Chapter Nineteen the Cold War

Mr. McCormack

American History II

CentralDauphinHigh School

Chapter Nineteen – The Cold War

I. WWII Allies became Cold War Rivals

A. A Cold War is a hostile peace, a period in which nations oppose one another without resorting to direct, open confrontation

B. The desperate struggle against the Axis nations gave common cause to the WWII Allies

C. As the end of the war drew near, divisions among the Great Powers began to appear

1. The Soviet Union had a history of poor relations with western Europe and America

a. The western states resented the fact that Stalin had cooperated with Hitler by signing a non-aggression pact and invading eastern Europe

b. The Soviet Union resented the fact that the western states had sent troops to Russia in 1917 to support the anti-Communists (Whites) during the Bolshevik Revolution

c. The United States had refused to recognize or conduct diplomacy with the USSR until 1933

2. Britain and the United States shared many of the same priorities and values (democracy, capitalism)

a. The western allies fought to bring political freedom and economic opportunity to Europe

b. Free and prosperous nations would best serve America’s need for allies and trading partners

c. Western allies wanted to see strong international organizations, particularly to help with development (i.e. the World Bank, International Monetary Fund)

3. The Soviet Union under Josef Stalin had very different interests (communism) from the western Allies

a. Soviets, having been twice invaded in forty years, wanted to ensure that its neighboring countries would help protect them

i. Satellite nations would serve as a buffer against the west

ii. Neighbors should be receptive to the spread of communism

b. Soviets felt entitled to some restitution in light of its 18 million war deaths and terrible losses

c. Soviets were suspicious of international organizations, believing them to be tools of western influence

D. The Great Powers attempted to reconcile their differences through conferences

1. Yalta Conference

a. Churchill, Stalin, and Roosevelt met at the Black Seaport of Yalta in February, 1945

b. The Allies agreed to divide Germany into four zones of control (Soviet, American, British, and French) pending eventual reunification

c. The Allies further agreed to divide the city of Berlin into similar zones

d. Roosevelt and Churchill rejected Stalin’s demand for $20 billion in war reparations

e. Roosevelt extracted a promise from Stalin to declare war on Japan within three months of Germany’s surrender

f. The west expected fair and free elections in the Nazi territories freed by the Soviets, but Stalin intended to ensure that those areas would remain friendly to the USSR

g. All sides agreed to create a new international peacekeeping organization

h. Many historians believe that Roosevelt, ailing and nearing death, was overwhelmed by Stalin during their negotiations, to the lasting detriment of the people of Eastern Europe

2. Potsdam Conference

a. Following Churchill’s electoral loss and Roosevelt’s death (April 12, 1945), the new leaders, Clement Attlee and Harry Truman, meet with Stalin in Potsdam, a suburb of Berlin, in July, 1945

b. The western allies continued to push for free elections (especially in Poland) and Stalin continued to press for reparations

c. During the conference, Truman informed Stalin of America’s successful atomic weapons program, increasing Stalin’s concern about America’s strength

1. The Great Powers created an international organization to ensure world peace, The United Nations

1. The UN was inspired by the failed League of Nations

2. The American public and Congress rejected a return to isolationism and supported the UN

3. Delegates from 50 nations gathered in San Francisco in April, 1945, to negotiate the UN Charter

4. The Charter, written as a treaty, established that members would abandon war as a method of conflict resolution, act collectively to stop wars that did occur, and promote justice and cooperation to solve problems

5. The UN would have two committees to handle most of the organizations’ business

a. The General Assembly

i. Composed of representatives from all member nations and the occasional observer (non-member states or non-governmental organizations)

ii. All representatives would be treated as equals

iii. The General Assembly has little actual power, but can exercise persuasive authority, establish its own budget, and elect its own officers

iv. The first Secretary General of the UN was Trygve Lie of Norway

b. The Security Council

i. Composed of representatives from eleven nations

1. Five nations occupy permanent seats on the council and can exercise an absolute veto over any council business

a. United States

b. USSR

c. Britain

d. France

e. China

2. Six nations hold temporary seats on a rotating basis

ii. The Security Council has the power to authorize the use of force, impose sanctions, and otherwise act as the UN enforcer

iii. The Security Council can only function if the five permanent members are in agreement, otherwise a stalemate results

