Ch. 21; The Cold War Begins
Make-up History
I. Origins of the Cold War
A. Clash of Interests
-Cold War- era of confrontation & competition between the US & USSR (1946-1990)
1. Soviet Security Concerns
-USSR wanted to make sure countries btwn USSR & Germany were communist b/c Germ invaded USSR twice in 30 yrs
-Soviet leaders suspicious of capitalist nations b/c they may eventually try to destroy communism
2. American Economic Concerns
-US officials believed WWII started b/c of the Depression
-Roosevelt believed economic growth was key to world peace
-US promoted democracy and free enterprise (Democratic gov't will protect people's rights & the country will be more peaceful & stable)
B. The Yalta Conference
-Yalta- Soviet resort on Black Sea, important in cause of CW
1. Poland
-1st issue discussed @ Yalta Conference
-2 gov'ts claiming right to govern Poland (1 commi, 1 not)
-compromise- Roosevelt & Churchill agree to Soviet plan
2. Declaration of Liberated Europe
-Stalin, Churchill, & Roosevelt's plan for postwar govt's
-"The right of all people to choose the form of gov't under which they live"
-People of Europe to "create democratic institutions of their own choice”
3. Dividing Germany
-Germany was to be divided into 4 zones
-US, Brit, Fr, & USSR would each control one of the zones
-Berlin (in USSR's zone) would be divided the same way
4. Tensions Begin to Rise
-USSR pressures Romanian king to appoint commi gov't
-4/1, USSR refused to allow non-commi's in Polish gov't (Roosevelt told Stalin this action was unacceptable)
-4/12, Roosevelt died, and VP Harry Truman became Pres
C. Truman Takes Control
-Truman entered the position w/ plans for end of war and after
1. Potsdam Conference
-Stalin and Truman met here (near Berlin) to discuss Germany
-At conf. Truman informed Stalin of successful A-Bomb testing
2. The Iron Curtain Descends
-Stalin- whoever occupies territory imposes own social system
-Satellite Nations- Communist countries of Eastern Europe
-Iron Curtain- separating of satellite nations from rest of Europe
II. The Early Cold War Years
A. Containing Communism
-After WWII, US thought USSR would change (didn't happen)
1. Long Telegram- 2/22/46 (from US Dip. to Moscow George Kennan)
-Soviet System had several major econ. & pol. weaknesses
-If US could keep USSR from expanding, they would collapse
-Commi's believed they were in a long-term historical struggle against capitalism
-Containment- keeping communism w/in its present territory
through the use of diplomatic, economic, & military actions
2. Crisis in Iran
-Stalin began demanding access to Iran's oil supplies
-Erupted in spring & summer of 1946, troops stayed afterwards
-Proved Kennan was right about USSR needs for expansion
3. Truman Doctrine
-Stalin began to show interest in controlling the Middle East
-US & Brit were supporting Turkey & Greece in fighting Communist groups from gaining power (Brit ran out of $)
-3/12/1947-Truman asked Congress for $400 million to fight Soviet aggressions in these countries
-In his speech, Truman stated reason why Communism could not spread there or anywhere & vowed to fight Communism worldwide
4. Marshall Plan (6/1947)
-Sec. of St. George Marshall's plan for reconstruction in Europe
-Give US $ to rebuild the European nations destroyed in WWII (Billions spent, weakened the appeal of Communism in Euro)
-The offer was rejected by the Satellite Nations
B. The Berlin Crisis
-Europe's prosperity was dependent on Germany's recovery
1. West Germany is Founded (1948)
-US, Brit, France combined zones & the people created a gov't
-West Germany was a democracy w/ a capitalist economy
-W Germany was not allowed a military but was independent
2. Berlin Airlift
-Soviets cut all outside roads and rail traffic to W Berlin
-Lasted from 6/1948 to 5/1949
-Over 2 million tons of supplies were delivered by plane
3. NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization)
-Mutual defense alliance created 4/1949 (Warsaw Pact)
-Military alliance between US, Canada, & 10 non-commi countries of Western Europe (incl: Britain & France)
C. The Cold War Spreads to East Asia
-Events in China & Korea brought about a new attitude in Japan
1. Civil War & Revolution in China
-Nationalists had been struggling w/ commi's since the 1920s
-US gave $2 million in aid to Nationalists to defend China
-Didn't work, gov't forced to flee to Taiwan
2. After the Fall
-1949, China develops atomic bomb
-People's Republic of China signs alliance treaty w/ USSR
-Veto power was used to keep Chinese reps from UN Sec Coun
D. The Korean War
-After WWII, US & USSR enter Korea to disarm Japanese
1. UN Intervenes
-Ordered US naval & airpower into action to contain N Korea from taking over S Korea (contain communism to N Korea)
-MacArthur ordered invasion behind enemy lines (Inchon port)
-Invasion was successful, N Koreans pushed back to Yalu River
2. China Enters the War
-Commi Chinese gov't saw advancing UN troops as threat
-China launched a massive attack across the Yalu River
-MacArthur demanded approval to expand war to China
3. Truman Fires MacArthur
-Truman refused to allow MacArthur expand war to China
-MacArthur publicly criticized Truman & attempted to expand the war w/out permission
-MacArthur then fired for insubordination to pres in 4/1951
4. Changes in Policy
-Truman chose Gen Matthew Ridgway to replace MacArthur
-Defense agreements were signed w/ Jap, S Kor, Taiwan,...
