Transcript Cold War

(was not actually a war!!!)
Yalta Conference
February 1945
 Churchill, Stalin, and FDR
 Stalin wanted Germany divided into zones.
 Churchill disagrees.
 FDR is mediator because he wants

 Soviet Union to help defeat Japan.
 Stalin’s support for creation of United Nations.
Yalta Conference

Compromise
 Germany temporarily divided into four zones.
○ American, British, French, and Soviet
 Stalin promised “free and unfettered elections” in
Soviet occupied territory.
 Stalin agreed to join war with Japan.
○ Atomic bomb has not been tested yet.
 Stalin agrees to participate in UN.
United Nations
August 1945, 50 nations
meet in San Francisco to
establish the UN.
 Today the headquarters
are in New York City.

Harry S Truman
Became president 13 days
before UN conference.
 Very different from FDR.
 Would have to deal with
experienced leaders.

Potsdam Conference

July 1945
 Atomic bomb will be tested while Truman at meeting.
Stalin, Truman, Churchill (Altee)
 Stalin did not allow free elections like he
promised at Yalta.
 Truman wants free elections to ensure spread of
democracy and so American businesses can
expand.

Potsdam Conference

Satellite nations are dependent on and
dominated by Soviet Union.
 Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary,
Romania, and Poland.

Stalin: Communism and Capitalism are not
compatible.
 Soviets focus on building weapons not consumer
goods.
Containment Policy

February 1946
 Time to stop “babying the Soviets”

Containment Policy
 Take measures to prevent extension of
Communist rule in other countries.
 George F. Kennan – American diplomat in
Moscow
Containment guided Truman’s foreign
policy making
 Churchill and “iron curtain”

Truman Doctrine
“It must be the policy of the United States to
support free people who are resisting
attempted subjugation by armed minorities
or by outside pressures.”
 Congress agreed and the U.S. sent $400
million to Turkey and Greece to keep them
from communist takeover.

Marshall Plan
Proposed by Secretary of State, George
Marshall
 Provided aide to all European nations who
needed it
 16 European countries received almost $13
billion to rebuild
 1952 - Western Europe flourishing and
Communist Party losing appeal

Western Berlin Reunification
France, Great Britain, and U.S. wanted to
reunify Germany and Berlin.
 Soviets wanted Germany to remain weak.
 Soviets cut off West Berlin and started
starving them (enough food for 5 weeks)
 Hoped Western nations would abandon
Berlin or stop reunification.

Question of Berlin
What should America do about the situation in
Berlin?
Western Berlin Reunification

Berlin Airlift
 American and British flew 227,000 airlifts in 327
days.
 Supplied food, medicine, fuel, and XMAS
presents to West Berlin.
 Boosted American prestige
 Hurt Soviet prestige and eventually lifted the
blockade
Election of 1948

Democrat: Harry Truman
 For Civil Rights
Republican: Thomas Dewey
 Dixiecrat: Strom Thurmond

 Southern Democrats against Civil Rights.
One of closest elections. Many thought Dewey
won when they went to bed.
North Atlantic Treaty Organization
Purpose: Stop Soviet aggression with
defensive military alliances; standing
military at all times
 Countries: Belgium, Denmark, France,
Great Britain, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg,
Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, U.S., and
Canada
 First time U.S. entered into a military
alliance during peacetime
 Cold War ended U.S. isolationism

China

Mao Zedong: Communist
 Ruled in North China
 Relied on financial aid from
Soviet Union
 Promise of land reform
appealed to peasants
China

Chiang Kai-Shek: Nationalist
 Ruled in South China
 Relied on financial aid from U.S.
Chinese Peasants turn to
Communist Party, Nationalists
flee to Taiwan
 U.S. favored Nationalists
because they opposed
communism

Soviet Union
Taiwan
Korean War
Korea owned by Japan from 1910 – 1945
 38th parallel was imaginary line bisecting Korea
 Japanese north of 38th parallel surrendered to
Soviets
 Japanese south of 38th parallel surrendered to U.S.

