Objectives 1. Identify changes in the communist world that ended the Cold War. 2. Examine the importance of Nixon s visits to China and the Soviet Union.
VIETNAM In 1950 the U.S. begins to help France fight back against the communist in Vietnam by sending $15 million in aide. In 1954 the French are driven out of Vietnam. The U.S. stays to stop the spread of communism. Escalation of U.S. troops in 1965. The U.S. leaves in 1973. Vietnam completely falls to communism in March 1975.
REALPOLITIK Realpolitik= political realism The U.S. began using the idea in terms of how we deal with foreign countries. Evaluate a nations power, not its philosophy or beliefs. If a country was weak then it was more practical to ignore that country, even if it was communist.
DETENTE Détente: an ending of unfriendly or hostile relations between countries. How? Use flexible approaches when dealing with communist countries rather always threatening Brinkmanship.
SALT I TREATY In 1972 President Nixon travels to China and Moscow, the first U.S. president to visit the Soviet capital. Nixon s trip plants a seed of cooperation and tolerance between all 3 countries. Nixon and the Soviets sign the SALT I treaty=5 year agreement limiting the number of ICBM s and submarine missiles.
SALT II Treaty dies in 1979 when President Carter refuses to sign it when the Soviets invade Afghanistan. SALT II would have limited the number of nuclear weapons and launchers. SALT II TREATY
SDI: STRATEGIC DEFENSE INITIATIVE Most commonly referred to as Star Wars. President Reagan began developing the system in 1983. Reagan spent billions on the project and doubled the Defense Department s budget. SDI system is still not completely developed.
Mikhail Gorbachev Gorbachev came to power in the Soviet Union in 1985 and quickly realizes that the Soviet Union can not keep spending billion of $ on defense to keep up with the U.S. A) Glasnost= openness Allows for partial freedom of speech and freedom of the press. B) Perestroika=restructuring soviet society towards democracy and capitalism. *Allows some private businesses and removes government price and production controls.
INF Treaty, 1987 The 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty required the United States and the Soviet Union to eliminate all of their nuclear and conventional ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles with ranges of 500 to 5,500 kilometers. The treaty marked the first time the superpowers had agreed to reduce their nuclear arsenals, eliminate an entire category of nuclear weapons, and utilize on-site inspections for verification. As a result of the INF Treaty, the United States and the Soviet Union destroyed a total of 2,692 short-, medium-, and intermediate-range missiles by the treaty's implementation deadline of June 1, 1991.
FALL OF THE BERLIN WALL In 1989 Gorbachev tells East Germany they are independent of Soviet rule and he will not stop East Berliners from crossing over into West Berlin. East Berlin and West Berlin unite and the wall is torn down by the citizens of Germany on November 11, 1989. East and West Germany reunite as one country on October 3, 1990.
SOVIET UNION DISSOLVES In 1991 Gorbachev tells all the Soviet satellite countries that they are free to rule as they please. 14 non-russian republics declare their independence from the Soviet Union and the Soviet Union dissolves.
Commonwealth of Independent Created in December 1991 when the U.S.S.R. dissolved. Modern day nations of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Ukraine. States (CIS)
BORIS YELTSIN Yeltsin takes over in late 1991 and continues with Gorbachev s reforms. In February 1992 he and President Bush declare an official end to the Cold War. SALT II treaty is signed in 1993 reducing the number of nukes on both sides.
MORE SOVIET REFORMS In December 1993 Russian voters installed a new parliament and approved a new constitution similar to the U.S. Constitution.
START II Pact Signed in March 2003 An agreement between the U.S. and Russia that limits the number of nuclear warheads for each country s arsenal to 1,700-2,200.
COLD WAR THEMES 1) The U.S. is willing to do whatever it takes to stop the spread of communism. 2) U.S. vs. Soviet Union (competition for supremacy). 3) The world lives in fear by being brought to the edge of a nuclear war. 4) The fear of communism taking over the U.S. resulted in paranoia, violations of civil rights, security changes, and a military arms race.