Transcript Ch 36 The Cold War Begins, 1945-1952 PPT Part 1

Ch 36 The Cold War Begins,
1945-1952
from
The American Pageant
(12th edition)
1
Post-War Anxiety
Many Americans feared that the end of WWII would bring a
return of the Great Depression.
– Many feared that the insecurity, suicide rates, sexual depression,
lower birthrates etc. would comeback and the economic uplift of
the war might have been only temporary
2
Post-War Anxiety
• Initially things did look bleak
– GNP slumped from 46-47
– Prices rose 33%
– Epidemics of strikes
• 1946 4.6 million laborers went on strike because wages
weren’t keeping with inflation
• Could it be 1919 all over again???? AAAHHHHH!
• Conservatives (Republicans) were also out for
revenge against FDR’s 4 terms and the New
Deal.
– They controlled Congress (1st time in 14 years)
3
Labor Struggles
The Taft-Hartley Act delivered a major blow to labor by
• outlawing “closed” shops (all-union members only).
• [Congress passed the Taft-Hartley Act with an override of Truman’s
veto was passed to check the growing power of labor unions.
• On home front in 1946, the post-war USA was characterized by an
epidemic of labor strikes.
(Zinn Ch 16 A People’s War? shows how many strikes between 1941-1945 and discusses why there were so many
strikes.)
The growth of organized labor in the post-WWII era was slowed by:
• the Taft-Hartley Act,
• the rapidly growing number of service-sector workers,
• the failure of “Operation Dixie” (to unionize the South by the CIO),
and the growing number of part-time workers (Ex. Women with
families);
What about the reduced number of women in the work force?
• No, because the number of women in work force actually increased!
4
The “GI Bill”
Passage of the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act (GI Bill
of Rights) was partly motivated by a fear that the labor
markets could not absorb millions of discharged war
veterans [which could create socio-economic instability].
5
Truman’s Post-War Domestic Policy
• In an effort to forestall an economic downturn, the
Truman administration did all of the following {All of the
except type question!} (pp.859-860 12th ed.):
– created the President’s Council of Economic Advisors (which
had 3 advisors),
– sold war factories and other government installations to private
businesses at very low prices,
– passed the Employment Act of 1946, which made it
government policy to promote maximum employment,
production, and purchasing power
– passed the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act (the “GI Bill of
Rights”) [which allowed for veterans to get money for college and
low interest home loans/mortgages];
• What about continuing wartime wages and price
controls?
– No!
6
The Post-War Economic Boom
• US GNP climbed in 48 and by ’50 it took off for
nearly 20 years
– National income doubled in the 50’s
– National income doubled again in the 60’s
– Americans made up 6% of the world’s population and
enjoyed 40% of its wealth
• This success was experience of course
unevenly but it paved the way for
– Civil Rights
– Welfare programs like Medicare
– International leadership
7
The Post-War Economic Boom
• Depression survivors were determined to
“get theirs” while the getting was good
– 2 cars in every garage
– Swimming pools
– Vacation homes
– Gas- guzzling RVs
– Washing machines
– TV sets
– 60% owned their own homes
8
The Post-War Economic Boom
[and Its Impact on Women]
• Post-WWII prosperity in the USA was most beneficial to women.
– (Ex. There were more women in the work force, there were more jobs
open than before, but still a very narrow field for women by today’s
standards.)
– Urban offices, service sector jobs
– Women made up 25% of workforce at WWII’s end, and 50% 50 years
later.
• The “feminist” revolt of the 1960s was sparked by a clash between
the demands of the traditional role of women as wives and mothers
and the realities of employment [before, during, and after WWII].
– ROSIE THE RIVETOR VS. I LOVE LUCY
• One striking consequence of the postwar economic boom was the
vast expansion of the home-owning middle class [from 40% to
60%]
9
The Post-War Economic Boom
Roots
• WWII Stimulated early
– Rebuilt the depression-plagued economy
• Post war military budgets
–
–
–
–
“permanent war economy”
Korean War
Defense spending 10% of GNP
Aerospace, plastics, and electronics primed by the
Pentagon
• low energy costs [because the USA controlled
Arab oil and consequently got it cheap].
• Increased productivity
10
Demographic Changes, Migration,
and Real Estate
• After WWII, American workers made spectacular gains in
productivity owing to their rising education levels.
