CHAPTER 25 Cold War America 1945 1963 A. Origins of the Cold War 1. Yalta -Big Three (Churchill, FDR, Stalin) met in Feb. 1945, to create a United Nations (the three plus France and China) holding permanent seats on a Security Council; FDR and Churchill agreed that Poland should be in the Soviet sphere of influence ; they agreed to free and unfettered elections to be held in border nations A. Origins of the Cold War 2. Potsdam -Truman (president after Roosevelt s death) immediately wanted to stand up to Stalin; free elections held in Finland, Hungary, Bulgaria, and Czechoslovakia, but not Poland or Romania; to Americans, failure of Stalin to hold elections in all of the border nations start of the Cold War; conflict over Germany led to agreements that paved the way for its division into East and West. B. The Containment Strategy 1. Toward an Uneasy Peace -Feb. 1946, Long Telegram was sent by American diplomat George F. Kennan in Moscow: called for long-term containment of Russian expansion ; believed that the Soviet system would eventually collapse if U.S. + its allies opposed Soviet expansion in all parts of the world; Truman Doctrine: Truman asserted an American responsibility to contain communism; Marshall Plan passed to help European nations recover from the war; restrictions kept Soviets from participating and intensified the Cold War.
B. The Containment Strategy 2. East and West in the New Europe -U.S., Britain, and France consolidated their zones in 47; June 48 Soviet blockade of West Berlin, American/British pilots airlift materials into the city. April 1949 North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Under NATO pact, 12 nations agreed that an attack against one is an attack against all. Also agreed to create the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany); in response, the Soviet Union created the German Democratic Republic and the Warsaw Pact (equivalent to NATO for Eastern Europe); continent was divided by East and West, B. The Containment Strategy (cont.) 3. NSC-68 -September 1949, the Soviets detonated an atomic bomb; Truman then turned to U.S. National Security Council (NSC), for a strategic reassessment of U.S. security issues; April 1950, the NSC delivered report known as NSC-68; marked a decisive turning point in U.S. approach to the Cold War and encouraged development of a hydrogen bomb, as well as increased taxes to pay for dramatic increases in defense; C. Containment in Asia 1. Civil War in China -Communist forces led by Mao Zedong challenged Nationalist forces under Jiang Jieshi; between 1945 and 1949, U.S. gave Jiang s army $2 billion in aid to save China; in 1949, U.S. cut off aid, and Mao was victorious; Mao allies with Soviet Union; Truman s State Department blamed for losing China C. Containment in Asia 2. The Korean War
-U.S. and Soviet Union jointly occupied Korea, divided at the 38th parallel; Soviets supported Kim Il Sung in North Korea; the U.S. backed Syngman Rhee in South Korea; desire to reunify led to a northern military action; with the Security Council s approval of a peacekeeping force, Truman ordered U.S. troops to Korea; war began with a counterattack by the Chinese in response to General MacArthur sending troops across the 38th parallel; dispute with MacArthur led to his dismissal; defense spending grew enormously C. Containment in Asia 3. The Munich Analogy -Memory of Hitler s appeasement influenced U.S. policy in the 1950s; The U.S. staunchly resisted Soviet influence in Germany, Greece, Korea, Iran, Guatemala, and Vietnam A. Truman and the End of Reform 1. The 1948 Election -Truman had hoped for expansion of the New Deal; left wing democats split off and formed Progressive Party, nominating Henry A. Wallace; the southern delegations left and called themselves Dixiecrats, protesting the party s civil rights platform and supporting segregation; Republican Party nominated Gov. Thomas Dewey (R-NY); Truman won a surprise 49.6 percent of the vote to Dewey s 45.1 percent A. Truman and the End of Reform 2. The Fair Deal -1949, Truman proposed the Fair Deal: national health insurance, aid for education, a housing program, expansion of Social Security, a higher minimum wage, and a new agricultural program; Congress + public reluctant to support an enlarged welfare state; Truman s proposal for national health insurance denounced as socialized medicine by the American Medical Association and insurance industry; The Fair Deal s only major achievement, was National Housing Act of 1949, which built lowincome units. B. Red Scare: The Hunt for Communists 1. Loyalty-Security Program
