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Chapter 29: The Cold War and Postwar Economic Recovery: 1945-1970

  • Cold War

    • Period between the end of World War II and the collapse of the Soviet Union (or USSR)

    • U.S. and Soviet Union relations were tense

    • Rooted in ideological opposition between communism and capitalist democracies dominated by U.S. and Soviet Union

    • U.S. was in support of democracy and free-trade

    • Soviet Union was a communist, totalitarian country

    • An “Iron Curtain” divided Europe between a free and democratic state and a totalitarian regime

  • U.S. made military alliances around the world to contain communism

  • North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was created in 1949

    • Mutual defence pact

    • U.S., Canada, Belgium, Iceland, Netherlands, Portugal, Italy, Britain, Norway, Denmark, and France

  • Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) was created in 1954

  • Warsaw Pact was formed in 1955

  • Nuclear arms race began during World War II

    • Russia, Britain, and Germany were exploring nuclear fission

    • U.S. was the first to develop and implement the atomic bomb

  • Nuclear Test Ban Treaty of 1963 banned such tests in the atmosphere

  • A third of the world’s population was under colonial rule in 1945

  • Decolonization was a direct result of World War II

  • India gained independence from Britain in 1947, under the leadership of Indian nationalist, Mohandas Gandhi

  • Decolonization in Africa occurred in the late 1950s and 1960s

  • Europe and Asia was severely damaged by World War II

    • Cities, factories, and farmlands were part of the damage

    • Majority of Europe was faced with lack of goods and inflation

  • U.S. aided with reconstruction and recovery of war-torn nations in both Europe and Japan

  • Marshall Plan: U.S. economic aid program for European countries, meant to establish U.S. economic influence in European markets

  • Soviet Union formed the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA) in 1949, in response to the Marshall Plan

  • Cold War

    • Period between the end of World War II and the collapse of the Soviet Union (or USSR)

    • U.S. and Soviet Union relations were tense

    • Rooted in ideological opposition between communism and capitalist democracies dominated by U.S. and Soviet Union

    • U.S. was in support of democracy and free-trade

    • Soviet Union was a communist, totalitarian country

    • An “Iron Curtain” divided Europe between a free and democratic state and a totalitarian regime

  • U.S. made military alliances around the world to contain communism

  • North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was created in 1949

    • Mutual defence pact

    • U.S., Canada, Belgium, Iceland, Netherlands, Portugal, Italy, Britain, Norway, Denmark, and France

  • Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) was created in 1954

  • Warsaw Pact was formed in 1955

  • Nuclear arms race began during World War II

    • Russia, Britain, and Germany were exploring nuclear fission

    • U.S. was the first to develop and implement the atomic bomb

  • Nuclear Test Ban Treaty of 1963 banned such tests in the atmosphere

  • A third of the world’s population was under colonial rule in 1945

  • Decolonization was a direct result of World War II

  • India gained independence from Britain in 1947, under the leadership of Indian nationalist, Mohandas Gandhi

  • Decolonization in Africa occurred in the late 1950s and 1960s

  • Europe and Asia was severely damaged by World War II

    • Cities, factories, and farmlands were part of the damage

    • Majority of Europe was faced with lack of goods and inflation

  • U.S. aided with reconstruction and recovery of war-torn nations in both Europe and Japan

  • Marshall Plan: U.S. economic aid program for European countries, meant to establish U.S. economic influence in European markets

  • Soviet Union formed the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA) in 1949, in response to the Marshall Plan