Overview: The World Community from 1945 1990 By Encyclopaedia Britannica, adapted by Newsela staff on 06.15.17 Word Count 874 Level 1050L During the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968, Czechoslovakians carry their national flag past a burning tank in Prague. Photo by the CIA. The United States and the Soviet Union were allies during World War II, but after the war ended they didn't trust each other. The United States was concerned that the Soviet Union would expand its power by bringing Eastern Europe into its influence. And that is exactly what happened. The Soviet Union sent its army into Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Romania, East Germany and Bulgaria. These nations turned communist and became Soviet satellite nations that is, they fell within the Soviet sphere of influence. The Soviet Union itself, however, was left in ruins by World War II. It was worried that the United States, which at the time was the only nation with atomic weapons, would attempt to destroy it. This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 1
"Mutual hostility" between the U.S. and the Soviet Union The Cold War developed out of this situation of mutual hostility between the two superpowers. Each nation tried to increase its influence around the world. They both formed alliances with many other countries and offered them money in the form of foreign aid and sold them weapons. Both the U.S. and Soviet Union also sometimes tried to topple the governments of smaller nations. The Cold War never became an actual war between the superpowers, probably only because both had nuclear weapons and neither wanted a nuclear war to happen. In 1949, a communist revolution happened in China, which increased U.S. anxieties about Soviet power. Many Americans were fearful that communism would spread around the world. The Cold War was not the only important global development. All over the world, former colonies were gaining independence from European powers. Revolutions were going on in Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America. Meanwhile, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, France, China, India, Pakistan and others developed nuclear weapons. Industrialization changes the political landscape With the new political order came new terminology. The "First World" was the United States and its allies, primarily Western Europe and Japan. The "Second World" meant the Soviet Union and its satellites in Eastern Europe. The term "Third World" meant all developing countries that hadn't yet industrialized. This included much of Southeast Asia, Latin America and Africa. There were a great number of poverty-stricken and underdeveloped nations in the 1950s. Many were just emerging from colonialism while others had been badly governed for decades. Africa was still mostly underdeveloped and poor. Parts of Latin America, however, underwent major change as countries with dictatorships became democracies. Many areas of Southeast Asia experienced rapid economic development, like China, which experienced fast economic growth. The countries of the Middle East that had oil also prospered. Europe and Japan had been devastated by World War II, and the Soviet Union was in shambles. To rebuild the West and Japan, the U.S. launched a massive foreign aid program called the Marshall Plan. It gave Western Europe more than $17 billion in aid for reconstruction. Then U.S. also helped Japan rebuild. The result was a time when the industrialized societies achieved levels of wealth they had never seen before. The Eastern bloc nations, led by the Soviet Union, also had to rebuild after the war. The process took longer. They refused to take Marshall Plan money, and they had been poorer and less industrialized than the nations of Western Europe before the war. This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 2
The Cold War's lingering effects lead to conflict Many conflicts came out of the Cold War. The Vietnam War ended with the victory of communist North Vietnam. Soviet and U.S. power confronted each other in several places, especially in Europe and Korea. In Cuba, forces led by Fidel Castro led a revolution in the late 1950s and set up a communist government. In 1962, the threat of nuclear war escalated when the Soviet Union placed missiles in Cuba and aimed them at the United States. U.S. President John F. Kennedy blockaded shipping to Cuba to prevent more missiles from entering the country. Eventually, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev ordered the missiles removed. In the early 1980s, much of Central America was torn by conflict. The Soviet Union and Cuba often supplied rebel fighters to overthrow governments, and the U.S. armed and trained government forces to stop the rebels. Not all of the global trouble spots came out of the Cold War, though most of them were affected by it. One constant area of conflict was the Middle East. Several wars were fought between the Arab states and Israel. The Soviet Union supplied some Arab states, such as Syria and Iraq, with weapons while the U.S. aided Israel and the Arab countries that it was friendly with. The United Nations formed in the ashes of World War II with the goal of preventing future wars. The Cold War led to a number of alliances between countries for their mutual protection. The best known were the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), formed in 1949, and the Warsaw Pact, which was signed in 1955. NATO is a military alliance that was created to defend Western Europe from the Soviet Union. The Warsaw Pact was the Soviet alliance created to counter the power of NATO. Many organizations were created to deal with the financial needs of the global community and give out aid money, like the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 3
Quiz 1 Read the section "Industrialization changes the political landscape." Select the paragraph that shows HOW the U.S. helped its allies after World War II. 2 Which section of the article highlights the idea that the Cold War was responsible for a new language about regions of the world? Introduction [paragraphs 1-2] "Mutual hostility between the U.S. and the Soviet Union" "Industrialization changes the political landscape" "The Cold War's lingering effects lead to conflict" 3 Read the sentence from the section "The Cold War's lingering effects lead to conflict." In the early 1980s, much of Central America was torn by conflict. HOW does the phrase "torn by conflict" affect the TONE of this sentence? It conveys a sense of unity that Central America was joining with the Soviet Union. It conveys a sense of eagerness that Central America wanted to rebel against its governments. It conveys a sense of unease that Central Americans were unclear about the next step. It conveys a sense of desperation that struggles persisted in Central America. 4 Read these excerpts from the article. These nations turned communist and became Soviet satellite nations that is, they fell within the Soviet sphere of influence. The "Second World" meant the Soviet Union and its satellites in Eastern Europe. What is a "satellite nation"? a country that was once democratic but is now communist a country that is aligned with the Soviet Union a country that joined the Second World to escape the Third World a country that has an influential space program This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 4
This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 5
Answer Key 1 Read the section "Industrialization changes the political landscape." Select the paragraph that shows HOW the U.S. helped its allies after World War II. Paragraph 7: Europe and Japan had been devastated by World War II, and the Soviet Union was in shambles. To rebuild the West and Japan, the U.S. launched a massive foreign aid program called the Marshall Plan. It gave Western Europe more than $17 billion in aid for reconstruction. Then U.S. also helped Japan rebuild. 2 Which section of the article highlights the idea that the Cold War was responsible for a new language about regions of the world? Introduction [paragraphs 1-2] "Mutual hostility between the U.S. and the Soviet Union" "Industrialization changes the political landscape" "The Cold War's lingering effects lead to conflict" 3 Read the sentence from the section "The Cold War's lingering effects lead to conflict." In the early 1980s, much of Central America was torn by conflict. HOW does the phrase "torn by conflict" affect the TONE of this sentence? It conveys a sense of unity that Central America was joining with the Soviet Union. It conveys a sense of eagerness that Central America wanted to rebel against its governments. It conveys a sense of unease that Central Americans were unclear about the next step. It conveys a sense of desperation that struggles persisted in Central America. This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 6
4 Read these excerpts from the article. These nations turned communist and became Soviet satellite nations that is, they fell within the Soviet sphere of influence. The "Second World" meant the Soviet Union and its satellites in Eastern Europe. What is a "satellite nation"? a country that was once democratic but is now communist a country that is aligned with the Soviet Union a country that joined the Second World to escape the Third World a country that has an influential space program This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 7