Korean War

North Korea
 Kim Il Sung: Democratic Republic of Korea

South Korea
 Syngman Rhea: Republic of South Korea

U.S. supports South Korea when North
Korea attacks
Korean War
1949 - U.S. and Soviets withdraw their
troops
 Leave North and South to figure it out
 North and South claim right to rule all of
Korea
 North Korea attacks in 1950
 Truman related aggression to WW II and
how no one tried to stop it then

Korean War
UN adopted American Resolution to help
South Korea
 Soviet Union could have vetoed, but were
boycotting UN
 Douglas MacArthur given command of UN
and South Korean troops

Korean War

North Korea pushes UN & S.
Korean troops to Pusan
Korean War
MacArthur drives them
back across 38th parallel
 MacArthur then
invades North Korea

Korean War

China Reacts
 Would not let Americans
come to border, Yalu River

UN & S. Korean forces get
close to Yalu & 300,000
Chinese attack
Korean War

Push UN & S. Korean
forces back to 38th
parallel
MacArthur’s Recommendations - 1951
Blockade Chinese coast
 Use atomic bomb on China

 Russia exploded atomic bomb in 1949
Use Chiang Kai-Shek’s troops in China
 Truman rejects

 Attacking China would start WW III
MacArthur & Limited War
Upset because he could not fight total war
 Tried to go over Truman’s head
 Truman relieved him of command
 Americans supported MacArthur
 After Congressional investigation of
MacArthur, people thought Truman did right
thing

Panmunjom: July 1953

Armistice between
North and South Korea
signed.
Loyalty Review Board
Purpose: Investigate government employees
and dismiss those found to be disloyal (3.2
million investigated)
 Disloyal was never defined.
 Not allowed to see evidence against you or
know who accused you.

House Un-American Activities Committee
Purpose: Rid Hollywood of suspected
Communists.
 Hollywood Ten

 10 of 43 witnesses from film industry would not
cooperate with HUAC. Sent to prison.

Blacklist: List of people who had a
Communist background. Could no longer
work in film.
McCarren Act
Loyalty Review Board did not go far
enough.
 Congress wants to make it unlawful to plan
action against U.S.
 Truman vetoed.

 “In a free country, we punish men for the crimes
they commit, but never for the opinions they
hold.”

Congress passed over veto.
Alger Hiss
Hiss accused of selling secrets to
Soviets.
 Could not prove.
 Hiss convicted of perjury, lying
under oath, and sent to jail.

Rosenbergs
1950 accused of selling A-bomb secrets to
Soviets.
 Convicted and electrocuted.

Senator Joseph McCarthy
Wanted to be reelected as Wisconsin
Republican Senator.
 Needed an issue to focus attention on him.
 Charged that Communist were taking over
government.
 Claimed Democrats were guilty of treason
for allowing Communist infiltration.

Senator Joseph McCarthy
Republicans in Congress did nothing
because 1952 presidential election was
close.
 Wanted the public to see them as strong anticommunists.

Vietnam
1950 - America supporting France as they
fight Ho Chi Minh in Vietnam
 America supported Ho Chi Minh when he
fought against the Japanese during WW II
 Now Truman gives France nearly $15
million to defeat him
 U.S. intended on keeping Communism out
of Vietnam

Republican
1953-1960
Election of 1952
Republican: Dwight D. Eisenhower
 Vice President: Richard Nixon

“I Like Ike”
H-Bomb
Atom Bomb: Atom split.
 Hydrogen Bomb: Atoms fused. 67 times
more powerful than those dropped on Japan.

H-Bomb
1949 Soviets exploded atomic bomb.
 U.S. began research on hydrogen bomb.
 November 1, 1952: U.S. explode first
thermonuclear device, H-bomb.
 August 1953: Soviets explode H-bomb.