-Truman believed he had to protect his administration against charges of espionage; he issued Executive Order 9835 (1947), which created the Loyalty-Security Program: permitted officials to investigate employees of the federal government for subversion; led to accusations; states began their own programs and began to require loyalty oaths for employees; labor unions were hit by charges of Communists within their ranks, as were the NAACP and the National Urban League. B. Red Scare: The Hunt for Communists 2. HUAC -The House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) launched by Congressman Martin Dies of Texas and other conservatives in 1938; helped spark the Red Scare by holding widely publicized hearings in 1947 on alleged Communist infiltration in the movie industry; a group of writers and actors dubbed the Hollywood Ten were jailed for refusing to testify about past associations; the accused were blacklisted ; Soviet archives tell us today that the Communist Party in the U.S. B. Red Scare: The Hunt for Communists 3. McCarthyism -Senator Joseph McCarthy (D-WI); in February 1950, he claimed to have a list of known Communists working the State Department; waged a campaign against those who were soft on communism; early 1954, McCarthy overreached by launching an investigation into subversive activities in the U.S. Army with live hearings that were broadcast on TV; public support for McCarthy s tactics plummeted C. The Politics of Cold War Liberalism 1. America Under Eisenhower -Nikita Khrushchev followed Stalin as leader of the Soviet Union (1956); called for peaceful coexistence with the West and denounced Stalin s regime, but crushed Hungarian independence movement; the Eisenhower administration s New Look defense policy increased production of the hydrogen bomb;
C. The Politics of Cold War Liberalism 2. Democrats -Strong in Congress but proved weak in presidential elections; largely agreed with Republicans on pressures of the Cold War and the demands of a modern, industrial economy A. The Cold War and Colonial Independence 1. Vietnam -CIA created in 47; utilized secret operations and coups to combat communism. August 1945, Vietnam declared independence from French; Ho Chi Minh led a Communist independence movement; Eisenhower feared domino theory: offered aid for French; in early 54, French were defeated; the 1954 Geneva Accords partitioned Vietnam at the 17th parallel with reunification and elections to come in 1956. The U.S. rejects Geneva Accords and used CIA to install a pro-u.s. government in South Vietnam (Ngo Dinh Diem); reunification did not occur; U.S. sends Diem approx. $200 million/year in aid A. The Cold War and Colonial Independence 2. The Middle East -When British mandate in Palestine ended, Zionists declared the state of Israel; Arab League invaded, but Israel survived; Palestinians were forced out of region and into refugee camps; President Truman recognized Israel as a new nation and won support from American Jewish voters; Egyptian independence was declared in 1952, led by Nasser who wanted to be neutral in Cold War; Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal; Britain, France, and Israel attacked Egypt and seized the canal; Nasser reclaimed the canal; the president announced the Eisenhower Doctrine, which stated that American forces would assist any nation in the Middle East that required aid against International Communism. B. John F. Kennedy and the Cold War 1. The Election of 1960 and the New Frontier -Kennedy defeated Nixon after four nationally televised debates swayed voters to his youthful, attractive candidacy
2. Crises in Cuba and Berlin -Kennedy leads an uprising against Castro in Cuba; April 1961 invasion at Cuba s Bay of Pigs failed; June 1961, Khrushchev blockaded West Berlin; Kennedy dispatches American troops to Western Europe; August 1961, Communist government of East Germany built a wall to stop easterners from fleeing; in Oct.1962, the Cuban Missile brought the U.S. closer to nuclear war with the Soviets B. John F. Kennedy and the Cold War 3. Kennedy and the World -Kennedy launched a series of bold nonmilitary initiatives; one was the Peace Corps, which embodied a call to public service and was intended to provide the Third World with an anticommunist alternative; Kennedy also championed space exploration, proposed having aman on the moon within the decade; persuaded Congress to increase funding for the government s space agency, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), enabling the U.S. to pull ahead of the Soviet Union C. Making a Commitment in Vietnam 1. Supporting Diem -Kennedy tried to expand the role of U.S. Special Forces ( Green Berets ) in Vietnam where Diem s opponents had formed the National Liberation Front (NLF) or Vietcong; Diem s strategic hamlet program alienated peasants by moving them into barbed-wire compounds; persecuted Buddhists staged dramatic demonstrations and committed self-immolations to protest Diem s regime; received worldwide outrage. C. Making a Commitment in Vietnam. 2. Chaos in South Vietnam -In November 1963, Kennedy s administration became increasingly frustrated with Diem, but still supported his regime; Diem was overthrown by military generals and assassinated; South fell into chaos with a series of coups and no clear leadership; Kennedy was assassinated three weeks later