History 1BB3: America and the World: The Twentieth Century

Dr. Stephen M. Streeter

McMaster University, Winter 2002

 

America and the Cold War in Europe

slide show (html)

slide show (pdf)

I. Defining and Interpreting the Cold War

Cold War era (1945-1989)

spheres of influence: "regions where one country's power is great enough to control, dominate, or rearrange local governments; to set trade rules; and if necessary, to intervene with force"

realists, revisionists, post revisionists

II. International Setting

1. dislocation of the world economy
2. shift in European politics to the left
3. decolonization in the Third World
4. atomic bomb and the arms race
5. demobilization of conventional armed forces

III. The Cold War in Europe

Clashing Foreign Policy Objectives (1945-1949)
United States	Soviet Union
global capitalism	socialism in one country
free trade and unrestricted foreign investment	command economy
cheap strategic raw materials from the Third World	economic and political control over Eastern Europe
worldwide military bases	strong Red Army
strong Germany	weak Germany

London Poles vs. Lublin Poles
Marshall Plan (June 1947)
Truman Doctrine (March 1947) (text of Truman's speech)
Berlin Blockade (June 1948 - May 1949)
Soviet Atomic Test (August 1949)

Further Reading:

Bibliography
Links to Websites on the Cold War

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