Chapter 27 The Cold War at Home and Abroad, 1946 1952 Chapter Summary Chapter 27 examines the post-world War II history of America. Topics covered in the chapter include postwar domestic developments with an emphasis on the conversion to a peacetime economy and the impact of the baby boom; early Cold War policy, including the Marshall Plan and the Truman Doctrine; Truman s domestic policy, focusing on the Fair Deal; and the fruition of Cold War politics with the Korean War and McCarthyism. I. Launching the Great Boom A. Reconversion Chaos B. Economic Policy C. The GI Bill D. Assembly-Line Neighborhoods 1. Isolation and discrimination E. Steps Toward Civil Rights F. Consumer Boom and Baby Boom II. III. IV. Truman, Republicans, and the Fair Deal A. Truman s Opposition B. Whistle-Stopping across America C. Truman s Fair Deal Confronting the Soviet Union A. The End of the Grand Alliance B. The Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan C. Soviet Reactions D. American Rearmament Cold War and Hot War A. The Nuclear Shadow B. The Cold War in Asia C. NSC-68 and Aggressive Containment D. War in Korea, 1950 1953 E. The Politics of War 1. Consequences of the Korean War V. The Second Red Scare A. The Communist Party and the Loyalty Program B. Naming Names to Congress C. Subversion Trials D. Senator McCarthy on Stage E. Understanding McCarthyism 125
VI. Conclusion Learning Objectives After a careful examination of Chapter 27, students should be able to do the following: 1. Briefly describe the economic conditions that greeted American GIs on their return home from war. 2. Explain how postwar labor strikes impacted American sentiment regarding the power of organized labor. 3. Outline the provisions of the Employment Act of 1946 and the Taft-Hartley Act and comment on their impacts on the postwar American economy. 4. Identify the provisions of the GI Bill of Rights and discuss its impact on American higher education. 5. Comment on how the war s end impacted the roles of women in the workplace and in higher education. 6. Explain how men such as William Levitt addressed the housing shortage facing Americans after World War II. 7. Comment on the connection between racism and suburbanization in postwar America. 8. Briefly outline the steps taken by the Truman administration to address civil rights issues during the late 1940s. 9. Identify Jackie Robinson and explain the significance of his role in desegregating professional sports in the United States. 10. Comment on the increase in marriage and birth rates in postwar America and how the increases impacted national consumerism. 11. Discuss how the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan reflected the early stages of American Cold War policy. 12. List the federal agencies and international mutual defense pacts organized by the United States during the late 1940s as a means of increasing national security. 13. Identify the major candidates, issues, and outcome of the presidential election of 1948. 14. List the major components of Truman s Fair Deal. Indicate the Truman proposals for domestic reform that were rejected by Congress. 15. Briefly discuss the proliferation of nuclear weapons in the world during the 1950s. Describe the impact of the federal government and the media in intensifying public fear of nuclear war. 126
16. Briefly describe some of the environmental and health problems associated with nuclear testing during the 1950s. 17. Discuss the meaning of the Europe First or Asia First dilemma facing the west during the Cold War. 18. Outline the provisions of NSC-68 and explain its impact on the development of American foreign policy during the 1950s. 19. Identify General Douglas MacArthur and describe his role in Japanese postwar recovery and in the Korean War. 20. Discuss the significance of the Korean War in terms of American military effectiveness, its prediction of future United States involvement in Asia, and its impact on American commitment to fighting the Cold War. 21. Define the term subversives and explain its significance to domestic political policy in the United States during the 1950s. 22. Define the term red-baiting and explain its use by the Republican Party during the 1950s. 23. Outline the provisions of Executive Order 9835 and describe its impact on the emergence of the Red Scare. 24. Identify the House Committee on Un-American Activities and discuss its role in the Red Scare. Explain what is meant by the Hollywood Ten. 25. Identify the three major trials of the 1950s that targeted Americans accused of being Soviet spies. 26. Discuss Senator Joseph McCarthy s role in the Red Scare. 27. Identify four factors that explain American fear of subversion during the 1950s. Identify the goals of the propagators of the Red Scare. Topics for Classroom Lecture 1. Present a lecture examining Franklin Roosevelt s and Harry Truman s contributions to the emergence of the Cold War. Compare and contrast the social, political, and intellectual backgrounds of the two men. Discuss with students Roosevelt s role at the Yalta Conference, especially regarding the endorsement of the Declaration of a Liberated Europe. Did the endorsement of this agreement by the Allies set the stage for Cold War? Could the Allies have avoided granting Stalin leverage in Eastern Europe? Discuss the extent to which Truman was prepared by Roosevelt to take over the presidency. Finally, have students comment on the early Soviet policy of the Truman administration. 2. Discuss the emergence of the States Rights Party and the presidential campaign of J. Strom Thurmond in 1948. Focus on the party s appearance as an indication of increased racial tension in the South after World War II and as an indication of the potential for the future Civil Rights movement. Address the significance of Thurmond s political career, which will involve an early switch to the Republican Party, an indication of southern political developments to come during the last half of the twentieth century. 127
