The+Cold+War

**Post-war Tensions**

===The United States and the Soviet Union were united against Nazi Germany. Beyond that, they were highly suspicious of each other. In the last months of the war in Europe, they advanced rapidly on Hitler's crumbling empire from opposite sides. Both emerged from the war as superpowers - one a capitalist democracy, the other a communist dictatorship. The chart below outlines some key differences between their societies. ===

Characteristic 1. Political decisions Capitalist Democracy: Made by an elected government Communist Dictatorship: Made by one person who rules the state by force

Characteristic 2. Economic decisions Capitalist Democracy: Made by many investors, dominated by large corporations Communist Dictatorship: Made by one person who rules the state by force

Characteristic 3. Private property Capitalist Democracy: Many individuals own private property, with a small minority owning large amounts Communist Dictatorship: The state owns most property

Characteristic 4. Wealth distribution Capitalist Democracy: Varies between different economic classes, with a small minority holding a large portion Communist Dictatorship: Divided fairly evenly by the state

Soviet leader Joseph Stalin did not withdraw Soviet troops from Eastern Europe after the war. Instead, Soviet troops and Communist-controlled governments occupied a wide band of territory between the Soviet Union and democratic Western Europe. Stalin aimed to expand communism, an international movement, and more importantly, to protect the Soviet Union from possible invasion through Western Europe. The United States also did not withdraw it's troops from Western Europe and was interested in expanding it's own influence in the world. The United States, 66 years later, has tens of thousands of troops in Germany and military bases in over 100 countries around the world.

<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: 0.3px; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">In 1946, Sir Winston Churchill, the former prime minister of Britain, called the dividing line between democratic countries and communism the **Iron Curtain**. Relations between the United States and the Soviet Union quickly chilled into the **Cold War**. The two superpowers would use any means, short of directly battling each other, in their struggle for world supremacy. This tension increased when the Soviet Union tested its first atomic bomb in 1949.

<span style="font: 150% 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0.3px; margin: 0px;">**Cold War Spies in Canada**

<span style="font: 150% 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0.3px; margin: 0px;">Canada was rocked by a Cold War spy scare as World War II ended. Igor Gouzenko, a clerk in the Soviet embassy in Ottawa, risked his life to offer top-secret documents to the RCMP in return for a new life in Canada.

<span style="font: 150% 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0.3px; margin: 0px;">His file was shocking. Canadian government employees and even a member of Parliament were passing atomic secrets through a Soviet spy ring. Eighteen people were arrested for espionage and eight were found guilty. The highest ranking spy was Fred Rose, the only member of Parliament elected as a communist in Canada's history.

<span style="font: 150% 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0.3px; margin: 0px;">Few Canadians were concerned that the Mounties secretly held all the suspects and didn't permit them to have lawyers before they were formally charged. Communism was a much greater fear than the powers of the RCMP.

<span style="font: 150% 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0.3px; margin: 0px;">**Living Language**

<span style="font: 150% 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0.3px; margin: 0px;">The term "Cold War" was first used in 1945 to describe the conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union. It is now used to describe any lengthy period of hostile actions between nations that doesn't include armed battles. A cold war consists of threats, spies, and propaganda.

<span style="font: 150% 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0.3px; margin: 0px;">**Collective Security**

<span style="font: 150% 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0.3px; margin: 0px;">The Soviet Union had veto power at the United Nations Security Council. To the democratic nations, this meant that United Nations forces could never be used if the Soviets threatened to take over other nations to spread communism. Instead, they decided on a policy of containment to stop (or "contain") the spread of communism themselves. In 1949 Canada joined with the United States and Western European allies, including Great Britain and France, to form the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

<span style="font: 150% 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0.3px; margin: 0px;">NATO was the first Cold War collective security agreement. Members of a collective security agreement all promise to protect one another if any of them are attacked. Canada played an important part in the creation of NATO, and in getting the United States to become part of this peacetime military arrangement. All members stationed troops and air force squadrons in Europe to meet their obligations. It was the first time Canadian military personnel had been stationed abroad during peacetime.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%; line-height: normal;">In 1955 the Soviet Union organized communist Eastern Europe into its own alliance, the Warsaw Pact. Both of the superpowers were surrounded by their own armed camps. The Cold War was heating up.

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<span style="font: 150% 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0.3px; margin: 0px;">**Task**

<span style="font: 150% 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0.3px; margin: 0px;">1. Explain how each of the following increased post-war world tensions.

<span style="font: 150% 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0.3px; margin: 0px;">a) the superpowers <span style="font: 150% 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0.3px; margin: 0px;">b) the Iron Curtain <span style="font: 150% 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0.3px; margin: 0px;">c) espionage <span style="font: 150% 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0.3px; margin: 0px;">d) collective security

<span style="font: 150% 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0.3px; margin: 0px;">2. Using the four characteristics of democratic capitalism and communism, describe what sounds "fair" to you and what does not sound fair. Do this for each characteristic/each type of government system.