II. The Division of Germany

A. The four Allied zones were supposed to be reunited into a new, independent Germany after the war

B. The Soviet Union, possessing the largest individual zone, resisted efforts to unify Germany

1. Stalin desired to keep Germany weakened because Germany had twice attacked Russia

2. Stalin installed a totalitarian communist government in his zone and didn’t want to see it replaced by a democratic government

C. The western Allies announced their plan to unify their three zones in March, 1948

1. The Federal Republic of Germany, or West Germany, with its capital in Bonn

2. Included the western zones of Berlin even though the city was surrounded by Soviet territory

D. The Soviets announced the creation of the German Democratic Republic, or East Germany, in 1949

E. Soviet troops crushed an East German revolt in 1953

III. Soviets Dominate Eastern Europe

A. Soviets organize and install communist governments in areas that had been occupied by the Red Army at the end of the war

B. Ironically, the west largely abandoned eastern Europe to Communist domination after fighting to free it from Fascism

C. Poland

1. Stalin fulfills his promise to hold elections in Poland, but not until 1947

2. By that time the Polish Communist party had eliminated all political opposition

3. The Soviet Union sent troops to crush a Polish uprising in 1956

D. Albania

1. Communist guerillas expelled German forces in 1944

2. All anti-communist parties were silenced before elections were held in 1945

E. Bulgaria

1. Soviet troops occupied the country in 1944

2. Communist control was secure by 1948

F. Czechoslovakia

1. Communist candidates won 40 percent in the 1946 election, but their popularity suffered due to Communist repression in neighboring countries

2. Communists plotted to take power by installing an all-Communist police force, staging rallies, strikes, and violent uprisings

3. Communist control was secure by 1948

G. Hungary

1. Communist candidates lost the election in 1945

2. Soviet troops remained in Hungary and demanded Communist control of the police

3. The police arrested anti-Communist leaders

4. Communist candidates won the 1947 election

5. Soviet troops crush a Hungarian uprising in 1956

H. Romania

1. Soviet troops forced the Romanian king to appoint a Communist prime minister in 1945

2. The prime minister forced the king’s abdication in 1947

I. Finland

1. Finland remains democratic and neutral, but was forced to sign a treaty of cooperation with the USSR in 1948, giving the Soviets control over its foreign affairs

2. Finland was forced to surrender approximately ten percent of its territory to the USSR

J. Yugoslavia

1. Communists gained control in 1945 under Josip Broz, more popularly known as Tito

2. Tito refused to take orders from Stalin, especially after Stalin tried to have him overthrown in 1948

K. BalticRepublics

1. Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia were independent countries between the world wars

2. The USSR absorbed the BalticRepublics in 1945

IV. The West Reacts to Soviet Expansion

A. In February, 1946, Stalin delivered a speech in which he predicted the ultimate triumph of communism over capitalism

B. In March, 1946, Winston Churchill delivered a response to an American audience in Fulton, Missouri

1. Churchill warned of the coming Soviet menace and its threat to world peace

2. Churchill coined the term “Iron Curtain” to describe the invisible barrier that was separating Europe into a free west and communist east

C. In early 1946, American diplomat George Kennan dispatched a telegram from Moscow that analyzed Soviet policies

1. Kennan warned that the comunists put no faith in peaceful coexistence with the west

2. Kennan argued that the communists could not be easily defeated, but their expansion could be contained by patient, firm vigilance

3. Kennan argued that communism “bears within it the seeds of its own decay” and that it would eventually collapse on itself

4. While many believed containment was too moderate a policy, it became the cornerstone of American policy

5. The Soviet Union’s collapse in 1991 would appear to be a partial vindication of Kennan’s prediction

D. Truman first applied the policy of containment in 1947

1. The USSR had been threatening Turkey since 1945 in an attempt to gain control of the Dardenelles (the straight connecting the Mediterranean and BlackSeas)