3. Discuss the Cold War policy s connection to World War II. What parallels did the former Allies see between prewar Germany and postwar Soviet Union? What mistakes made prior to World War II did the former Allies fear making again? Use this opportunity to have students consider the issue of learning from history. Can people learn from history? Is it wise or useful to allow mistakes from the past to determine policy for the future? Topics for Class Discussion and Essays 1. In their book The Fifties: The Way We Really Were (1975), Douglas T. Miller and Marion Nowak assert that the 1950s was a decade of conservatism, consensus, and conformity. Have students review Chapter 29 and point out examples of these trends during the late forties and early fifties. How did World War II moderate the liberal politics of the depression era? Why were Americans eager to move to the middle, and why did they find security in conservatism, consensus, and conformity? 2. Have students compare and contrast the postwar decades of the 1920s and the 1950s. Guide discussion to address some of the following issues: a. World War I has been characterized as the war that ended American innocence. How so? Did the American experience in World War II have the same impact? Were Americans less naive and more experienced and mature as a nation because of the role they played in World War I? b. Compare and contrast American foreign policy development during the decades following the two world wars. Specifically, focus on the issues of isolationism and active intervention as they apply to American foreign policy of the twenties and the fifties. c. Examine the social and cultural aspects of postwar American society in the twenties and the fifties. How do the social and cultural values of Americans reflect their reaction to world war? d. Explore developments in domestic politics in the postwar decades of the 1920s and the 1950s. Which party will dominate national politics after World War I. After World War II? What will be the American response to radicalism after World War I. After World War II? 3. Consider American Cold War foreign policy within the historical context of modern American foreign policy. Students have already considered the similarities and differences between the turn of the century diplomacy of Theodore Roosevelt and the moral diplomacy of Woodrow Wilson. How does Cold War policy compare to each of these phases of American foreign policy development? Consider specifically the content of NSC-68. Are the guidelines proposed in this document reflective of the big stick diplomacy of Theodore Roosevelt or are they more reflective of the morally based approach of Woodrow Wilson? Or, is post-world War II foreign policy completely different from both? Topics for Class Projects and Term Papers 1. Research the American experience in fighting war in Asia during the last half of the twentieth century. This project could focus on the Pacific War during World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. Among the topics that students might examine, consider the following: a. The cultural differences between the East and the West. What barriers existed that would complicate Asian and American understanding of each other s cultures? How would these misunderstandings complicate diplomacy? b. The political and military goals of Asians and Americans in war. Especially in Korea and Vietnam, how did American global concerns compliment or fail to compliment the 128
regional concerns of Koreans and the Vietnamese? How did regional civil wars turn into military manifestations of Cold War? c. Racism and the American experience in Asia. Have students consider American stereotypes regarding Asians. How were these stereotypes manifested during the Pacific War, during the Korean War, and during the Vietnam War? Were Americans socially and culturally prepared to fight for the well being of the Asian world? 2. Research the emergence of the Progressive Party in 1948. Was Henry Wallace s liberal agenda in 1948 dated and archaic by the end of World War II, or did it predict and foresee the domestic reform agenda of the late 1950s and 1960s? Examine the role of the party as a link between the progressive agenda of the depression era and the progressive agenda of the 1960s. Resources for Lectures and Research Projects Gal Alperovitz, Atomic Diplomacy (1994). William Chafe, The Unfinished Journey: America since World War II, 3rd ed. (1995). Frances Fitzgerald, Fire on the Lake (1972). John L. Gaddis, The United States and the Origins of the Cold War, 1941 1947(1972). Joseph C. Goulden, The Best Years, 1945 1950 (1976). Alonzo Hamby, Beyond the New Deal: Harry S. Truman and American Liberalism (1973). Akira Iriye, The Cold War in Asia (1974). Elaine Tyler May, Homeward Bound: American Families in the Cold War Era (1988). Douglas T. Miller and Marion Nowak, The Fifties: The Way We Really Were (1977). William Stuek, Rethinking the Korean War: A New Diplomatic and Strategic History (2002). John Toland, The Rising Sun (1970). Stephen J. Whitfield, The Culture of Cold War (1990). Audio-Visual Resources The Twentieth Century with Mike Wallace: McCarthy Reconsidered, The History Channel, 50 minutes. Mike Wallace takes a fresh look at the man behind the Second Red Scare. Truman: The American Experience, David Grubin, 1997, 270 minutes. This video is a four-part series examining the life and presidency of Harry Truman. 129