Identifications
Joseph McCarthy or “McCarthyism” He was a Republican senator from Wisconsin who was strongly against communism. McCarthy claimed there were many communists in the State Department. He did not however have much evidence to support his accusations, and his search for communists was considered more of a "witch-hunt." When his lack of evidence was discovered, he was shown to be foolish, censured by Congress, and lost his seat in Congress.
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg They were convicted in 1951 of giving atomic bomb data found by American scientists to the Soviet Union. They are the only Americans ever executed during peacetime for espionage
Adlai Stevenson Stevenson was the Democratic candidate who ran against Eisenhower in 1952. His intellectual speeches earned him and his supporters the term "eggheads." He lost to Eisenhower.
Richard Nixon He was a committee member of the House of Representatives, Committee on Un-American Activities (to investigate "subversion"). He tried to catch Alger Hiss who was accused of being a communist agent in the 1930's. This brought Nixon to the attention of the American public. In 1956, he was Eisenhower's Vice-President.
Yalta Conference This was a conference between Stalin and FDR in an attempt to get Russian support in the highly anticipated invasion of Japan. Russia, in return, received the southern part of Sakhalin Island that it had lost to Japan and joint control of Manchuria's railroads and Port Arthur on Pacific Coast. The Allies also reluctantly allowed Poland to become communist but with the promise that free elections would take place there (they didn’t). Many Americans saw this deal as a failure and the birth of the Cold War. United Nations The United Nations conference took place on April 25, 1945. FDR died on April 12, but had chosen Republican and Democratic representatives to meet at the San Francisco War Memorial Opera House with representatives from 50 nations, fashioning a United Nations' charter similar to the old League of Nations covenant. It featured a Security Council dominated by the US, Britain, USSR, France, and China (the big 5 powers) who could veto any measure, and a General Assembly that could be controlled by smaller countries. The UN's permanent home was in New York City.
Iron Curtain The "iron curtain" refers to the secrecy and isolation of the Soviet Union and its satellite states, East Germany, Hungary, and Poland, after World War II. The phrase was first used by Winston Churchill while he was giving a speech in the United States
Berlin airlift In 1948, the U.S.S.R. had cut off all supplies that would go into the Allied West Berlin. In response, America used many planes to take and drop food and supplies into Berlin. They did this to show the U.S.S.R. that they were determined to maintain control of Berlin. It worked, as the Soviets lifted the blockade
Containment This was America’s main foreign policy after WWII, designed by George Kennan, to stop the spread of communism (AKA, the Truman Doctrine).
Truman Doctrine The Truman Doctrine wanted to prevent the spread of communism. He wanted it "contained." The first implementation of the Truman Doctrine was $400 million given to aid Greece and Turkey to prevent a communist takeover.
Marshall Plan This plan was issued in response to the struggling European countries. The Marshall Plan would allow the U.S. to give financial assistance to certain countries. This was done to prevent communism from rising in countries like France and Italy, whose economies were suffering after WWII. It was agreed in July 1947 that the U.S. would spend $12.5 billion, over four years, in sixteen different nations. In order to receive financial assistance, a nation had to have a democratic government.
National Security Act This law was passed by Congress in 1947 and created the Department of Defense. It also established a National Security Council (NSC) to advise the president on security matters and a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to coordinate government foreign fact gathering.
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) NATO was a military alliance between the U.S., Canada and 10 European nations signed on April 4, 1949. It was an alliance committed to building military defense of Europe against communist Russia. Dwight D. Eisenhower became the Supreme Commander of NATO.
Taft-Hartley Act This act weakened unions. It outlawed the "closed" shop (businesses open only to union members), made unions liable for damages that resulted from jurisdictional disputes among themselves, and required union leaders to take a noncommunist oath.
Fair Deal The Fair Deal was made by Truman in his 1949 message to Congress. It was a program that called for improved housing, full employment, higher minimum wage, better farm price supports, new TVA's, and the extension of Social Security. It was a rebirth of the New Deal. Its only successes were a raised the minimum wage, better public housing, extended old-age insurance to more people
Thirty-eighth parallel This line divided Korea into two sections, north of the parallel the communist Soviet Union was in charge and south of the parallel democratic America was in charge. This line would become the demilitarized zone after the Korean conflict.
