The Cold War Begins 1945 - 1952. Postwar Economic Anxieties Fear of second Great Depression Strikes Taft-Hartley Act (1947) Vetoed by Truman/ Congress

The Cold War Begins

1945 - 1952

Postwar Economic Anxieties Fear of second Great DepressionStrikes Taft-Hartley Act (1947)

• Vetoed by Truman/ Congress overrode veto

Outlawed the “closed” (all union) shopMade union liable for damages Required union leaders to take a non-Communist oath

Employment Act (1946)Gov’t policy to promote maximum employment, production, & purchasing powerCreated Council of Economic Advisers to the president

GI Bill of Rights

Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944

Sent GIs to schoolVeteran's Administration (VA) – provided for billions in loans to buy homes, farms, & businesses

Economic Boom 1950 –1970

Growth of the middle classWomen entered the workforce in large numbersPaved the way for the Civil Rights MovementFunded new welfare programs – Medicare Defense spending – Korean WarIncrease in fuel & electricity consumption Gains in productivity

Roots of Postwar Proseperity World War II’s impact on war production“permanent war economy”

Pentagon dollars spent in aerospace, plastics, and electronics industries (1950, Korea)

Cheap EnergyDoubled consumption of oil

EducationNearly 90% school-age enrolled in schools

Economic structure Mechanization on farms resulted in a shift away from agriculture

Society Changes

30 million changed residences every yearDr. Benjamin Spock’s The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care (1945)“The Sunbelt” See map p. 863

15 state stretching in a crescent from VA through FL and TX to AZ & CA Population soared

Couple looking at house

In postwar America, millions of families shopped for new houses in the country's burgeoning suburbs. In the first decade after the Second World War, 4.3 million veterans used GI Bill loan provisions to purchase single-family residences. Many of these men and women were members of what Tom Brokaw, NBC's news anchor, has called "the greatest generation." They survived the Great Depression, served in the war, and became parents of America's baby boomers. (H. Armstrong Roberts)

Couple looking at house

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Rush to the Suburbs “White Flight” out of the cities

Made possible by the FHA & VA providing guaranteed home loans & tax deductions

Levittown – NY’s Long Island (1940s)Designed by 2 brothersRevolutionized the techniques of home construction

African AmericansRefused loans by FHAPublic housing for blacks built in “black neighborhoods”

Baby Boomers

Demographic explosion 50 million babies by the end of the 1950s

Schools were overcrowded“Youth Culture” developed“Secondary Boom” – baby boomers had childrenFuture strain on Social Security

Yalta Conference

Feb 1945 – Stalin, FDR, ChurchillFree elections promised for Poland, Bulgaria, & RomaniaCalled for a San Francisco Conference to establish the United NationsDeal made with Stalin:

• Soviets promised land & joint control over the RR’s in Manchuria

• In return, Stalin would attack Japanese within 3 months of the defeat of Germany

The United States & The Soviet Union

Mutual suspicions / Cold War Communism & capitalism

Similarities: Both had been isolated from world affairs before WWIIHistory of conducting “missionary” diplomacy

The wartime “Grand Alliance” between US, USSR, & Britain was out of necessity & ended with the war

Shaping the Postwar World 1944 – International Monetary Fund (IMF)

Encouraged world trade by regulating currency exchange rates Founded the International Bank for Reconstruction & Development (World Bank)

• Soviets declined to participate

April 25, 1945 – United Nations ConferenceRepresentatives from 50 nations met in CASimilar to the League of Nations CovenantSecurity Council recreated – dominated by the Big 5 powers (US, Britain, China, USSR, & France)

United Nations Headquarters – NY City Successes

Helped preserve peace in Iran & KashmirRole in creating Israel – New Jewish state

• (recognized by the US in 1945)

ArmsUNESCO – (United Nations Educational, Scientific, & Cultural Organization)FAO – (Food & Agricultural Organization)WHO – (World Health Organization) UNRRA – (United Nations Relief & Rehabilitation Administration)

The Problem of Germany Nuremberg Trials

High ranking Nazis were tried for war crimes• 12 were hanged, 7 receive long jail terms, 1

committed suicide

Germany was divided into 4 military zones

Zones controlled by France, US, USSR, & Britain until free elections could be heldStalin refused to hold elections in his zoneBerlin was also divided into 4 zones

Problems emergeSoviets blockaded access to Berlin (1948)Berlin airlift – over a year/ organized by the USSoviets lifted to blockade in May 1949

West Germany Eventually became an independent country

East GermanyBecame a nominally independent “satellite” state of the USSR

Iron Curtain – separation or division in Europe between free & “satellite” states

Churchill and Truman, "Iron Curtain Speech," March 5, 1946On March 5, 1946, former British prime minister Winston S. Churchill (1874–1965) delivered a speech, which he intended for a worldwide audience, at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri. President Harry S. Truman (right) had encouraged Churchill (seated) to speak on two themes: the need to block Soviet expansion and the need to form the Anglo-American partnership. Always eloquent and provocative, Churchill denounced the Soviets for drawing an "iron curtain" across eastern Europe. This speech became one of the landmark statements of the Cold War. (Harry S. Truman Library)

Churchill and Truman, "Iron Curtain Speech," March 5, 1946


Berlin Air Lift--German children watching American planes bring food, 1948German children watching an American plane in "Operation Vittles" bring food and supplies to their beleaguered city. The airlift kept a city of 2 million people alive for nearly a year and made West Berlin a symbol of the West's resolve to contain the spread of Soviet communism. ((c) Bettmann/Corbis)

