 1966 Mao launched the Cultural Revolution. The goal was to purge China of "bourgeois" tendencies. He wanted young Chinese to experience revolution firsthand. The bourgeois were attacked by the Red Gaurds, and as skilled workers and managers were forced -
Chinese Civil War cont. cont.
to leave their jobs and enter labor camps and rural farms, schools and factories closed, the economy slowed, and civil war threatened. The army finally restored order under Mao's command -
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Communist Missile Crisis cont.
the US's attempt to bring down the communist rage 1961. The US trained Cuban exiles and sent them to the Bay of Pigs to invade Cuba. Castro's forces captured the invaders and the US's plan failed. At the that time, the US imposed a trade embargo on Cuba, which remains in effect. When the Soviet Union sent nuclear missiles to Cuba in 1962, President Kennedy's response was a naval blockade, preventing further Soviet shipments. -
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Communist Cuba and Missile Crisis cont. cont.
He also demanded that the Soviet Union remove its nuclear missiles from Cuba, or the world would be at risk of a nuclear war. Fortunately, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev had the missiles removed preventing a war. -
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Communist Missile Crisis
In the 1950’s Fidel Castro started an armed rebellion against the dictator who ruled Cuba. After leading his guerrilla army to victory by 1959, Castro began changing Cuba. During the Cuban Revolution Castro sought the support of the Soviet Union, and nationalized businesses, put most land under government control, and severely restricted Cubans’ political freedom. Many people fled to Florida, and critics of the new regime were jailed or silenced. The Bay of Pigs Invasion was John F. Kennedy and -
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Soviet Union Falls
The Soviet Union rebuilt its corrupt economy after World War II. The government pored money into the science and technology. In 1957 Sputnik(the first satellite) was launched. Food is not enough right now. bread lines are beginning to form once more in history. In 1979 The Soviet Union went into a long war with Afghanistan. But in the mid-1980’s America smuggles arms into Afghanistan. In 1985 a new leader named Mikhail Gorbachev was eager to rebuild this country. At home he called for a glasnost -
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Soviet Union Falls cont.
or openness. This made the people feel more free, but as the people talked they soon realized they weren't alone in their ideas of a new government. At the end of 1991 the Soviet Union was split into 12 independent nations. 69 years later the Soviet Union ceased to exist -
Berlin Wall
Once Europe is separated into two separate sides it would then split right down the middle of Berlin, the capital of Germany. This wall would not only separate the country’s landscape but also its political views. The East went to the democracies after World War 1. The West on the other hand went solely to the USSR. This would split Europe into a democratic side and a communist side. This will be bad for Europe and cause a lot of fighting between which side is better. -
Vietnam Conflict cont.
Johnson reported the attacks to Congress without mentioning the South Vietnamese raids. Believing that the attacks had een unprovoked, Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin resolution on August 7, 1964. This let the President to take all necessary measures to prevent further aggression. After the resolution passed, the United States began bombing targets in North Vietnam. More then 500,000 American troops were committed to the war. Soviet Union and China sent aid but no troops to the help North -
Vietnam Conflict cont. cont.
Vietnam. In 1968, guerrilla forces came out of the jungles and attacked American and South Vietnamese forces in cities all across the south. The assault was unexpected because it took place during Tet, the Vietnamese New Year. The communist lost many of their best troops. In the end, American leaders decided that they had to get out of Vietnam. The United States agreed to withdraw its troops. The North Vietnam won the war. -
Vietnam Conflict
Western and communist powers agreed to a temporary division of Vietnam. Ho Chi Minh remained determined to unite Vietnam under communist rule. He continued to aid the Nation Liberation Front, or Viet Cong, the communist rebels trying to overthrow South Vietnam’s government. United states sent thousands of troops turning a local struggle into a major Cold War conflict. August 1, 1964, South Vietnamese commandos conducted raids on North Vietnamese islands in the Gulf of Tonkin. U.S. President -
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Eastern European Independance
In 1970 Hungary expanded its economy. Greater economic troubles caused more problems. Finally in 1988 and 1989 communists control was more open. The western borders to Australia were now open, and new political parties formed. In 1980 Poland's economic hardships ignited strike among shipyard workers. Led by Lech Walesa they started a group called Soliditary, and an independent labor union. In 1989 when Austria opened their borders with Poland, East Germans fled through Austria and Hungary to -
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Eastern European Independance cont.
West Germany. East Germany demanded change. Communist governments started falling everywhere, and countries were changing their command economy to market economies. In1992 Czechoslovakia peacefully agreed to spit into new nations of Slovakia and the Czech Republic. -
Soviets in Afghanistan
The Soviet Union was involved in a long war with Afghanistan. Soviets supported Afghan government and wanted to modernize the country. Afghan landlords who commanded army men as warlords saw this as a threat to their Islamic tradition.Fighting mujahedin (Muslim religious warriors) was difficult. Mid-1980’s The United State smuggled modern weapons to the mujahedin. This would cause major conflicts in Soviets at home.