NSC-68 First drawn up in 1950, NSC-68, or National Security Council Memorandum Number 68, was buried until the Korean crisis later that year. This document suggested that the U.S. could afford to spend upward of 50% of its gross national product for security.
Chapter #36 Guided Reading Questions
Postwar Economic Anxieties
Know: Gross National Product, Taft-Hartley Act, Closed Shop, Council of Economic Advisors, GI Bill
1. Describe the downs and ups of the economy in the years following WWII.
Inflation shot up with the release of price controls while the gross national product sank, and labor strikes swept up the nation. So, Congress passed the Taft-Hartley Act, which outlawed “closed” shops, made union liable for damages that resulted from jurisdictional disputes among themselves, and required that union leaders take non-communist oaths. This act was against labor unions. Labor tried to organize in the South and West with “Operation Dixie” but this proved to be frustrating and unsuccessful. The Council of Economic Advisors provided the president with data to make the Employment Act a reality. The Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944 or the GI Bill of Rights allowed all servicemen to have free college education once they returned from war.
The Long Economic Boom, 1950-1970
2. How did women benefit from the economic boom?
Women used the benefits of the postwar economy in order to grow in the American work force while giving up their former roles as housewives. Women used this to gain privileges and began to receive the same rights as men.
The Roots of Postwar Prosperity
Know: R and D, Productivity
3. What evidence can you cite that shows the years 1950-1970 were good years economically?
The war forced America to produce more than it’d ever imagined. Much of the prosperity of the 50s and 60s rested on colossal military projects. Massive appropriations for the Korean War, defense spending, industries like aerospace, plastics, and electronics, and research and development all were such projects. R and D, research and development became an entirely new industry. Cheap energy paralleled the popularity of automobiles and carried oil, gas, coal and falling water. Workers upped their productivity tremendously due to fertilizers and other materials.
The Smiling Sunbelt
Know: Benjamin Spock, Sunbelt, Frostbelt, Rustbelt
4. How did the population shift in the years after the war?
With so many people moving, along with the baby boom, families were being strained. Immigration also led to the growth of the 15 state region known as the Sunbelt, which dramatically increased in population. In the 1950s, California overtook New York as the most populous state. Immigrants came to the Sunbelt for more opportunities, such as in California’s electronics industry and the aerospace complexes of Texas and Florida.
The Rush to the Suburbs
Know: Federal Housing Authority, Veterans Administration, Levittown, White Flight
5. Was the shift to the suburbs good for America? Explain.
Yes, whites in cities fled to the suburbs, encouraged by agencies like the Federal Housing Authority and the Veteran’s Administration, whose loan guarantees made it cheaper to live in the suburbs than in cramped city apartments. By 1960, 1 out of every 4 Americans lived in the suburbs. Innovators like Levitt brothers, with their monotonous, but cheap housing plans, built thousands of houses, and the “White flight” left cities full of the poor and the African Americans.
The Postwar Baby Boom
Know: Baby Boom
6. How did the bulge in population caused by the Baby Boom change American life over the decades?
After the war, soldiers and their wives caused the Baby Boom which would be felt for generations. As children grew up, they put strains on respective markets, such as manufacturers of baby products in the 40s and 50s, teenage clothing designers in the 60s, and job market in the 70s and 80s. By around 2020, they will place enormous strains on the Social Security system.
Makers of America: The Suburbanites
Know: Federal Housing Administration, Levittowns, White Flight
7. How did suburbs revolutionize life in America?
The suburbs did change the United States; they have become a standard feature in American geography, and continue to expand, especially in places such as Phoenix, Houston, and Atlanta-the Sun Belt.
Truman: the "Gutty" Man from Missouri
Know: "The buck stops here."
