USA vs USSR Fight! The Cold War: Crash Course World History #39

CrashCourse
18 Oct 201212:16
EducationalLearning
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TLDRThis video discusses the Cold War rivalry between the capitalist United States and communist Soviet Union that shaped global politics for decades after WWII. It covers the nuclear arms race, Soviet control over Eastern Europe, the Berlin Wall, the Space Race, and proxy conflicts in Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East. The video ultimately argues that economic weaknesses and reforms under Gorbachev led the Soviet system to unravel by the 1990s, ending the Cold War standoff.

Takeaways
  • 😀 The Cold War was an ideological rivalry between the capitalist USA and communist USSR that played out globally
  • 👥 Both sides feared the other wanted to destroy their political and economic systems
  • 💣 The nuclear arms race meant both sides developed weapons capable of destroying humanity
  • 🌍 The Cold War expanded beyond Europe to Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America
  • 🕵️‍♂️ Covert operations by both sides aimed to prevent countries from joining the other side
  • 🛢 Trying to stop the spread of communism often led the US to support authoritarian regimes
  • 🚩 Neither capitalism or communism proved clearly better for developing 'Third World' countries
  • 📈 Ultimately the Soviet socialist economy could not keep pace with Western growth
  • 📝 Gorbachev's reforms of glasnost and perestroika opened up Soviet politics and economics
  • 😮 In just a few years in the late 1980s, communist states across Eastern Europe collapsed
Q & A

  • What was the main rivalry during the Cold War?

    -The main rivalry during the Cold War was between the USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) and the USA (United States of America). It was an ideological struggle between communism and capitalism that played out across the globe.

  • Why was the Cuban Missile Crisis significant?

    -The Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962 was one of the closest moments the world came to nuclear war during the Cold War. It was a tense standoff between the US and USSR over the placement of Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba.

  • What was the strategy of containment?

    -Containment was the US strategy to stop the spread of communism by standing up to the Soviets wherever they tried to expand their influence. This included spending money to rebuild Europe and support anti-communist forces around the world.

  • What led to the end of the Cold War?

    -The policies of glasnost (openness) and perestroika (economic reform) introduced by Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev opened up Soviet society and led to revolutions across Eastern Europe that brought down communist governments in 1989-90.

  • What was the Berlin Wall?

    -The Berlin Wall was built by East Germany in 1961 to stop people from fleeing its communist rule to West Berlin. For 28 years it physically divided Berlin and symbolized the Iron Curtain of the Cold War.

  • What was the Marshall Plan?

    -The Marshall Plan was a $13 billion aid package from the US to help rebuild Western Europe after WW2. It was designed to stabilize capitalism and prevent the spread of communism.

  • What was thedomino theory' regarding Vietnam?

    -The domino theory held that if South Vietnam fell to communism, other countries in Asia would soon follow, threatening countries like Japan that had embraced capitalism.

  • What was the Warsaw Pact?

    -The Warsaw Pact was the 1955 military alliance between the USSR and its Eastern European satellites. It was a counter to NATO and helped the Soviets maintain control.

  • What were some proxy conflicts in the Cold War?

    -Instead of directly attacking each other, the US and USSR engaged in proxy conflicts in Korea, Vietnam, Nicaragua, Afghanistan and other countries to undermine each other's interests.

  • How did the Cold War end?

    -The Cold War ended between 1989-1991 with revolutions across Eastern Europe, the tearing down of the Berlin Wall, the collapse of the USSR, and communism being discredited around the world.

Outlines
00:00
😮 Opening Remarks and Introduction to the Cold War

The opening paragraph introduces John Green and Crash Course World History. John reminisces about his childhood experiences related to the Cold War, like hiding under desks for nuclear attack drills. A student interrupts to share a story about a Soviet defector guest speaker in elementary school who wanted Reagan to confront Gorbachev more aggressively.

05:02
😣 The Cold War as an Ideological and Global Conflict

The Cold War is framed as an ideological conflict between socialism/communism and capitalism/democracy that played out across the globe. The US and USSR each feared the other wanted to destroy their political and economic systems. With nuclear weapons entering the picture, the threat of destruction of humanity loomed as an unprecedented consequence of global conflict.

