Modern Day Connections to World History
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The cold war
Section 1: Introduction to the Cold War:
While the relationship between The Soviet Union and America became tense, communism, was starting to spread all around Europe. The origins of the Cold War could be traced back to the disagreements between U.S. and Soviet Union. For example, conflicting ideologies, postwar disagreements, and fears of expansionism. During the Yalta Conference and Potsdam Conference, the U.S. and Soviet leaders majorly disagreed over the future of the post-war world and also the iron Curtain speech by Winston Churchill further divided the two. Early on in the Cold War President Truman made his own doctrine called the Truman Doctrine. Its sole purpose was to contain the soviet expansion by stopping countries who were falling to communism. Russia on the other hand, had satellite states which they took control of and used as their backup.
Section 2: "Revolutions"
The Velvet Revolution:
This revolution was a non-violent transition of power in what was then Czechoslovakia, starting from November 17 to December 29, 1989. Popular demonstrations against the one-party government of the Communist part of Czechoslovakia combined students and older dissidents. The result was the end of 41 years of one-party rule in Czechoslovakia. It was led by Vaclav Havel and he believed in a nonviolence protest. The revolution was successful and ended the communism. Czechoslovakia split in 1993 because their economy would've been very high if they kept the two counties together, so now its the Czech Republic and Czechoslovakia.
Cuban Revolution:
The Cuban Revolution was a civil war that took place in Cuba between December 2, 1956, and January 2, 1959. In this was, the guerrilla forces, led by Fidel Castro, fought against the government army, under Fulgencio Batista, a dictator of Cuba. The civil war lasted three years, with battles taking place in the mountains and towns. Also, Fidel Castro's army beat Fulgencio. Cuban people supported Castro’s revolution because he had promised them to bring back democracy and freedom to Cuba.
Chinese Cultural Revolution:
The revolution was lead by the leader of China named Mao Zedong, which the Soviet Union supported. He believed in communism and he deceived youths to believe in communism by the use of propaganda and the red books. These children were called the Red Guards and he believed that the children would be able to change the world. In addition, Mao wanted to spread communism all around thinking it was the best choice. He also set up the great leap forward, which was an economic and social campaign by the communist party of China. This plan did not succeed so there was collective farming, which meant that people would have to work for him, making no money. The Great Leap did not turn out to be good because many people were placed under bad conditions.
Section 3: Hot Spots
The Soviet Union and U.S. had major conflicts and battles throughout the Cold War. An example would be the Vietnam war. Although the Soviet Union did not physically fight in the war, the ideology of communism was slowing going to spread in Vietnam. A big part of this war was due to the Domino Theory, which believed that if one country fell to communism, a surrounding country would follow as well. As a result of the Domino Theory U.S. gave aid to south Vietnam so they would be able to stop communism before it spreads. But, Vietnam did not care about politics and was simply fighting for Vietnam. Overall, the nation did end up turning communist.
Another major event would be the Korean war. The Soviet Union gave aid and trained armies of North Korea. Whereas, U.S. gave weapons to south Korea. The Korean War began when the North Korean Communist army crossed the 38th Parallel and invaded non-Communist South Korea. The war lasted for about three years. To end the war a peace treaty was signed, which turned Korea back into its divided state at the 38th parallel.
Section 4: The End of the Cold War
At the end of the Cold War, the Berlin Wall came down, borders opened, and free elections ousted Communist regimes everywhere in eastern Europe. With outstanding speed, the Iron Curtain was lifted and the Cold War finally came to a close. Also, the Berlin Wall had been the main symbol of the war because it had kept people from Eastern Europe, which was communist, from escaping to the West. When the Wall came down, it meant that people in the East could finally leave. In 1991, the Soviet Union officially fell apart which made the remainder of the country much weaker, signifying the end of communist rule. In the end, the final leader of U.S. was Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev for the Soviet Union.
Section 5: Who Started the Cold War?
In my opinion, the Soviet Union should be held responsible for the start of the Cold War. To start, Stalin had wanted to spread communism everywhere and dominate the world with it. In addition, during the Yalta and Potsdam conference he did not agree to stop the spread of communism on Poland. He later proceeded to create a communist government there. The tensions that propelled the Cold War started at the conferences with the help of Stalin and his inability to agree and keep a promise.