• {Productivity is how much is produced per hour – a rate of efficiency}
• Since 1945, the population of the USA has grown most
rapidly in the Sunbelt. (CA, NV, AZ, NM, TX, GA, AK, AL, FL, VA)
• Much of the Sunbelt’s new prosperity was based on its
tremendous influx of money and capital from the federal
government. (pp.862-862 12th ed.)
– {Defense/War industries and military bases – aviation.} [Huge
military contracts and/or installations.]
11
Demographic Changes, Migration, and
Real Estate continued
•
Americans were encouraged to move to suburbs because of the following:
–
–
–
–
•
What about the development of fuel efficient automobiles in the late 1940s?
–
•
–
–
–
•
the baby boom [The “Baby Boomer’ generation – war and post-war babies born up through the
early 1960s] (Such “baby booms” always precede and follow wars
government mortgage guarantees,
new highways- Interstates,
“white flight;”
What about an environmental crisis?
–
•
[And through the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, ????
The rapid rise of suburbia was due to:
–
•
home-loan guarantees from Federal Housing Authority (FHA) and the Veterans’ Administration
(VA),
Government built highways (which were largely constructed to move missiles and troops in case of
war), (Interstate System)
tax reductions for interest payments on home mortgages, and
“white flight” from racial change (in cities moving to suburbs);
No!
By 1960, the proportion of Americans who lived in areas classified as metropolitan (city)
suburbs was approximately one out of four or 25%. (p.864 12th ed.)
The growth of suburbs led to an increase in urban poverty (*as the socio-economic taxbase shifts and wealth leaves the city and moves to the suburbs – which hurts city
finances, especially schools – plus ghettos and crime exacerbate the problem.)
12
Demographic Changes, Migration, and
Real Estate finale
• The population distribution after WWII followed a pattern
of an urban-suburban segregation of blacks and
whites in major metropolitan (city) areas [“white
flight”].
• Refusal of the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) to grant
home-loans to blacks contributed to driving many blacks
into public housing (Ex. the “projects”).
• The huge post-war “baby boom” reached its peak in the
late 1950s (1957). (pp.864 & 866 12th ed.)
• The “Baby Boomers” will create a major problem in the
future [when they retire by] placing an enormous strain
on the Social Security System. (Starting to occur now)
13
Children in the Post-War USA
• One sign of stress that the widespread
This would post-war geographic
be an
mobility placed on American families
awesomewas the popularity of
power to
advice books on child rearing (such
as the book by Dr.
have!
Spock)
• [resulting in a lack of inter-generational contact to learn
from successive generations because families moved
apart from each other and were then isolated- couldn’t
walk over to grannies for advice/ Also, many of the
younger generations usually rebelled against their
parents “old school” tactics of discipline, etc. (Ex. Time
outs instead of “whoopings!”].
[Use Mr. Spock’s Vulcan Nerve Pinch to Subdue Misbehaving Children! ]
14
Farmers in Post-War America
• The dramatically reduced number of American farms and farmers in
the postwar era was accompanied by spectacular gains in American
agricultural productivity and food growing [Agribusiness]
Therefore, as agribusiness grew = corporate farming, many small,
individual farmers were losing their farms and were going under and
out of business.
15
“Give ‘em Hell” Harry S. Truman
•
Before he was elected Vice-President of the USA in 1944 on the Democratic
ticket with FDR, Harry S. Truman had served as:
–
–
–
–
•
a haberdashery storeowner (men’s clothing store),
a WWI artillery officer (Major despite lack of college ed.),
a Missouri judge
a US Senator form MO (the battleship USS Missouri was chosen for the
Japanese surrender on 9-2-1945 largely because of his daughter christening the
ship and it being his home state);
What about Secretary of the Navy/(SecNav)?
– No!
•
•
•
{Truman had risen through the Pendergast political machine
[“Give ‘em Hell Harry.”] (“The buck stops here.”)}
Characteristics of President Truman:
– few pretensions
USS Missouri
– willingness to accept
(Ex. “The buck
USSresponsibility
Harry S. Truman
CVNstops
– 75here.”),
– honesty (for a politician?),
– Courage
(What would Zinn Ch 16 A People’s War? say about him/what did he say in?)
16
Conferences
• Tehran- (1943) FDR and J. Stalin met face to face, but
many postwar issues remained
• Yalta- Big 3 (1945) reached agreements on final assault
on Germany, assigning occupation zones, Independent
Poland, Bulgaria and Romania with free elections,
United Nations, Russia would attack Japan w/in 3
months after the collapse of Germany in return for ½ of
Sakhalin Island wich was lost by Russia to Japan in
1905 and Japan’s Kurile Islands.