H-Bomb

First H-bomb, “Mike” Mushroom cloud
 8 miles across
 27 miles high
 80 million tons of earth vaporized
 Nuclear Testing & Nuclear Drill
H-Bomb
"I was on a ship that was thirty miles away, and we had
this horrible white stuff raining down on us. I got 10
rads [100 chest x-rays] of radiation from it. It was pretty
frightening. There was a huge fireball with these
turbulent rolls going in and out. The thing was glowing.
It looked to me like a diseased brain up in the sky. It
spread until the edge of it looked as if it was almost
directly overhead. It was a much more awesome sight
than a puny little atomic bomb. It was a pretty sobering
and shattering experience.“
Marshall Rosenbluth, a U.S. theoretical physicist
Nuclear Age
Soviet and America had nuclear capabilities.
 Americans fearful of nuclear strike from
Soviets.
 Civil Defense put out information in case of
nuclear attack.

 Bert the Turtle: Duck and Cover
Nikita Khrushchev
Stalin dies in 1953.
 Khrushchev becomes head
of Soviet Communist Party
(peaceful co-existence)

John Foster Dulles

Brinkmanship: U.S.
would keep peace by
promising to use all
its force against any
aggressor.
CIA

Formed to gather information and overthrow
governments unfriendly to U.S.
CIA
1951 - Iran’s prime minister, Mohammed
Mossadegh took oil fields owned by British
and gave them to Iranians (Britain stopped
by Iranian oil in return)
 U.S. feared Mossedegh might look to
Soviets for help
 1953 - CIA gave millions to anti-Mossedegh
supporters to help the Shah of Iran return to
power

CIA
1954 - Guatemala’s government gave land
to peasants
 Eisenhower believed Guatemalan
government had Communist ties
 CIA trained an army that would invade
Guatemala and take over
 President of Guatemala ousted and leader of
army became dictator

Warsaw Pact

Military alliance between Soviet Union and
satellite nations because West Germany rearmed and joined NATO
Geneva Summit
1955 U.S. and Soviets meet in Geneva,
Switzerland
 U.S. wants open skies
 Soviets reject

Eisenhower Doctrine

U.S. would defend
Middle East against
attacks from Communists
Sputnik I
October 4, 1957: first unmanned satellite to
enter Earth’s orbit (Soviet)
 Americans felt inferior to Soviets
 U.S. schools focus on math, science, and
foreign language


Sputnik & Space Race
U-2 Incident
After failure of Geneva Summit, CIA began
spying of Soviets with U-2 plane.
 1960 U.S. nervous about U-2

 American press knew about U-2 missions.
 Soviets were aware of flights.

Summer 1960 U.S. and Soviets scheduled to
hold arms race conference.
U-2 Incident
Eisenhower agrees to one more
flight of U-2 prior to meeting.
 Francis Gray Powers pilot of U-2
on May 1, 1960.
 Plane shot down by Soviets and
Powers’ parachutes into Soviet
territory.

U-2 Incident
Eisenhower denies spying
 Claims U-2 is a weather plane
 Eisenhower finally admits spying on Soviets
 Khrushchev wants an apology and promise
to stop U-2 flights
 Eisenhower agrees to stop U-2 flights but
will not apologize

U-2 Incident
Khrushchev calls off summit and withdraws
invitation to Eisenhower to visit Soviet
Union
 Tensions between Soviets and U.S. grow

Cuba





1959 Fidel Castro overthrows
Fulgencio Batista.
Castro takes control of American
businesses in Cuba.
Trade is cut off between U.S. and
Cuba.
Cuba turns to Soviets for aid.
Anti-Castro Cubans fled to America.
Cuba
Eisenhower approves CIA to train Cuban
refugees to fight Castro.
 Late 1960 Cuban refugees almost ready to
invade Cuba and overthrow Castro.
 John F. Kennedy elected president in 1960,
becomes president in 1961

Vietnam
1953 Eisenhower becomes president and
continues to give aid to France.
 By now America had agreed to a stalemate
in Korea, so wanted to stop spread of
Communism in Vietnam.
 1954 Domino Theory

 When one country falls to Communism,
surrounding countries will also fall.
Vietnam
1954 French overrun by Vietminh.
 Geneva Accords held to try and create peace
in Vietnam through elections.
 1956 elections canceled because Communist
might win, U.S. supports.