Berlin Air Lift--German children watching American planes bring food, 1948


Crystallizing the Cold War Containment Doctrine – 1947

George F. KennanCalled for a policy of “containment” against the inherent expansionism of communism

Truman Doctrine – March 1947Asked for $400 million to bolster Greece & TurkeyThe policy of the US should be to support free peoples who are resisting communism aggression

Marshall Plan – June 1947Economic recovery – help countries economically to prevent the spread of communism

Marshall Plan poster of shipThe goal of the Marshall Plan was to provide American economic support for the rebuilding of Europe's economy. By the time the plan ended, the United States had provided over $12.5 billion dollars to those European nations participating in the European Recovery Program. This poster demonstrated that with cooperation, Europe would soon be moving forward again. (Courtesy of George C. Marshall Foundation)

Marshall Plan poster of ship


The Cold War caused the US to:

1947 – National Security ActEstablished the Dept of Defense

• Housed in the Pentagon • Headed by the Sec of Defense – cabinet member• Joint Chiefs of Staff

Established National Security Council (NSC)• Advise the president on security matters

Established Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)

Selective Service resurrected the draft

NATO

US was invited to join into an European PactUS joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in 1949

An attack on one as an attack on allCommunism countries will form the Warsaw Pact

Soldiers of 11th Airborne Division watch atomic bomb explosion, 1951 tests in NevadaSoldiers of the 11th Airborne Division watch as an atomic explosion mushrooms into the sky during 1951 testing maneuvers in Nevada. ((c) Bettmann/Corbis)

Soldiers of 11th Airborne Division watch atomic bomb explosion, 1951 tests in Nevada


Postwar AsiaJapanese officials were tried for war crimes

18 sent to prison, 7 were hanged

Japan was occupied by General Douglas MacArthur

Dictated a constitution for the Japanese

Fall of China Jiang Jiesji (Chiang Kai-Shek) was forced to Taiwan Mao Zedong (Mao Tse-tung) took over & established a communist government

Identifying the CommunistsFear of communist spies1947- Truman launched a “loyalty” program

Organizations were identify as suspicious Loyalty Review Board investigated federal employees Loyalty oaths were required for certain jobs

1949 – 11 communists were tried under the Smith Act of 1940

First peace time anti-sedition act since 1798Upheld in Dennis v. US (1951)

Communist Witch Hunt 1938 – HUAC (House Committee on Un-American Activities)

Investigate subversionRichard Nixon led the chase after Alger HissHiss was eventually charged with perjury & sentenced to 5 years

Senator Joseph McCarthy (1950)Charged that there were scores of known communist in the State Department Could not prove anythingEnded after he accused the US Army in televised hearings Censure by the Senate

The Witch Hunt Continues

1950 – McCarran Internal Security BillVetoed by Truman/ overridden by CongressAuthorized the president to arrest & detain suspicious people during an “internal security emergency”

Julius & Ethel Rosenberg Convicted in 1951 of espionage (gave info on atomic bomb to the Soviets)1953 – executed

Democratic Divisions in 1948

Republicans controlled CongressRep – Thomas DeweyDem – Harry S Truman

Split the party

“Dixiecrats”/ States’ Rights Party J. Strom ThurmondProgressive Party – Henry A. Wallace

Election of 1948Truman goes on his “Whistle Stop” Tour

Lashed out against Taft-Hartley law & the “do nothing” Congress

• Gained support for civil rights, improved labor benefits, & health insurance

“Dewey Defeats Truman” headlineTruman’s Plans

Provide aid to prevent the spread of communismFair Deal- improved housing, full employment, higher minimum wage, better farm prices supports, new TVAs, & an extension of Social Security

• Only succeed 3 areas – SS, housing, & min wage

Truman with "Dewey Defeats Truman" headlines, 1948So few pollsters predicted that President Harry S. Truman (1884–1972) would win the 1948 presidential election that the Chicago Tribune announced his defeat before all the returns were in. Here a victorious Truman pokes fun at the newspaper for its premature headline. (Corbis-Bettmann)

Truman with "Dewey Defeats Truman" headlines, 1948


The Korean WarKorea was split after WWII along the 38th parallel

North – Soviet controlledSouth – US controlled

June 25, 1950 – North invaded South KoreaNSC-68 // recommended by Truman

US should increase military spending

UN Security Council condemned actions of North Korea

Asked for assistance to restore peaceTruman ordered naval & air units to support South Korea

• Ordered General Douglas MacArthur to Korea

Korean WarThe Korean War was one of ebb and flow, advances and retreats--the movement of troops up and down the rugged Korean peninsula. Here, American troops advance while Korean women and children march in the opposite direction hoping to avoid the destruction of war. Over 33,000 Americans lost their lives in Korea during the conflict. (Corbis-Bettmann)

Korean War


Military Seesaw MacArthur led the Inchon Landing

Very successfulPushed North back across the 38th parallel

UN okayed MacArthur to invade NorthAs long as Soviets & Chinese didn’t interfere

Chinese forces did get involvedStalemate resulted

MacArthur wanted to attack China & Truman disagreed

Truman was forced to fire MacArthurMacArthur was still welcomed as a hero

Documents

The Cold War Begins 1945 - 1952. Postwar Economic Anxieties Fear of second Great Depression Strikes Taft-Hartley Act (1947) Vetoed by Truman/ Congress