• POTSDAM: (1945) after collapse of Germany, Big Three:
Truman, Stalin, Atlee (replaced Churchill)
17
Yalta: Bargain or Betrayal
• Concessions to the Russians gave them control
over industrial centers in China
• We didn’t end up needing Russia’s help due to
the Atomic Bombs
• Critics say FDR sold Chiang Kai-Shek down the
river which contributed to his overthrow by
communists
• Also, Stalin later reneged and established
communist satellites in Poland and other
Eastern European states
18
Shaping the Postwar World- No
more Isolation
• Bretton Woods Conference- (1944)
established the IMF to encourage world trade
by regulating currency exchange rates; founded
the World Bank to promote economic growth in
war ravaged and underdeveloped areas.
• This was in contrast to behavior after WWI with
isolation
• The US took the lead in creating these
international bodies and supplied funding
19
Shaping the Postwar World- No
more Isolation
• United Nations, April 25, 1945
– Successor to the League of Nations
– Differed:
• Security Council (Big 5: US, USSR, BRITAIN, FRANCE and
CHINA)
– No member of the security coundil could have action taken
against it without its consent
– The UN assumed great-power cooperation, not great-power
conflict
• General Assembly- allowed participation by smaller
countries
• The Senate overwhelmingly approved the UN Charter 89-2.
20
Shaping the Postwar World- No
more Isolation
• United Nations, April 25, 1945
– Jewish State of Israel
– UNESCO (United Nations Educational,
Scientific, and Cultural Organization)
– FAO (Food and Agricultural Organization)
– WHO (World Health Organization)
21
The United Nations – Success or Failure?
• In its early years, the United Nations (UN) was
{somewhat} successful in its efforts:
– preserving peace in several “hot spots” like Iran,
– guiding several former colonies to independent
nationhood (but not Vietnam, French Indochina –
consider USA’s interests in giving French Indochina
back to France and letting them fight communists
there from 1945 until 1954),
– helping create a new Jewish state of Israel in
Palestine (Has been a rough ride)
• {USA pushed & aided, then Arabs tried to destroy – led to
bitter, nasty fighting on and off with Arab states from then
until today},
• establishing international health, science, and food agencies.
22
The United Nations – Success or Failure?
continued
• Unlike the failed League of Nations, the new
United Nations (UN) was established in a spirit
of cooperation before the end of the war (WWII).
• (Would Zinn Ch 16 A People’s War? agree? What type
of cooperation, and for what purpose? Was it totally
benevolent?)
• The earliest and most serious failure of the UN
involved its inability to control atomic energy,
especially the manufacture of weapons.
• [Ex. The USA wanted to maintain a military
advantage and technological edge]
23
Nuremberg and Other War Crimes Trials
• The victorious WWII Allies quickly agreed that Nazism
should be destroyed in Germany and that high-ranking
(and later, lesser ranking) Nazis should be tried and
punished for war crimes. The List of Charges:
– Crimes Against Peace – planning and waging an aggressive
war
– War Crimes – acts against the customs of warfare, such as
Herman
killing hostages and
POWs, plundering private property, and
Goering after
destruction of towns and cities
taking poison
– Crimes Against the
Humanity
night – murder, extermination, deportation,
enslavement of civilians.
before his
– { Nazi officials execution.
pointed to Allied hypocrisy in charging the Nazis
for things that the Allies had also done.}
• Japanese War Crimes Trials – Sort of Worse and Sort of
Better with Similar Charges – Explain
24
The US built up two former enemies and
prepared for war with a former ally!
• Postwar Japan had its military leaders tried for war crimes, as had
occurred in Germany. (p.878 12th ed.)
– Tojo took the fall for Hirohito – not like Germany.
– Shiro Ishi of Unit 731 and the scientists got off without people knowing
what they did
• – USA wanted data on their experiments – sickening – but Cold War
– justifiable or not?
• That does not seem the same as had occurred in Germany to me though.
• The USA built up West Germany too – along with Japan – and both
became economic powerhouses and allies of the USA.
General Tomoyuki
Yamashita
(second
right)
was tried in
Shiro
Ishi
of
Unit
731
Manila between October 29 and December 7, 1945, by a
U.S. military commission, on charges relating to the
Japanese Prime Minister
Manila Massacre and earlier occurrences in Singapore,
and was sentencedHideki
to death. Tojo
The case set a precedent
regarding the responsibility of commanders for war
crimes, and is known as the Yamashita Standard. The
legitimacy of the hasty trial has been called into question.
