Transcript Chapter 27 Lecture PowerPoint

Chapter Twenty-Seven:
The Cold War
Chapter Twenty-Seven:
The Cold War

The Cold War
– Definitions
 Periodization: The Cold War is typically dated from 1945 until 1991,
although its key tensions began to emerge during the war.
 Bipolar Globe: The Cold War is described as being a “bipolar” period
where countries felt compelled to side with the U.S. and NATO, or
the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact on the other side.
 Cycles of Increasing Tension and Relative Calm: The Cold War was
characterized by cycles of increasing tension followed by relative
calm. Some of the most tense moments were the Berlin Blockade
(1948-49), the Korean War (1950-53), the Cuban Missile Crisis
(1962), and the the Vietnam War (1959-1975).
 Nonaligned States: By 1961, a movement of “non-aligned” states was
founded by leaders of Yugoslavia, Indonesia, Egypt, Ghana, and India
to try to create a space outside of the Cold War dynamic.
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Chapter Twenty-Seven:
The Cold War

Origins of the Cold War
– Sources of Soviet-American Tension
 America’s Postwar Vision: FDR wanted to see the world
outlined in the Atlantic Charter of 1941 emerge: nations
avoiding traditional military alliances and spheres of influence
in favor of democratic international bodies as mediators.
 Soviet and British Conservatism: While both the U.K. and
U.S.S.R. had signed the Atlantic Charter, both were suspect of
its full implications. Britain was uneasy about what selfdetermination would mean for its massive empire, while the
Soviets wished to carve out a traditional sphere of influence in
Central and Eastern Europe. Both Churchill and Stalin saw the
postwar world more in terms of the traditional European
balance of power.
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Chapter Twenty-Seven:
The Cold War

Origins of the Cold War
– Wartime Diplomacy
 Casablanca Conference: In Jan. 1943, FDR and Churchill met in the
Moroccan city of Casablanca to discuss strategy. They refused to
meet Stalin’s chief demand of opening a new front (Stalin did not
attend), but did promise not to negotiate a separate peace with Hitler.
 Tehran Conference: In late Nov. 1943, Stalin, Churchill, and FDR met
for the first time in Tehran, Iran. Stalin promised to enter the war
against Japan at the end of the European war, while FDR promised to
open a new European front within six months.
 Poland: Tensions between FDR and Churchill on one side and Stalin
on the other began to grow over the future Polish government: FDR
and Churchill supported the pro-Western government-in-exile in
London, while Stalin favored a pro-communist government.
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Chapter Twenty-Seven:
The Cold War
Teheran Conference, Nov. 28 – Dec. 1, 1943
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Chapter Twenty-Seven:
The Cold War

Origins of the Cold War
– The Yalta Conference
 United Nations Established: In this meeting in the Soviet city of Yalta
in the Crimean peninsula in Feb. 1945, FDR, Stalin, and Churchill
agreed on a plan for a new international organization that would
include a Security Council consisting of the five permanent powers—
U.S., Britain, France, the Soviet Union, and China—each with veto
power. The U.N. Charter was ultimately drafted at a conference in
San Francisco with fifty nations attending in April 1945.
 Disagreements over Poland: Stalin’s armies reoccupied large parts of
eastern Poland by 1944, and had set up a pro-communist government
in the city of Lublin, Stalin favored the Lublin government over the
government-in-exile in London. Stalin promised “free and unfettered”
elections to resolve the issue, but these did not happen for 40 years.
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Chapter Twenty-Seven:
The Cold War
Yalta conference, Feb. 1945.
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Chapter Twenty-Seven:
The Cold War

Origins of the Cold War
– The Yalta Conference
 Germany: The Yalta conference did not yield a solid plan for Germany
either; FDR wanted a reconstructed and reunited Germany, while Stalin
wanted a divided nation laden with heavy reparation payments.
Ultimately, a plan dividing Germany into “zones of occupation” was
devised, whereby Great Britain, France, the U.S., and the Soviets each
would each occupy their own piece of German territory, while Berlin
itself would also be divided into four occupation zones.
 Problems of the Yalta Accords: The accords were loose agreements that
side-stepped the most controversial issues, making vague promises about
the establishment of democratically elected governments. In the weeks
that followed, FDR was alarmed to see the Soviets set up pro-communist
governments in many central and eastern European states they occupied.
 FDR’s Death: Taking a vacation at his retreat in Warm Springs, Georgia,
FDR suffered a sudden massive stroke and died on April 12, 1945.
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Chapter Twenty-Seven:
The Cold War

