Origins of the Cold War Outline

To what extent were the policies of the United States responsible for the outbreak and development of the Cold War between 1945 and 1949?

Thesis statement: 
 The policies of the United States between 1945 and 1949 where the reason for the outbreak and development of the Cold War. They were the reason because of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) making an alliance "against" the soviets, the Truman Doctrine containing communism to just the Soviet Union, The atomic weapons race, the Marshall Plan giving aid to Europe, and the race to see who was the better country out of the two.

Main Points-
1. NATO alliance

• the North Atlantic Treaty Organization was an organization that was only limited to the North Atlantic, not the Soviets
• They created there own alliance, leaving the Soviets behind. 
• Shows American trust of the UK not of the Soviets

2.Truman Doctrine

•  gave money to countries who, the Americans felt, were in jeopardy of being taken over by communists.
• Trying to stop what the Soviets were doing, making them mad
• Containing the problem, communism.

3. Atomic Bombs

• A race between the two countries to get the most weapons 
• Either side had to show that they were the better nation
• Who has the more power is who has the more weapons

4. American Intervention (Marshall Plan)

• Soviets did not like it at all, they forbade any Eastern European states to apply for it
• Stalin felt that it would weaken his grip on the Eastern European states
• He felt that the United States was trying to dominate as many states as possible by making them dependent on money

5. They were the two nations to come out of the war the most succesful

• They didn't like each others political views so they couldn't have an alliance 
• No alliance so one has to lead the world
• So "fight" to whose the best

D/I- 
Others may argue that the Soviet Union was the reason for the Cold War because of Stalins takeover of some of Eastern Europes countries, He was trying to spread communism throughout the world, and the Berlin Blockade. 


Disagreement- 

Main Point 1- Stalins demands at Yalta

• demanded the satellite countries because of their significant lose of lives during the war.  
• He wanted to move the border of Soviet Russia into western Poland
• He got what he wanted, cause he promised to join in the war effort in Japan within 90 days.

Maint Point 2- USSR's response to Marshall Plan

• He forbade any Western European country to apply for it
• He tightened his grip on Eastern European states, setting up new organizations to keep control on them. 
• Was against all of the United States intervention, he felt that they were just trying get allies to try and get them 

Main Point 3- Berlin Blockade

• 
  

Main Point 4- Potsdam 

Main Point 5- Yugoslavia

D/I-

The Berlin Blockade and Airlift

1. What is Source 37 (p. 75) saying about Josip Tito, leader of Yugoslavia?     
Source 37 is saying that Josip Tito is accepting money from the Americans. That he is so poor that he will take money from anyone and do anything for the money.


2. Why do you think Stalin was so hostile to Tito?        
Stalin was so hostile towards Tito because of what he did when he was elected in 1945. When he was elected he wanted to put in his own brand of Communism not the one that Stalin had liked. So he was expelled from the country for doing that.


3. Look back at the map in Source 27 on page 71. How does the geographical position of Yugoslavia help to explain why Stalin did not take any direct action (such as sending in troops) against Tito?     
The geographical position of Yugoslavia helped explain why they didn't go in there because it was the farthest of the satellite countries away from the Soviet Union. He would have to send in troops through a bunch of different countries just to get to him, it would have been a waste of resources and time.


4. Read Source 40 (p. 77). What reasons did the Soviet Union give for cutting off West Berlin?       
The Soviet Union cut off the power to West Berlin because of "technical difficulties". They actually cut the power from their power plants to West Berlin but they gave them coal instead, so much help!


5. Why do you think the USA did not believe these were genuine reasons?           
I think the USA did not believe these were genuine reasons because it just sounds so fake. They lost all their power just to West Berlin and then they stopped all their traffic into the city, it would have to be a huge coincidence that, that happened at the same time.


6. How do Sources 41–43 differ in their interpretation of the blockade?            
The three sources differ a lot, the first source is saying that it was a considerable achievement but that neither side had gotten anything out of it. The second source is saying that it was both an achievement and that they got something out of it because it "brought the people closer to us...". The third source is saying that it was a stupid move, there was a threat of a war and they intrude onto their land. He is saying that they were calling for a war.