8. What kind of a man was Harry S Truman?
Truman was a man who had come to power after Franklin Roosevelt had died from a brain hemorrhage. He was the first president in a while without a college education. He approached his burdens with humility, but he evolved into a confident, cocky politician. His cabinet contained the Missouri Gang, which was composed of his friends from when he was a senator in Missouri. He would often stick to the wrong decision just to prove his decisiveness and power of command. However, he was still responsible and took work very seriously.
Yalta: Bargain or Betrayal?
Know: Yalta, United Nations
9. Why was the Yalta conference controversial in the decade following it?
At the Yalta Conference, Stalin pledged that Poland should have a representative government with free elections as would Bulgaria and Romania. But, Stalin broke those promises. The Soviet Union agreed to attack Japan 3 months after the fall of Germany, but by the time the Soviets entered the Pacific war, the US was about to win anyways, and now, it seemed that the USSR had entered for the sake of taking spoils.
The United States and the Soviet Union
Know: Communism, Capitalism, Sphere of Influence
10. How did similarities and differences both cause the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. to have difficulties dealing with each other?
The US waited until 1933 to recognize the USSR. The US and Britain had delayed to open up a second front during WWII. The US and Britain had frozen the Soviets out of developing nuclear arms. The US had withdrawn its vital lend-lease program from the USSR in 1945 and spurned Moscow’s plea for a $6 billion reconstructive loan while approving a similar $3.75 billion loan to Berlin. Stalin wanted a protective sphere around western Russia. Even though both the US and USSR were newcomers, both were advanced and had been isolationists, but were in a political stare-down that would turn into the Cold War and last for four and a half decades.
Shaping the Postwar World
Know: International Monetary Fund; World Bank; Security Council; General Assembly; United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization; Food and Agricultural Organization; World Health Organization
11. For what problems were international organizations established after WWII?
The International Monetary Fund encouraged world trade by regulating the currency exchange rates. The Security Council was to be headed by China, Russia, Britain, France, and the US, which had total veto powers and was headquartered in New York City. The UN kept peace in Kashmir and other parts. Groups like the UNESCO, FAO, and WHO brought benefits to people all over the globe.
The Problem of Germany
Know: Nuremberg, Hermann Goering, Big Four, Iron Curtain, Berlin Airlift
12. What problems did Germany cause between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R.?
The Nuremberg trials severely punished 22 top culprits of the Holocaust. America knew that an economically healthy Germany was indispensable to the recovery of all of Europe but Russia wanted reparations. Germany was divided into four occupational zones, but as the US began proposing the idea of a united Germany, and as the Western nations prevented Stalin from getting his reparations from their parts of Germany, it became obvious that Germany would remain divided. The Allies organized the Berlin Airlift to feed the people of Berlin and in May 1949, the Soviets stopped their blockade of Berlin.
A Cold War Congeals
Know: George Kennan, Containment, Truman Doctrine, Marshall Plan
13. Describe the policies followed by Truman in relation to the Soviets.
Truman adopted the “containment policy”, crafted by Soviet specialist George F Kennan, which stated that firm containment of Soviet expansion would halt Communist power. The Truman Doctrine was created, which meant $400 million to help Greece and Turkey from failing into communist power. Basically, the US would aid any power fighting against Communists. George C Marshall created the Marshall Plan, a miraculous recovery effort that had Western Europe up and prosperous in no time. It formed the European Community and sent $12.5 billion over four years to 16 nations to aid in recovery. THE UNRRA was also formed and Truman recognized Israel.
America Begins to Rearm
Know: National Security Act, Defense Department, Joint Chiefs of Staff, National Security Council, Central Intelligence Agency, Voice of America, North Atlantic Treaty Organization
14. List and define the organizations set up to deal with the Soviet Union.
The National Security Act created the Department of Defense which was housed in the Pentagon and served civilian secretaries of the army, navy, and air force. The Nation Security Council advised the president on security matters and the Central Intelligence Agency coordinated the government’s foreign fact-gathering. The Voice of America was a radio broadcast that started in 1948 while Congress resurrected the military draft. The NATO consisted of the US, Britain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. In response, the USSR formed the Warsaw Pact.