Democrat
1960-1963
Election of 1960

What helped Kennedy win.
 First televised debate between presidential
candidates.
○ Kennedy looked and spoke better than Nixon
○ “That night, image replaced the printed word as the
natural language of politics.” Russell Baker
Kennedy takes Office
“Let every nation know, whether it wishes
us well or ill, that we shall pay any price,
bear any burden, meet any hardship, support
any friend, oppose any foe to assure the
survival and success of liberty.” JFK
inaugural address 1961
 “Ask not what your country can do for you,
but what you can do for your country.” JFK
inaugural address 1961

Kennedy takes Office

Wanted to redefine nation’s nuclear strategy.
 Increased defense spending.
 Created special forces, Green Berets.
 Wanted U.S. to be able to fight a non-nuclear
war.
Kennedy & Cuba

Fidel Castro
 Took power over Cuba in 1959
 Seized control of Am. & British oil refineries.
 Relied on aide from Soviet Union
 Cubans who disagreed with Castro moved to U.S.
Kennedy & Cuba

Bay of Pigs
 1960 President Eisenhower authorized the CIA to
train Cuban exiles to invade Cuba.
 9 days after JFK became president he learned of
the operation and approved it.
Kennedy & Cuba

April 1961
 1400 Cuban exiles landed at Bahia de Cochinos
(Bay of Pigs)
 20,000 Cuban troops with Soviet tanks and
planes defeated them.

JFK accepted blame and paid $53 million in
food and medicine to free survivors.
Kennedy & Cuba

Americans “looked like fools to our friends,
rascals to our enemies, and incompetents to
the rest.”
Cuban Missile Crisis
1962 U.S. discovered
Soviets building missile
bases in Cuba.
 Kennedy informed the
nation of Soviet missiles
in Cuba.

Cuban Missile Crisis
For 6 days in October 1962 the world faced
nuclear war.
 America imposed a naval blockade on
Cuba.
 Soviets backed off.
 Khrushchev agreed to take missiles out of
Cuba if America promised not to invade.

Berlin Crisis
1961 West Berlin was a “showcase of
democracy”
 20% of East Germans fled to West Berlin.
 Khrushchev wanted to close all access to
West Berlin
 Kennedy refused.

Berlin Crisis
August 1961 construction of the Berlin Wall
begins.
 Wall becomes an ugly symbol of
Communism.
 Torn down in 1989.

Easing Tensions
April 1963 a direct telephone line was
installed from the Kremlin to the White
House.
 Late 1963 U.S. and Soviets agreed to ban
nuclear testing in the atmosphere. Limited
Test Ban Treaty.

Vietnam
1961 Kennedy supports South Vietnam’s
leader Ngo Dien Diem with money as well
as military advisors.
 1963 16,000 U.S. military personnel in
South Vietnam.
 1963 U.S. supported overthrow of Diem.
 Before Kennedy died he said he was going
to withdraw U.S. forces from Vietnam.

Race to the Moon

April 12, 1961
 Soviet cosmonaut, Yuri Gagarin, was first man in
space.
Race to the Moon

JFK announced to Congress
 The U.S. “should commit itself to achieving the
goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man
on the moon and returning him safely to earth.”
Race to the Moon

National Aeronautics and
Space Administration
(NASA)
 Constructed launch
facilities in FL.
 Constructed mission control
in TX.
Race to the Moon

Alan Shepard, first American
in space. 1961
Race to the Moon

John Glenn, first American to orbit Earth.
1962
Race to the Moon

July 20, 1969
 Apollo 11
 Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins,
and Buzz Aldrin
 Land on Moon
 “The Eagle has landed.”
 “One small step for man. One giant leap for
mankind.”
Dallas: Nov. 22, 1963