2. The Soviets were encouraging communist revolutionaries in the Greek civil war

3. Britain, suffering from post-war devastation, could not afford to help the Greeks and Turks, so they suggested that the United States do so

4. Truman agreed to help, and in March, 1947, announced his proposal to a joint session of Congress

a. His announced principles become known as the Truman Doctrine

b. The United States would assist free peoples who resisted attempted conquest by armed minorities or outside pressures (a veiled reference to the Soviet Union)

5. Congress approved $400 million in aid to Greece and Turkey

E. Truman feared that Western Europe would be the next target of Soviet expansion

1. Economic recovery in Europe was proceeding slowly

a. The devastation left by WWII was unprecedented in European history

b. Twenty-one million people were left homeless

c. One in five homes in France and Belgium were uninhabitable

d. Twenty percent of the Polish population had been killed

e. Industry and transportation were ruined, and agriculture suffered from shortages of livestock and equipment

f. The cost of rebuilding France alone was estimated to be three times that country’s GDP

2. People desperate for relief were more likely to turn to radical ideologies (including communism)

F. Truman and his new Secretary of State, George C. Marshall, developed a plan to aid Europe

1. European nations would develop proposals for recovery programs and receive American financing

2. This plan, announced in June, 1947, became known as the Marshall Plan

3. Adopted by Congress in 1948, the US provided about $13 billion in assistance to seventeen countries over four years

4. The Soviet Union and its satellites refuse assistance, fearing American scrutiny and interference

5. The majority of aid went for food, feed, fertilizer, fuel, raw materials, and machinery that was purchased from American suppliers

1. American assistance “saves Europe” and accomplished four main goals

1. Charity – it helped the devastated people of Europe

2. Security – it stabilized the democratic governments of Europe that would be strong American allies

3. Commerce – it opened new markets for American goods

4. Politics – it halted the spread of communism

V. The Cold War Grows Hot

A. Berlin Blockade

1. Following the creation of West Germany, West Berlin became a prime destination for people seeking to escape communist domination

2. Stalin grew determined to close the escape route

3. Stalin uses the creation of West Germany as an excuse to blockade (cut off trade with) West Berlin in June, 1948

4. Faced with the prospect of losing the city or watching its 2.5 million people starve, Truman resolved to defeat the blockade

a. Fighting the Soviet Union was not an attractive option – most American soldiers were returning home, and everyone was tired of war

b. Using nuclear weapons to intimidate the Soviets seemed too strong a reaction

c. Truman resolved to bypass the blockade by creating an airlift operation to supply the city

5. Berlin Airlift

a. From June, 1948, to September, 1949, the airlift flew over 200,000 flights and moved about 13,000 tons of goods

b. The airlift was so successful that the city was receiving more supplies after the blockade than it had before

c. The airlift provided necessities, but American pilots began the unofficial “Operation Little Vittles” to provide treats to the children of Berlin

i. Began by Lt. Gail Halvorsen when he dropped treats to children by making a parachute out of a pocket handkerchief

ii. Many Americans donated candies and handkerchiefs to support the efforts

iii. Halverson, who wiggled the wings of his aircraft to signal the release of a package, earned the nickname “Uncle Wiggly Wings”

iv. Twenty-three tons of candy was dropped in 250,000 parachutes

B. Defensive Alliances Formed

1. With the possibility of deadlock in the United Nations, nations consider regional alliances to secure peace

2. Louis St. Laurent, the foreign minister of Canada, proposed a defensive alliance of democratic, peace-loving nations to defend western Europe from the Soviets

3. Truman and most American supported the idea

a. Truman did not want America alone to guarantee European security, so Canadian involvement was crucial

b. Truman overcomes the objections of his critics, including Sen. Robert Taft of Ohio, who feared that defensive alliances made war more likely

