lOMoARcPSD|28964921
john
Summary The Cold War
The Cold War (Yale University)
Studocu is not sponsored or endorsed by any college or university
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, lOMoARcPSD|28964921
john
CHAPTER ONE - THE RETURN OF FEAR - Spencer McManes
● Prologue:
○ George Orwell’s “Big Brother” prediction in his book titled 1984, an inversion from
the year it was finished, 1948, where he says communism takes over the world
and every decision made is made for you by the big brother
● The CW was won by a coalition whose principal members were already at war -
ideologically and geopolitically
○ The tragedy was that victors would be required to either cease to be who they
were, or to give up much of what they had fought the war to attain
● Both USSR and US thought what worked at home would work for the rest of the world
○ US born out of deep distrust of central authority -->Liberty and justice comes
from constraining central power
○ abundance of natural resources and geographical isolation allowed for US to
grow into world power which became apparent in WWII
○ this is cus we strictly reduced gov’t ability to control everyday life, including
organization of economy and conduct of politics
○ Bolshevik Revolution → Soviets to embrace concentrated authority
■ capitalism exploits the working class
■ Stalin made USSR a Marxist-Leninist country, heavily industrialized with
no liberty at all
○ Libertarian vs authoritarian gov’ts
● Different experiences in WWII: 1941-1945
○ US
■ only 300,000 casualties
■ fought two front war of Japan and Germans in Europe
■ no significant attacks other than Pearl Harbor
■ had ability to choose when, where, and how it fought due to alliance with
Britain
■ wartime spending caused GDP nearly doubled in 4 years→
came out stronger than went in
○ USSR
■ one war to the west
■ about 27 million Soviet soldiers and citizens died (90 times that of US)
■ had villages, cities, towns, industries along countrysides demolished
■ emerged as a shattered state
● The fact US and Britain needed USSR to defeat Hitler meant WWII was a victory over
fascism only, not authoritarianism
○ USSR losses gave them a moral claim to substantial influence in shaping the
postwar settlement
○ Authoritarian communism seemed to be the way of the future
○ Also, Stalin was the only experienced leader to emerge from WWII, as ill-
informed Harry S. Truman filled in for Roosevelt and Churchill was unexpectedly
defeated by Clement Attlee
Downloaded by john gatheca ()
, lOMoARcPSD|28964921
john
● Stalin’s goals
○ security for himself, his regime, his country, and his ideology
■ didn’t want any internal or external challenge to ever question his rule
■ he was “enormously feared-- but also widely worshipped
○ Wanted a lot of concessions due to their expenditures in gold and blood
■ regain territories lost to Germans, but also countries it had taken as a
result of the Non-Aggression Pact with Hitler
● Finland, Poland, Romania, Baltic States
■ Turkish Straits, naval bases in the Mediterranean, territories in Iran and
Turkey
■ to punish Germany through military occupation, property expropriations,
reparations payments, and ideological transformation
■ HOWEVER, USSR also needed peace, economic assistance, and
diplomatic acquiescence of its former allies
● had no choice but to cooperate at this point to obtain his postwar
objectives at a reasonable cost
● he thought there was a crisis/ would be a crisis amongst
capitalists, and he would outlast them
● Fully expected US to lend USSR a few billions dollars to rebuild so
US would have somewhere to sell their goods when the global
economy crashed
○ Wanted to dominated Europe as thoroughly as Hitler wanted to
● US Goals
○ security → didn’t know what they would have to do to obtain it
■ realized could not be a model for the rest of the world without being a part
of the rest of the world… needed to be a part, not apart...
■ used to be isolationist
○ end the war with an agreement that gave the lowest chance of another great war
■ also needed something to bring home to the American people that didn’t
“take them farther than they wanted to go”
● Britain’s Goals
○ to survive at all costs, even if it meant relinquishing leadership to the United
States and weakening the British Empire, even if it meant collaborating with
USSR
○ Main goal was to never to get at odds with America
■ Stalin believed they would eventually be at war together… good guess
you goat fucking commie bastard
● Preservation of Grand Alliance?