The Collapse of the Peace
– Harry S. Truman
 Little Experience: The new president had limited experience in foreign
affairs. He also did not share FDR’s belief that Stalin could bend on
certain issues, and often viewed him with contempt.
– The Failure of Potsdam
 “Getting Tough”: Just days after taking office, Truman called the Soviet
minister in and chastised him for violations of the Yalta Accords.
 Limited American Leverage: But with the Russians occupying most of
Eastern and Central Europe and Germany already divided, American
negotiating leverage was poor. Still fighting Japan, the U.S. was not
willing to open up a new front of war. Truman first conceded on Poland,
recognizing the Warsaw government after Stalin made a few small
concessions to the London Polish government.
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Chapter Twenty-Seven:
The Cold War

The Collapse of the Peace
– The Failure of Potsdam
 Potsdam Conference: Truman met with Churchill (who was
replaced by Clement Attlee as prime minister during the talks)
and Stalin at Potsdam in Soviet-occupied Germany just outside
of Berlin from July 17 to Aug. 2, 1945.
 Disagreement: Truman allowed for the redrawing of the PolishGerman border that Stalin wanted, but refused reparation being
paid from Allied zones of Germany. This stance all but
guaranteed that Germany would remain divided, with the
Allied zones united under a pro-western government and the
Russian zone with a pro-Soviet, communist government
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Chapter Twenty-Seven:
The Cold War

The Collapse of the Peace
– The China Problem and Japan
 Chiang Kai-shek (1887-1975): U.S. foreign policy planners had
vision of open world “policed” by major powers including a strong
China; this vision was made problematic by an unpopular and corrupt
Chinese nationalist government under Chiang Kai-shek who battled
communists under Mao Zedong and received funding from the U.S.,
even as Chiang’s defeat began to look inevitable. But Truman was not
willing to send troops to save Chiang.
 Japan Restored: Because of the Chiang’s government’s weakness, the
U.S. sought to create a revitalized, pro-West Japan by encouraging
industrial development and lifting trade restrictions, reversing the
strict policies that followed World War II.
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Chapter Twenty-Seven:
The Cold War

The Collapse of the Peace
George F. Kennan
– The Containment Doctrine
 Containment: The U.S. no longer sought a unified “open” world, but
rather pursued a policy of “containment” of Soviet expansion. The idea of
a “vigilant containment” was developed by the influential American
diplomat, George F. Kennan (1904-2005).
 Truman Doctrine: In a March 1947 speech to Congress, Truman sought
aid for those forces in Turkey and Greece opposing takeovers by
Communist forces under Soviet influence. Congress approved $400
million for this purpose.
– Opposition to Containment
 Progressive Critique: Some progressives saw containment as overly
belligerent and responsible for deteriorating U.S.-Soviet relations.
 Conservative Critique: Some conservatives saw the need to “roll back”
communism, not just contain it. Neither of these views was mainstream.
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Chapter Twenty-Seven:
The Cold War
Excerpt from Truman’s Speech to Congress
March 12, 1947
At the present moment in world history nearly every nation must choose between
alternative ways of life. The choice is too often not a free one.
One way of life is based upon the will of the majority, and is distinguished by free
institutions, representative government, free elections, guarantees of individual
liberty, freedom of speech and religion, and freedom from political oppression.
The second way of life is based upon the will of a minority forcibly imposed upon
the majority. It relies upon terror and oppression, a controlled press and radio;
fixed elections, and the suppression of personal freedoms.
I believe that it must be the policy of the United States to support free peoples who
are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures.
I believe that we must assist free peoples to work out their own destinies in their
own way.
I believe that our help should be primarily through economic and financial aid
which is essential to economic stability and orderly political processes.
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Chapter Twenty-Seven:
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
The Collapse of the Peace
– The Marshall Plan
Marshall at a
U.N. General
Assembly in
Paris in 1948
 Rebuilding Europe: Secretary of State George Marshall (18801859) put forth a plan in June 1947 to provide aid to all
European nations for humanitarian reasons, to rebuild and
create markets for U.S. goods, and to strengthen pro-U.S.
governments against communist threats. Russia and eastern
European countries rejected it.
 Economic Cooperation Administration: Congress passed a law
creating this agency in April 1948 to channel billions of dollars
to aid economic revival in Western Europe.
 Results: For three years, the plan pumped $13 billion in aid
into Western Europe, industrial output rose 64 percent, and
communist parties had been weakened considerably.
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Chapter Twenty-Seven:
The Cold War
Divided Europe
after World War
II
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Chapter Twenty-Seven:
The Cold War

