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Chapter 27 – Early Years of the Cold War
Section Notes
Adjusting to Peace
War in Korea and a New Red
Scare
The Nation Prospers
History Close-up
Video
The Impact of Television
Maps
Cold War Europe, 1955
The Korean War
Inside a Bomb Shelter
Images
Quick Facts
The Yalta and Potsdam Conferences
The Fair Deal
Postwar Boom, 1945-1960
Chapter 27 Visual Summary
Jackie Robinson
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Linking to Today: The United
Nations
Primary Source: Fear of
Communism
Adjusting to Peace
The Big Idea
After World War II, Americans adjusted to new challenges
both at home and around the world.
Main Ideas
• As World War II ended, leaders began planning the future
of the postwar world.
• The United States and the Soviet Union went from being
allies to enemies after World War II.
• Americans adjusted to postwar life.
Main Idea 1:
As World War II ended, leaders began
planning the future of the postwar world.
Yalta
Conference
• Leaders met to
discuss Europe’s
future.
• Supported creation
of international
peacekeeping
organization
• Agreed on free
elections for
countries liberated
from German
control
Potsdam
Conference
• Allied leaders
divided conquered
Germany into four
zones.
• Britain, France, the
United States, and
the Soviet Union
would each control
one zone.
• Berlin also divided
into four zones
War Crimes Trials
• The Nuremberg
trials put highranking Nazi
officials on trial.
• The International
Military Tribunal of
the Far East put
Japanese officials
on trial.
• Established that
individuals must be
held responsible for
committing war
crimes, even when
acting on behalf of
a government
The United Nations
• In 1944, American, British, Soviet, and Chinese representatives
met to draft a plan for the United Nations– an organization
dedicated to resolving international conflicts.
• In 1945, representatives from 50 countries met to write the UN
Charter.
• One of its first major actions was to divide Palestine into separate
Arab and Jewish states.
– May 14, 1948– Jewish leaders announced the creation of nation of
Israel.
– Arab leaders protested and invaded.
– Israeli forces drove Arabs back and a truce was made.
Main Idea 2:
The United States and the Soviet Union went
from being allies to enemies after
World War II.
From Allies to Enemies
•
After the war, differences arose between United States and Soviet
Union.
– Americans committed to capitalism and democracy
– Soviets hoped to spread communism around the world.
The Iron Curtain
• Stalin established Communist governments in Poland and Eastern
Europe, cutting them off from the rest of the world.
– The term iron curtain came to be used to describe this division.
• The phrase Cold War came to be used to describe the struggle for
global power between the Soviet Union and the United States.
U.S. Foreign Policy
Goal– containment, or preventing the Soviet Union from
expanding its influence around the world
Truman Doctrine– policy of providing aid to help foreign
countries fight communism
Marshall Plan– Western Europe received more than $13 billion
in U.S. loans and grants for European economic recovery
between 1948 and 1952.
North Atlantic Treaty Organization– a coalition of the United
States, nine Western European countries, Canada, and Iceland.
– Members promised to defend each other if attacked.
– Soviet Union responded by creating Warsaw Pact, a military
alliance with its Eastern European satellite countries.
Main Idea 3:
Americans adjusted to postwar life.
Economy
Labor
•
Government urged women to give up their jobs once
veterans returned.
•
The Servicemen’s Readjustment Act, or GI Bill of
Rights, offered veterans money for school, as well as
loans for houses, farms, and businesses.
•
Inflation rose as people rushed to buy products that were
limited during war.
•
More than 35 percent of non-farm workers were union
members in 1946.
•
With inflation on rise, many went on strike.
•
Labor unions became a major political problem.
•
Government worked to reduce power of labor unions.
– Passed the Taft-Hartley Act in 1947 that outlawed closed
shops, or business that could hire only union members.
Civil Rights after the War
• African American veterans faced segregation and prejudice
at home.
– Helped lead a major effort to gain equal rights
• Truman appointed Committee on Civil Rights to investigate
discrimination and suggest solutions.
– Congress failed to act on the committee’s report.
• In 1948 Truman issued an executive order to
– End segregation in the armed forces, and
– Ban discrimination in the hiring of federal employees.
Election of 1948
• President Truman faced many challenges for reelection.
– Southern Democrats opposed his support for civil rights laws.
– Republicans controlled Congress and felt their candidate, New York
governor Thomas Dewey, could beat Truman.
• Truman took his case for reelection to the American people.
– Traveled thousands of miles and gave hundreds of speeches
– Defended his views and attacked Congress
• In 1948 election, Truman won a surprise victory.
• Urged Congress to support his plan for a package of domestic
programs called the Fair Deal
– Congress approved some parts, including higher minimum wage and
expanded Social Security benefits.
– Congress rejected other parts, including civil rights legislation.
War in Korea and a New Red Scare
The Big Idea
During the Cold War, the U.S. government confronted
communism globally and within the United States.
Main Ideas
• The United States fought Communist North Korea in the
Korean War.
• Fear of Communists led to a new Red Scare at home.
• President Eisenhower faced Cold War crises around the
world.
Main Idea 1:
The United States fought Communist North
Korea in the Korean War.
