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NATO and Warsaw Pact
AlliancesIn 1949 the U.S. Canada and 10 other countries formed new military alliance all the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. (NATO) They agreed to help one another if one of them was attacked. In 1955 the soviets decided to form their own military alliance called the Warsaw Pact. It included the Soviet Union and 7 satellites in eastern Europe. The Warsaw Pact was often restored power to the Soviets to keep the other members in order. -
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Nuclear Arms Race and D'etente
Nuclear Arms RaceThe United States had been the only nuclear power until in 1949 the Soviet Union developed nuclear weapons. In 1953 both the U.S. and the Soviet Union had created the Hydrogen Bomb. This bomb could destroy either side so both sides began making weapons that would “deter the other from launching”. This became a race. This was called the “balance of terror”. It could mean destruction for either side at any time sending people into constant fear. -
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Chinese Civil War
China
After the war China became under the communist control. Communists redistributed land to poor peasants and ended oppression by landlords. Nationalists lost popularity while communists grew. The Chinese hoped that the communists would build a new China to end foreign domination. Communists conquered Tibet in 1950. -
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Chinese Civil War-part 2
In 1959 Tibet’s most revered religious leader, the Dalai Lama, was forced to flee the country. Mao Zedong built a communist one-party totalitarian state in the peoples republic of China. Communists discouraged the practice of any traditional Chinese beliefs.
From 1958 to 1960 Mao led a program called the Great Leap Forward. Mao encouraged people to do hard work so they can increase farm and industrial output. (To be continued) -
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The Chinese Civil War-part 3
Great Leap Forward
The commune system had cut the food supply by making industries and making all the farmers go work in factories. Between 1959 and 1961 about 55 million Chinese were thought to have died of starvation. The “Wild Card”: In 1949 the triumph of the communists in China had seemed like a gain for the Soviet Union and a loss for the United States. The number of people who were communists now tripled. In the 1950s China and the Soviet Union were uneasy allies. -
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Chinese Civil War-part 4
By 1960, there was border clashes and disputes over ideology. This led to the Soviets to withdraw all aid to China. By 1979 the United States set up formal diplomatic relations with China. -
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Communist Cuba and Missile Crisis
missile crisisIn the 1950’s, Fidel Castro organized an armed rebellion against the corrupt dictator who then ruled Cuba. By 1959 Castro had led his army to victory and began transforming Cuba. He nationalized businesses and put most land under government control, in addition he severely restricted Cubans political freedom, critics were jailed or silenced, hundreds of thousands fled to Florida.
In 1962 the soviet union sent nuclear missiles to Cuba. JFK built a naval blockade that prevented further shipments. -
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The Korean Conflict
warKorea was split in two by rival forces after World War II. Both of the Koreas were on opposite sides in the cold war. Korea was a independent kingdom until Japan conquered it in the early twentieth century. North Korea was communist and south Korea was dictatorial. Kim II Sung the leader of North Korea and Syngman Rhee the leader of South Korea both wanted to rule both parts of Korea. After North Korean troops attacked South Korea the United States made the United Nations help out South Korea. -
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The Vietnam Conflict Part 2
win. The communist rebels tried to overthrow South Vietnam’s government. At first the Americans were sending military weapons and other supplies to South Vietnam and then they sent thousands of troops. August 1, 1964, the South Vietnamese conducted raids on the North Vietnamese islands. North Vietnamese attacked a U.S. destroyer thinking they helped the -
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The Vietnam Conflict Part 3
Southern Vietnamese. On August 7, 1964, there was a resolution made and called the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution. After the revolution the United States started bombing targets in North Vietnam. South Vietnam had failed to beat the Guerrillas and their North Vietnamese allies. In 1968, guerrilla forces came out and started attacking American and southern Vietnamese soldiers in cities across the south. Two years after the American troops left, North Vietnam had taken over South Vietnam. North Vietnam -
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The Vietnam Conflict part 4
North Vietnam had taken over South Vietnam. North Vietnam had won the war. -
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The Vietnam Conflict Part 1
tension
After 1954 the struggle for Vietnam became a part of the cold war. After a conference that year the people decided to divide Vietnam in half. Communists controlled North Vietnam and non communists controlled the South Vietnam. The elections reunited Vietnam. The elections were never held because the Americans feared that the communists would win. -
The Berlin Wall
West Germany became West Berlin and East Germany became East Berlin. East Berlin was communism and West Berlin was democratic. East Germans wanted to be democratic because they were tired of communism so they started to flee to West Berlin. East Germany did not want this so they built a wall completely separating East and West Berlin. This was called the Berlin Wall it was built in 1961. It was topped with barbed wire and patrolled by guards. -
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Eastern Europe Independence
The Berlin Wall FallsHungary went against Communism and changed over to more of a free market economy. This switch over was a very tranquil change and helped their nation as a whole.
In 1980, Poland emphasized the same kind of change and became more democratic. New principals came into play and they were able develop a stronger government.
Eastern Germany’s leadership was still very controlling and did not want to give into the new ideas being established throughout Europe. -
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Eastern Europe Independence part 2
Many Germans were fed up with the way things were being controlled and relocated to West Germany wanting a better way of life.
The Communist government fell in 1989. Everyone wanted change. They were tired of being controlled and wanted rights of their own. The Warsaw Pact was discontinued. In Germany, after the falling of the Berlin Wall, the country was finally able to come together as a whole again. Czechoslovakia got a new president that encouraged change. The country broke apart in 1992. -
Soviets in Afghanistan
The Soviet Union got involved in a long war with the Islamic country Afghanistan. The Soviets supported and tried to modernize Afghanistan. This meant social reforms and land redistribution; reducing power of landlords. This threatened Islamic tradition so warlords took up arms against the government. Soviet troops would fight the mujahedin (Muslim religious warriors). American government started sneaking weapons to the mujahedin. This caused the Soviets great deaths, few wins and high costs. -
The Soviet Union Falls
The Soviet Union was extremely strong after World War II and its power spread throughout Europe. At the time, the Soviet Union had a command economy. Stalin was in control of all of the spending and trading taking place in the country and this caused major upheaval due to the fact that the government did not focus on the needs of the people. The Soviet Union went to war with Afghanistan in which they were put to shame. The United States had intervened and helped the Afghans. It hurt the Soviets.
