APUSH Unit VIII: The Cold War (1945-1989)

The Cold War and late 20th century, it was not a simply a war fought in the winter time, but a new kind of "war" fought with our biggest adversary, Russia. As John Green says, "The Cold War is better than the War on Christmas or the War on Drugs because its not fought against a noun."This unit will focus on many developments that were connected to this struggle --i.e. actual proxy wars like Vietnam and Korea, the rise of the military industrial complex and the Red Scare of the 1950's. However, there were many other important events, such as rising consumerism, the Counter-cultural movement and modern Civil Rights movement that this unit also discusses. Unit VIII is another 18% of the APUSH exam (we are at 95% total thus far), so pay attention . . .

Key Concept 8.1: The United States responded to an uncertain and unstable postwar world by asserting and working to maintain a position of global leadership, with far-reaching domestic and international consequences.

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I. The United States policymakers engaged in a cold war with the authoritarian Soviet Union , seeking to limit the growth of Communist military power and ideological influence, create a free-market global economy, and build an international security system.

APUSH Unit VIII: The Cold War (1945-1989) — Room 13 (2)

A. As postwar tensions dissolved the wartime alliance between Western democracies and the Soviet Union, the United States developed a foreign policy based on collective security, international aid, and economic institutions that bolstered non-communist nations.

APUSH Unit VIII: The Cold War (1945-1989) — Room 13 (3)

APUSH Unit VIII: The Cold War (1945-1989) — Room 13 (4)

APUSH Unit VIII: The Cold War (1945-1989) — Room 13 (5)

B. Concerned by expansionist Communist ideology and Soviet repression, the United States sought to contain communism through a variety of measures, including major military engagements in Korea and Vietnam.

APUSH Unit VIII: The Cold War (1945-1989) — Room 13 (6)

APUSH Unit VIII: The Cold War (1945-1989) — Room 13 (7)

C. The Cold War fluctuated between periods of direct and indirect confrontation and periods of mutual coexistence (or detente).

APUSH Unit VIII: The Cold War (1945-1989) — Room 13 (8)

APUSH Unit VIII: The Cold War (1945-1989) — Room 13 (9)

APUSH Unit VIII: The Cold War (1945-1989) — Room 13 (10)

D. Postwar decolonization and the emergence of powerful nationalist movements in Asia, Africa and the Middle East led both sides in the Cold War to seek allies among the new nations, many of which remained nonaligned.

APUSH Unit VIII: The Cold War (1945-1989) — Room 13 (11)

APUSH Unit VIII: The Cold War (1945-1989) — Room 13 (12)

E.Cold War competition spread to Latin America, where the US supported non-Communist regimes that had varying levels of commitment to democracy.

APUSH Unit VIII: The Cold War (1945-1989) — Room 13 (13)

APUSH Unit VIII: The Cold War (1945-1989) — Room 13 (14)

APUSH Unit VIII: The Cold War (1945-1989) — Room 13 (15)

II. Cold War policies led to a public debates over the power of the federal government and acceptable means for pursuing international and domestic goals while protecting civil liberties.

A. Americans debated policies and methods designed to expose suspected communists within the United States even as both parties supported the broader strategy of containing communism.

APUSH Unit VIII: The Cold War (1945-1989) — Room 13 (16)

APUSH Unit VIII: The Cold War (1945-1989) — Room 13 (17)

APUSH Unit VIII: The Cold War (1945-1989) — Room 13 (18)

B. Although anticommunist foreign policy faced little opposition in previous years, the Vietnam War inspired sizable protests that became more numerous as the war escalated and sometimes led to violence.

APUSH Unit VIII: The Cold War (1945-1989) — Room 13 (19)

APUSH Unit VIII: The Cold War (1945-1989) — Room 13 (20)

APUSH Unit VIII: The Cold War (1945-1989) — Room 13 (21)

APUSH Unit VIII: The Cold War (1945-1989) — Room 13 (22)

C. Americans debated the merits of a large nuclear arsenal, the military industrial complex, and the appropriate power of the Executive Branch in conducting foreign policy.

Duck and Cover staring Bert the Turtle is a 1951 Civil Defense Film Written by Raymond J. Mauer and directed by Anthony Rizzo of Archer Productions and made with the help of schoolchildren from New York City and Astoria, New York, it was shown in schools as the cornerstone of the government's "duck and cover" public awareness campaign.