The Collapse of the Peace
– Mobilization at Home
 Readiness: The U.S. maintained wartime military levels, and
established Atomic Energy Commission to continue nuclear
research.
 The National Security Act of 1947: This law signed in July
restructured the military by creating a Department of Defense
(initially called the “National Military Establishment” until
1949) to combine all armed services, create the National
Security Council in the White House, and Central Intelligence
Agency (CIA) to collect information. It gave the president
expanded powers over the military. The Department of Defense
was housed in the Pentagon, which was completed in 1943.
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Chapter Twenty-Seven:
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
The Collapse of the Peace
– The Road to NATO
 West Germany: Truman negotiated with France and England to
merge the German “Western zones” into one in early 1948, and
planned for a new country that would also include the western
zones of the city of Berlin, which lay deep within Russianoccupied eastern Germany.
 Berlin Airlift: Stalin responded to the merger in June 1948 by
blockading Western Berlin; this blockade lasted until March
1949. Truman responded with an airlift to re-supply inhabitants.
The USAF and RAF flew over 200,000 flights and delivered 2.5
million tons worth of materials, keeping 2 million people alive.
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Chapter Twenty-Seven:
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
The Collapse of the Peace
A U.S. C-54 flying
in supplies to
Tempelhof Airport
in Berlin during
the Airlift, 194849.
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Chapter Twenty-Seven:
The Cold War

The Collapse of the Peace
– The Road to NATO
 Two Germanies: The western Federal Republic of
Germany was declared in May 1949; the Democratic
Republic of east is founded in October 1949.
 NATO Created: On April 4, 1949, the U.S. and the United
Kingdom, Canada, France, Denmark, Iceland, Italy,
Norway, Portugal, Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg
signed an agreement creating the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization (NATO). The Soviets eventually responded in
1955 by creating the Warsaw Pact.
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Chapter Twenty-Seven:
The Cold War

The Collapse of the Peace
– Reevaluating Cold War Policy
 Soviet Bomb: In September 1949, the Soviet Union exploded an
atomic weapon.
 Communist China: Nationalist resistance collapsed in in China 1949,
leading to the declaration of the People’s Republic of China on
October 1; the U.S. refused to recognize the new regime.
 Containment Expanded: In this atmosphere of escalating crisis,
Truman ordered a reevaluation of the containment strategy. The
report—known as NSC-68—called for a more aggressive stance: the
U.S. could not rely on other countries to fight against communist
around the globe, and itself must be ready to fight against communist
expansion anywhere it might occur around the globe. The report
recommended that U.S. expand its military power, and spend almost
four times more on defense.
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The Cold War

America after the War
– The Problems of Reconversion
 No Return to Depression: Contrary to some predictions, the U.S. did
relatively well economically after the war due to pent-up consumer
demand and a $6 billion tax cut.
 “GI Bill”: The Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944 provided
subsidies for housing, education, and job-training. But its funds were
not available to women, and the local administration of the law meant
that discriminatory practices against African Americans persisted.
 Inflation and Labor Unrest: Problems arose with high inflation—
prices rose as much as 15 percent a year—and strikes by unions in the
mining and railroad industries, and displacement of some minorities
and women because of returning soldiers to the workforce. With the
national railroad strike, Truman threatened to use Army troops to man
the rails, which led to a quick resolution.
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Chapter Twenty-Seven:
The Cold War

America after the War
– The Fair Deal Rejected
 Fair Deal: After the Japanese surrender Truman, proposed a “Fair Deal”
to enact liberal reforms—included raising minimum wage, enacting a
permanent Fair Employment Practices law, expanding Social Security,
and creating a nation health insurance plan.
 Opposition: The Fair Deal legislation was opposed by Republicans who
gained majority in both Houses of Congress in the 1946 elections using
the slogan, “Had Enough?” They sought to reduce government
spending and economic controls, cut taxes for wealthy, and refused to
raise wages.
 Taft-Hartley Act: Republicans wanted to decrease the power of unions
gained in the 1935 Wagner Act by passing 1947 Labor-Management
Relations Act (Taft-Hartley Act); it made “closed shops” illegal and
limited efforts to help those not yet organized, especially in the South
and West. It also allowed states to pass “right-to-work” laws.
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
America after the War
– The Election of 1948
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 Divided Democratic Party: Truman sought to make re-election about liberal
reforms, but many Democrats saw him as a weak candidate.
 States’ Rights Party: Angered by Truman’s civil rights efforts, many
Southern Democrats broke away to form the “States’ Rights Party” with
candidate Strom Thurmond of South Carolina.
 Progressive Party: A group of progressive Democrats broke away to form
the “Progressive Party” with Henry Wallace of Iowa as their candidate.
 Americans for Democratic Action: A coalition of anti-communist liberals
tried to convince Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower as a Democrat, but he refused
to do so; only then did this group agree to support to Truman.
 Thomas Dewey: The confident and competent Republican candidate
seemed to be in strong position to win.
 Truman’s Stunning Victory: Intense campaigning by Truman and his
platform to reduce inflation and help the common person allowed him to
win reelection. Democrats also won both houses of Congress.
Chapter Twenty-Seven:
The Cold War
Truman holding up the famously erroneous
headline in the Chicago Tribune
Election of 1948
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Chapter Twenty-Seven:
The Cold War

