Transcript Cold War Containment Policy

The Cold War:
Selected Topics
Chapter 40 Notes
Mr. Ferbert
What was the Cold War?
• The indirect and undeclared war between the US
and USSR from 1946-1990 over “opposite and
competing political and economic goals”
• Most historians agree the Cold War began with
Churchill's “Iron Curtain” speech on March 5,
1946 in Fulton Missouri
• Not once during the Cold War did the Soviet
Union and US ever directly fight each other
• The Cold War defined US foreign policy for over
40 years and impacted every aspect of society
“Opposite & Competing Political
and Economic
Goals”
• USSR
• USA
• Democratic – elect
government officials
• Multi-class society
• Capitalistic economy – free
competition with private
property rights
• Society free and open –
speech/religion/assembly
• Political goals -Promote
democracy by supporting
anti-communist
forces/govts around world
-Economic goals – find new
markets to promote trade
and access to cheap raw
materials for manufacturing
CONTAIN COMMUNISM
• Communist – appointed
party officials
• Classless “proletariat”
worker dominated society
• Socialistic economy –
collective ownership of
property and land
• Closed & secretive society
• Atheistic - ”Godless”
• Political -Promote spread of
communism by supporting
revolutions worldwide
• Economic goals – rebuild
and expand control over
bordering countries for
access to trade & cheap raw
materials/protection
SPREAD COMMUNISM
US Cold War Foreign Policy:
Containment of Communism
• First made public by President
Truman in the Truman
Doctrine Speech (March 12,
1947)
• Created by US Soviet
specialist George F. Kennan
• Its goal was to remove any
opportunities for the USSR to
establish Communist
governments around the world
• Based on a belief in the
Domino Theory of
Communism – that if one
country became communist
other countries around it would
also fall under communist
control, falling like a row of
dominoes.
Containment Policy: Truman
Doctrine
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President Truman went before
Congress on March 12, 1947 and
requested $400 million to support
Greece and Turkey in their fight
against communist guerrillas trying
to overthrow their governments.
His speech established the
“containment policy” and “domino
theory”– Greece and Turkey being
the first dominoes we needed to
stop from falling to communism
From 1947 until the end of the
Vietnam War (1973) the U.S.
actively engaged communist threats
anywhere in the world to contain
the spread of communism and
promote democracy.
Containment Policy ( Truman Doctrine):
How and Where Applied?
• First applied in Greece
and Turkey (as result of
Truman Doctrine Speech)
• Other Applications:
• Western Europe (Marshall
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Plan)
Germany (Berlin Airlift)
Creation of NATO
South Korea (Korean War)
South Vietnam (Vietnam
War)
Middle East (Eisenhower
Doctrine)
This Russian cartoon shows the
Greeks being helped by Uncle Sam.
Notice the $ sign on the gun –
Symbolizing the $400 million in aid
From the Truman Doctrine
Containment Policy:
Marshall Plan
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Following WW II most of Europe
was in ruins - Millions of refugees
roamed the continent, governments
were in chaos, economies remained
in ruin. Many Western European’s
considered communism as way to
end their suffering.
As a result of the Marshall Plan
$13.5 billion was given to16
countries. With this $$ European
countries purchase U.S. goods and
machinery helping to fuel the US
economy
The USSR (and its satellite
counties) refused Marshall aid –
seeing as an attempt of the US to
extend its influence in Europe
Containment Policy:
Berlin Airlift
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Following World War II,
Germany was divided into four
zones of occupation -- Soviet,
British, French and American.
Berlin (located inside the Soviet
zone) was also divided into four
occupation zones
Moscow said because Berlin
was located in the Soviet zone it
"economically formed a part of
it."
On June 24, 1948, West Berlin
wakes to find itself under a
Soviet blockade. The Soviets
hope to starve the West out of
Berlin. After 11 months the
blockade was lifted.
This was the first major
confrontation of the Cold
War.
A divided Germany
A divided Berlin
Containment Policy: NATO
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North Atlantic Treaty Organization
(NATO) originated as a defensive
military alliance established in
1949 by the US and 11of its
Western European allies.
It was created as an alliance against
the threat of communism, the
Soviet Union and its satellite
countries (Eastern European
countries under Soviet control)
In 1954, the Soviet Union
suggested that it should join NATO
to preserve peace in Europe. The
NATO countries, fearing that the
Soviet Union's motive was to
weaken the alliance, rejected this
proposal.