-US aid began to flow to French fighting commi's in Vietnam
Ch. 21: The Cold War Begins (Cont'd)
Make-up History
III. The Cold War and American Society
A. A New Red Scare
-During the 1950s, thousands of Americans were accused of being communists
-This began 9/1945 w/ USSR Ambassador to Canada Igor Gouzenko defecting to the US
-Igor had plans to infiltrate Canadian & US gov't
agencies
-Led to fear of communist subversion (effort to secretly weaken a society & overthrow its gov't)
1. Loyalty Review Program
-Truman's plan to screen all federal employers/check for spies -From 47 to 51, over 6 million fed employees were screened
-Reasons for suspicion- read certain books, travel overseas, see foreign films
-FBI used intensive scrutiny on 14,000 employees
-2,000 quit, 212 were fired for "questionable loyalty"
2. HUAC (House Un-American Activities Committee)
-Existed to investigate communist & fascist activity in US
-In 1947, FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover convinced HUAC to hold public hearings on subversion & "sympathizers"
-FBI agents infiltrated suspected groups and wiretapped thousands of phones
3. Alger Hiss
-Whitaker Chambers (TIME Magazine editor) admitted to being a communist courier from 1934 to 1937 & other gov't officials had also been spies
-Alger Hiss was the most notable of these
-lawyer/diplomat, served in Roosevelt's administration, accused of giving Chambers docs from the St. Dept. to take to USSR
-Hiss denied all allegations, but Chambers proved it w/
"Pumpkin Papers"
-Jury convicted Hiss of perjury (lying under oath)
4. Rosenbergs
-Julius & Ethel Rosenberg were accused of giving A-bomb
plans to USSR & being the heads of a Soviet Spy ring in the
1950s
-They were condemned to death & executed in 1953
5. Project Venona
-1946- a US cryptographer cracked the Soviet spy code, enabling us to read approximately 3,000 messages btwn Moscow & US
-Info was not released until 1995, but gave strong evidence Rosenbergs were guilty
6. Real Scare Spreads
-State gov'ts, universities, businesses, unions, & churches began to look within their groups for Communists & required loyalty oaths
-The Taft-Hartley Act required union leaders to take oaths that they weren't commies (most did not object)
B. "A Conspiracy So Immense"
-USSR developing A-Bomb & China falling to communism
caused Americans to believe that we were losing Cold War &
spies were still here
-Sen. Joseph R. McCarthy of Wisconsin claimed he had a list of
205 St. Dept. members that were commies (list never actually
seen)
1. McCarthy's Charges
-McCarthy started w/ accusing democrats (described as "Party of Betrayal")
-Among targets were Sec. of St. Dean Acheson & former Army Ch. of Staff George Marshall
2. McCarran Internal Security Act
-Sen. McCarran accused commies of trying to create a dictatorship in US & passed McCarran Act (requiring all commies in the US to register)
3. McCarthy's Tactics
-Witch hunt for commies based on flimsy evidence & irrational
fears became known as McCarthyism (tactic of damaging
reputations w/ vague, uninformed charges)
-He would not accept people’s answers as true & create much
suspicion
-People were afraid to challenge him for fear of becoming the
next target
4. McCarthy's Downfall
-In 1954, McCarthy accused US Army officers of being spies in the televised Army-McCarthy hearings
-Officers were innocent & McCarthy began to lose support when he accused the defending lawyer of working w/ a commi
-This led to the Senate passing a vote of censure (formal disapproval) on McCarthy, causing him to lose all influence
C. Life During the Early Cold War
-Fear of Communism & nuclear weapons had a profound impact on life in the 1950s
1. Facing the Bomb
-Along w/ US, USSR also developed the more powerful
hydrogen bomb in 1953
-This led to schools creating areas for bomb shelters & having
bomb drills
-For every person killed in a nuc. Blast, 4 more would die of
fallout (radiation left after the blast) causing people to build
fallout shelters & stock them w/ canned food
2. Popular Culture in the Cold War
-Suspicion & espionage of the Cold War found its way to the
