CHAPTER 27: THE COLD WAR1945 – 1989 [only events until 1953 will be covered]Mireya Carpio, Khristian Decastro, Robyn HarrimanPeriod 3
POST-WWII AMERICA
THE AMERICAN ECONOMY
The Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944 [AKA GI Bill of Rights] provided economic and educational benefits to WWII veterans
Lack of consumer goods and rise in income in WWII led to purchasing goods on impulse, causing rapid inflation
Rapid inflation caused labor unrest Veterans began taking back jobs of
women and those of racial minority
THE FAIR DEAL Proposed by Truman for:
Government provision of atomic research Fair employment practices and raising minimum
wage Public housing and slum clearance Environmental and public works programming
Shot down my conservatives, being compared to New Deal reform
81st Congress, after Truman’s election Raised minimum wage, created low-income
housing, expanded financial benefits Failed to aid any other Fair Deal points
1948 ELECTION
A new Progressive Party emerged, Henry A. Wallace
Republicans headed by Thomas E. Dewey, who had enormous popularity over Truman
Southern conservatives left the Democratic Party to create the States’ Rights [or Dixiecrat] Party
After 32,000 miles of campaigning, Truman still managed to win the election
THE EFFECTS OF THE NUCLEAR AGE
Film Noir Radios tested emergency systems, and
schools and office buildings constantly practiced air raid drills
Fallout shelters were built in both public buildings and private homes
A poll in 1948 showed that two-thirds of Americans believed that nuclear technology would eventually be only beneficial
Nuclear power plants were rapidly created
FOR REAL THIS TIME
THE COLD WAR
SOVIET IDEOLOGY
Accepted by the Soviet Union and its Eastern European states
Goal: to spread communism throughout the globe
Command economy Having sole control of particular areas
of strategic interest
AMERICAN IDEOLOGY
Accepted by the US and other “Western” Democratic nations
Goal: to contain communism and eventually destroy it
Capitalist economy Abandoning traditional military
alliances and spheres of influence Reestablishing international relations
through democratic processes (an international organization)
METHODS OF ‘FIGHTING’ THE COLD WAR
USA USSR
Espionage CIA KGB
Arms Race Beating That
Nuclear Escalation
Space Exploration
Proxy WarDemocracy and
Capitalism
Communism and Command
Economy
ORIGINS OF TENSIONS
“The Big Three”: FDR, Churchill, Stalin Wartime
Atlantic Charter of 1941 Halting Western front on Germany
Post-WWII [Yalta Conference of 1941] Poland [and eventually all Soviet states] Pro-
Western or Pro-Communist? Result: agreed on balance, but Stalin tended to put
Communist gov’t officials in charge without election
Germany: Reconstruction or Reparation? Result: Four-war division of Germany and of Berlin
THE CHINA DILEMMA
Mao Zedong’s communist forces vs. Chiang Kai-Shek’s nationalist government
American public favored a third force to dominate both of these groups
When civil war broke, the US sent money and supplies to Chiang
Mao became the victory, establishing China as a Communist nation
THE CONTAINMENT POLICY
US and its allies to contain further Soviet expansion rather than create an international democratic compromise
Stalin attempted to gain control of Turkey and Greece, but his efforts were defeated by the $400 million aid provided by Congress to support the free peoples
Foundation for the Truman Doctrine
THE MARSHALL PLAN
Drafted by Secretary of State George C. Marshall in June 1947 For the welfare of Europeans To remove dependency on the US To expand the European market for American goods To prevent Western European gov’ts from falling into
Communism
Signed by 16 European nations, rejected by USSR and its satellite states
Created the Economic Cooperation Administration, which channeled $12 billion of aid into Europe
MOBILIZATION AT HOME
Atomic Energy Commission established in 1946, in charge of testing and researching nuclear warfare
National Security Act of 1947 enacted, reforming major military and diplomatic institutions, and creating a new Department of Defense
Selective Service System revived in 1948 in case of war