10:02
😥 Spread of Communism and Failed Revolutions

After WWII, the Soviets dominated Eastern Europe behind an Iron Curtain while the US rebuilt Japan and Western Europe with capitalist markets in mind. Attempts by Soviets to cut off access to Berlin were overcome by an airlift and later the Berlin Wall. The US policy of containment used extensive aid to try to stop communism's spread, with mixed results in Asia and Latin America. Failed revolutions in Soviet satellites like Hungary and Czechoslovakia demonstrated cracks in the communist system.

Mindmap
Keywords
💡Cold War
The Cold War was the rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union that shaped global politics for over 40 years after WW2. It involved indirect conflicts around the world as the superpowers competed for geopolitical dominance and promoted opposing capitalist and communist ideologies. As the video says, the threat of nuclear war and 'mutually assured destruction' made this long-standing tension uniquely dangerous in human history.
💡containment
The U.S. policy of containment involved preventing the spread of communism by standing up to Soviet influence across the world. As the video explains, this meant providing economic and military aid to European allies and intervening, often covertly, in foreign politics to install pro-American and anti-communist regimes.
💡iron curtain
Winston Churchill famously used the phrase 'iron curtain' to describe the division of Europe between the capitalist Western bloc and the communist Soviet bloc after WW2. This split into East and West defined the fronts of the Cold War.
💡Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 was the closest the Cold War came to turning 'hot' and erupting into direct nuclear conflict. The Soviets attempted to place nuclear missiles on Cuba, leading to a tense standoff with the U.S.
💡Vietnam War
The Vietnam War is considered one of the 'hot wars' within the larger Cold War, as communist North Vietnam and Viet Cong fighters waged guerilla warfare against the U.S.-backed South Vietnamese army throughout the 1960s and 70s. The USSR and China aided the North.
💡space race
The intense competition between the superpowers to achieve milestones in space exploration like launching satellites and landing men on the Moon was called the 'space race'. It was both a facet of the broader ideological fight between communism and capitalism and symbolic of national prestige.
💡MAD
MAD, or 'mutually assured destruction', described the doctrine of deterrence that developed as the U.S. and USSR acquired enough nuclear weapons to destroy each other many times over. This precarious balance of power prevented direct war but created an anxious stalemate.
💡perestroika and glasnost
Perestroika and glasnost were reform policies introduced by Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in the 1980s to open up political expression and decentralize the stagnant Soviet economy. By reducing censorship and state control, glasnost enabled dissent that ultimately dissolved Soviet power.
💡Solidarity
The Solidarity movement began as a Polish dockworkers union in the 1980s but grew into a massive anti-communist political force that challenged Soviet control. The vote it won in 1989 elections was an early crack heralding the crumbling of single-party rule in the Eastern Bloc.
💡fall of the Berlin Wall
The sudden opening of the Berlin Wall in 1989 after it physically and ideologically divided Germany's capital for 28 years signaled the imminent end of the Cold War and collapse of communist authority across Eastern Europe shortly after.
Highlights

The Cold War was a rivalry between the USSR and the USA that played out globally.

The U.S. feared that the USSR wanted to destroy democratic and capitalist institutions. And the Soviets feared that the US wanted to dominate Europe.

It’s not paranoia if they really are out to get you.

The decision to drop the first Atomic Bombs on Japan was motivated in part by a desire to intimidate the Soviets.

The nuclear arms race led to arsenals so big that the U.S. and USSR agreed on the strategy of "mutually assured destruction."

The Korean and Vietnam Wars saw lots of fighting between communists and capitalists.

Almost every part of the globe was involved in the Cold War in some way.

Over time, state-run economies just generally don’t fare as well as private enterprise.

Gorbachev opened up the Soviet political and economic systems with contested elections, less censorship, more autonomy, and more private enterprise.

In 1989-90, communist states in Europe collapsed rapidly in what became known as the Fall of Nations.

The transition away from communism was sometimes violent and painful.

Just 20 years after the Cold War ended, it's hard to believe the world was once dominated by two superpowers held in check by mutually assured destruction.

Living in the post-Cold War nuclear age, we should remember that the past feels distant even when it's near.

The future seems assured even though it isn't.

Time seems to slow as it approaches us.

Transcripts

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