Reconstruction and Revolution in Asia
Know: Douglas MacArthur, Chiang Kai-shek, Mao Zedong, H-bomb
15. Our WWII ally China gave us more trouble in the post war years than our enemy Japan. Explain.
Douglas MacArthur headed reconstruction in Japan and tried to top Japanese war criminals. In China, led by Mao Zedong, defeated nationalist forces, led by Chiang Kai-Shek, who then fled to the island of Formosa (Taiwan). With this defeat, 500 million people plunged under the communist flag. Truman announced that the Soviets had exploded their first atomic bomb, three years before experts though possible, eliminating the US monopoly on nuclear weapons. Thus, the US created the hydrogen bomb, and an arms race began.
Ferreting Out Alleged Communists
Know: Smith Act, Committee on Un-American Activities, Richard M. Nixon, Alger Hiss, Joseph R. McCarthy, McCarran Internal Security Bill, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg
16. Did the U.S. government go too far trying to prevent communist infiltration?
Yes, they were overly afraid. In 1949, 11 communists were brought to a NY jury for violating the Smith Act, which had been the first peacetime anti-sedition law since 1798. They were convicted and sentenced to prison. The HUAC investigated subversions and in 1948 Richard M Nixon prosecuted Alger Hiss. Joseph McCarthy cried foul and said they were scores of unknown communists. Truman vetoed the McCarran Internal Security Bill, which would have let the president arrest and detain suspicious people. Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were brought to trail, convicted, and executed of selling nuclear secrets to the Russians.
Democratic Divisions in 1948
Know: Dixiecrats, Strom Thurmond, Henry Wallace, Do-nothing Congress, "Dewey Defeats Truman," Point Four, Fair Deal
17. How successful was Truman in passing his domestic program?
Truman was very successful. His nomination split the Democratic Party, as Southern Democrats (Dixiecrats) nominated Thurmond of South Carolina on a State’s Rights Party ticket. Henry Wallace also threw his hat into the ring, nominated by the Progressive Party. Dewey seemed like the clear winner, but Truman shocked everyone and won. Truman received support from farmers, workers, and blacks. Truman called for the Point Four, a call for financial support of poor, underdeveloped lands in hopes of keeping underprivileged peoples from turning communist. At home, the “Fair Deal” program called for improved housing, full employment, a higher minimum wage, better farm price supports, a new TVA, and an extension of Social Security.
The Korean Volcano Erupts (1950)
Know: 38th Parallel, Dean Acheson, NSC-68, Police Action
18. What was the impact of the Korean War on the Cold War?
North Korean forces invaded South Korea, taking the South Koreans by surprise and pushing them dangerously south toward Pusan. Truman sprang into action and ordered US military to be quadrupled as desired by the NSC – 68. Truman also used a Soviet absence from the UN to label the North Koreans as the aggressors and send UN troops to fight against them.
The Military Seesaw in Korea
Know: Pusan Perimeter, Inchon, Chinese Volunteers, Douglas MacArthur
19. Why did Truman fire MacArthur?
MacArthur landed an invasion and drove North Koreans back across the 38th Parallel and the Yalu River. An overconfident MacArthur boasted that he’d have the boys home by Christmas but Chinese flooded the border and pushed the South Koreans back to the 38th Parallel. MacArthur was humiliated and wanted to bomb and attack China, but Truman didn’t want to enlarge the war. MacArthur began to criticize President Truman and he was thus fired.
Varying Viewpoints: Who Was to Blame for the Cold War?
20 What is the current opinion of most historians on the above question?
The US leadership had been rabidly anti-communist for decades, afraid of communist takeover of American business, and the subsequent loss of profit. Red Scares were common. But the extreme paranoia of Joseph Stalin and his unmatched butchery gave the anticommunists a true rational reason to fear Stalin. Stalin's behavior in the Berlin crisis certainly didn't help matters. The Russians feared the American's atomic bomb. And they feared a rebuilt Germany. Germany had attacked them twice in 25 years. The Americans and the rest of the west feared Russia's tank armies. The American move to encircle Russia plus provocative flights, made the Russians even more suspicious of Western motives.
