Transcript Cold War Review - Biloxi Public Schools

Cold War Review
TRUMAN & EISENHOWER
Recognize the fear of communism in the late 40’s
and early 50’s, and the lengths that people went
to in order to “protect” the country from them:
 HUAC - House Un-American Activities
Committee was created to look for Communists
both inside and outside the government.
 Rosenberg’s – Husband and wife that were
members of the American Communist Party and
were both executed for espionage.

McCarthyism- Named for a Republican
Senator who claimed that Communists
were taking over the federal government.
1.
How did post WWII mechanization
impact the work force?
As technology increased, more
Americans began to work in white-collar
jobs versus blue-collar. Less people are
needed to work in the factories or on the
farms. There is a shift to the service
sector. (jobs that provide a service)
2. Recognize the attempts that the Soviets used to
push the U.S. out of West Berlin, and U.S.
response to the Soviets actions.
The Soviets cut off all transportation to West Berlin
in the hopes that the Allies will give up the
idea of German reunification. For 327 days,
planes brought food and supplies to West
Berlin. Finally, the Soviets gave up the
blockade.
3. What were/are the goals of the United Nations?
NATO? Warsaw Pact?
 United Nations - Peacekeeping body of
nations
 NATO – North Atlantic Treaty Organization is
a defense military alliance of the United States,
Canada and 10 European nations.
 Warsaw Pact – Military alliance of the Soviet
Union and its satellite nations. Established in
response to the formation on NATO.
4. What is meant by mutually assured
destruction? brinkmanship?
 Mutually assured destruction is the
concept that since more than one
country has the ability to destroy the
other with a few stokes of a keypad, this
assures peace.
 Brinkmanship is the willingness to go to
the edge, or brink of war.
5. What were real fears of the American
people post WWII? What were real fears
of the government? Which one proved to
be true?
 Collectively, Americans felt threatened by
the rise of Communism in Europe and
Asia, but for many the REAL fear was how
the post WWII economy was going to
impact them. A real fear of the
government globally was the spread of
communism…which the government then
applied to the U.S., which made it easier
to increase military spending, etc.
6. What preparations did the U.S.
government put in place to address the
millions of returning soldiers post WWII?
 The G.I. Bill of Rights provided financial
and educational benefits for WWII
veterans.
7. How did the Soviets successful testing of
the atomic bomb change foreign policy
and the nature of war?
 MAD (mutually assured distruction)! So
what do you do?
8. How did the launching of Sputnik impact
the United States?
 U.S. began to work frantically to catch
up to the Soviets. Funding for math and
science programs also increased.
9. What factors motivated the creation of
the Dixiecrats in 1948?
 Southern Democrats formed their own
political party under the leadership of
Strom Thurmond (SC) because President
Truman supported civil rights.
10. Be able to cite advantages of the
Interstate Highway Act.
 New suburbs were developed
 High-speed, long- haul trucking became
possible (decline in RR’s)
 Towns near the new highways prospered.
 The system of highways helped to unify
and homogenize the nation
11. What policy did the United States take
to address post WWII communist
expansion?
How was this policy used
in: Europe; the Middle East.
 A policy of containment was enacted. In
Europe, some examples are the Marshall
Plan, Truman Doctrine (Greece and
Turkey) and the Berlin Airlift. In the
Middle East, the U.S. stated that it would
defend against a communist attack
(Eisenhower Doctrine).
12. What were major features of Truman’s
Fair Deal policy? Why was it not
embraced by the American people?
 The Fair Deal was Truman’s domestic
policy. This program included economic
and social reforms, such as national health
insurance and subsidies for farmers.
These were defeated by Congress. Many
Americans felt that there was not a need
for social programs following the boom of
WWII.
13. What factors allowed for the shift to the
suburbs? What did the move to the suburbs
represent? Did everybody have the option of
moving out of the inner-cities?
 Suburbia allowed for affordable housing, fresh
air, low crime and good schools. The
closeness to major cities for jobs and culture
promoted this movement. Having the ability
to move was seen as a step up. Not everyone
could afford this move out of the cities and the
inner cities began to decline.
14. The Korean War was a proxy war. What
does this mean?
 Even though the war was being fought
by North and South Korea, the bigger
issue was between the U.S. and Soviet
Union.
15. Did Truman embrace the Taft Hartley
Act? Be able to explain.
 Truman vetoed the Taft-Hartley bill and
it was passed with a 2/3 majority in
Congress. This bill overturned many
rights won by the unions under the New
Deal.
16. How did the Chinese Civil War shake up the
permanent Security Council of the United
Nations?
 The United Nations refused to recognize Mao’s
government as the true government of China.
As a result, the Soviet Union walked out in
protest and was unable to veto the vote that
allowed Chiang Kai-Shek and his government
on the island of Taiwan the seat on the
Security Council.