THE COLD WARMichael Ring

Division of Germany•World War II ends with the division of Germany into four sections, three being West Germany (France, Britain, U.S.) and East Germany (USSR)•Created a division between U.S. and USSR, made ideological differences apparent•Berlin Wall would strengthen this divide of Germany dramatically

Containment•Created and encouraged by George Kennan in his ‘Long Telegram’•Was the effort of keeping communism ‘contained’ to the Soviet Union, and keeping it from spreading to other nations•Led to the Truman Doctrine, which pledged support to nations facing authoritative rule•Continued to evolve and be used more as the Cold War went on

Espionage•The act of using spies to retrieve information about the opposing nation, or to plant false information •Spies risked death or in rare occasions torture if discovered•Used often in Germany, using secret tunnels to get to the other side of the Berlin Wall•Basis for movies like James Bond, which glorified being a spy

Arms Race•The rapid buildup of advanced weaponry to defeat the opponent who is advancing just as rapidly•Encompassed all forms of weaponry, but emphasis on nuclear subs, ICBMs, and various missiles and bombs•Created ‘mutually assured destruction’, the idea that any attack with the goal of destroying the other nation would result in a following attack of similar/greater magnitude

Korean War•38th parallel was division between the communist North Korea and the democratic Republic of Korea in the south•North Koreans invaded the south in 1950, causing a war to start, with the U.S. supporting the south•Back and forth battles caused the city of Seoul to be captured over and over again•Eventual armistice made peace, no particular winner, countries were kept seperate

Cuban Missile Crisis•Happened over the course of two weeks in 1962, possibly biggest threat to U.S. safety during entirety of Cold War•U2 planes took pictures of what was determined to be missiles in Cuba, Kennedy responds with a quarantine of Cuba•U2 plane is shot over Cuba, causes further distress•Removal of Cuban missiles is exchanged for the U.S. removal of missiles from Turkey and Italy

Vietnam War•Vietnam had been at war for years before U.S. involvement, just hadn’t escalated to the level it eventually would•North Vietnamese troops known as the Viet Cong were communist, fighting against South Vietnamese•Soldiers were recruited via a draft•Over 15,000 deaths of U.S. soldiers, sometimes known as ‘the only war the U.S. has lost’•Nixon ended the war with ‘Vietnamization’ putting the war effort in the control of the South Vietnamese, which led to their failure

Détente•French word for the easing of strained relations•Period during the Cold War for the making of peace between U.S. and USSR•SALT I in 1969 reduced military power on both sides•SALT II in 1972-79 greatly reduced missile research and production•While peace itself was a reward, so was the economic boost of reduced military spending•Helsinki Accords improved life in Eastern Bloc and improved relations with West

Fall of the Soviet Union•Glasnost and Perestroika started as government reforms but ended up contributing to the fall of the Soviet Union•The 1989 Revolutions led to the fall of the Berlin Wall, as well as the independence of many countries in the Eastern Bloc•Soviet Union became CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States), one of which being Russia•Russians unsure if country was doomed or was the start of a new and better way of life•Many Americans viewed it as a U.S. victory of the Cold War