The+Formation+of+the+Bipolar+World+2

THE FORMATION OF THE BIPOLAR WORLD

__The Cold War in Europe__

__Berlin Airlift__
 * At the end of WWII, war torn Europe was the first stop of the Cold war
 * Russian and U.S alliances from the War began to disintegrate
 * Capitalism and Communism divided the two superpower countries
 * Europe and Germany (Especially) were divided into blocs and states
 * The blocs and states were either dependent on the U.S or Russia
 * Western European states that were tied to the U.S adopted everything such as parliamentary political systems and capital economic structures and adjusted their foreign policies to that of the United States
 * As for the Eastern European states they adopted Russia’s foreign policies, political structures and economic institutions
 * Germany was the biggest fault line in the cold war it was divided into West and East Germany with the U.S and France and Britain taking care of the West and Russia controlling the East
 * Berlin was divided into 4 zones after WWII for Russia, France, Britain, and U.S
 * France,Britain and the U.S later merged their occupation zones in Germany into a single economic unit and introduced a new currency, the German mark throughout their one merged zone
 * Soviets retaliated by blockading all roads, rails, and water links between Berlin and Western Germany
 * On June 24, 1948 the Soviets announced that the four power administration was no longer in effect and allies had no jurisdiction there
 * The blockade failed to get the French, British and U.S out of Berlin
 * In the aftermath of the blockade the three western nations formed the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germ.)
 * The Soviets emerged as the German Democratic Republic (East Germ.)
 * Between 1949 and 1961, 3.5 million East Germans (Many Young & Highly Skilled) left their homeland due to embarrassment of their communist leaders
 * 1961 Berlin Wall built to reinforce fortification between border of East and West Germany
 * Berlin Wall went from layer of barbed wire to a giant barrier several layers deep with searchlights, antipersonnel mines, watch towers etc.
 * Western countries wanted to avoid a battle because they feared it would escalate to gun battle
 * Both Super Power nations made Treaty's for military purposes to hopefully land a punch on the other
 * Russia and the U.S both built up enormous arsenals to try to match each other and essentially did neither of them were able to release the mass destruction. (Fortunately)


 * The first serous test of the Cold War, the U.S and Britain responded to the Soviets blockade in Berlin by designing an airlift to keep the city's inhabitants alive, well fed and warm
 * The British and United States airpower was displayed around the clock bringing in supplies for 11 months
 * On May 1949, the Soviet's called off the blockade, the airlift continued till September

Korean War -At the end of World War II the Soviet Union and the United States had partitioned Korea along the 38 parallel of latitude -Due to the superpowers not being able to agree on a framework for the reunification of the country, in 1948 both consented to the establishment of two seperate Korean states -The Republic of Korea in the south with Seoul as capital and the conservative anticommunist Syngman Rhee as it president -The People's Democratic Republic of Korea in the north with Pyongyang as capital and the revolutionary communist Kim Il Sung -After arming their countries, U.S. and Soviet troops withdrew -On the morning of 25 June 1950, the Pyongyang regime ordered more than one hundred thousand troops across the 38 parallel in a surprise attack -Captured Seoul on the 27th pushing back south korean troops relativly easy -The U.S. convinced the USSR had sanctioned the invasion, convinced the UN to adopt a resolution requesting all members states "to provide the Republic of Korea with all necessary aid to repel the aggressors." -The U.S. military went into action. U.S. forces were not able to fight back the North -However in September following an extremely risky but successful amphibious operation at Incheon, the U.S. went on the offensive, Eventually pushed back the North Korean to the 38th parallel -Seeing an opportunity to unitfy Korea the American invade North Korea and occupied Pyongyang, going to close to the Yalu river on the Chinese border
 * -In 1950 the focus of the cold war shifted from Europe to east Asia

