1. Causes of the Cold War
1.1. Different political and economical systems between U.S. & U.S.S.R.
1.2. U.S.S.R. creating satellite states all over Europe after WW ll
1.2.1. As the Second World War was coming to an end the Soviets were liberating areas in Europe that had been held by the Nazi's. At wars end, the Soviets did not let these areas go. They set up pro-Soviet governments in these nations, and oversaw them throughout the Cold War. The idea was that in the event of an invasion from the West, forces would first have to fight their way through the satellite states - it served as a buffer zone. The satellite states were:
1.2.2. Albania, Poland, Bulgaria, Romania, Czechoslovakia, East German, Hungary
1.3. The Arms Race
1.3.1. Throughout the Cold War, competition, primarily between the US & USSR existed to develop more and more powerful weapons. Specifically, nuclear weapons.
2. Different Systems U.S./U.S.S.R.
2.1. United States
2.1.1. Democratic Government
2.1.1.1. Governments are elected from two or more political parties. People enjoy freedom of speech, religion, and so on.
2.1.2. Capitalist Economic System
2.1.2.1. People own businesses, and work to gain personal wealth. Businesses are privately owned and competition is encouraged.
2.1.3. the Marshall Plan
2.1.3.1. The Marshall Plan also known as the European Recovery Plan was an attempt by the U.S. to win the hearts and minds of the people in the Soviet sphere of influence so that they would support the capitalist West.
2.2. The Soviet Union
2.2.1. Totalitarian Government
2.2.1.1. Government controls the people. There are no elections, only one political party. Personal freedoms and movements are restricted. Media is state-controlled. Surveillance of citizens is not uncommon.
2.2.2. Communist Economic System
2.2.2.1. No class system, under communism, everyone is equal. Competition is not permitted, business and industry is state controlled. People work to serve the state, not to gain personal wealth.
2.2.3. How this happened?
2.2.3.1. Joseph Stalin (1878-1953) was the dictator of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) from 1929 to 1953. Under Stalin, the Soviet Union was transformed from a peasant society into an industrial and military superpower. However, he ruled by terror, and millions of his own citizens died during his brutal reign.
3. Main Events/Places
3.1. Berlin Airlift
3.1.1. After the Soviets cut off West Berlin from getting supplies by truck and train, an eleven month airlift took place. British and American forces flew supplies into Berlin non-stop, forcing the U.S.S.R. to eventually give up.
3.2. Hungarian Uprising
3.2.1. 1956 After a series of protest the government collapsed, and the people tried to create a democratic and liberal system. As a satellite state, the USSR would not allow this to happen to Hungary. They sent in troops and tanks to destroy the resistance.
3.3. Cuban Missile Crisis
3.3.1. After the failed Bay of Pigs invasion of 1961, Fidel Castro aligned Cuba with the Soviet Union and arranged to allow the USSR to place Ballistic Missile sites in Cuba. This would give the Soviets a quick strike nuclear advantage over the US.
3.3.2. The US blockaded the island of Cuba, hoping to keep Soviet ships form delivering more missile components. After 13 very tense days, an arrangement was made between John F Kennedy, former U.S. president, and Nikita Khrushchev, former U.S.S.R. president. they agreed that the missile sites would be removed provided America did the same in Turkey and Italy, as well they had to promise to never invade Cuba.
3.4. The Vietnam War
3.4.1. The Vietnam War 1963-1975
3.4.2. After WW2 Vietnam was split, the North was Communist, the South was not.
3.4.3. North Vietnam invaded the South to make Vietnam whole again. With the assistance of US forces a 12 year war followed. Ultimately the US was not able to win the conflict, and pulled its forces out in 1975.
3.4.4. Vietnamization was a policy of the Richard Nixon administration to end U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War through a program to "expand, equip, and train South Vietnamese forces and assign to them an ever-increasing combat role, at the same time steadily reducing the number of U.S. combat troops."
3.5. The Prague Spring - Czechoslovakia
3.5.1. Similar to the Hungarian uprising, the people of Czechoslovakia in called for governmental reforms and for a democratic system to be put in place in the spring of 1968.