America after the War
– The Fair Deal Revived
 New Democratic Congress: The New Democratic Congress
allowed for minimum wage increase and Social Security
expansion, but was hostile to Fair Deal programs expanding
education aid, national healthcare, and civil rights.
 Renewed Federal Commitment to Civil Rights: Truman did end
government hiring discrimination, desegregated the armed
forces; the Supreme Court in Skelley v. Kraemer rules
community “covenants” preventing blacks moving into
neighborhoods as unenforceable by courts.
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Chapter Twenty-Seven:
The Cold War

America after the War
– The Nuclear Age
 Film Noir, Popular Culture, and Atomic Propaganda: Nuclear
weapons viewed with fear because of the threat from Soviet
Union, which permeated pop culture like film noir, and
government propaganda like the famed “Duck and Cover”
films showing how to prepare for a nuclear attack.
 Atomic Optimism: Much of the public remained awed by
technological potential of nuclear power, with dreams of
prosperity and unlimited and cheap electricity.
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Chapter Twenty-Seven:
The Cold War

The Korean War
– The Divided Peninsula
Syngman Rhee
 Syngman Rhee (1875-1965): Both U.S. and Soviet troops had been in
Korea during WW II fighting the Japanese. When these troops pulled
out, the Soviets left a well armed pro-Communist government in the
north. In the south, the pro-Western government was led by anticommunist strongman Rhee, who relied on political repression but
commanded a relatively weak army. The territory of the two
governments was split at 38th parallel, about 30 miles north of Seoul.
 Invasion: North Korea invaded the South on June 25, 1950, in effort
to reunite countries under communist rule; the U.S. sent troops won a
U.N. resolution calling for support of South Korean armies (Russia
was unable to veto because it was boycotting the Security Council at
time because of the U.N.’s failure to recognize the new communist
government of China).
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Chapter Twenty-Seven:
The Cold War
General MacArthur
during the invasion of
Inchon
The Korean War,
1950-1953
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Chapter Twenty-Seven:
The Cold War

The Korean War
– From Invasion to Stalemate
 U.S. Policy: In Korea, the U.S. sought not just to “contain”
communism, but roll it back to the Chinese border.
 China Intervenes: General MacArthur, head of U.N. forces, was able
to advance far into North, but the new Chinese communist
government feared the encroachment of American forces and entered
the conflict in late 1950.
 Retreat: With the Chinese onslaught, U.N. armies were forced to
retreat to 38th parallel and a long stalemate ensued until 1953.
 Truman-MacArthur Controversy: Truman wanted peace and not a
new world war with China; Gen. MacArthur publicly opposed peace
effort and even called for the use of atomic weapons; he was relieved
of command by Truman in 1951, which was very unpopular with
much of the American public.
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Chapter Twenty-Seven:
The Cold War

The Korean War
– Limited Mobilization
 Limited Mobilization: Truman created the Office of Defense
Mobilization to combat rising inflation and police union
demands for higher wages (which he viewed as inflationary);
he threatened to have the federal government seize railroads
and steel mills during strikes in 1951 and 1952, and tried to
increase government spending to stimulate the economy.
 Rising Insecurity and Frustration: After winning WWII, people
wondered why the U.S. was stalemated in Korea with 140,000
American dead and wounded. The inability of the U.S. to
quickly end a “small” war led to fears that something must be
wrong at home, feeding anxiety about communist subversion.
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Chapter Twenty-Seven:
The Cold War