CIA created to collect information and eventually engage secretly in political and military operations
BERLIN AIRLIFT
US, UK, and France agreed to merge the three western zones of German occupation into the West German Republic
On June 24, 1948, Stalin placed a blockade on western Berlin, implying that Germany’s split meant that Western controllers should lose its outpost in Soviet Territory
Unwilling to risk war, Truman’s airlift sent supplies, food, and 2.5 million tons of other materials to Berlin to keep the 2 million people there alive
NATO
[National Atlantic Treaty Organization] Consolidated 12 nations on April 4, 1949,
stating that any attack on one member was an attack against all members
Initially designed as a defense against possible Soviet invasion
Influenced the Soviet Union to create their own alliance of Communist nations under the Warsaw Pact of 1955
NATO MEMBERS CONSOLIDATED BY 1950
NSC-68
[National Security Council report, number 68]
UK refused to continue aiding Germany during the Berlin Airlift
Report states that the US cannot rely on other nations to contain communism, and must rather take its own leadership
Expanded military power, quadrupling the American defense budget
1950-1953
THE KOREAN WAR
INSTIGATION
Both USSR and US sent troops to Korea, unwilling to leave
Nation agreed on temporary boundary on 38th parallel
USA stated that did not consider South Korea in its “defense perimeter”; North Koreans tempted to invade
US able to win UN assistance for South Korea
UNSETTLING BOUNDARIES
Boundary pushed past the 38th parallel by northern forces, capturing the southern capital of Seoul
American forces (under MacArthur) pushed boundary back past 38th parallel, almost reaching the USSR
On November 4, 1950, the Chinese sent their own troops in favor of the Communist North
Boundary yet again pushed to the south of the 38th parallel
RELIEVING MACARTHUR
MacArthur resisted Truman’s limits on military discretion, insisting that China should be invaded, or somehow punished
MacArthur sent a letter to House Republican leader Joseph W. Martin, stating, “There is no substitute for victory.”
Appalled, Truman relieved him of duty on April 11, 1951
THE END OF THE KOREAN WAR
Opposing forces met in Panmunjom, but never reached a final decision until 1953
Established the permanent boundary between the north and South
Like WWII, the war pumped substantial amounts government funds into the economy
Mobilization and public support, however, were not as great
DOMESTIC FEAR OF COMMUNISM
REPUBLICAN DOMINATION
HUAC formed to battle Democrats House Un-American Activities
Committee performed and publicized investigations to prove that the government would not have tolerated Communist subversion if it was not under Democratic rule
HUAC interviewed Hollywood writers and producers
“Hollywood Ten”
ALGER HISS
Whittaker Chambers accused Alger Hiss of the State Department of sending State Department documents to the USSR in 1937 and 1938
Hiss not tried for espionage because of statue of limitations
Because of Richard Nixon’s efforts, Hiss was eventually arrested for perjury
Hiss was imprisoned for several years.
THE FEDERAL LOYALTY PROGRAM
1947 – Truman permits a program to review the loyalty of federal employees
1950 – Truman allows the firing of employees deemed “bad security risks”
McCarran Internal Security Act of 1950 Forced al Communist organizations in the
US to register with the gov’t FBI directory J. Edgar Hoover
investigated and harassed alleged radicals
THE ROSENBURG CASE
USSR successfully detonated an atomic bomb in 1949; Americans believed that the US gave the USSR atomic research information
David Greenglass of the Manhattan Project, admitted to have provided info to USSR agents
Admitted that the masterminds were his sister and brother-in-law, ordinary New York couple Ethel and Julius Rosenburg
MCCARTHYISM
Harsh investigations spread to other agencies
Publicized investigations, going through federal offices and American embassies
Joseph McCarthy, Wisconsin Republican Senator
During a speech in Wheeling, West Virginia, claimed to have a list of 205 known communists working in the State Department