The COLD WAR [APUSH Review Unit 8 Topic 2] Period 8: 1945-1980

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In this video Heimler takes you through Unit 8 Topic 2 of the AP U.S. History curriculum which is set in period 8 (1945-1980).

Right after the end of World War II, the Cold War began as an ideological battle between the United States and the Soviet Union. The U.S. wanted to remake the world into the image of democratic capitalism, while the Soviet Union wanted to remake the world into the image of authoritarian communism. And despite a massive arms race between the two nations in which weapons like the hydrogen bomb were developed, there was no actual fighting between the to belligerents, and that's why it's called the COLD War.

However, there were many proxy wars between these two powers, most notably the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. In these wars, the U.S. and Soviet Union backed different groups who corresponded to their values and in many cases, the proxy wars ended as stalemates. Even so, President Truman's doctrine of lending aid to nations threatened by communism (part of the larger idea of containment) necessitated participation in these proxy wars.