7.  Which do you think is the most useful source for a historian studying the Berlin Blockade?       
I think that the most useful source for a historian studying the Berlin Blockade is a textbook. That has all the facts on what happened during that time period, it isn't just one persons view right then.



8.  Which source do you think gives the most reliable view of the blockade?
I think a view from the people who had to deal with the blockade. They were the ones who were in there, they lived through it. 

Nuclear Arms Race Since 1945 - part 2

1. Summarize the basic argument for and the basic argument against nuclear weapons.     
The basic argument for nuclear weapons is the they actually make the world safer, because countries are less willing to risk the use of force. The basic argument against nuclear weapons is that because imperfect human beings are involved, deterrence is not a fool-proof system.  
2. What is the difference between a strategic and a tactical nuclear weapon?       
The difference between a strategic and tactical nuclear weapons is there size and distance they can hit. Strategic weapons are a lot bigger and can hit targets up to six thousand miles away in thirty minutes or less. Tactical nuclear weapons can be concealed in something as small as a briefcase or a backpack and are used to hit targets near them.         
3. What is nuclear proliferation?       
Nuclear proliferation is the spread of nuclear weapons.        
4. What role has the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty played in preventing the spread of nuclear weapons?           
The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty has played a big role in preventing the spread of nuclear weapons. Only four countries have not signed this Treaty. People say that if the treaty wasn't made President Kenndey's worry of 25 more countries having nuclear weapons by the 1970s would have come true. 
5. Explain Secretary of State Rice's high level of concern about the Russian nuclear arsenal. (See her quote on page 16 of your reading.)       
Secretary of State Rice's high level of concern about the Russian nuclear arsenal is all about them being secured. She is worried that if they aren't protected the can just be walked in by a thief and the nuclear weapons just be stolen. For this reason she want's their nuclear weapons to be dismantled so no one will ever have to worry about them being stolen.    
6. How as the threat of terrorism changed thinking about nuclear weapons?  
Terrorism has drastically changed the thinking about nuclear weapons. People are so scared of a terroist group getting a hold of a nuclear weapon, some think they already do. No one knows what they would do if they had one so that is what makes everyone so scared about it. What if they come after us if they have one? is a big question. People want to get rid of them because of this factor, if they got them who knows what they would do with it. 

Nuclear Arms Race Since 1945

1. Explain how Dragonfire's report on October 11, 2001 highlighted a new threat from nuclear weapons.                
Dragonfires report on October 11, 2001 highlighted a new threat from nuclear weapons because no one had ever used a nuclear bomb since the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, let alone use one against the United States. It also highlighted that no one had every brought a nuclear bomb into a country unknowingly especially into a major city like the heart of New York City.

2. Why is proliferation such a strong concern for the United States?             
Proliferation is such a strong concern for the United States because it is linked to the United States' most complex and challenging foreign policy problems. It is also a strong concern for the United States because we don't want them getting into the wrong hand, like our enemies.

3. What is deterrence?                  
Deterrence is the idea that if you trick someone into thinking you would retaliate big time if the did something to you. In this case if one side were to attack the other with nuclear Weapons, the other side would launch a nuclear response that would devastate the original attacker, knowing that they faced certain both sides would be deterred from attacking.


4. Explain the importance of the Cuban Missile Crisis.                  
The importance of the Cuban Missile Crisis is the Soviets and their nuclear weapons were getting extremely close to us, on 90 miles off our shores in Cuba. They were so close if we fired a missile at them they would hit us first from Cuba. It also got the two leaders of the countries to realize what this could do to their countries/ the world. They decided to back down from Cuba if the US removed their artillery from Turkey.


5. President John F. Kennedy worried that twenty-five nations would have nuclear weapons by the 1970s. Why do you think his worry did not come to pass?                          
I think that his worry did not come to pass because the other nations in the world could see what it did to countries and what it could do it the nuclear war had actually begun. They saw what it was instilling in the US/USSR and they probably didn't want that. Lastly they probably knew that if they gained the nuclear weapons they would join in this "battle".


6. What was the Cold War? How long did it last?                     
The Cold War was a period of hostility and tension between, mostly, the US and the USSR from 1946 to 1991. The two countries were making an enormous amount of nuclear weapons incase there actually was a nuclear war. It was basically all talk. It lasted about 45 years.