25
Maps of East and West Germany
and East and West Berlin
Germany divided into 4 occupational zones, each assigned to one of the Big 4
powers (France, Britain, US, and USSR)
The Berlin Wall
• Western Allies desired a speedy economic recovery to avoid same mistakes as
after WWI; Soviets were suspicious of another Germany invasion (1812, 1914,
1942)
•The western allies refused to allow Moscow to bleed their zones of the
reparations that Stalin insisted he had been promised at Yalta
•Germany remained divided: West Germany became independent attached to the
West, East Germany along with Soviet-dominated Eastern Europe (Poland,
Hungary) became satellite states of the Soviet Union
26
American Occupation of Japan
and the Japanese Constitution
• The USA occupied Japan in the immediate post-war period with
General Douglas MacArthur in command.
• The US immediately sought to rebuilding the country to thwart the
perception of the threat of communism in Asia, and reformed the
government and society with a democratic government and
constitution.
• The new Japanese government created in 1946 by General Douglas
MacArthur’s staff:
– pledged itself to providing for the equality of women,
{This was largely due to women on MacArthur’s staff.}
– introduced a Western-style democratic constitution,
– paved the way for spectacular economic recovery
– renounced militarism (*Japan does not teach about its aggression in
WWII only its victimization);
• What about Japan joining a military alliance to prevent the spread of
communism in East Asia (as the West Germans joined NATO in
Europe)?
– No! The Japanese constitution did not provide for that.
27
Why would the Soviets want to
invade Japan?
• In early 1945, the USA was eager to have the USSR
participate in the projected invasion of Japan because
Soviet help could reduce the number of American
casualties. (Then came Manhattan! – No need for
Soviets?)
• [Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) – The Soviet Union –
“Commies” – “Reds” – the Sickle and Hammer]
28
The Origins of the Cold War
• The origins of the Cold War lay in the fundamental
disagreement between the USA and the USSR over
postwar arrangements in Eastern Europe (behind the
infamous “Iron Curtain”).
• [Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) – The Soviet Union –
“Commies” – “Reds” – the Sickle and Hammer]
• Joseph Stalin’s postwar security concerns focused
primarily on Eastern Europe (satellites – “friendly
nations” – a “buffer” against the Germans, the “West”).
29
Two Superpowers
• The USA and the USSR resembled each other in that they both had
largely been isolated from world affairs and practiced an ideological
“missionary” foreign policy (born in their respective revolutions the
need to proselytize their respective economic and political
ideologies – even more during the Cold War).
• {Isolation of course is relative to European affairs as both nations
expanded ruthlessly through their “interiors” subjugating people and
claiming territories through war and conquest.}
30
Who caused the Cold War?
• Responsibility for starting the Cold War rests with (both) the USA
and the USSR
• Who Was Responsible for the Cold War? This is worth reading!)
• Winston Churchill's "Sinews of Peace" address of 5 March 1946, at
Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri, used the term "iron
curtain" in the context of Soviet-dominated Eastern Europe:
• “From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic an "iron curtain"
has descended across the Continent. Behind that line lie all the
capitals of the ancient states of Central and Eastern Europe.
Warsaw, Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Budapest, Belgrade, Bucharest
and Sofia; all these famous cities and the populations around them
lie in what I must call the Soviet sphere, and all are subject, in one
form or another, not only to Soviet influence but to a very high and in
some cases increasing measure of control from Moscow.”
31
WWII Yalta Conference
• At the wartime Yalta Conference (on the Black Sea with
FDR, Stalin, and Churchill), the Big Three Allies (USA,
USSR, and Great Britain) agreed to establish a postwar
international peacekeeping organization and that the
Soviets would enter the Pacific war against Japan within
3 months of the surrender of Germany (5-8-45).
• {Note that the USSR invaded Manchuria on 8-8-45, after
8/6/45, Hiroshima, and the day before 8/9/45, Nagasaki.}
32
Cold War Tensions
• By 1945, the Soviet Union (Joseph Stalin) had reason to
be suspicious of the USA because the British and
Americans had delayed in opening a second front in
Europe during WWII, and the British and Americans had
not informed the Soviets of an atomic bomb project until
it was completed.
• {Davidson & Lytle Ch13 The Decision to Drop the Bomb
– the US and Great Britain were more worried about
Soviet spies, not really the Axis so much, which did not
matter in the end because the Soviets had spies working
on the Manhattan Project anyway.}
33
Maps of East and West Germany
and East and West Berlin
The Berlin Wall
34