The USSR created the Warsaw
Pact in response to NATO
Containment Policy: China
• For 20 years there was a civil war in China
• The US supported the nationalist
government led by Chiang Kai-shek
• The American public supported Chiang
because of the Nationalists support and
determination during WWII against Japan
• However, Chiang’s government was
inefficient and corrupt. His policies
undermined the support for the Nationalist
government
• The Communist were led by Mao Zedong
and gained support by encouraging
reading and food production. They had
the support of the peasants
Containment Policy: China
• From 1944-1947, the US tried to keep the
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peace between the Nationalists and
Communist.
At the same time they sent $2 billion in aid to
the Nationalists
The aid was not enough and in 1949, Chiang
and his supporters fled to the island of Taiwan
The US did not recognize the communist
government of the People’s Republic of China
The American public was upset and
conservatives blamed the Truman
administration and the Democrats for not
giving enough aid
The Democrats blamed the internal
government.
Containment Policy: Korean War
• The Korean War (1950-1953)
resulted from border clashes
between Northern Korea
(supported by USSR) and
Southern Korea (supported by
the US) after it was divided at
the end of WW II
• It was never a declared war,
instead called a “Police Action”
• United Nations forces (90% of
them US and controlled by US
General Macarthur)fought
North Korean troops and later
Chinese troops (supported by
the USSR)
• When the war was over the
country was divided (and still
is) at the 38th parallel
Containment Policy: Korean War
• After WWII, Korea was
divided at the 38th parallel
establishing two countries:
North Korea (communist)
and South Korea
(Democracy)
• Soon after WWII the US
cut its forces in Korea and
by June of 1949 there were
only around 500 troops in
South Korea
• The USSR concluded that
the US would not defend
the South
Containment Policy: Korean War
• On June 25, 1949 the North Korean
troops came across the 38th parallel and
within a few days they were deep into
the South
• South Korea went to the UN Security
Council to ask for help. The USSR was
boycotting the UN, so the vote was
passed
• On June 27th Truman sent troops from
Japan to help
• In all, 16 nations and 520,000 troops
were sent to Korea. 90% were
American
Containment Policy: Korean War
• At first the North Koreans seemed
unstoppable, but the UN troops led by
Gen. Douglas MacArthur were able to
push the North Koreans back to the
38th parallel
• Soon the US troops were close to the
Chinese border and it appeared that
Korea would be united again.
• However, the Chinese wanted North
Korea as a buffer state and sent
300,000 troops to fight the Americans
• The Chinese outnumbered the
Americans 10 to 1 and pushed the
Americans southward and captured
the capital Seoul
Troops serving in theater
Service Numbe
r
% of Hostile
Total Deaths
% of
Total
ARMY 1,153,0
00
64%
27,731
82%
NAVY 265,00
0
15%
506
1%
AIR 241,00
FOR
0
CE
14%
1,238
4%
MARI 130,00
NES
0
7%
4,266
13%
Totals 1,789,0
00
-
33,741
-
Containment Policy: Korean War
• For two years the sides fought to gain
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a strategic location of the hills of
Korea
Neither side was successful and
MacArthur called for an invasion of
China
Truman said no because China and the
USSR had an agreement.
Fighting with China meant a war with
the USSR
Instead of fighting with China, the US
was able to push the North Korean and
Chinese troops northward back to the
38th parallel
By July 1953, an armistice was signed
by both sides
Race for the H-Bomb
• Scientists who developed
the atomic bomb knew that
a more destructive
hydrogen bomb or HBomb could be created
• The US and USSR entered
a race to be the first
country to create the HBomb
• The US won in 1952, but
less then a year later the
USSR developed one
Containment Policy:
Eisenhower Doctrine
• Became US foreign policy after
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a speech to Congress in 1957
The doctrine stated that the
United States would use armed
forces upon request in response
to imminent or actual
aggression to the United States.
Furthermore, countries opposed
to communism would be given
aid in various forms.
It was a continuation of the
containment policy and a
response to threat of growing
Soviet power throughout the
world
First applied in Middle East as
Soviets attempt to use Suez
Canal to possibly invade Egypt
Containment Policy:
Eisenhower Doctrine
• The Eisenhower plan was
engineered by Secretary of State
John Foster Dulles
• The willingness of the Eisenhower
to go to the edge of all out war
became known as brinkmanship
• Under this policy, the US trimmed
its army and navy, but expanded its
air force (because it could drop
bombs).
• The USSR followed.
Containment Policy:
Covert Operations
• The Eisenhower government started to
rely on the CIA for information
• Iran: In 1953, the CIA provided
money to anti-government supporters.
