Cold+War

I know that the Cold War (not an actual war, but more of a silent state of "coldness" and disagreement) was the name for the tension between the United States and the Soviet Union after World War II/the US' battle against communism. During the Cold War, the West and East were divided over communism--one notable example of this was the division of Germany into East and West portions, with the East half under communism.

Questions on __The Butter Battle Book__

a. Why do you think the Zooks and Yooks did not get along? They did not get along because they each spread propaganda about the other so that they each hated each other over trivial things. They both had the same opinions about each other, even though underneath the propaganda, they weren't very different. b. What do you think caused this conflict to get worse? The competition to produce better weapons worsened their conflict because of each side's fear of defeat and desperate desire to outdo the other. Of course, the more powerful the weapons got, the greater the potential of death. c. How do you think this happens with your friends or siblings? This happens between ordinary people when people have varying opinions and spread rumors about each other that might not necessarily be true. This causes silly arguments that could eventually grow very obnoxious. d. What do you think the Zooks and Yooks could have done differently to prevent this conflict? They could have tried to think about the other sides' perspectives and resolve the conflict more peacefully instead of getting into an arms race. e. In the story, each side uses propaganda to make their side seem like the right side. Give some examples from the movie/book.

In school, the children were taught that their way to spread butter on their bread was the "correct" way, and they were forced to swear not to spread their butter on the "wrong" side of the bread. Since the children were taught this propaganda from an early age, they carried it with them through life and it made them think that the other side was less civilized and more evil. f. What does the story tell you about the Cold War?

It tells me that the Cold War involved two groups of people divided their opinions on life/government. They spread propaganda about each other, which made it worse, and got involved in an arms race, though they didn't actually have a war.

g. What would be your ending to the story?

I would end the story by having someone try to halt the conflict between the two leaders and state that the Yooks and Zooks weren't really that different underneath it all--they were exaggerating it all and there was not much of a reason for them to hate each other. Everyone would have an epiphany and feel foolish for fabricating the former tensions between the groups.



Term Linking Activity
The __Cold War__ was the political tension between the United States (which was under __capitalism__) and __Soviet Union__ (which was determined to spread communism). Both nations tried to limit each others' influence and come off as more powerful, which involved them getting involved in an __arms race__, the __Space Race__, and proxy wars such as the __Korean War__ and __Vietnam War.__

__NATO__ was formed by Western countries as a union against communism, and the Soviet Union responded to this by creating the __Warsaw Pact__ to help preserve communism.

The term "__iron curtain__" was created by __Winston Churchill__ to describe the invisible barrier between the __East__ and __West__ that was created by the Cold War.

__East Germany__ was controlled by the Soviet Union while __West Germany__ was shared by Western nations during the Cold War. The __Marshall Plan__, which was the US' plan to help Europe's post-war restoration, helped contribute to the Soviet Union's fear of Western influence. When the Soviet Union blockaded West Germany to prevent further Western influence, the US sent them goods by air in the __Berlin Airlift.__

__The United Nations General Assembly__ (the UN meeting where all nations have equal say) and __Politburo__ (the main decision-making committee of communist nations) both allow people to lend their voice to society.

__Harry Truman__ was the US president who created the __Truman Doctrine__, which was a pledge that the US would provide aid to any countries that were fighting communism.

When __Fidel Castro__ became the new Communist leader of Cuba, the US stopped trading with them. They later discovered that the Soviets had built missile sites in Cuba, so __John F. Kennedy__ created a deal with the Soviet Union that influenced them to withdraw the missiles. The __Cuban Missile Crisis__, however, still instilled fear in people all over the world because it foreshadowed a potential physical war.

__Ronald Reagan__ was president during the end of the Cold War, which occurred after a period of peaceful __detente__ and after Soviet leader __Mikhail Gorbachev__ began to wind down the extreme communist policy of the Cold War. Unlike Gorbachev, __Stalin__ and __Khrushchev__ were two very extreme Soviet leaders during the Cold War.

The __domino theory__ influenced both sides of the Cold War because everybody feared that if one country fell to the other side's political system, more and more countries would also fall to it, like dominoes. __Containment policy__ was used by the US to defend itself and its allies against this effect by providing aid.

