Cold War Explained: US vs USSR 🥶

In which John Green teaches you about the Cold War, the decades-long conflict between the USA and the USSR. The Cold War was called cold because of the lack of actual fighting, but this is inaccurate. There was plenty of fighting, from Korea to Viet Nam to Afghanistan, but we'll get into that stuff next week. This week we'll talk about how the Cold War started. In short, it grew out of World War II. Basically, the Soviets occupied Eastern Europe and the US-supported western Europe. This setup would spill across the world, with client states on both sides. It's all in the video. You should just watch it.

Hey teachers and students - Check out CommonLit's free collection of reading passages and curriculum resources to learn more about the events of this episode. The Cold War spanned over four decades of American history, beginning with the paranoia of McCarthyism, a political witch hunt for communists: https://www.commonlit.org/texts/mccarthyism
President Kennedy delivered an Inaugural Address during the height of the Cold War, initiating a space race: https://www.commonlit.org/texts/president-kennedy-s-inaugural-address
President Kennedy also oversaw Cuba's emergence as a Cold War rival of the United States:
https://www.commonlit.org/texts/cold-war-rivals-cuba-and-the-united-states

Want to learn more about the Cold War? Check out these other videos from Crash Course:
USA vs USSR Fight! The Cold War: Crash Course World History #39:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9HjvHZfCUI

The Cold War in Asia: Crash Course US History #38:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2IcmLkuhG0

George HW Bush and the End of the Cold War: Crash Course US History #44:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-K19rVDxoM

The Cold War and Consumerism: Crash Course Computer Science #24:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8i38Yq1wX4

Post-War Rebuilding and the Cold War: Crash Course European History #41:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rkIqtV07HE

Chapters:
Introduction: The Cold War Era 00:00
The Aftermath of WWII 1:57
USSR Expansion & Containment 2:38
The Truman Doctrine 3:34
The Marshall Plan 5:01
The Berlin Crisis 6:18
Mystery Document 7:19
Consensus on Cold War Policies 8:28
Impact of the Cold War on Domestic Policy 10:03
Espionage, McCarthyism, and the Red Scare 10:53
Credits 12:49
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