Cold War

The Cold War

Defining the Cold War

• A conflict between US (and its allies) and Soviet Union (and its allies) from 1945-1990 in which they didn’t directly confront each other on battlefield but through economic aid, tech. development, and proxy wars

Origins of the Cold War

• Tensions developed between U.S and Soviet Union during WWII

• The US and Soviet Union clashed because of different philosophies and goals for postwar Europe

Conflicting Postwar Goals

US:• Create a new world order

in which all nations have right to self-determination

• Rebuild Europe to ensure stability and create markets for U.S.

• Reunite Germany to keep it a strong buffer

• Create balance of power in Europe

Soviet Union:• Encourage communism

as a worldwide struggle• Rebuild Russia using

Eastern Europe's equipment and raw materials.

• Keep Germany divided and weak

• Gain power in Europe

Initial Conflict

• First major clash developed at the Potsdam Conference regarding war reparations and the future of Poland

Whoever occupies a territory also imposes his own social system. Everyone imposes his own social system as far as his own armies can reach. It cannot be otherwise.

Iron Curtain• “From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic an

iron curtain has descended across the Continent. Behind that line lie all the capitals of the ancient states of Central and Eastern Europe.” - Winston Churchill, 1946

Containment

• Truman administration adopted a policy of containment (using all resources to stop spread of communism) in response to development of Soviet satellite nations in Eastern Europe directly after WWII

The Truman Doctrine (1947)

• "The United States will defend free people and their free institutions at any place at any point in the world where outside communist aggression threatens that nation's internal stability."

Marshall Plan

• Established in 1947 to aid rebuilding of western Europe

1st Cold War Crisis- Berlin (1948)

• Germany and Berlin divided into 4 zones after WWII

• But US, France and Britain had no written agreement guaranteeing access to West Berlin

• Stalin closed all routes into West Berlin in 1948 when US, GB, and France created West Germany

• US responded through airlift

NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization)

• Military alliance founded in 1949 to counter Soviet military power

• A reaction to competition between US and Soviet Union in UN

• Includes US, Canada, and Western Europe

1949: Growing Threats

• Soviet influence reached as far as East Germany

• Soviet Union exploded its first atomic bomb

• China became communist

• Soviets supported North Korea in preparation for attack on democratic South Korea

Failure of Containment in China

• Since before WWII, US had supported Nationalists under Chiang Kai-shek

• But communist under Mao Zedong took control of China in 1949

• Caused growing fear of communism to develop in US

Communism in Korea

• 1910-1945- Japan ruled Korea and eventually parts of China

• 1945- Japanese troops surrendered to Soviet forces near 38th parallel

• 1948- Republic of Korea (democratic South) and People’s Republic of Korea (communist North) formed

• 1950- North Korea invaded South Korea, UN authorized sending of troops to stop aggression

Views on the Causes of the Korea War

• South Korean View (in history textbook, 2001):– “Kim Il-Song secretly visited the Soviet Union and was promised the alliance of the

Soviets and China in case of war. Finally at dawn on June 25th, 1950 the North began their southward aggression along the 38th parallel. Taken by surprise at these unexpected attacks, the army of the Republic of Korea fought courageously to defend the liberty of their country.”

• American View (Truman, 1950):– “Communist forces attacked the Republic of Korea.”

• Soviet View (in Pravda newspaper, 1950):– “Provocative attacks of the puppet government of South Korea”– “An ‘open aggressive act’ of the Americans”

• North Korean View (in history textbook, 1999):– “The American invaders who had been preparing for war for a long time, aside their

puppets, finally initiated the war on June 25th…”

• Chinese View (Radio Peking broadcast, 1950):– “The American War of intervention in Korea has been a serious menace to the security of

China…”

The Korean War (June 1950 – June 1953)

• Stage 1: June 1950– North Korea attacks

• Stage 2: Sept. 1950– UN/South Korean forces

pushed to Pusan perimeter

The Korean War (June 1950 – July 1953)

• Stage 3: Sept. - Oct. 1950– UN forces recapture Seoul

and cut the North Korean supply lines

• Stage 4: Oct. 1950– UN forces push North

Korean forces north of the 38th parallel

The Korean War (June 1950 – July 1953)

• Stage 5: Nov. 1950– China enters the war and

take Seoul

• Stage 6: Jan. 1951– UN forces capture Seoul

and a stalemate along the 38th parallel begins

Politics of The Korean War

• 1951- General MacArthur called for attack on China, Truman fired him for continued insistence

• 1951- Soviet Union suggested ceasefire

• 1952- Dwight D. Eisenhower elected president, pledging to end the war

• July1953- Armistice signed creating stalemate along 38th parallel

Effects of Korean War

• Communism contained but created a split Korea

• High cost- $67 billion, 37,000 American lives, 2.5 million total causalities

• Increased fear of communist aggression and contributed to Red Scare in US

• Continued stalemate along Korean border and North Korean nuclear ambitions today

Red Scare

• At the height of WWII, 100,000 U.S. citizens claimed membership in the Communist Party

• The beginning of the Cold War caused many to fear communist influence in the U.S.

The Dot GameObject: To form a group based on secret identities...

Procedure: •You will each receive a piece of paper, some of them have dots, the rest do not.•When you get your paper, secretly look at it, and immediately put it in your pocket.•If you have a dot, DO NOT tell anyone.•The goal is to form as large a group of "non-dots" as possible. The whole group will lose if you have even one dot. However, that one dot will individually win for being the only dot member in the group.•Remember, everyone in the class is going to deny having a dot, so if you see anyone who seems suspicious, call them out on it verbally. Those with dots must bluff to convince others that they do not have a dot!

Debriefing the Dot Game

• How did you feel when you discovered you had a blank piece of paper? A dot?

• For those who were accused of being a "dot," how did you feel? What made the accuser fearful or suspicious?

• Given that there was no way to know for sure who was or was not a "dot," why did you try so hard to convince others that certain class members were "dots?"

• How does this relate to the Cold War?

Loyalty Review Board

• In 1947, Truman established the Loyalty Review Board to investigate govt. employees

• Between 1947-1951, 212 employees were fired as security risks

• Another 2,900 resigned

House Un-American Activities Committee

• Formed in 1947 to investigate Communist influence both inside and outside the U.S. govt.

• First investigated Hollywood- believed communists in Hollywood were sneaking Communist propaganda into films

Hollywood Ten

Blacklists

• In response to the HUAC hearings, Hollywood executives blacklisted 500 actors, directors, writers and producers

• Destroyed careers• "If you can't crush the

commies, you can nail a neighbor." -Herb Block

Alger Hiss and the Rosenbergs

Joseph McCarthy and McCarthyism

• Republican Wisconsin Senator

• Claimed communists were taking over the U.S. government and that the Democratic Party was guilty of treason for allowing it

• February 1950- claimed he had uncovered 205 communist agents in the State Department

• Led to more “loyalty investigations”

From "Better Dead than Red"

McCarthy's Downfall

• In 1954, McCarthy made accusations against the U.S. Army

• In a televised Senate hearing McCarthy, bullied witnesses and alienated the viewing audience

• Senate censured McCarthy for bringing it dishonor

• Died a broken man in 1957