Joseph McCarthy or “McCarthyism” He was a Republican senator from Wisconsin who was strongly against communism. McCarthy claimed there were many communists in the State Department. He did not however have much evidence to support his accusations, and his search for communists was considered more of a "witch-hunt." When his lack of evidence was discovered, he was shown to be foolish, censured by Congress, and lost his seat in Congress.
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg They were convicted in 1951 of giving atomic bomb data found by American scientists to the Soviet Union. They are the only Americans ever executed during peacetime for espionage
Adlai Stevenson Stevenson was the Democratic candidate who ran against Eisenhower in 1952. His intellectual speeches earned him and his supporters the term "eggheads." He lost to Eisenhower.
Richard Nixon He was a committee member of the House of Representatives, Committee on Un-American Activities (to investigate "subversion"). He tried to catch Alger Hiss who was accused of being a communist agent in the 1930's. This brought Nixon to the attention of the American public. In 1956, he was Eisenhower's Vice-President.
Yalta Conference This was a conference between Stalin and FDR in an attempt to get Russian support in the highly anticipated invasion of Japan. Russia, in return, received the southern part of Sakhalin Island that it had lost to Japan and joint control of Manchuria's railroads and Port Arthur on Pacific Coast. The Allies also reluctantly allowed Poland to become communist but with the promise that free elections would take place there (they didn’t). Many Americans saw this deal as a failure and the birth of the Cold War. United Nations The United Nations conference took place on April 25, 1945. FDR died on April 12, but had chosen Republican and Democratic representatives to meet at the San Francisco War Memorial Opera House with representatives from 50 nations, fashioning a United Nations' charter similar to the old League of Nations covenant. It featured a Security Council dominated by the US, Britain, USSR, France, and China (the big 5 powers) who could veto any measure, and a General Assembly that could be controlled by smaller countries. The UN's permanent home was in New York City.
Iron Curtain The "iron curtain" refers to the secrecy and isolation of the Soviet Union and its satellite states, East Germany, Hungary, and Poland, after World War II. The phrase was first used by Winston Churchill while he was giving a speech in the United States
Berlin airlift In 1948, the U.S.S.R. had cut off all supplies that would go into the Allied West Berlin. In response, America used many planes to take and drop food and supplies into Berlin. They did this to show the U.S.S.R. that they were determined to maintain control of Berlin. It worked, as the Soviets lifted the blockade
Containment This was America’s main foreign policy after WWII, designed by George Kennan, to stop the spread of communism (AKA, the Truman Doctrine).
Truman Doctrine The Truman Doctrine wanted to prevent the spread of communism. He wanted it "contained." The first implementation of the Truman Doctrine was $400 million given to aid Greece and Turkey to prevent a communist takeover.
Marshall Plan This plan was issued in response to the struggling European countries. The Marshall Plan would allow the U.S. to give financial assistance to certain countries. This was done to prevent communism from rising in countries like France and Italy, whose economies were suffering after WWII. It was agreed in July 1947 that the U.S. would spend $12.5 billion, over four years, in sixteen different nations. In order to receive financial assistance, a nation had to have a democratic government.
National Security Act This law was passed by Congress in 1947 and created the Department of Defense. It also established a National Security Council (NSC) to advise the president on security matters and a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to coordinate government foreign fact gathering.
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) NATO was a military alliance between the U.S., Canada and 10 European nations signed on April 4, 1949. It was an alliance committed to building military defense of Europe against communist Russia. Dwight D. Eisenhower became the Supreme Commander of NATO.
Taft-Hartley Act This act weakened unions. It outlawed the "closed" shop (businesses open only to union members), made unions liable for damages that resulted from jurisdictional disputes among themselves, and required union leaders to take a noncommunist oath.
Fair Deal The Fair Deal was made by Truman in his 1949 message to Congress. It was a program that called for improved housing, full employment, higher minimum wage, better farm price supports, new TVA's, and the extension of Social Security. It was a rebirth of the New Deal. Its only successes were a raised the minimum wage, better public housing, extended old-age insurance to more people
Thirty-eighth parallel This line divided Korea into two sections, north of the parallel the communist Soviet Union was in charge and south of the parallel democratic America was in charge. This line would become the demilitarized zone after the Korean conflict.