This allowed for the Shah of Iran to
come back and allow western oil
companies to come in
• Guatemala: In 1954, the CIA trained
an army that over threw the
government because the US thought it
was a pro-communist government.
The army leader became the dictator
Containment Policy:
The Suez Canal
• In 1955, Great Britain and the
US offered to help Egypt
finance a dam on the Suez
Canal
• The head of Egypt’s
government, Gamal AbdeiNassar, tried to get more
money by talking to both the
US and the Soviets against
each other
• The US took away its financing
when it found out that Egypt
was working with the Soviets
Containment Policy:
The Suez Canal
• Egypt then nationalized the canal
even though it was owned by
companies from Great Britain and
France
• It effected Israel because Egypt
stopped allowing ships through the
canal that were headed to Israel
• Great Britain, France, and Israel
attacked Egypt and took control of
the Mediterranean side of the canal
• The UN stepped in to stop the
fighting and gave the canal to Egypt
Containment Policy:
The Hungarian Uprisings
• In 1956, the Hungarian people revolted
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against the Soviet Union and called for a
democratic government
In November 1956, Soviet troops came in to
Hungary and killed 30,000 people
The pro-democracy government was
replaced by a Soviet government
Although the Truman doctrine said that the
US would help governments, they did
nothing.
The UN did not help either. The Soviets
vetoed anything that would help the
Hungarians.
Containment Policy:
The Space Race
• After Stalin’s death in 1953,
there was a new leader in the
USSR Nikita Khrushchev
• Khrushchev believed that
communism would take over the
world, but believed in a peaceful
coexistence with the US
• The two countries would
compete economically and
scientifically
Containment Policy:
The Space Race
• There was a race by both the US and
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Soviet Union to get to space
The USSR took an early led by
sending the satellite Sputnik into
space
Sputnik travelled around the globe
every 96 minutes
The US was shocked and starting
putting money into their space
program
The first attempt was a failure, but in
January 31, 1958 they launched their
satellite
Containment Policy:
The U-2 Incident
• After the “open-skies” proposal
was turned down in the Geneva
Conference the CIA began
making high-altitude flights over
Soviet territory
• These planes were called U-2s
and some government officials
were nervous because the US
press knew about them and the
USSR knew about them
• Eisenhower wanted to stop the
flights, but was convinced to have
one more flight.
Containment Policy:
The U-2 Incident
• On May 1, 1960 Francis Gary Powers
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was flying over the USSR and was
shot down.
He was captured by the Soviets and
sentenced to 10 years in a Soviet
prison
Eisenhower first denied that they were
spying, but finally had to admit to
Khrushchev that they were
He had to apologize and Khrushchev
called off their summit.
The 1960s opened with great tension
between the two countries.
Containment Policy:
Vietnam War
• US military involvement in
Vietnam began in 1956 and
ended in 1975 when the capital
of South Vietnam (Saigon) was
taken over the North
• It was a war between the
communist North Vietnam and
the Vietcong (supported by
China and the USSR) and the
democratic South Vietnam,
supported by US military forces
• First official US Combat troops
land in 1965
• Involved brutal guerrilla
warfare
Containment Policy: Bay of Pigs
(Secret Invasion of Cuba)
• Between 1956 and 1959, Fidel Castro led a
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revolt in Cuba
He had said he was going to create a
democracy, but when he seized oil fields
from the US and GB, relations cooled
He also broke sugar farms into communes.
Americans owned 75% of the sugar farms
The US put a trade barrier against Cuban
sugar
Many Cubans left Cuba and came to Miami
In March of 1960, Eisenhower told the CIA
they could train Cuban exiles
Containment Policy: Bay of Pigs
(Secret Invasion of Cuba)
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April 1961 failed secret invasion of
Cuba by 1,500 armed Cuban exiles
and CIA agents in an attempt to
overthrow Fidel Castro’s
communist govt.
Planned by President Eisenhower
and carried out by the CIA under
President Kennedy’s orders
Troops landed shortly after
midnight in the Bay of Pigs with
support by US bombers disguised
as Cuban planes
Kennedy refused to send troops to
help the force – wanted to keep the
invasion a secret
Resulted in a further deterioration
of US-Cuba relations and a public
embarrassment for the newly
elected President Kennedy
Containment Policy:
Cuban Missile Crisis
• In October of 1962, the US and
USSR were on the brink of all
out nuclear war
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The Soviets had installed nuclear
missiles in Cuba, just 90 miles off
the coast of the United States.
