Transcript chapter 28 the onset of the cold war

Chapter 28
THE ONSET OF
THE COLD WAR
America Past and Present
The Cold War Begins:
Issues Dividing US & USSR
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Control of Postwar Europe
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Economic Aid
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Fundamental disagreement
Soviet economy devastated
Nuclear Disarmament
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Overshadowed all else
p.810
The Division of Europe
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1945 ~ Russians occupied eastern Europe,
American troops occupied western Europe ~
Germany was the key
Soviet Union sought eastern European buffer
US demanded national self-determination
through free elections throughout Europe
Stalin converted eastern Europe into a system
of satellite nations
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Lowered the “Iron Curtain” from the Baltic to the
Adriatic ~ Churchill’s term
One by one, communist regimes replaced coalition
govts in Poland, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria
p.810-811
Europe after World War II
p.811
Germany 1945
NIB
Withholding Economic Aid
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Soviets devastated by World War II
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15 to 20M lives lost
30k factories destroyed
40k mi of railroad track destroyed
Wartime ambassador, Averell
Harriman, “Economic aid is one of our
most effective weapons”
1945 ~ United States halted LendLease shipments to the Soviets
Soviets moved factories from captured
territories
p.811-812
The Atomic Dilemma
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1943 ~ Nuclear race between US & USSR
1946 ~ Bernard Baruch Plan
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Soviet Union
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Rapid reduction of US military force
Baruch Plan presented to the UN
favored US atomic monopoly
Would have preserved the status quo
Larger conventional army than US
Ambassador Andrei Gromyko
presented plan to abolish atomic weapons
• Favored the Soviets
No agreements = Cold War
p.812-813
Containment
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1947 ~ George C. Marshall
appointed Secretary of State
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Undersecretary Dean Acheson
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Experienced Wash lawyer
Wanted to see US take over as
supreme arbiter of world affairs
George Kennan headed newly
created Policy Planning Staff
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Appointed talented subordinates
Soviet expert
Fluent in Russian
They set the course for containment
p.813
The Truman Doctrine
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1947 ~ Truman sought funds to keep
Greece, Turkey in Western sphere of
influence
Truman Doctrine ~ “Support free
peoples who are resisting attempted
subjugation by armed minorities or
outside pressure”
Doctrine an informal declaration of cold
war against the Soviet Union
p.813-814
The Marshall Plan
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If US could not solve Western
Europe’s economic problems, it
was feared that it would drift into the communist
orbit
1947 ~ George Marshall proposed aid for
rebuilding European industries
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A massive infusion of American capital to finance the
economic recovery of Europe (Soviets included)
USSR refused aid ~ Didn’t want to lose control
of Eastern Europe
1948 ~ Marshall Plan adopted by Congress
Plan fostered western European prosperity
p.814-815
Marshall Plan to Aid Europe, 1948–1952
Massive infusion of US capital
p.815
Marshall Plan to Aid Europe, 1948–1952
Massive infusion of US capital
p.815
Marshall Plan to Aid Europe, 1948–1952
Massive infusion of US capital
p.815
The Western Military Alliance
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1949 ~ North Atlantic Treaty
Organization
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Military alliance included US, Canada,
most of western Europe
US troops stationed in Europe
Represented a departure from traditional
American isolationism
NATO intensified USSR's fear of the
West
p.815-816
The Berlin Blockade
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June 1948 ~ The main Soviet
response to the US containment
strategy was the blockade of Berlin
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Truman ordered airlift to supply the city
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Cut off all rail & highway traffic
10k troops & 2M civilians in Berlin
Soviets could have shot down cargo
planes
Sent 60 atomic capable B-29s in England
1949 ~ Russians end blockade
Tremendous US political victory
p.816-817
The Cold War Expands
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1947 ~ US vs. Soviet arms
race accelerated
The Superpowers sought
to expand their influence in
the Far East
p.817
The Military Dimension
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1947 ~ National Security Act
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Department of Defense
established
• Army – Navy – Air Force (new)
Central Intelligence Agency
coordinated intelligence-gathering
National Security Council advised
president
Defense budget devoted to air power
1949 ~ First Russian atomic bomb
exploded, US began hydrogen bomb
development (1000x)
p.817-818
The Cold War in Asia
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1945 ~ US consolidates hold on Japan,
& former Japanese possessions in
Pacific
1949 ~ Victory of Mao Tse-tung’s
Communists over Chaing Kai-shek’s
Nationals brings China into Soviet orbit
Truman refused recognition of
Communist China & began building up
Japan
p.818-819
The Korean War
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June 1950 ~ Communist North Korean
forces, following Kim il-Sung (backed by
China backed by the Soviets), invaded USinfluenced South Korea
Truman made South Korea’s defense a UN
effort & sent in US troops
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US routed Korean forces in South
Attempt to unify Korea drew in China
With help from China, US pushed back to
South & war became a stalemate
Kim Jong-il
Most significant result ~ Massive American
rearmament
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US Army expanded to 3.5M
p.819-821
The Korean War, 1950–1953
•Most
significant
result ~
Massive
American
rearmament
p.820
The Cold War at Home
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Truman tried to carry on the New Deal
reform tradition he had inherited from
FDR, but American people more
concerned about events abroad
Fears of Communist subversion
Republicans used anticommunism to
revive their party
p.824
Truman's Troubles
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Prices rose quickly following WWII when
Congress ended wartime controls
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Labor unrest swept the country
culminating in critical strikes
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Workers lost pay due to loss of overtime
Truman asked Congress for power to draft
striking railway workers into the Army
Businesses raised wages, but passed the
cost on to consumers
1946 ~ Republicans won majority in both
houses of Congress
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“To err is Truman” & “Had enough?”
