A New Global Power

The Bomb Readings

• What justifications were contained in the readings?

• Who justified the bombings?

• Were we justified in bombing Hiroshima and Nagasaki?

• What fallout are we still facing from nuclear weapons?

Effects of WWII

• US and USSR emerge as the two superpowers in the world – we now enter a bipolar era of foreign policy.

• The Marshall Plan: US plan to aid Europe in the aftermath of World War II. Part of the Truman Doctrine. • Remove tariffs

• Modernize industry

• Rebuild Europe

• Stop the spread of communism.

The Truman Doctrine

• Outlines US foreign policy in the postwar period – containment of communism in Europe.

• Essential aspect of US expanding its foreign policy to foreign nations.

• Stresses modernization, stability, and no direct military intervention.

• Echoes today?

The Marshall Plan

• Named after Secretary of State George Marshall

• Plan aimed at aiding allied nations primarily. UK receives 26% of aid, France 18% and West Germany 11%.

• Splits Europe in to zones of US and USSR influence.

• US ships 1/6 of total food supply to Europe and Japan between 1945 and 1946.

But Why? Speech from George Marshall

The modern system of the division of labor upon which the exchange of products is based is in danger of breaking down. ... Aside from the demoralizing effect on the world at large and the possibilities of disturbances arising as a result of the desperation of the people concerned, the consequences to the economy of the United States should be apparent to all. It is logical that the United States should do whatever it is able to do to assist in the return of normal economic health to the world, without which there can be no political stability and no assured peace. Our policy is not directed against any country, but against hunger, poverty, desperation and chaos. Any government that is willing to assist in recovery will find full co-operation on the part of the USA. Its purpose should be the revival of a working economy in the world so as to permit the emergence of political and social conditions in which free institutions can exist.

Effects of Marshall Plan

• George Marshall receives Nobel Prize for the humanitarian efforts of the Plan.

• Hastens Western Europe’s rebuilding.

• Creates suspicion in Moscow and leads to increasingly fraught relationship between US and USSR.

• Strengthens bond between the US and Western Europe.

The Creation of NATO

• In 1949, the US along with 11 Western European nations sign a collective defense agreement known as the North Atlantic Treaty.

• Cements common defense interests – an attack on one nation is an attack on all – in order to face the threat of communism in Europe.

• Warsaw Pact, a collective defense treaty of Communist nations, forms in response to NATO.

Warsaw Pact and NATO

The Korean War

• After declaring war on Japan, USSR invades Korean peninsula. Territory subsequently split at the 38th parallel between US and USSR zones of occupation.

• Tensions escalate between communist factions in the North and pro-democracy advocates in the South.

• Becomes a global conflict when Truman resolves to intervene in order to prevent further spread of communism in Asia.

• June 24, 1950: Truman informed that the North (under Kim Il-Sung) invaded the South with Soviet support. Resolves to intervene militarily.

Truman on Korea

“Communism was acting in Korea, just as Hitler, Mussolini and the Japanese had ten, fifteen, and twenty years earlier. I felt certain that if South Korea was allowed to fall, Communist leaders would be emboldened to override nations closer to our own shores. If the Communists were permitted to force their way into the Republic of Korea without opposition from the free world, no small nation would have the courage to resist threat and aggression by stronger Communist neighbors.”

Aftermath of War

• Korea divided between North (communist) and South (democratic) at the 38th parallel once the US and North Korea finalize a ceasefire.

• Korean War will set the basis for US foreign policy for next half century.

• “Policing” force of the Western world opposed to spread of communism.