The Crusade Against Subversion
– HUAC and Alger Hiss
 “Red Scare”: Anxiety prompted by fear of Stalin and the Soviet
Union and its new atomic capacity, as well as Communist
expansion (“loss” of China and Korean), led many to blame a
U.S. communist conspiracy.
 HUAC: Between 1938 and 1944, this was a special
investigative committee in the House chaired by Texas
Democrat, Martin Dies. In 1945, Congress made the House
Un-American Activities Committee a permanent “standing”
committee, and in 1947, it began investigations about supposed
communist subversion in many high profile American
institutions and organizations.
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Chapter Twenty-Seven:
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
Alger Hiss
The Crusade Against Subversion
– HUAC and Alger Hiss
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 The “Hollywood Ten”: Argument was made that communists had
infiltrated Hollywood and filled films with propaganda; when suspected
writers and producers were called to testify, some were sent to jail for
contempt when they refused to discuss their political beliefs or those of
colleagues; several were also “blacklisted.” Screenwriters Dalton Trumbo
and Ring Lardner Jr. were among the ten.
 Alger Hiss (1904-1996): In 1948, former communist agent and
conservative editor at Time magazine, Whittaker Chambers (1901-1961),
told HUAC that Hiss, an influential former diplomat who was after 1946
the president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, had
been involved in passing along State Department secrets to the Soviets in
the late 1930s. Chambers produced evidence, and although the statute of
limitations had passed on the espionage charges, Hiss was convicted on
perjury charges. The Hiss trial did trigger a wave of paranoia about
communist infiltration of the federal government.
Chapter Twenty-Seven:
The Cold War

The Crusade Against Subversion
– The Federal Loyalty Program and the
Rosenberg Case
 Federal Loyalty Program: Partly to protect himself
from Republican attacks, Truman began in 1947 a
program to determine “loyalty” of federal
employees; by 1951, 2,000 had been forced to
resign and 212 were dismissed. The FBI under J.
Edgar Hoover (1895-1972)investigated and
harassed alleged radicals.
 McCarran Internal Security Act: In 1950 Congress
passed—over Truman’s veto—the McCarran
Internal Security Act forcing communist groups to J. Edgar Hoover on the
cover of Time magazine in
register with the government and open their
1949
records and restricted other “subversive” activities.
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Chapter Twenty-Seven:
The Cold War

The Crusade Against Subversion
– The Federal Loyalty Program and the Rosenberg Case
 The Rosenbergs: The explosion of atomic bomb by Soviets led to an
investigation of how they acquired the technology must faster than
expected. German-British scientist Klaus Fuchs (1911-1988) revealed
that he had delivered atomic secrets to the Soviets. The trail from
Fuchs led to a New York couple, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, were
found to have conveyed information from Ethel’s brother, David
Greenglass, who was a machinist at Los Alamos, to Fuchs. Both
Rosenbergs were executed on June 19, 1953, while Greenglass served
ten years in prison (he’s still alive).
 Growing Fear of Subversion: HUAC, the Rosenberg trial, the
“Loyalty” program, Hiss ordeal, and the McCarran Act all lead to
national anticommunist paranoia at national, state, and local levels by
the early 1950s.
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Chapter Twenty-Seven:
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
The Crusade Against Subversion
– McCarthyism
 Wheeling Speech: Joseph McCarthy (1908-1957), an undistinguished
senator from Wisconsin who had won election in 1946 with much redbaiting, narrowly defeating his incumbent opponent in the primary,
progressive but isolationist Republican Robert M. La Follette, Jr. But he
leapt on to the national stage with a speech he gave on Feb. 9, 1950, in
which he charged that 205 communists were harbored in the State
Department (he later revised the number to 57, and rarely used the same
number twice). He soon leveled similar charges against other agencies.
 McCarthy’s Soaring Popularity: After 1952, when the Republicans
controlled the senate, McCarthy was put in charge of a subcommittee that
was at the fore of the anticommunist fervor and partisan politics. He
claimed the Democrats had been responsible for twenty years of treason,
and almost no one dared challenge him, although he never backed his
accusations with conclusive evidence. Many saw him as a crusader.
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Chapter Twenty-Seven:
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
The Crusade Against Subversion
– The Republican Revival
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 Democratic Defeats: The Korean stalemate and anticommunist anxiety led to
widespread Democratic defeats in 1952.
 Adlai Stevenson (1900-1965): Democrats nominated this cerebral governor
of Illinois, who many viewed as liberal and weak on Communism;
Republicans nominated popular General Dwight D. Eisenhower and vicepresidential candidate Richard M. Nixon (1913-1994); Eisenhower talked of
Korean peace, while Nixon talked of fighting communist subversion. Nixon
had risen to fame during the Congressional investigation of Alger Hiss.
 Eisenhower Elected: Eisenhower won election by huge margin and
Republicans gained control of both Houses of Congress. “Ike” won 55
percent of the popular vote to Stephenson’s 44 percent, and 442 electoral
votes to Stephenson’s 89.
 Checker’s Speech: Nixon allayed concerns about financial improprieties with
his famed televised “Checkers” speech, in which he admitted his family dog
had been a gift from supporters, but he was giving all other gifts back.