4. Twelve nations joined together in April, 1949, to form the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

5. Each nation vowed to regard an attack against one member of the alliance as an attack against them all, an idea known as collective security

6. The communist nations reacted to NATO by forming the Warsaw Pact, a similar alliance, in 1955

7. Although the Warsaw Pact is now defunct, NATO continues to exist and provides for military coordination between the allies in such places as Afghanistan and the former Yugoslavia

C. Soviet Nuclear Advances

1. In 1949, the Soviet Union detonates its own atomic bomb, eliminating America’s military advantage

2. In response, Truman authorizes research into a more powerful thermonuclear weapon (H-bomb)

3. The Soviet nuclear program greatly benefited from the work of communist spies in America

4. The USA detonated the first H-bomb in 1952, once again establishing its superiority

5. To help allay American fears of nuclear attack, Truman created the Federal Civil Defense Administration in 1952 to distribute information on how to survive a nuclear attack

a. Experts mocked the education efforts (“duck and cover,” air raid drills, etc.)

b. By the late 1950s, civil defense became a major government priority

D. Truman Loses China

1. The Chinese Civil War, abandoned during WWII as both Communists and Nationalists join forces to fight Japan, begins again in 1945

2. The Communists were in a much stronger position in the countryside, while Nationalists relied on northern cities for support

3. Truman provided some assistance to Chiang Kai-shek until 1947, when he determined that China was a lost cause

1. Chiang’s government grew increasingly unpopular due to harsh laws, corruption, and high taxes
2. Truman preferred to focus his efforts on saving Europe

4. Mao Zedong’s communist army captured the Chinese capital of Peking (Beijing) in 1949

5. Chiang Kai-shek and his remaining forces escape to the island of Formosa (Taiwan), where they continued to claim to be the true government of China

6. Despite Soviet efforts, Chiang Kai-shek’s government retained its position at the United Nations

7. Many blamed Truman for allowing the communists to win in China, and all sides grew more committed to containing communist expansion in Asia

8. China (People’s Republic of China) and Taiwan (Republic of China) still have not settled this dispute as both sides proclaim their hopes of eventual reunification, although Taiwan has a growing independence movement

E. War in Korea

1. Korea, a Japanese territory since 1905, was divided in 1945

a. The Soviet Union fulfilled its pledge to Roosevelt by declaring war on Japan on August 6, 1945

b. Soviet troops crossed into Korea, but were not engaged in any major battles

c. Japan decided to surrender just eight days after the Soviet declaration, though more as a reaction to the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki than to Soviet actions

d. The Korean peninsula was split at the 38th parallel, with the northern zone going to the Soviets and the southern zone going to the United States

e. North Korea

i. Led by Kim Il Sung, communist dictator

ii. Capital city – Pyongyang

iii. Larger population

iv. More industry

v. Larger, more powerful military

f. South Korea – Republic of Korea (ROK)

i. Led by Syngman Rhee, pro-American leader

ii. Capital city - Seoul

2. American and Soviet troops withdrew from the peninsula in 1949, leaving the two zones to negotiate the terms of their own merger

3. Kim Il Sung considers uniting the country through use of force, but neither of his communist sponsors, Mao or Stalin, was willing to permit the war

a. Stalin, busily engaging the Americans over Europe, does not want to risk American intervention in Asia

b. Mao had not yet finished his war against the Nationalists

4. In March of 1950, Secretary of State Dean Acheson omitted South Korea as a focus of American interest in the Pacific during a speech to the National Press Club

a. Kim Il Sung interpreted that omission to mean that the US would not defend South Korea

b. Stalin consented to the invasion

5. North Korean troops crossed into South Korea in June, 1950, and quickly advanced deep into the country

a. Within a few weeks, the only unconquered territory is a small perimeter of ground near the port of Pusan

6. Truman, shocked and outraged, determined to take action

1. Truman broke with precedent by taking authority for military action from the UN rather than the US Congress (as required by the Constitution)

i. Without a declaration from Congress, this is not technically a “war”

ii. More accurately described as a “police action”