Japanese artist Isao Hashimoto has created a beautiful, undeniably scary time-lapse map of the 2053 nuclear explosions which have taken place between 1945 and 1998, beginning with the Manhattan Project's "Trinity" test near Los Alamos and concluding with Pakistan's nuclear tests in May of 1998.

APUSH Unit VIII: The Cold War (1945-1989) — Room 13 (23)

APUSH Unit VIII: The Cold War (1945-1989) — Room 13 (24)

APUSH Unit VIII: The Cold War (1945-1989) — Room 13 (25)

D. Ideological, military, and economic concerns shaped US involvement in the Middle East, with several oil crises in the region eventually sparking attempts at creating a national energy policy.

APUSH Unit VIII: The Cold War (1945-1989) — Room 13 (26)

APUSH Unit VIII: The Cold War (1945-1989) — Room 13 (27)

APUSH Unit VIII: The Cold War (1945-1989) — Room 13 (28)

Key Concept 8.2 --New movements for Civil Rights and liberal efforts to expand the role of the federal government generated a range of political and cultural responses.

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Key Concept 8.3 --Postwar economic and demographic changes had far-reaching consequences for American society, politics, and culture.

I. Rapid economic and social changes in American society fostered a sense of optimism in the postwar years.

APUSH Unit VIII: The Cold War (1945-1989) — Room 13 (71)

APUSH Unit VIII: The Cold War (1945-1989) — Room 13 (72)

A. A burgeoning private sector, federal spending, the baby boom, and technological developments helped spur economic growth.

APUSH Unit VIII: The Cold War (1945-1989) — Room 13 (73)

APUSH Unit VIII: The Cold War (1945-1989) — Room 13 (74)

APUSH Unit VIII: The Cold War (1945-1989) — Room 13 (75)

B. As higher education opportunities and new technologies rapidly expanded, increasing social mobility encouraged the migration of the middle class to the suburbs and of many Americans to the South and West. The Sun Belt region emerged as a significant political and economic force.

APUSH Unit VIII: The Cold War (1945-1989) — Room 13 (76)

APUSH Unit VIII: The Cold War (1945-1989) — Room 13 (77)

APUSH Unit VIII: The Cold War (1945-1989) — Room 13 (78)

APUSH Unit VIII: The Cold War (1945-1989) — Room 13 (79)

C. Immigrants from around the world sought access to the political, economic and social opportunities in the United States, especially after the passage of new immigration laws in 1965.

APUSH Unit VIII: The Cold War (1945-1989) — Room 13 (80)

APUSH Unit VIII: The Cold War (1945-1989) — Room 13 (81)

II. New demographic and social developments, along with anxieties over the Cold War, changed US culture and led to significant political and moral debates that sharply divided the nation.

A. Mass culture became increasingly hom*ogeneous in the postwar years, inspiring challenges to conformity by artists, intellectuals, and rebellious youth.

APUSH Unit VIII: The Cold War (1945-1989) — Room 13 (82)

Advises children to do whatever is necessary -- even lie -- to achieve harmonious family relations. This portrait of manners among the affluent places a premium on pleasant, unemotional behavior, and contains some interesting do's and don'ts sequences. Key line: "These boys treat their dad as though they were genuinely glad to see him, as though they really missed him..."

APUSH Unit VIII: The Cold War (1945-1989) — Room 13 (83)

APUSH Unit VIII: The Cold War (1945-1989) — Room 13 (84)

B. Feminists and young people who participated in the counterculture of the 1960's rejected many of the social, economic and political values of their parents' generation, introduced greater informality into US culture, and advocated changes in sexual norms.

APUSH Unit VIII: The Cold War (1945-1989) — Room 13 (85)

APUSH Unit VIII: The Cold War (1945-1989) — Room 13 (86)

APUSH Unit VIII: The Cold War (1945-1989) — Room 13 (87)

APUSH Unit VIII: The Cold War (1945-1989) — Room 13 (88)

C. The rapid and substantial growth of evangelical Christian churches and organizations was accompanied by greater political and social activism on the part of religious conservatives.