U.S. armed forces were at their
highest state of readiness.
Soviet field commanders in Cuba
were authorized to use tactical
nuclear weapons if US invaded
US quarantined Cuba to prevent
further Soviet support War was
averted when the Soviets agreed
to dismantle the missiles in Cuba
in exchange for a no invasion
agreement and a secret removal
of US missiles in Turkey.
Containment Policy:
The Berlin Crisis
• In 1961, Berlin was in crisis, almost 3 million
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East Germans (20% of East Germany's
population) fled to West Berlin and spoke
about the economic problems there
Their departure weakened the East German
economy
In June of 1961, Khrushchev and JFK met in
Vienna Austria where Khrushchev threatened
to close off access to West Berlin
JFK refused to give up US access to West
Berlin
Khrushchev threatened war, but instead built
the Berlin Wall
The wall became a symbol of communist
oppression
Examples of Containment
at Home
• Dramatic increase of
defense spending
(As requested by the
National Security
Council in NSC 68)
• Creation of CIA and
other increased
national security
measures
• Peacetime Draft began
in 1948
• Truman Loyalty
Program
Cold War Rearmament: The
National Security Act
• Led to restructuring of the
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armed services
Led to dramatic increase
in military spending(4x
increase) and federal taxes
Created the Dept. of
Defense and building of
the Pentagon
Created position of
Secretary of Defense
(eliminated Sec. of War)
Created the Joint Chiefs of
Staff – the uniformed
heads of each armed srvc
Cold War Rearmament: The
National Security Act
• Led to a more efficiently
managed military – a
necessity due to the its
increased size during the
Cold War
• Created the NSC
(National Security
Council) to advise the
president on national
security matters
• Created the CIA to
coordinate fact finding
and covert operations
overseas
Other Cold War Rearmament
Steps Taken . . .
• The “Voice of America”
began pro-democratic
radio broads behind the
Iron Curtain in 1948
• NATO was created in
Washington in 1949 as a
defensive alliance against
potential Soviet
aggression Western
Europe
• Originally included 12
nations
• HISTORIC PEACETIME
ALLIANCE - Tradition of
isolationism dead!!!
The Red Scare – Fighting
Communism at Home - CAUSES
• 1950-1955 fear of communism
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intensified in the US
CAUSED BY . . .
Growth of US Communist party
during the depression
Truman Doctrine speech
“scared the hell” out of many
people
The CIA’s discovery of over
200 suspected Communists
working in the government
(1947 Federal Loyalty
Program)
The “Fall of China” to
Communism in 1949 – most
populated country
The Red Scare – CAUSES
• The invasion of South
Korea by the North in
1950
• Success of the USSR
atomic weapons program
• 1949 – 1st A-bomb
• 1953 - 1st H-bomb
• Popular culture fed the
hysteria to make
• $$Magazines, tv, comic
books, music, radio, movies
The Red Scare – CAUSES
• H.U.A.C.’s (House UnAmerican Activities
Committee) high profile
probe into Communists in
Hollywood
• The televised McCarthy
hearings & investigation
into Communists in the
govt. and military
• High profile spy cases
• Alger Hiss
• The Rosenberg's
The Red Scare – EFFECTS
• Paranoia, fear, unfounded
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suspicion and wild
accusations
“Guilt by Association”
Free speech suffered – it
became dangerous and in
some cases illegal to
criticize the government
Peoples lives and careers
were ruined
People were unfairly
“Blacklisted” –
Hollywood 10
United Nations
• 1945 – Delegates first
meet in San Francisco
• Designed to maintain
international peace and
security and encourage
cooperation in solving
international social,
economic, and cultural
problems
• Origins:
• League of Nations
(WW I)
• Atlantic Charter
(WW II)
United Nations: Two Central
Agencies
• THE SECURITY
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COUNCIL
Primary responsibility – to
preserve peace
15 total members
5 permanent “Great
Power” members (US,
Russia, China, GB,
France)
Each has veto power
Must have unanimous
vote to take UN action
United Nations: Two Central
Agencies
• THE SECURITY
COUNCIL
• 10 rotating members –
each with a two year
term
• Selected from the
General Assembly
United Nations: Two Central
Agencies
• GENERAL ASSEMBLY:
• Includes delegates from
every member nation
(2005 – 191 total members
– including the Security
Council)
• A deliberative body –
purpose is to debate issues
within the UN charter
• Each member has = vote
• Prepares budget, elects
members to new agencies,
makes recommendations
to the Security Council