The Cold War began between the USA and USSR after WWII. They had different economic systems (capitalism vs communism) and forms of government (democracy vs dictatorship) which caused tensions. At the Yalta Conference, Stalin resisted removing troops from Eastern Europe and installed communist puppet governments, drawing an "Iron Curtain." Both sides built nuclear weapons and used deterrence and containment policies to prevent direct conflict, instead fighting through proxies in conflicts like Korea and Vietnam. They formed opposing alliances like NATO and the Warsaw Pact.

1. The Cold War
Part 1: The Nature of the Conflict

2. Tensions between the USA and USSR
• After WWII, the USA and USSR were
considered to be the only superpowers
left in the world.
• Despite being allies during WWII, the
two sides had a hostile relationship due
to a number of reasons.
• The two sides would never directly
engage each other in war, but rather
resist each other in small conflicts
spread around the world.
• The long standing tension between the
two sides became known as the Cold
War. These tensions would last from
1945-1989.

3. Policy Differences between USA and
USSR
• The different economic systems of
Communism and Capitalism were a large
source of conflict between the two sides.
• Communism (USSR):
– Government ownership of
industry, Government control of economy
– Equal distribution of wealth
• Capitalism (USA)
– Free enterprise system
– Economy run on basis of supply and demand
Communism
Capitalism

4. Democracy vs. Dictatorship
• Another source of conflict
came from political differences
between democracy and
dictatorship.
• America always valued
democracy and personal
individual freedoms (speech,
religion, voting etc.)
• Soviet Union limited the
freedoms of its people. Those
who criticized the government
were punished and
imprisoned. Free elections
were not held.
A French political cartoon criticizing
the USSR.

5. The Yalta Conference: 1945
• Origins of the Cold War could be seen at the
Yalta conference.
• The Yalta Conference was held early in 1945
when it seemed apparent that Germany
would lose the war.
• Winston Churchill (UK), Franklin Roosevelt
(USA), and Josef Stalin (USSR) met to discuss
the post war settlement.
• At Yalta, Stalin was resistant to moving his
troops out of the areas that he had taken
from Nazi Germany. The Allies decided to
allow him to keep influence over those areas
in exchange for help with defeating Japan
and support for the new UN.

6. The Iron Curtain
• Stalin used his influence over these
areas to install communist
“puppet” governments in several
countries to the west of the Soviet
Union. These countries basically
did whatever Stalin and other
leaders of the USSR told them to
do.
• Upset at this
development, Winston Churchill
gave a famous speech in which he
declared that an “iron curtain” had
descended on E. Europe and the
people living east of the Iron
curtain were being shut off from
the light of democracy and
capitalism.
• The “Iron Curtain” was not an
actual physical barrier, but a
metaphor for the division of
Europe between Capitalism and
Communism
USSR
1
2
3
4
5
6
The Iron Curtain (1. E. Germany, 2 Poland, 3.
Czechoslovakia, 4. Hungary,5 Romania 6.
Bulgaria) were all newly communist countries
under the influence of the USSR.)

7. Nuclear Weapons
• The Soviet Union was able to
develop a nuclear weapon
by 1949, and the possession
of nuclear weapons had an
enormous influence on the
conflict.
• Nuclear weapons made each
side fear the other’s power
and caused tension, but in
many cases it also led to
cooperation between the
two sides as they knew they
could not risk direct conflict.
The Bravo H-bomb on Bikini Atoll was
the largest US above ground nuclear
test. The blast was measured at 10-15
megatons. It was over a thousand
times more powerful than the bombs
dropped on Japan.

8. The Theory of Deterrence
• The theory of deterrence
suggested that you should show
strength in order to prevent or
deter your enemy from
attacking.
• Each side built up their nuclear
arsenal in an attempt to show
the enemy that any attack
would be met with a counter-
attack.
• This theory is sometimes
referred to as Mutual Assured
Destruction (MAD). MAD helped
keep peace between the two
sides. The three delivery systems for nuclear weapons
made deterrence possible
Submarine
Bomber
ICBMs

9. Containment
• Even before the USSR developed
nuclear weapons, the US feared a direct
conflict believing it would be a long and
deadly war.
• Instead the US adopted the policy of
containment, deciding that it was safer
to try and prevent communism from
spreading than to try and overthrow
current communist governments.
• This policy was first put to use under US
President Harry Truman as he gave
money and military supplies to defeat
communist revolutions in Greece and
Turkey. In a statement known as the
Truman Doctrine, America declared
that containment would be their
foreign policy in dealing with the
Soviets.
The Truman Doctrine
helped define America’s
role in post war Europe.

10. Containment
• The US policy of
containment will force
the US to become
involved in wars
throughout the world
– Korea
– Vietnam

11. Alliances
• The Cold War did not just
involve the US and USSR.
• In order to prepare for a
possible war between the two
sides, alliances were formed.
• NATO (North Atlantic Treaty
Organization) was formed in
1949 and consisted the US and
its allies (W. Europe and
Canada).
• In response, the USSR formed
its own alliance known as the
Warsaw Pact in 1955. The
Warsaw Pact contained the
USSR and E. European
countries.

12. Cold War Alliances
NATO
• USA
• UK
• France
• Canada
• Belgium
• Denmark
• The Netherlands
• Italy
• W. Germany
• Norway
• Greece
• Turkey
Warsaw Pact
• USSR
• Poland
• Czechoslovakia
• E. Germany
• Hungary
• Romania
• Bulgaria