○ no one wanted new enemies after defeating hitler
○ joined alliance to defeat hitler and to position itself in best position for postwar
world
● Failure to reconcile divergent political objectives even as they pursued a common
military task was the groundwork for cold war
Downloaded by john gatheca ()
john
Summary The Cold War
The Cold War (Yale University)
Studocu is not sponsored or endorsed by any college or university
Downloaded by john gatheca ()
, lOMoARcPSD|28964921
john
CHAPTER ONE - THE RETURN OF FEAR - Spencer McManes
● Prologue:
○ George Orwell’s “Big Brother” prediction in his book titled 1984, an inversion from
the year it was finished, 1948, where he says communism takes over the world
and every decision made is made for you by the big brother
● The CW was won by a coalition whose principal members were already at war -
ideologically and geopolitically
○ The tragedy was that victors would be required to either cease to be who they
were, or to give up much of what they had fought the war to attain
● Both USSR and US thought what worked at home would work for the rest of the world
○ US born out of deep distrust of central authority -->Liberty and justice comes
from constraining central power
○ abundance of natural resources and geographical isolation allowed for US to
grow into world power which became apparent in WWII
○ this is cus we strictly reduced gov’t ability to control everyday life, including
organization of economy and conduct of politics
○ Bolshevik Revolution → Soviets to embrace concentrated authority
■ capitalism exploits the working class
■ Stalin made USSR a Marxist-Leninist country, heavily industrialized with
no liberty at all
○ Libertarian vs authoritarian gov’ts
● Different experiences in WWII: 1941-1945
○ US
■ only 300,000 casualties
■ fought two front war of Japan and Germans in Europe
■ no significant attacks other than Pearl Harbor
■ had ability to choose when, where, and how it fought due to alliance with
Britain
■ wartime spending caused GDP nearly doubled in 4 years→
came out stronger than went in
○ USSR
■ one war to the west
■ about 27 million Soviet soldiers and citizens died (90 times that of US)
■ had villages, cities, towns, industries along countrysides demolished
■ emerged as a shattered state
● The fact US and Britain needed USSR to defeat Hitler meant WWII was a victory over
fascism only, not authoritarianism
○ USSR losses gave them a moral claim to substantial influence in shaping the
postwar settlement
○ Authoritarian communism seemed to be the way of the future
○ Also, Stalin was the only experienced leader to emerge from WWII, as ill-
informed Harry S. Truman filled in for Roosevelt and Churchill was unexpectedly
defeated by Clement Attlee
Downloaded by john gatheca ()
, lOMoARcPSD|28964921
john
● Stalin’s goals
○ security for himself, his regime, his country, and his ideology
■ didn’t want any internal or external challenge to ever question his rule
■ he was “enormously feared-- but also widely worshipped
○ Wanted a lot of concessions due to their expenditures in gold and blood
■ regain territories lost to Germans, but also countries it had taken as a
result of the Non-Aggression Pact with Hitler
● Finland, Poland, Romania, Baltic States
■ Turkish Straits, naval bases in the Mediterranean, territories in Iran and
Turkey
■ to punish Germany through military occupation, property expropriations,
reparations payments, and ideological transformation
■ HOWEVER, USSR also needed peace, economic assistance, and
diplomatic acquiescence of its former allies
● had no choice but to cooperate at this point to obtain his postwar
objectives at a reasonable cost
● he thought there was a crisis/ would be a crisis amongst
capitalists, and he would outlast them
● Fully expected US to lend USSR a few billions dollars to rebuild so
US would have somewhere to sell their goods when the global
economy crashed
○ Wanted to dominated Europe as thoroughly as Hitler wanted to
● US Goals
○ security → didn’t know what they would have to do to obtain it
■ realized could not be a model for the rest of the world without being a part
of the rest of the world… needed to be a part, not apart...
■ used to be isolationist
○ end the war with an agreement that gave the lowest chance of another great war
■ also needed something to bring home to the American people that didn’t
“take them farther than they wanted to go”
● Britain’s Goals
○ to survive at all costs, even if it meant relinquishing leadership to the United
States and weakening the British Empire, even if it meant collaborating with
USSR
○ Main goal was to never to get at odds with America
■ Stalin believed they would eventually be at war together… good guess
you goat fucking commie bastard
● Preservation of Grand Alliance?
○ no one wanted new enemies after defeating hitler
○ joined alliance to defeat hitler and to position itself in best position for postwar
world
● Failure to reconcile divergent political objectives even as they pursued a common
military task was the groundwork for cold war
Downloaded by john gatheca ()