Cuban Missile crisis/Bay of Pigs Invasion -In 1959 a revolution headed by Fidel Castro Ruz overthrew the autocratic Fulgencio Batista y Zaldivar. -Castro Denounced Yankee imperialism. -He accepted assistance from the Soviet Union, fueling the fear of the spread of communism in the US. -The USSR helped Cuba withmilitary and economic aid, they even bought half of Cuba's sugar production. -When John F. Kennedy was elected president, he gave the go ahead to invade Cuba. The invasion was planned by previous administration and was intended to overthrow Castro and his supporters. -April 1961, a 1500 men anti-Castro Cuban force was trained, armed, and transported by the CIA to Cuba at The Bay of Pigs. -The invasion failed and every man involved had either been captured or killed within three days. -Contrary to American purposes, the attack actually strengthened Castro's position in Cuba and his commitment to communism. That December, He publicly announced "I have been a Marxist-Lennonist all along, and will remain one until I die." -The US government launched a campaign "Operation Mongoose". It was aimed at destabilizing Cuba and the assassination of Castro. -On October 22, 1962 President Kennedy went on national television to inform the public about the US discovery of offensive nuclear missiles and launch sites in Cuba to frame the nation's response to the crisis. -Under pressure from Congress to deal with the Soviet "Menace", President Kennedy delivered his public ultimatum. He called on the USSR to withdraw all missiles from Cuba and to stop the arrival of more nuclear armaments. He also imposed air and naval quarantine on the island, that went into effect two days later. -Both countries were poised for attack, and for a week people held their breath. Negotiations continued during those days and Nikita Khrushchev understood the seriousness of a nuclear showdown over Cuba. He agreed to Kennedy's dedmands on the condition that the US would not invade Cuba. ---On a worldwide radio broadcast (October 28, 1962), Khrushchev informed the public of the end of the crisis. Global Tension Began to decrease. -Still, the missile crisis revealed the dangers of a bipolar world, because the world feared of the apocalypse that could potentially be behind any superpower engagement.

Domestic Containment and Female Liberation
 * U.S believed that women best served their families and their nation by staying home and rearing patriotic children
 * U.S believed that their families provided the best defense against communist infiltration in their nation
 * Domestic containment is when the U.S began to suspect anybody who supported any radical or liberal cause, or behaving in any odd way. Which made many try to stay in the socially sanctioned way of life in the early begins of the war
 * Many women resented having to feel shame or guilt because they did not live up to the domestic ideals
 * This led to the modern feminist movement

__Black Nationalism & Civil__ __Rights__

Cold War Consumerism -The Soviet Union did not match the United States and its allies in material wealth, leisure, and consumer goods -The Soviet Union had satellites but did not provided their people with the stuff of dreams- automobiles, Hollywood movies, record albums, supermarkets, or month long paid vacations -The most things European and North American had to worry about was atomic anxiety and the insecurity of living int he cold war world, but the economic prosperity that in part was due to the cold war relieved some of that pain -Western Europe experienced a economic miracle in the cold war, recovering swiftlly from the war's devastation -Due to the U.S. Marshall Plan which gave 13 billion dollars -Big increase of car ownership
 * Black Nationalism was influenced by Reggae music sung by Bob Marley that spread throughout the world
 * Bob Marley's song "Get Up and Stand Up" spoke to millions of blacks struggling for their freedom
 * Marcus Garvey another black nationalist from Jamaica advocated U.S blacks seek repatriation in Africa
 * Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was the most prominent civil rights leader who was inspired by and followed Mohandas Gandhi's example of passive nonresistance and boycotting in the struggle for equality

The Space Race -Although Soviet and eastern European societies couldn't compete with the abundance of consumer goods in America and western Europe, they took pride in the technological advancements made by the Soviet Union in the late 50's and early 60's. -In the late 1950's news spread that the Soviets had a workable ICBM (Intercontinental ballistic missile). -On October 4th 1957, the Soviets put //Sputnik// the world's first satellite into orbit. -The United States soon copied the Soviet success and put //Explorer I// into orbit in 1958. -Between the ICBM and //Sputnik// the Soviets grabbed the initiative in the new "Space Race". -These new inventions played a large part in The Cold War. -Questioning of the social and educational system in the US became apparent soon after hearing of these new inventinons -Questioning intensified when the soviets made Yuri Gagarin the first man to orbit the earth in April 1961. -American John Glenn was shortly then after sent into space in 1962. -When John F. Kennedy became president, having worried about a missile crisis for years, dedicated himself to NASA and the task of putting a man on the moon. -On July 20th 1969, Apollo XI landed on the moon and reassured Americans of their world status.

Peaceful Coexistence -The people of Eastern Europe and USSR experienced less economical growth and enjoyed far fewer consumer items and leisure than their counterparts in West Europe and North America. -Stalin imposed economic planning on governments in east Europe and expected them to conform to anticapitalist ideals. -With respect to foreign policy, Khrushchev(a soviet leader)emphasized the possibility of "peaceful coexistence" btween different social systems and the achievement of communism by peaceful means. -There were limits to the Soviet liberalization though, in 1956 troops cracked down on Hungarian rebels, and novelist Boris Pasternak was not allowed to receive his Nobel Prize. -Cold War Tensions were further relieved when Khrushchev became the first Soviet leader to step foot on American Soil. -He toured the country, making stops in New York, Iowa, and California, and parts of his trip were broadcast on National TV. -People were able to see the previously perceived demonic Soviet as a human being--understanding his disappointment in not being able to see Disneyland due to security reasons, and watching him talk with US farmers, as well as seeing him thank all of his escorts before his final departure.

DL