Rationale

1. Rationale • The context of this unit is the successes and failures of the United States in providing leadership for the post-war world. These three decades began with great confidence: abroad, the nation led the free world in an epic struggle with the Soviet Union; at home, Americans enjoyed prosperity fueled by new technologies. After 1963, however, much of the confidence and promise of the postwar period unraveled. • The United States became entangled in the Vietnam War, sparking division and protest at home and questions about our leadership role abroad. Finally, the death of President Kennedy, the quagmire of American involvement in Southeast Asia, the decision of President Johnson not to run for a second term in the face of growing criticism of the war, the Watergate break-in and cover-up, and the resignation of President Nixon left Americans questioning themselves and their role in the world. • Students will be interested to know that their parents were children and students during these decades. Parents and community members may be used as resources for this unit, and they can relate what it was like to grow up during these years.

2. Objectives: Students will be able to: • Recognize the hatred which existed between the United States and the Soviet Union before and during the outbreak of the Cold War era. • Recognize and describe how the relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union is depicted in movies. • Define the concept of “cold war.” • Explore the major historical/ political events occurring during this era that were directly related to the cold war. • Discuss the dangers of the cold war • Describe major Communist actions and the United States reactions to them.

3. World History TENTH GRADE By: Alex Neidhard

4. Outline for Today’s Class: • Watch a short clip from a movie and reflect on what the clip meant to us. • Define the cold war. • Soviet Expansion and why? • Policy of containment and the Truman Doctrine? Define Hatred.. • The Marshall Plan? • The Berlin Airlift? • Military Alliances. • The Korean War • The Cuban Missile Crisis

5. What is Hatred? Do you have hatred towards anyone? If so, could you describe what it feels like?

6. Major Things To Look For Which Symbolize Hatred, Power, & Struggle: • The strength of both boxers. • The way the boxers look at one another. • How both fighters continue to fight after each round has ended. • How both boxers pound on each other. • The soviet fans. • The outcome of the Match.

7. Reflection of Rocky IV: • How did you feel when watching the movie clip? • Explain one of the main points that symbolized hatred, power, and struggle.

8. Containment & The Truman Doctrine • Fearing that the communists were going to win the Greek Civil War and overthrow the Greek government, U.S. President Harry Truman proclaimed the Truman Doctrine. The Truman Doctrine stated that the U.S. would “support free people resisting attempted subjugation (domination) by armed minorities or by outside pressures.” In response to soviet expansion in Eastern Europe, George Kennan, a U.S. diplomat, urged a policy of containment. The U.S., he said, should contain the Soviet’s within their current boundaries by applying political, economic, and, if necessary, military pressure whenever the Soviets tried to expand. • Congress approved $400 million in economic assistance to Greece and Turkey. With this aid, the Greek government defeated the communists and the Turks were able to withstand Soviet pressure.

9. The Marshall Plan • The United States responded to the threat of communist expansion with large scale economic aid to the war-ravaged nations of Europe. Recovery from the war was proving to be extremely difficult. After a trip to Europe in 1947, Secretary of State George Marshall who is shown here, feared that nations that could not deal with the problems of hunger, poverty, desperation, and chaos were in danger of revolution and collapse. • Therefore in June 1947, George Marshall proposed that the United States organize and fund a program of European recovery (a.k.a. THE MARSHALL PLAN). Under this program, all European nations, including those in the Soviet blocs, were invited to participate. Czechoslovakia and Poland seemed to be very interested, but it became clear that the USSR would not allow them to participate. The Soviets attacked this plan as “Yankee Imperialism” and no soviet blocs took part in the plan.

10. The Marshall Plan cont… • The Marshall Plan holstered the governments and economics of Western Europe and stimulated industrial growth, and therefore, reduced the danger of a communist revolution. Between 1948 and 1952, the United States poured $12 billion of aid into Western Europe.

11. The Berlin Airlift • June, 1948: Soviets stopped all road, rail, and river traffic through East Germany into West Berlin in hope that this would force Western powers to give up Berlin. President Truman ordered an immediate airlift of food and other supplies into West Berlin. When winter came, extra planes were added to bring coal. This airlift continued until May 1949, when the Soviets lifted their blockade. In 1948, the cold war came close to becoming a “hot war!” The Soviet Union wanted to prevent the U.S., Britain, and France from combining their 3 German Occupational zones into one zone. The Soviets feared this combined zone would be the first step toward a strong, reunified Germany which would threaten Soviet power. • Berlin continued to be a focus of the cold war because of its location within East Germany. Between 1949 and 1961, thousand of East Germans fled into West Berlin. In 1961, the East German government built a wall (known as the Berlin Wall) between East and West Berlin to stop the flow of people. War seemed possible, but the crisis soon passed!

12. Alliances: Military • The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was formed in April, 1949. Representatives of the United States, Canada, and 10 other Western European nations signed a mutual defense treaty in which it’s members agreed to go to the aid of any other member who was being attacked by an outsider. Greece and Turkey joined in 1952 and West Germany joined in 1955. By 1949, Europe was clearly divided into 2 camps. One, led by the USSR championed communism. The other, led by the United States, favored democracy. This split was reflected in the military alliances that formed. • The Soviet Union responded by creating it’s own alliance, the Warsaw Pact. This alliance included the Soviet Union and seven other Eastern European nations that agreed to provide immediate assistance if any of them went to war.

13. The Korean War • In 1950, war broke out between North and South Korea. Russian troops occupied the northern zone and established a communist government under Kim Il-Sung. In the southern zone, American forces supported a non-communist government under Syngman Rhee. The United States convinced the UN to approve a “police action” to stop the North Korean invasion. The United States furnished most of the military forces that fought under the UN banner in Korea.

14. The Korean War cont… • After a bloody three years of fighting, an armistice was signed by the North Koreans and the United States in July of 1953. This agreement restored the boundary between North Korea and South Korea at the 38th parallel.

15. The Cuban Missile Crisis • In 1962, a crisis over Cuba threatened to explode into a nuclear war between the United States and the Soviet Union. In October of 1962, President Kennedy revealed that the USSR was building missile launch pads in Cuba. The U.S. demanded that the missiles be dismantled. The soviets declined the request by the U.S., so in response, the United States imposed a naval blockade on Cuba to prevent soviet ships from bringing more missiles to Cuba. Soviet ships approached Cuba, but turned back just as they approached the blockade. Krushchev, the Soviet premier, ordered the missiles bases dismantled which ended the crisis.

16. The Cuban Missile Crisis cont… • At about the same time the Cuban missile crisis was being resolved; the United States was becoming involved in a war in Southeast Asia. President Kennnedy sent military advisors and equipment to the government of South Vietnam, who were fighting communist guerillas. America’s involvement with Vietnam developed into a full fledged “War,” as we will read about later in the quarter.

17. Review of Today’s Class: • Define Hatred.. • Watch a short clip from a movie and reflect on what the clip meant to us. • Define the cold war. • Soviet Expansion and why? • Policy of containment and the Truman Doctrine? • The Marshall Plan? • The Berlin Airlift? • Military Alliances. • The Korean War • The Cuban Missile Crisis