3.5.2. The Soviets again sent in troops and tanks to crush opposition, and to restore a pro-communist system.
3.6. The Soviet/Afghanistan war
3.6.1. 1979-1989
3.6.2. In 1979 a civil are broke out between the communist government of Afghanistan and Islamic rebels.
3.6.3. The Soviet Union, fearing an Islamic state to the south, fought for the communist government.
3.6.4. The rebel forces with assistance from the US was able to force a Soviet withdrawal by 1989.
4. Canada's Involvement
4.1. NATO
4.1.1. NATO - The North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Formed in 1949.
4.1.2. Canada was one of 12 countries that formed an alliance in order to help stop the spread of Communism.
4.1.3. The concept of "Collective Security" was key to NATO. An attack on any NATO nation would be considered an attack on all of them.
4.1.4. The idea was to deter a Soviet attack.
4.1.5. The Warsaw Pact was the Soviet equivalent to NATO. Created in 1955 it was primarally comprised of the Soviet Union and its satellite states.
4.2. NORAD
4.2.1. The North American Air Defence Command.
4.2.2. Canada and the US began NORAD in the late 1950's. The idea was to protect air space for the continent of North America.
4.2.3. 63 Radar Stations were established in Canada's North as a Distant Early Warning Line (DEW Line) - the idea was to detect Soviet Bombers as they entered our air space and to give time for fighter intercepters to reach them.
4.3. Soviet Defector: Igor Gouzenko
4.3.1. Igor Gouzenko was a clerk in the Soviet embassy in Ottawa.
4.3.2. He asked for "political asylum" and informed Canada of Soviet spy-rings that were in Canada.
4.3.3. He and his family were forced to take on alternate identities and to live out their days in secrecy in fear of the reaction of the soviets.
4.4. Diefenbunkers
4.4.1. Nicknamed after Canadian Prime Minister John Diefenbaker, these were a series of nuclear fallout shelters (bunkers) built to house the top military and government officials in the event of a nuclear attack.
4.5. Arms Race
4.5.1. Canada's contribution to the Arms Race was the Avro Arrow - at the time it was the most advanced fighter/interceptor in the world.
4.5.2. With the advancement of soviet satellites and missile technology, fighters were not considered to be as important, that and the high cost of the Arrow resulted in the program being cancelled in early 1959.
4.5.3. All completed planes, parts, and plans were destroyed to prevent the information from falling into enemy hands.
5. The United Nations
5.1. Canada's Role
5.1.1. Beyond military alliances, Canada was also part of the formation of the UN - the United Nations.
5.1.2. Canada contributed to the UN in many ways, however the most substantial way was in the creation of peacekeeping.
5.2. The Korean War
5.2.1. The Korean War represented Canada's first major action as part of the UN.
5.2.2. North Korea, communist, had invaded the South in an attempt to make a unified communist country.
5.2.3. South Korea asked the UN for help.
5.3. The Suez Crisis
5.3.1. The Suez Crisis was a conflict over control of the Suez Canal in Egypt. Egypt had nationalized the canal, and France and Britain leveed for control by manufacturing a conflict between Israel and Egypt. When the USSR found out they threatened Paris and London with a nuclear strike.
5.3.2. Lester B. Pearson, Canada's foreign affairs minister came up with the idea peacekeepers to help keep the situation from escalating. This was the beginning of UN peacekeepers.
5.4. Canada and Peacekeeping
5.4.1. Since its inception, Canada has been active in peacekeeping. As a middle power Canada is able to have influence on the world stage.
5.5. Canada and Other organizations
5.5.1. Canada is also involved with other organizations such as the G20, OAS, and WTO
6. The End of Cold War
6.1. Mikhail Gorbachev's Reforms
6.1.1. Glasnost
6.1.1.1. Glasnost was taken to mean increased openness and transparency in government institutions and activities in the Soviet Union (USSR). Glasnost reflected a commitment to getting Soviet citizens to discuss publicly the problems of their system and seek solutions.
6.1.2. Perestroika
6.1.2.1. Perestroika was a political movement for reformation within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union during the 1980s and 1990s. It lead to collapse of Soviet Union
6.1.3. When Mikhail Gorbachev assumed the reins of power in the Soviet Union in 1985, no one predicted the revolution he would bring.
6.2. The Fall of the Berlin Wall
6.2.1. During 1989 and 1990, the Berlin Wall came down, borders opened, and free elections ousted Communist regimes everywhere in eastern Europe. The Iron Curtain was lifted.