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I learned that Stalin was very hostile towards capitalism, and although the West was more respectful towards the East they were definitely not in agreement with communism either. Because of the "iron curtain" dividing the world in two, it was difficult for each side to tell what the other had planned, so each side became more wary towards the other and more protective towards its own beliefs and influence. The Truman Doctrine an example of the USA's display of protectiveness. Each side warned its people about the dangers and negatives about its enemy, serving as even more propaganda.
 * What knowledge about the cold War did you learn from these 3 speeches?**

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 * Rise and Fall of the Berlin Wall: Notes**

**Korean War**
** Content Questions **:

The Korean War turned into a Cold War conflict because the US and Soviet Union had both occupied it simultaneously during WWII, but after the war ended, the communist and capitalist zones began competing. The Korean War eventually came to the negotiation of an armistice. If Truman had not dismissed MacArthur, there was a chance that he would've seriously intensified the war by bringing it into China. It displayed the aggressive determination for both capitalist and communist countries to have a prevailing influence on other weaker nations.
 * How did the Korean War turn into a Cold War Conflict? **
 * Why did the Korean War not lead to world war? **
 * How does the Korean War shed light on the broad themes of the Cold War? **


 * Opener: Based on Korean War Video: **


 * **Do you Believe the Korean War was a Civil War or a Proxy War ( war that results when opposing powers use third parties as substitutes for fighting each other directly.)?**

I believe that the Korean War was a proxy war because it didn't directly involve the US and Soviet Union, but instead, the two nations directed their power through other countries (North/South Korea, China, etc.) in order to fight each other. It is not a civil war because it began with other nations taking control of two sides of Korea before they began fighting--it was not solely Korea's business.
 * **Provide three pieces of evidence from the video to support your claim**

1.) During World War II, both the US and Soviet Union began occupying from opposite sides of Korea 2.) The US' side got aid from the UN, and the Soviets' side got aid from China 3.) New governments for each side were installed by the capitalist/communist spheres The USSR helped supply the army for North Korea and the US brought supplies for the South
 * **Pair/share responses and make revisions in red**


 * Markup of Korean War:**

**[]**



 * Most important stats on Korean War public opinion poll:**
 * 1) It is significant that most people did not think that a conclusion to the war would be reached within a month of the poll (more people voted no as time went by), because this is actually what happened, and a solid conclusion was not even reached over half a century later.
 * 2) The fact that most people (though mainly half and half) thought that there was not much risk of getting into a major war with China proves that many people may have been supportive of MacArthur's plan to invade China as well.
 * 3) Although most people thought the war was not worth fighting, almost the same amount of people thought it //was// worth fighting, which shows support for the American goal (Truman Doctrine) to help fellow anticommunist countries fight the communist threat.


 * Textbook Activity (You Be the Judge):**

[|The World at the Brink: Thirteen Days Notes]
__**My Lai Massacre**__

[|Response: Was the My Lai Massacre a War Crime?]
__**Afghanistan: The Soviet Union's Vietnam**__



Opener - 5 Observations:
 * An airplane apparently attacked Kabul
 * Kandahar also appears to be a center for invasion
 * All of the invasions are done by land, except for the one that is done by plane
 * The Soviets seem to have easily taken over any land that they step on--this is because all of the red arrows are within gray patches that indicate that this is the land that the Soviets controlled.
 * There are several abbreviated headquarters scattered around the country.




 * 10 Most Important Things That the UN Should Know About Cambodia:**


 * 1) Cambodia's government is currently under monarchy/multiparty democracy.
 * 2) A similar government system to the current one was in place before the Cold War, but the Khmer Rouge (Cambodian communist force) took over during the Cold War until the late 70s.
 * 3) Before Khmer Rouge was in charge, Cambodia's neutrality in the Cold War was taken advantage of by both superpowers.
 * 4) The US invaded Cambodia during the Vietnam War to try to damage North Vietnam's transportation and communications. (in effect, damaged Cambodian infrastructure)
 * 5) The US dropped more tons of bombs on Cambodia during the incursion than the total tons of bombs dropped by the Allies in WWII.
 * 6) Khmer Rouge gained power in the Cambodian civil war in the 60s.
 * 7) Cambodia was a colony of France until it gained independence in 1953.
 * 8) The Vietnamese were trying to take control of Cambodia during the Cold War, but the Khmer Rouge fought them off and won instead,
 * 9) The current prime minister, Hun Sen, killed many innocent people in the Cambodian Genocide.
 * 10) The corrupt government used the country's resources to give more money to the wealthy.
 * 11) Prince Sihanouk was overthrown and eventually joined the Khmer Rouge.
 * 12) Located in Southeast Asia bordering Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand