Grade 9 History Notes Term 2

Grade 9 History notes: Term 2
The Nuclear Age and the Cold War
Tension between Russia, USA and Britain
Yalta conference
• Germany and Berlin divided up by allies
• Into 4 zones
• Would be shared between Britain, USA, France and Russia
Potsdam conference
• Soviet Union, Britain and USA decide how to punish the defeated Nazi
Germany
• Three nations represented by Joseph Stalin, Winston Churchill/Atlee

and Harry S. Truman
Key terms:
KGB – Russian secret police
Atomic bomb – much more powerful than other bombs, nuclear bomb
Reasons for tension between the Allies after WWII:
 Soviet Union occupying Central and Eastern Europe

 Britain had new prime minister – distrusted Stalin
 America had new president – also distrusted Stalin
 US tested atomic bomb
 Stalin sent KGB spies to spy on making of bomb
USSR vs. USA
Communism vs. Capitalism
Ideology – set of beliefs, values and ideas
Communist ideology
• Revolutionary movement that promotes violent overthrow of

capitalism
• Popular ideology among poor people all over the world
• Governments of America and Western Europe thought communism
was a threat to them
Features of communism:
• Communists do not like a few rich people controlling all the wealth
• Government should rule in interests of all, not just rich
• Wealth should be shared equally between people
• Communist economy is centrally planned to make sure that there is
economic equality
• No one can own private property or make a profit
• State owns all large industries and other sources of wealth
• Communist governments are not usually democratic
Features of Capitalism
• Capitalist ideology
• Belief that there is nothing wrong with some people being very rich,
and others being poor
• Possibility of making profit motivates people to work harder
• Individuals own private property
• Government does not control the economy
• Rights of individuals who own huge industries and gather great wealth
are protected while others remain very poor
• Capitalist governments may be democratic, but can be fascist
End of WWII and Start of Nuclear Age
• Einstein's theories/ideas were used to develop the first nuclear

bomb
• Manhattan Project – top secret research project to research and
produce an atomic bomb – group of scientists
• Leader Robert Oppenheimer
• The bomb they were trying to create was codenamed ‘The Gadget’
• To defeat Japan and end WWII, America dropped two atomic bombs
on two Japanese cities
• Hiroshima bombed on 6 August and Nagasaki bombed on 9 August
• They were chosen because they produced weapons of war for Japan
• 14 August 1945 Japan finally admitted defeat
• Second World War ends
• Since America dropped the atomic bombs we have been living in a
nuclear age
Why did the USA drop the bombs?

• American government argued that the only way to end the war
(WWII) in the Pacific against Japan was to drop the bombs
• The three main reasons:
• To avoid further casualties
• Massive casualties on both sides would have occurred if they continued
to fight
• Keep Stalin out of Japan and to frighten USSR
• American government saw the bomb as a way to keep Stalin in check
• To intimidate the Soviet Union
• USA wanted to show they were militarily superior to USSR
• Frighten Japanese military leaders into surrendering
• Destruction caused by bombs would instill fear of further destruction
and force Japan to surrender
Was the dropping of the bombs justified?
 Were there good enough reasons for US to drop bombs
 Justified:
 Ended war, more people would have died
 Saved lives
 Treatment of Chinese people by Japanese
 Not Justified:
 People suffered greatly
 Caused extreme human suffering and pain
 Many died and suffered from after-effects of bomb
 Children orphaned
 Destruction of the cities
 People died of radiation sickness several years later
Superpowers and Cold War
Who were the superpowers?

 Bitter rivalry/competition developed after WWII between capitalist
USA and communist Soviet Union
What was the Cold War?
 Both countries wanted to spread their powers in the world
 They could not use nuclear weapons in a ‘hot war’ it was too
destructive
 So, they fought each other in the Cold War, which was about gaining
world power in certain areas rather than fighting on a battlefield
Areas of conflict and competition
Arms race
 Competition where USA and Soviet Union tried to build up the most
nuclear weapons during the Cold War
 Policy known as Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD)
 If one side attacked with nuclear weapons, the other would retaliate
Cuba
 Countries competed for control over Cuba in what almost became a

‘hot war’
 American government tried to overthrow the Cuban government in Bay
of Pigs invasion
 Cuba asked Russia for help
 Threat of nuclear war between the two countries in the Cuban missile
crisis
Space race
 Space race grew out of Cold War

 Russians develop rocket technology
 In 1957 Soviet Union put first satellite into space
 USA felt inferior and decided to compete in ‘space race’ with Russians
 US and USSR began long competition to be first in the exploration of
space
 Cold War also fought in space
First person in space
 In 1957 Russians sent a dog called Laika into space
 In 1961, Russian astronaut, Yuri Gagarin, was the first person to go
into space
Race to the moon
 President Kennedy made a clear goal: landing a man on the moon
before the Russians
First moon landing
 On July 20 1969, three astronauts, Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins made
it to the moon
 Neil Armstrong was the first man to walk on the moon
 This sent a message that America could compete in and win the Cold
War
Division of Germany 1946

• Western Allies (USA, Britain, France) occupies western Germany and
Soviet Union occupied east
• Britain, France and USA united the zones politically this became
West Germany
• Soviet Union imposed communist rule on eastern zone and it was
called East Germany
• West Germany – capitalist
• East Germany – communist
• Millions of people emigrated from East to West damaging East
German economy
Division of the city of Berlin 1946

• Berlin is the capital city of Germany
• City was divided into West Berlin occupied by Western Allies and East
berlin occupied by Soviet Union
• About 60 000 people from East went to West daily to work in factories
and workshops
• For 13 years people could move freely in both parts of the city
Berlin Wall 1961

• August 1961 USSR ordered blocking off of East Berlin from West
Berlin
• Barbed wire fence put up across the border
• Construction workers began building a solid wall
• People living in East Germany and East berlin no longer allowed to
go West Berlin
• Outrage in the West
• Berlin Wall was heavily guarded and about a hundred people were
killed trying to cross the wall
• Reasons they built the wall:

• People were emigrating from East to West
• Communist economy in the east was suffering
• East Germany losing many skilled people
End of Cold War 1989
 Fall of the Berlin Wall 1989

 Mikhail Gorbachev became leader of USSR in 1985
 Russian economy had become inefficient
 Reforms introduced in USSR called perestroika
 New freedoms given to Soviet people including freedom of speech
 USA and USSR, President Bush and Gorbachev declared Cold War
officially over in 1989
 1991 Soviet Union dissolved and communist government came to
an end

Grade 9 History Notes Term 2

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Grade 9 History notes: Term 2

The Nuclear Age and the Cold War

Tension between Russia, USA and Britain

• Three nations represented by Joseph Stalin, Winston Churchill/Atlee

KGB – Russian secret police

Reasons for tension between the Allies after WWII:

 Soviet Union occupying Central and Eastern Europe

Communism vs. Capitalism

Ideology – set of beliefs, values and ideas

• Revolutionary movement that promotes violent overthrow of

End of WWII and Start of Nuclear Age

• Einstein's theories/ideas were used to develop the first nuclear

Why did the USA drop the bombs?

Was the dropping of the bombs justified?

 Were there good enough reasons for US to drop bombs

Superpowers and Cold War

Who were the superpowers?

Areas of conflict and competition

 Countries competed for control over Cuba in what almost became a

 Space race grew out of Cold War

Division of Germany 1946

Division of the city of Berlin 1946

Berlin Wall 1961

• Reasons they built the wall:

End of Cold War 1989

 Fall of the Berlin Wall 1989

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