Yalta ConferenceFebruary 1945

Temporary division of Germany into 4 zones

“Free & unfettered” elections

Join war against Japan

International conference

Tensions

U.S.: Upset that Stalin had been an ally of Germany and only sided with Allies after invasion in June 1941

Soviet Union: Resented the delay in opening of 2nd European front by Allies

Allies Clash

United States

Capitalism: Private citizens control almost all economic activity

Citizens vote to elect the President and Congress

Competing political parties

Soviet Union

Communism: State controlled all property and economic activity

Communist party established a totalitarian government

No opposing parties

Different agendasUnited States

New world order in which all nations have the right to self determinationGain access to raw materials and markets for its products Rebuild European governments to ensure stability & create new markets for American goods Reunite Germany because Europe would be more secure if Germany were productive

Soviet UnionEncourage Communism in other countriesRebuild its war-ravaged economy using Eastern Europe’s industrial equipment and raw materialsControl Eastern Europe to balance U.S. influence in Western EuropeKeep Germany divided and weak so that it would never again threaten the Soviet Union

“An iron curtain has descended across the continent” Winston Churchill

Satellite Nations: Countries dominated politically and economically by the Soviet Union

Iron Curtain: Phrase used by Winston Churchill in 1946 to describe an imaginary line that separated Communist countries in the Soviet bloc of Eastern Europe from other European countries.

Foreign policyCold War: Indirect but hostile conflict between the U.S. and the Soviet Union from 1945-1991.

The Truman Doctrine: U.S. policy to provide economic and military aid to free nations threatened by internal or external opponents.

Primary goal was containment of communism$400 million in aid to Turkey & Greece

Economic policyGeorge C. Marshall proposed that the U.S. provide aid to all European nations that needed it. “Not directed against any country or doctrine but against hunger, poverty, desperation and chaos.”

The Marshall Plan – United States supplied economic aid to European nations to help them rebuild after WWII.

16 countries participated$13 billion in aid receivedStalin refused aid

Military PolicyNATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization): A defensive military alliance formed in 1949 by various Western European countries, the U.S. and Canada. 1st time U.S. joined a military alliance during peacetime.

Similar to the League of Nations proposed after WWI.

Americans were now willing to give up sovereignty in order to avoid future worldwide conflicts.

Berlin Blockade

France, Britain & U.S. reunify Western Germany

West Berlin is located in Soviet occupied territory

Stalin cuts off highway & rail access

U.S. & Britain airlift vital supplies to West Berlin

Review

What was the primary objective of the Truman Doctrine?

What countries were supposed to benefit from the Marshall Plan?

What is the significance of NATO? How did the Allies respond to

Stalin’s Berlin blockade?

CHINA

Mao Zedong

Communist Leader Encouraged

peasants to learn to read

Helped improve food production

By 1945 much of northern China was under Communist control

Chiang Kai-shek

Nationalist Leader U.S. officials viewed

his government as inefficient & corrupt

Policies & tactics were highly questionable

CIVIL WAR ERUPTS

1944-1947: U.S. acts as a peacemaker

$2 billion in aid to Nationalists

May 1949: Chiang and his government fled to Taiwan (Formosa)

China falls to Communism. Containment policy fails.

Korea

Divided after WWII 38th parallel marked the

division between North & South Korea

North: Democratic People’s Republic of Korea led by Kim Il Sung

South: Republic of Korea led by Syngman Rhee

Stage 1

June 25, 1950: North Korean troops invade

June 27, 1950: Truman orders troops into Korea

16 nations sent troops (90% were American)

STAGE 2

North Korea drives south, captures Seoul.

UN & South Korean troops pushed to Pusan in the southeast corner of Korea.

STAGE 3

General MacArthur launches a counter attack

Surprise amphibious landing at Inchon

Troops also march north from Pusan

North Korean troops surrendered or fled across 38th parallel

STAGE 4

UN troops chase retreating North Korean troops across the 38th parallel

November 1950: UN troops reach the Yalu River

On the verge of victory in Korea

STAGE 5

China enters the fight UN troops forced back

across the 38th parallel

STAGE 6

Stalemate: Neither side is able to gain any ground

MacArthur recommends extending the war into China

Armistice ends the war in July 1953

Final Outcome

Communism had been contained, but Korea was still divided

54,000 American lives lost $67 billion spent Dwight D. Eisenhower elected 1952 Fear of Communism increased Prompted the hunt for

“Communist” in America

“In a free country, we punish men for the crimes they commit, but never for the opinions they have”

Harry S Truman

HUAC House Un-American

Activities Committee 1947: Began

investigating Communist influence in the movie industry

Accused people of sneaking propaganda into films

Hollywood ten 10 “Unfriendly”

witnesses refused to testify

Felt that hearings were unconstitutional

Sent to prison because they refused to testify

Anyone else who was suspected of being Communist was blacklisted

SPIES WITHIN Minor activists in American

Communist Party Accused of leaking

information about the atomic bomb to U.S.S.R.

Denied charges & pled the 5th. Claimed they were being persecuted because they were Jewish and had radical beliefs.

Found guilty of espionage and sentenced to death.

Julius & Ethel Rosenberg

SPIES WITHIN Alger Hiss, former

State Dept. official Accused of spying

for the U.S.S.R. Could not charge

with espionage because too much time had passed

Convicted of perjuryRichard Nixon gained fame

for pursuing charges against Hiss

McCarthyism Joseph McCarthy:

Republican Senator from Wisconsin

Used anti-Communist platform to get re-elected

Unsubstantiated attacks Accusations without proof

Claimed to have the names of 57, 81 and 205 Communists in the State Department

If you had lived in this period and had been accused of being a Communist, what would you have done?