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Wall street crash: Cold war and Black america

Berlin/ Americans came off badly – been caught lying- propaganda victory for USSR./ New American president Kennedy promises to get tough on Communism.

BERLIN WALL

1. Causes

· Growing tension (U2 crisis/ Kennedy finances anti-Communist forces in Laos and Vietnam)

· Refugees (West Berlin enjoyed much higher standard than East Berlin./ 1945 –1960 3 million people crossed the border – a propaganda point for the US – most were skilled workers)

· Sabotage –The Russians claimed that America used West Berlin for spies and sabotage in east Germany..

2. Events

13 August 1961– East Germans erected a barbed wire wall overnight (later stone)/ All East – West movement was stopped./ Wall fortified with barbed wire and guns./Western powers could do nothing.

CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS

1. Causes

· Superpower tension – U2 – Berlin Wall – Laos – Vietnam

· Fidel Castro’s Cuba – only 90 miles off coast of America./ Close relationship with USSR (oil, machinery and money in return for sugar)/ Cuba nationalises American companies

· Bay of Pigs – (April 1961) America sent in rebels in but they were defeated (a humiliation).

· Missile bases – 14 October 1962: USA U2 spy planes photographs Soviet missile sites on Cuba.

2. Events

· Kennedy ordered a naval blockade and threatened invasion.

· For 10 days the world was on the brink of nuclear war.

· Kennedy promised to remove US missiles from Turkey

· 28 October Khrushchev removed the missiles and the crisis was over

3. Results

· Khrushchev seemed to have failed

· Kennedy became the hero of the Western world

· Telephone hot line set up between Moscow and Washington.

· (1963) – Nuclear test ban treaty signed.

By the early 1970s, relations between the USA and the USSR were easing. Several factors contributed to this:

· The Vietnam war had ended.

· Both the Soviet Union and United States had improved their relations with China.

· The cost of the arms race affected the economies of both superpowers adversely.

· Greater awareness of the dangers of the arms race was seen.

· A Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (Salt) was signed by the USA and USSR in 1972.

· This limited the number of anti-ballistic missiles (ABM).

· The testing of certain nuclear weapons was banned in 1973.

· The European borders of 1945 were recognised.

· Both superpowers promised to respect human rights at the Helsinki conference of [next page]