NSC-68 First drawn up in 1950, NSC-68, or National Security Council Memorandum Number 68, was buried until the Korean crisis later that year. This document suggested that the U.S. could afford to spend upward of 50% of its gross national product for security.
Chapter #36 Guided Reading Questions
Postwar Economic Anxieties
Know: Gross National Product, Taft-Hartley Act, Closed Shop, Council of Economic Advisors, GI Bill
1. Describe the downs and ups of the economy in the years following WWII.
Inflation shot up with the release of price controls while the gross national product sank, and labor strikes swept up the nation. So, Congress passed the Taft-Hartley Act, which outlawed “closed” shops, made union liable for damages that resulted from jurisdictional disputes among themselves, and required that union leaders take non-communist oaths. This act was against labor unions. Labor tried to organize in the South and West with “Operation Dixie” but this proved to be frustrating and unsuccessful. The Council of Economic Advisors provided the president with data to make the Employment Act a reality. The Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944 or the GI Bill of Rights allowed all servicemen to have free college education once they returned from war.
The Long Economic Boom, 1950-1970
2. How did women benefit from the economic boom?
Women used the benefits of the postwar economy in order to grow in the American work force while giving up their former roles as housewives. Women used this to gain privileges and began to receive the same rights as men.
The Roots of Postwar Prosperity
Know: R and D, Productivity
3. What evidence can you cite that shows the years 1950-1970 were good years economically?
The war forced America to produce more than it’d ever imagined. Much of the prosperity of the 50s and 60s rested on colossal military projects. Massive appropriations for the Korean War, defense spending, industries like aerospace, plastics, and electronics, and research and development all were such projects. R and D, research and development became an entirely new industry. Cheap energy paralleled the popularity of automobiles and carried oil, gas, coal and falling water. Workers upped their productivity tremendously due to fertilizers and other materials.
The Smiling Sunbelt
Know: Benjamin Spock, Sunbelt, Frostbelt, Rustbelt
4. How did the population shift in the years after the war?
With so many people moving, along with the baby boom, families were being strained. Immigration also led to the growth of the 15 state region known as the Sunbelt, which dramatically increased in population. In the 1950s, California overtook New York as the most populous state. Immigrants came to the Sunbelt for more opportunities, such as in California’s electronics industry and the aerospace complexes of Texas and Florida.
The Rush to the Suburbs
Know: Federal Housing Authority, Veterans Administration, Levittown, White Flight
5. Was the shift to the suburbs good for America? Explain.
Yes, whites in cities fled to the suburbs, encouraged by agencies like the Federal Housing Authority and the Veteran’s Administration, whose loan guarantees made it cheaper to live in the suburbs than in cramped city apartments. By 1960, 1 out of every 4 Americans lived in the suburbs. Innovators like Levitt brothers, with their monotonous, but cheap housing plans, built thousands of houses, and the “White flight” left cities full of the poor and the African Americans.
The Postwar Baby Boom
Know: Baby Boom
6. How did the bulge in population caused by the Baby Boom change American life over the decades?
After the war, soldiers and their wives caused the Baby Boom which would be felt for generations. As children grew up, they put strains on respective markets, such as manufacturers of baby products in the 40s and 50s, teenage clothing designers in the 60s, and job market in the 70s and 80s. By around 2020, they will place enormous strains on the Social Security system.
Makers of America: The Suburbanites
Know: Federal Housing Administration, Levittowns, White Flight
7. How did suburbs revolutionize life in America?
The suburbs did change the United States; they have become a standard feature in American geography, and continue to expand, especially in places such as Phoenix, Houston, and Atlanta-the Sun Belt.
Truman: the "Gutty" Man from Missouri
Know: "The buck stops here."
