Back to the Main Exam Review Page
Cold War
The Basics - the following information has appeared on New York examinations
The Cold War was a period from 1945 to 1991 when the most powerful democratic country in the world, the United States and the most powerful communist country in the world, the Soviet Union fought to spread their ideas around the globe. This dangerous period fortunately never saw the U.S. and U.S.S.R. take up arms against each other directly, but their influences were seen in many conflicts around the globe from Germany to Korea to Vietnam to Cuba.
The Cold War began over conflicts between communist and democratic nations as World War II was drawing to a close. Joseph Stalin of the U.S.S.R. elected to keep his troops in charge of several countries in eastern Europe that the U.S.S.R. had taken control of from Hitler's Germany. In these satellite nations was placed a communist government that acted as puppet states for the Soviet Union and served as a buffer zone from the democratic nations of western Europe.
Fearful of the spread of communism, President Harry S. Truman issued the Truman Doctrine, promising aid to any country thought to be threatened by communist governments. Truman adopted a policy of containment - that is that he was not going to fight in areas that were already communist, but would do anything possible to stop communism from spreading to new areas.
As a result of this policy, the U.S. found itself in military conflicts in Korea and Vietnam. We also supported others in places such as Afganistan who were fighting communist governments.
Senator Joseph Mc Carthy created a stir, stating that several members of the U.S. governemtn were members of the communist party. This allowed him to attack anyone who criticized him by labelling them as well. Finally, Mc Carthy's statements were found to be false.
Major Cold War events were:
Berlin Airlift - President Kennedy elects to drop supplies via planes into West Berlin when the communist East German government closed all surface contact to this city. West Berlin, the democratic captial of West Germany, was located in East Germany. The communist government finally agreed to permit land travel along very specific routes.
Korean War - The U.S. sends troops to halt the communist North Korean government from attacking into democratic South Korea. The U.S. troops had pushed far into North Korea when Chinese troops pushed the U.S. back to the 38th parallel where the border still stands today.
Berlin Wall - East Germans contruct a wall running the length of the city in Berlin to stop citizens from escaping from East to West Germany through Berlin. This wall becomes a symbol of the Cold War and is torn down in 1989 just before Germany reunites under a democratic regime.
Cuban Missile Crisis - The U.S.S.R. sends missiles to be placed in Cuba, a communist ally 90 miles from Florida. President Kennedy sends the U.S. to blockade the shipment of missiles and insists upon the removal of those already placed. As the U.S. and Soviet navies stared each other down, the world was paralyzed with fear of nuclear war. In the end, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev backs down and the missles are removed.
Vietnam War - U.S. sends troops to repel a communist rebellion in Vietnam. U.S. troops are caught in a civil war situation and has trouble trying to identify the enemy from friendly forces. After a loss of thousands of troops and much protest at home stating the the U.S. should not be invloved in a civil war elsewhere, the U.S. government withdrew its military in the early 1970s.
The Cold War comes to a close in 1991 with the collapse of the Soviet Union. While there are still several communist countries in the world today, including China and Cuba, no longer is there a fear of communism spreading across the globe.