The Cold War Nato vs Warsaw

APUSH Unit VIII: The Cold War (1945-1989) — Room 13 (89)

Interstate highway system (1950's)

APUSH Unit VIII: The Cold War (1945-1989) — Room 13 (90)

Sunbelt Migration (1960's and 70's)

APUSH Unit VIII: The Cold War (1945-1989) — Room 13 (91)

marshall plan nations

APUSH Unit VIII: The Cold War (1945-1989) — Room 13 (92)

bay of pigs invasion (1962)

APUSH Unit VIII: The Cold War (1945-1989) — Room 13 (93)

Korean War (1950-1953)

APUSH Unit VIII: The Cold War (1945-1989) — Room 13 (94)

Vietnam War (1954-1974)

APUSH Unit VIII: The Cold War (1945-1989) — Room 13 (95)

Freedom Rides (1961)

APUSH Unit VIII: The Cold War (1945-1989) — Room 13 (96)

http://archive.org/details/DateWith1950 Advises children to do whatever is necessary -- even lie -- to achieve harmonious family relations. This portrait of manners among the affluent places a premium on pleasant, unemotional behavior, and contains some interesting do's and don'ts sequences. Key line: "These boys treat their dad as though they were genuinely glad to see him, as though they really missed him..."

Check out our Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/teded View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/history-vs-che-guevara-alex-gendler His face is recognized all over the world - the young medical student who became a revolutionary icon. But was Che Guevara a heroic champion of the poor, or a ruthless warlord who left a legacy of repression?

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View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-genius-of-marie-curie-shohini-ghose Marie Skłodowska Curie's revolutionary research laid the groundwork for our understanding of physics and chemistry, blazing trails in oncology, technology, medicine, and nuclear physics, to name a few. But what did she actually do? Shohini Ghose expounds on some of Marie Skłodowska Curie's most revolutionary discoveries.

View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/what-is-mccarthyism-and-how-did-it-happen-ellen-schrecker In the 1950s, as part of a campaign to expose suspected Communists, thousands of individuals were aggressively investigated and questioned before government panels. Named after its most notorious practitioner, the phenomenon known as McCarthyism destroyed lives and careers. But how did this episode of political repression take off?

This is a case for Andy Warhol. You've heard his name. You've seen the Campbell's Soup cans. You might know something about The Factory. But perhaps you've wondered why Andy Warhol gets so much attention or why his work even matters. What's the deal with Warhol, and is he worth your time and consideration?

View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/history-vs-richard-nixon-alex-gendler The president of the United States of America is often said to be one of the most powerful positions in the world. But of all the US presidents accused of abusing that power, only one has left office as a result.

RMIT University academic Dr Binoy Kampmark explains how the United Nations (The UN) works. Watch other videos in this series ‪http://goo.gl/sHD22 And if you have a question about how something works that you want answered, hit us up here ‪http://ow.ly/7LQJQ‬ Study Social Humanities http://www.rmit.edu.au/socialhumanities

View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/what-was-the-point-of-the-space-race-jeff-steers On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union launched the satellite Sputnik and, with it, an international space race. The United States and the Soviet Union rushed to declare dominance of space for 18 years, until the two countries agreed to a more collaborative model. The real winner?

View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-infamous-and-ingenious-ho-chi-minh-trail-cameron-paterson The Ho Chi Minh Trail not only connected North and South Vietnam during a brutal war but also aided Vietnamese soldiers. The trail shaved nearly five months of time off of the trip and was used as a secret weapon of sorts.

Unit VIII Readings

Unit VIII Questions sheets

Unit VIII Assignments

Unit VIII Vocabulary words

Unit VIII Slideshow

APUSH Unit VIII: The Cold War (1945-1989) — Room 13 (97)

APUSH Unit VIII: The Cold War (1945-1989) — Room 13 (98)

APUSH Unit VIII: The Cold War (1945-1989) — Room 13 (99)

APUSH Unit VIII: The Cold War (1945-1989) — Room 13 (100)

AP Notes -- American Pageant Textbook Summaries

Click HERE to link to the textbook summary page

Gilder Lehrman AP US History

The Gilder Lehrman site offers review videos, key concepts and an interactive timeline of the era. It also contains study guides and sample essays from key topics in the time period. Visit the Gilder Lehrman AP US History Unit VIII website HERE

Covers the time period from 1945 to 1980: American culture changes as the nation becomes a global superpower.

APUSH Unit VIII: The Cold War (1945-1989) — Room 13 (2024)