Unit 8: Post World War II United States 1945-1989 Part 4: The End of the Cold War
ObjecCves: 1. Explain steps taken by President Nixon to ease tensions with the communist world. (9.4.4.22.9) 2. Explain the events and condiaons that brought an end to communism in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. (9.4.4.22.9) 3. Explain how the Cold War affected American society and ways Americans helped the people of the former Soviet Union.
I. RelaCons with China A. Nixon sought to improve relacons with the People s Republic of China. 1. Since 1949, the United States had refused to recognize the communist government of China. 2. Instead, it recognized the Chinese NaConalists, now confined to the island of Taiwan. The United States supported their claim to being the legicmate government of China.
I. RelaCons with China (con t) 3. Nixon allowed secret talks with Chinese officials to find ways for the United States and China to have a bezer relaconship. 4. Nixon visited the People s Republic of China in 1972. 5. As tensions eased, the two countries established formal diplomacc relacons in 1979.
II. RelaCons with the Soviet Union A. Nixon sought to improve relacons with the Soviet Union. 1. In May 1972, Nixon became the first American President to visit the Soviet Union since the beginning of the Cold War. 2. Nixon s effort to reduce tensions between the superpowers was known as détente. Trade and other contacts between the two countries increased.
II. RelaCons with the Soviet Union (con t) 3. The new relaconship led the superpowers to sign a treaty to limit the number of nuclear warheads and missiles each produced. The treaty was known as the SALT Agreement. SALT stands for Strategic Arms LimitaCon Talks. 4. The next two U.S. Presidents, Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter, concnued the policy of détente. Under Ford, the United States and the Soviet Union conducted a joint space mission. Carter and Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev worked out a SALT II Treaty.
Nixon s Détente Policy
III. New Cold War Tensions A. Détente ended suddenly in 1979 when Soviet troops swept into Afghanistan to help support a pro- Soviet government. Soviet troops remained for ten years. 1. President Carter withdrew the SALT II Treaty. 2. The United States supplied rebel troops. 3. The war became so costly for the Soviets that it eventually contributed to the downfall of the Soviet Union. 4. In 1989, the Soviets were forced to pull out.
III. New Cold War Tensions (con t) B. Ronald Reagan took office in 1981. He firmly believed the Soviet Union was an evil empire. He also took a tough anccommunist stand on LaCn America. 1. Reagan persuaded Congress to increase military spending and assist democracc allies around the world to resist communism. This was known as the Reagan Doctrine. 2. He called for a new weapons system that he hoped could destroy Soviet missiles from space. The system was nicknamed Star Wars. 3. In December 1981, Poland s communist government cracked down on Solidarity, an independent labor union. Under Soviet pressure, the Polish government imposed mar@al law, or emergency military rule, on the country. Reagan condemned the move.
Reagan Doctrine/Star Wars
IV. The Fall of Communism A. In the mid- 1980s, cracks began to appear in the Soviet empire. Economic problems were growing, in part because the Soviets were spending so much on their military, there was lizle money lef for producing consumer goods. People complained that it was Cme for reform.
Movement Toward Peace
IV. The Fall of Communism B. In 1985, new Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev undertook major reforms. 1. Gorbachev backed glasnost, the Russian term for speaking out openly. He hoped this new openness would lead ciczens to find new solucons to pressing problems.
IV. The Fall of Communism (con t) 2. Gorbachev knew he could not solve economic problems without cuing military spending. To do so, he would have to have bezer relacons with the United States. President Reagan and Gorbachev met at several summit meecngs. A summit mee@ng is a conference between the highest- ranking officials of different nacons. 3. In 1987, the two leaders signed an arms control pact the Intermediate Nuclear Force (INF) Treaty. They agreed to get rid of stockpiles of short and medium- range missiles.
IV. The Fall of Communism (con t) C. In the late 1980s, Eastern European governments could no longer control their people s demands for democracc and economic reforms. 1. The Soviet Union was too busy with its own problems to suppress these protests, as it had before. 2. In 1989, Poland held its first free eleccons in 50 years. Polish voters rejected communist candidates and voted for Solidarity candidates. Lech Walesa, once jailed by the Communists, became head of a new government.
IV. The Fall of Communism (con t) 3. One by one, communist governments fell in Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria, and Albania. In Romania, a violent revolt toppled the communist dictator. 4. In East Germany, the Communists were forced from power. By 1990, Germany was reunited under a democracc government.
IV. The Fall of Communism (con t) D. The Soviet Union was made up of 15 republics held together by a strong central government in Moscow. 1. By 1990, some republics were demanding self- rule. 2. For nearly 70 years, the Soviet Union had had only one party. To quiet the unrest, Gorbachev allowed new policcal parces. 3. Hard- line communist officials tried to oust Gorbachev.
IV. The Fall of Communism (con t) 4. The revolt weakened Gorbachev. Soon, republic afer republic declared its independence from the Soviet Union. 5. In late 1991, Gorbachev resigned, but by then, the Soviet Union had collapsed.
IV. The Fall of Communism (con t) 6. Fifeen new nacons emerged from the old Soviet Union. Russia was the largest and most powerful. These countries have tried to shif from communism to a free- market system, but the change has not been easy.
End of the Cold War
V. Half a Century of Cold War A. The Cold War lasted nearly 50 years. In that Cme, hundreds of thousands of Americans went off to war. About 112,000 did not return. Americans at home lived under the constant fear of an azack. B. The Cold War was costly. From 1946 to 1990, the United States spent over $6 trillion on naconal defense.
V. Half a Century of Cold War (con t) C. The arms race created dangers for the world. Other nacons besides the superpowers tried to develop their own nuclear weapons. D. The Cold War divided Americans at Cmes. The search for Communists in the 1950s and the Vietnam War split the American public. E. Americans had disagreed strongly about foreign policy. Yet, they could agree that their freedom was worth fighcng for.