big screen in movies like I Was a Communist for the FBI, Walk
East on Beacon, & I Led Three Lives
-Americans began looking for security in these times of
uncertainty
IV. Eisenhower's Policies
A. Eisenhower's "New Look"
-1952 election- Truman chose not to run again
-R, D-Day Hero- Dwight D. Eisenhower def, D- Adlai
Stevenson in a landslide
1. "More Bang for the Buck"
-Military might combined w/ a prosperous economy would prevent Americans from becoming interested in communism
-Eisenhower declared a regular military would be too expensive & nuc's would be used instead
2. Massive Retaliation
-Threatening to use nuclear weapons if a communist state tried to seize territory by force
-Enabled US to cut military spending from $50 Bil to $34 Bil
-Increased nuc arsenal from 1,000 to 18,000 by 1961
3. Sputnik Crisis
-US developed B-52 bombers & ICBMs (launched from land)
-10/4/1957 USSR developed Sputnik- 1st artificial satellite to orbit the Earth
-This led to the creation of NASA & NDEA (funds for education & training in sci, math, & foreign languages)
B. Brinkmanship In Action
-Sec of St John Foster Dulles defended policy w/ what became known as brinkmanship (willingness to go to the brink of war to force the other side to back down)
-Some critics believed this was too dangerous
1. Korean War Ends
-Eisen realized Korean War was expensive & casualties rose
-Threats of nuc war led armistice in 7/1953 w/ pre-war boundary & DMZ becoming border btwn N & S Korea
2. Taiwan Crisis
-1954 China threatened to "liberate" some of the islands under Nationalist control near Taiwan (firing shells @ them)
-Eisen & Dulles convinced Congress to authorize use of force to defend Taiwan w/ navy & possibly nucs
-China backed down
3. Suez Crisis
-In order to prevent Arab nations from turning commi, Dulles offered to finance Egypt's building of a dam on the Nile River
-US pulled finance offer after finding out Egypt bought weapons from Czechoslovakia
-Egypt seized control of Suez Canal from Fr & Brit to fund dam
-Fr & Brit troops then invaded Egypt, USSR offered support
-Led to most M.E. countries accepting aid from USSR
C. Fighting Communism Covertly
-Communists attempted to stage revolutions in several countries
-To prevent this Eisen had the CIA conduct covert (hidden) operations
1. Containment in Developing Nations
-Nations w/ primarily agricultural economies
-Many Dev Nats blamed W. Euro Imperialism & US
Capitalism for there problems
-US attempted to provide aid to there countries to win them
over
-CIA would attempt to overthrow anti-Amer leaders & replace
them w/ pro-Amer Leaders
2. Iran & Guatemala
-1953 Irani PM Mohammed Mossadegh nationalized the oil
industry & moved against the Shah (Religious leader), forcing
him into exile
-CIA agents organized a coup to overthrow PM & return the
Shah to power
-1951 Guatemala elected a president w/ communist ties
-1954 CIA armed & trained rebels to regain control
3. Uprising in Hungary
-1953 Stalin died, 1956 Nikita Khrushchev emerged as next Soviet leader
-He gave private speech denouncing Stalin's brutal policies
-CIA broadcast the speech in E. Europe
-Losing confidence in commi, riots broke out in many countries
-10/1956 Hungarian rebels attempted to overthrow commi gov't
-Khrushchev sent USSR military to Budapest to crush rebellion
D. Continuing Tensions
-Khrushchev blamed Hungary on US & changed his "coexisting w/ capitalism" philosophy to reassert superiority
-Khrush demanded NATO withdraw from W Berlin, but brinkmanship won out
-Eisen invited Khrush to a summit (formal face-to-face meeting of leaders from different countries to discuss important issues) in Paris to improve relations
-The summit never took place b/c a US U-2 spy plane, piloted by Francis Gary Powers, was shot down over USSR
-1961 President Eisenhower voiced his disappointment of not making much progress toward a resolution in the Cold War
-He also warned the US to be aware of the military-industrial complex (informal relationship that may exist btwn mil & defense industry to promote mil spending & influence gov't policy) in a democracy