8. What kind of a man was Harry S Truman?
Truman was a man who had come to power after Franklin Roosevelt had died from a brain hemorrhage. He was the first president in a while without a college education. He approached his burdens with humility, but he evolved into a confident, cocky politician. His cabinet contained the Missouri Gang, which was composed of his friends from when he was a senator in Missouri. He would often stick to the wrong decision just to prove his decisiveness and power of command. However, he was still responsible and took work very seriously.
Yalta: Bargain or Betrayal?
Know: Yalta, United Nations
9. Why was the Yalta conference controversial in the decade following it?
At the Yalta Conference, Stalin pledged that Poland should have a representative government with free elections as would Bulgaria and Romania. But, Stalin broke those promises. The Soviet Union agreed to attack Japan 3 months after the fall of Germany, but by the time the Soviets entered the Pacific war, the US was about to win anyways, and now, it seemed that the USSR had entered for the sake of taking spoils.
The United States and the Soviet Union
Know: Communism, Capitalism, Sphere of Influence
10. How did similarities and differences both cause the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. to have difficulties dealing with each other?
The US waited until 1933 to recognize the USSR. The US and Britain had delayed to open up a second front during WWII. The US and Britain had frozen the Soviets out of developing nuclear arms. The US had withdrawn its vital lend-lease program from the USSR in 1945 and spurned Moscow’s plea for a $6 billion reconstructive loan while approving a similar $3.75 billion loan to Berlin. Stalin wanted a protective sphere around western Russia. Even though both the US and USSR were newcomers, both were advanced and had been isolationists, but were in a political stare-down that would turn into the Cold War and last for four and a half decades.
Shaping the Postwar World
Know: International Monetary Fund; World Bank; Security Council; General Assembly; United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization; Food and Agricultural Organization; World Health Organization
11. For what problems were international organizations established after WWII?
The International Monetary Fund encouraged world trade by regulating the currency exchange rates. The Security Council was to be headed by China, Russia, Britain, France, and the US, which had total veto powers and was headquartered in New York City. The UN kept peace in Kashmir and other parts. Groups like the UNESCO, FAO, and WHO brought benefits to people all over the globe.
The Problem of Germany
Know: Nuremberg, Hermann Goering, Big Four, Iron Curtain, Berlin Airlift
12. What problems did Germany cause between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R.?
The Nuremberg trials severely punished 22 top culprits of the Holocaust. America knew that an economically healthy Germany was indispensable to the recovery of all of Europe but Russia wanted reparations. Germany was divided into four occupational zones, but as the US began proposing the idea of a united Germany, and as the Western nations prevented Stalin from getting his reparations from their parts of Germany, it became obvious that Germany would remain divided. The Allies organized the Berlin Airlift to feed the people of Berlin and in May 1949, the Soviets stopped their blockade of Berlin.
A Cold War Congeals
Know: George Kennan, Containment, Truman Doctrine, Marshall Plan
13. Describe the policies followed by Truman in relation to the Soviets.
Truman adopted the “containment policy”, crafted by Soviet specialist George F Kennan, which stated that firm containment of Soviet expansion would halt Communist power. The Truman Doctrine was created, which meant $400 million to help Greece and Turkey from failing into communist power. Basically, the US would aid any power fighting against Communists. George C Marshall created the Marshall Plan, a miraculous recovery effort that had Western Europe up and prosperous in no time. It formed the European Community and sent $12.5 billion over four years to 16 nations to aid in recovery. THE UNRRA was also formed and Truman recognized Israel.
America Begins to Rearm
Know: National Security Act, Defense Department, Joint Chiefs of Staff, National Security Council, Central Intelligence Agency, Voice of America, North Atlantic Treaty Organization
14. List and define the organizations set up to deal with the Soviet Union.
The National Security Act created the Department of Defense which was housed in the Pentagon and served civilian secretaries of the army, navy, and air force. The Nation Security Council advised the president on security matters and the Central Intelligence Agency coordinated the government’s foreign fact-gathering. The Voice of America was a radio broadcast that started in 1948 while Congress resurrected the military draft. The NATO consisted of the US, Britain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. In response, the USSR formed the Warsaw Pact.