JFK & Jacqueline came to TX to gain
support from Democrats.
Dallas: Nov. 22, 1963

As JFK, Jacqueline, TX Governor Connally,
and Connally’s wife rode through Dealy
Plaza in Dallas, TX. JFK was shot.
Dallas: Nov. 22, 1963

Limo rushed JFK to hospital where he died.
Dealy Plaza
Dallas, TX
Zapruder Film
JFK Motorcade Route
Dallas: Nov. 22, 1963
Zapruder Film
 LBJ took the oath of
office to become
president on Air Force
One.
 Jacqueline was standing
beside him in blood
stained clothes.

Dallas: Nov. 22, 1963

Lee Harvey Oswald charged with
assassination.
Dallas: Nov. 22, 1963

November 24, Oswald was shot and killed
by Jack Ruby.
Warren Commission: 1963
Established to investigate the Kennedy
assassination.
 Concluded that JFK was shot by Oswald
 1979 a Congressional committee
reinvestigated the case and said JFK was
probably shot by Oswald, but it was possible
that there were two shooters.

Conspiracy Theories
Cuban refugees angry after Bay of Pigs.
 Communists sponsored attack.
 CIA conspiracy.
 Mafia ordered the assassination.

The American Dream in the Fifties
Americans shift from blue-collar work to
white-collar work.
 Businesses

 Conglomerate: Businesses diversify by buying
smaller businesses.
 Franchise: Company that can offer similar
product in many locations.
○ McDonalds, Fast Food.
The American Dream in the Fifties

Baby Boom: 1946 – 1964
 Baby born every 7 seconds.
 Why?

Dr. Jonas Salk
 Vaccine against poliomyelitis (polio).
The American Dream in the Fifties

Dr. Benjamin Spock
 Common Sense Book of
Baby and Child Care
 Parents should talk to
children.
 Mothers should stay at
home.

The Good Wife’s Guide
The American Dream in the Fifties
Consumerism: Material goods equal success.
 Automobile mania:

 Car became necessity for commuting to work.
 Symbol of individual.

Planned Obsolescence:
 Goods designed to become obsolete.
 America becoming, “throwaway society”
Baseball




1947 Jackie Robinson first
African-American to play in
Major League Baseball.
Played in the Negro Leagues
prior to 1947.
1949 voted National Leagues
MVP.
Inducted into Baseball Hall
of Fame.
Baseball
Pop Culture
Mass Media: TV spread news, ideas, &
pictures fast.
 FCC: Gov’t agency to regulate TV,
Telephone, Telegraph, and Radio (Federal
Communications Commission).

Pop Culture

Milton Berle: Texaco Star
Theatre (Comedy)
Pop Culture

Lucille Ball and Desi
Arnaz: “I Love Lucy”
Pop Culture

Mickey Mouse Club & Howdy Doody
Show:
 Children shows that attracted loyal young fans.
 Nagged parents to buy products on show.
Pop Culture

Alfred Hitchcock: Horror films.
Pop Culture

Many feared that TV would take away from
movie and radio audiences.
 Radio turned from shows to music, news, and
weather.
 Movies had advantages like color, big screen,
and sound.
Pop Culture

Beatniks:
Nonconformity cared
little for material goods.
Pop Culture

Rock ‘n’ Roll: New type of music born out
of rhythm and blues.
 Many adults condemned because it would lead to
teenage delinquency and immorality.
Pop Culture
 Little
Richard
Pop Culture
 Chuck
Berry
Pop Culture
 Bill
Haley and the
Comets
Pop Culture

Elvis Presley: “King of Rock ‘n’ Roll”
Pop Culture

American Bandstand: Dick Clark
Pop Culture
 Nat
King Cole: First African
American to have weekly
series on national TV.
Pop Culture

Lena Horne
Pop Culture

Harry Belafonte
Pop Culture

Sydney Poitier
Pop Culture

Miles Davis
Pop Culture

Dizzy Gillespie