p.824
Truman Vindicated
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1948 election ~ Truman thought
unelectable
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Northern liberals supported Henry
Wallace’s Progressive candidacy
Southern Democrats supported “Dixiecrat”
Strom Thurmond (anti-civil rights, racist)
Republican Thomas Dewey was
overconfident & ran bland campaign,
failed to challenge Truman on Cold War
because of the Berlin Crisis
Roosevelt coalition reelected Truman on
domestic issues
p.824-825
100
p.825
The Loyalty Issue
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Growing paranoia over communist spies
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Truman was compelled to take action &
initiated a loyalty program
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Canadians uncovered Soviet spy ring in 1946
US House Un-American Activities Committee
held hearings regarding agents in the Depts of
Agriculture & Treasury
Required security checks; 1000s of govt workers
lost their jobs on suspicion
Most famous disclosure in US govt came
when Whittaker Chambers (a repentant
communist) accused Alger Hiss, a former
State Dept official, of having been a Soviet
spy during the 1930s
p.825-826
The Loyalty Issue
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Chambers led investigators to a hollowedout pumpkin on his Maryland farm in
which were found microfilms of govt
documents
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Chambers claimed Hiss had passed them to
him in the late 1930s
Statute of limitations had passed, so Hiss
escaped treason charges, but was
convicted of perjury in 1950 & sentenced
to a 5 yr prison sentence
’53-’56
p.825-826
Klaus Fuchs
Julius & Ethel Rosenberg
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Soviets tested their first atomic
bomb in Sep 1949
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In early 1950, Klaus Fuchs (fled
Germany in the ’30s), a British
scientist who had worked on the
Manhattan Project admitted passing
A-bomb information to the Soviets
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Soviet espionage was very real
Sentenced to 14 yrs
1951 ~ Jury found Julius & Ethel
Rosenberg guilty of passing atomic
secrets to the Soviets
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Electrocuted in 1953
p.827
McCarthyism in Action
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1950s ~ Senator Joseph McCarthy
launched a 4½ yr anticommunist
campaign ~ the Red Scare
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Accused 100s of govt officials of being
communists
Kept up a continuous onslaught, truth was lost
among the latest blasts
He failed to unearth a single confirmed
communist in govt
He exploited the press/media w/ great skill
His accusations contributed heavily to the
Republican victory in 1952
p.826-828
The Republicans in Power
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1952 ~ Eisenhower captures White House for
Republican Party
July 1953 ~ Stalemate accepted in Korea
Eisenhower dealt passively with McCarthy
– Refused to directly attack him
– “I refuse to get into a p***ing contest with a
skunk”
1954 ~ Attack on Army discredited
McCarthy
who is then censured
– Career ruined
– “Have you no decency, sir?”
p.828-830
The Election of 1952
Had promised to bring the Korean War to an early
& honorable end
p.829
Eisenhower Wages
the Cold War
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Eisenhower prefers to work behind-the scenes
Eisenhower wanted to relax tensions with
Soviets
– Concerned about defense budget (went
>$50B under Truman)
– Cut back Army & Navy & relied on Air Force
nuclear striking power, brought budget
<$40B
Eisenhower’s “new look” policy relied on
massive retaliation to deter Soviet attacks
p.830-831
Entanglement in Indochina
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Since 1950, US had been providing military
& economic aid to the French in their war w/
communist guerrillas led by Ho Chi Minh
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Viet Nam divided between North & South at an
international convention in Geneva
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French were surrounded at Dien Bien Phu
Ike did not provide assistance, French defeated
Ho would control the North & the French the South
US gradually took over from the French &
established a puppet govt
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Concerned about spread of
communism, but didn’t want
to fight them in the jungle
p.831-832
Containing China
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Believing the communist govt in Peking
posed a serious threat, Ike took a strong
stance against against China
– The object was to drive a wedge between
China & the USSR
Chinese threaten to invade Formosa, an
island group off their coast where Chaing
Kai-shek’s Nationalists had settled
– US spted these “Nationalists,” & China
backed down when Soviets would not
help
p.832
Turmoil in the Middle East
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1956 ~ Egyptian leader Gamal Nasser
seized the Suez Canal
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France & England invaded Egypt
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Ike was opposed, wanted a diplomatic soln
Soviets announced they would spt Egypt
Ike’s most serious foreign policy crisis
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Problem: Owned by English & French citizens
Gained Middle East trust by pressuring English &
French withdrawal
1958 ~ Lebanon asked for US help to maintain
order ~ Another “Cold War” arena
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Political problems between Christians & Muslims
Peace maintained
p.832-833
Covert Actions
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Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
used to achieve covert objectives
Iran ~ CIA restored the Shah to power
– American oil companies rewarded w/
lucrative concessions
– A country on Soviet border
Guatemala ~ CIA ousts leftist govt
Eastern Europe ~ Refused to help 1953 East
German protesters or 1956 Hungarian
freedom fighters
Ike used a mixture of techniques (diplomacy,
threats, covert). He seemed to believe that
the ends justify the means
p.833
Waging Peace
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Nuclear test ban treaty
– US & USSR agreed to suspend nuclear
testing in the atmosphere
– Ike wanted “Open skies” ~ Nikita
Khrushchev (followed Stalin) did not agree
October 1957 ~ Russians launched Sputnik
May 1960, U-2 Crisis ~ Soviets shot down
spy plane ~ Peace talks cancelled
“We will bury you”
p.833-835
The Continuing Cold War
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Jan 1961 ~ Eisenhower warned
against growing military-industrial
complex
Post-war era marked by Cold War
rather than peace & tranquility
p.835
Chapter 28
THE ONSET OF
THE COLD WAR
America Past and Present
End