Reconstruction and Revolution in Asia
Know: Douglas MacArthur, Chiang Kai-shek, Mao Zedong, H-bomb
15. Our WWII ally China gave us more trouble in the post war years than our enemy Japan. Explain.
Douglas MacArthur headed reconstruction in Japan and tried to top Japanese war criminals. In China, led by Mao Zedong, defeated nationalist forces, led by Chiang Kai-Shek, who then fled to the island of Formosa (Taiwan). With this defeat, 500 million people plunged under the communist flag. Truman announced that the Soviets had exploded their first atomic bomb, three years before experts though possible, eliminating the US monopoly on nuclear weapons. Thus, the US created the hydrogen bomb, and an arms race began.
Ferreting Out Alleged Communists
Know: Smith Act, Committee on Un-American Activities, Richard M. Nixon, Alger Hiss, Joseph R. McCarthy, McCarran Internal Security Bill, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg
16. Did the U.S. government go too far trying to prevent communist infiltration?
Yes, they were overly afraid. In 1949, 11 communists were brought to a NY jury for violating the Smith Act, which had been the first peacetime anti-sedition law since 1798. They were convicted and sentenced to prison. The HUAC investigated subversions and in 1948 Richard M Nixon prosecuted Alger Hiss. Joseph McCarthy cried foul and said they were scores of unknown communists. Truman vetoed the McCarran Internal Security Bill, which would have let the president arrest and detain suspicious people. Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were brought to trail, convicted, and executed of selling nuclear secrets to the Russians.
Democratic Divisions in 1948
Know: Dixiecrats, Strom Thurmond, Henry Wallace, Do-nothing Congress, "Dewey Defeats Truman," Point Four, Fair Deal
17. How successful was Truman in passing his domestic program?
Truman was very successful. His nomination split the Democratic Party, as Southern Democrats (Dixiecrats) nominated Thurmond of South Carolina on a State’s Rights Party ticket. Henry Wallace also threw his hat into the ring, nominated by the Progressive Party. Dewey seemed like the clear winner, but Truman shocked everyone and won. Truman received support from farmers, workers, and blacks. Truman called for the Point Four, a call for financial support of poor, underdeveloped lands in hopes of keeping underprivileged peoples from turning communist. At home, the “Fair Deal” program called for improved housing, full employment, a higher minimum wage, better farm price supports, a new TVA, and an extension of Social Security.
The Korean Volcano Erupts (1950)
Know: 38th Parallel, Dean Acheson, NSC-68, Police Action
18. What was the impact of the Korean War on the Cold War?
North Korean forces invaded South Korea, taking the South Koreans by surprise and pushing them dangerously south toward Pusan. Truman sprang into action and ordered US military to be quadrupled as desired by the NSC – 68. Truman also used a Soviet absence from the UN to label the North Koreans as the aggressors and send UN troops to fight against them.
The Military Seesaw in Korea
Know: Pusan Perimeter, Inchon, Chinese Volunteers, Douglas MacArthur
19. Why did Truman fire MacArthur?
MacArthur landed an invasion and drove North Koreans back across the 38th Parallel and the Yalu River. An overconfident MacArthur boasted that he’d have the boys home by Christmas but Chinese flooded the border and pushed the South Koreans back to the 38th Parallel. MacArthur was humiliated and wanted to bomb and attack China, but Truman didn’t want to enlarge the war. MacArthur began to criticize President Truman and he was thus fired.
Varying Viewpoints: Who Was to Blame for the Cold War?
20 What is the current opinion of most historians on the above question?
The US leadership had been rabidly anti-communist for decades, afraid of communist takeover of American business, and the subsequent loss of profit. Red Scares were common. But the extreme paranoia of Joseph Stalin and his unmatched butchery gave the anticommunists a true rational reason to fear Stalin. Stalin's behavior in the Berlin crisis certainly didn't help matters. The Russians feared the American's atomic bomb. And they feared a rebuilt Germany. Germany had attacked them twice in 25 years. The Americans and the rest of the west feared Russia's tank armies. The American move to encircle Russia plus provocative flights, made the Russians even more suspicious of Western motives.