• Cold War quickly spread to Asian nations of China and Korea.
– China: in 1949 the People’s Republic of China was established
by Communists, led by Mao Zedong.
– Korea: after World War II, Korea was divided at the 38th
parallel with a Soviet-implemented government in North
Korea and a U.S.-implemented government in South Korea.
Korean War
• On June 25, 1950, North Korea invaded South Korea.
• United States and United Nations responded by offering support
to South Korea.
• China sent support to North Korea.
• By 1951, UN forces drove North Koreans and Chinese back across
the 38th parallel but fighting continued.
• The unpopularity of Truman’s actions during the war helped
Dwight D. Eisenhower win the 1952 presidential election.
• Korean War officially ended July 27, 1953 with a cease-fire.
– More than 130,000 Americans had been killed or wounded.
– Over 2 million Korean and Chinese casualties
Main Idea 2:
Fear of Communists led to a new Red Scare
at home.
Cold War fears led to a new Red Scare in the late 1940s and
1950s.
A Congressional committee known as the House Un-American
Activities Committee (HUAC) was in charge of investigating
Communist influence in America.
In 1947 HUAC launched hearings to expose supposed
Communist influence in movie industry
– They branded as “red,” or Communist, actors and writers who
would not answer questions or refused to reveal names.
– People suspected of Communist sympathies were often
blacklisted, or denied work.
Explosive spy cases also fed fears that Communists were at
work in the United States.
Rise of McCarthy
• In 1950 Wisconsin senator Joseph McCarthy charged that
Communists were working inside the State Department.
– Had no concrete proof
– When charges were challenged, he made up new charges.
– This method of making aggressive accusations without proof became
known as McCarthyism.
• In 1954, during televised hearings, he finally went too far.
– Used brutal tactics and bullied a young legal assistant
– Public outraged
• Senate later voted to condemn McCarthy’s actions.
– Came too late to help those whose careers had already been ruined by
his attacks
Main Idea 3:
President Eisenhower faced Cold War crises
around the world.
• In 1952 America completed development on hydrogen bomb, a
weapon more powerful than the atomic bomb.
• By 1953 Soviet Union developed its own hydrogen bomb, thus
beginning a nuclear arms race, as both rushed to build more
weapons.
• In October 1957 Soviets launched Sputnik, the first artificial
space satellite.
• In January 1958 the United States launched its own satellite and
established the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
(NASA).
Cold War Crises
• Eisenhower supported strategy of brinkmanship, a willingness to
go to the brink of war to oppose communism.
• Used covert, or secret, operations around the world to overthrow
leaders and influence politics.
– 1953– Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) helped overthrow premier of
Iran.
– 1954– CIA helped organize removal of Guatemalan president.
• Crisis in Egypt briefly brought Americans and Soviets together.
• After crisis averted, Cold War continued.
The Nation Prospers
The Big Idea
An expanding economy led to new ways of life for many
Americans in the 1950s.
Main Ideas
• America’s economy boomed in the 1950s.
• Americans enjoyed new forms of popular culture.
• Social critics found fault with 1950s society.
Main Idea 1:
America’s economy boomed in the 1950s.
• Millions of Americans earned more money than
ever and could spend more.
Economy
On the
Move
• Young Americans getting married and starting
families led to a baby boom, a significant
increase in births.
• Many businesses and workers moved to the
Sun Belt– southern and western states that
offered a warm climate year-round and low tax
rates.
• 1956 Highway Act encouraged travel and made
commutes easier.
Suburbs and Cities
• Rising demand for homes encouraged development of new suburban
neighborhoods.
– By mid-1950s, builders were constructing preplanned suburbs all over the
country.
– By 1970 more Americans lived in suburbs than in cities.
• Suburban life appealed to many.
– Many enjoyed the additional space and convenience.
• Suburban life was criticized by others.
– Critics believed suburban life too heavily based on consumer culture
– Lacking in diversity– most people living in suburbs were white and middle-class
– Discrimination– some communities refused to sell homes to black families
• Move to suburbs meant cities collected fewer taxes and began to decline.
• Federal government began urban renewal program to improve life in
cities.
Main Idea 2:
Americans enjoyed new forms of
popular culture.
Television
• By end of 1950s, nearly
90 percent of American
families owned
television sets.
• Americans shared the
experience of watching
the same news,
comedies, and sports
shows.
• American families
watched about six hours
of television a day.
Music
• New styles of music
helped reshape
American culture.
• New style of jazz,
known as bebop,
became popular.
• Rock ’n’ roll swept the
nation.
• Teenage fans bought
more than 70 percent of
all records sold in the
late 1950s.
Main Idea 3:
Social critics found fault with 1950s society.
• Some women were frustrated at lack of opportunities.
– Could only find work in limited fields
– Discouraged by expectation that they would give up jobs when they
got married
• Novelists commented on society in their work.
– J.D. Salinger criticized culture filled with love of money and
conformity.
– Ralph Ellison wrote of how African Americans were excluded by
society.
• Young people known as beatniks, or beats, criticized society with
unusual writing styles and rebellious behavior.
– Beat authors inspired many to question the rules of mainstream
society.
– Many identified with rebellious characters in popular movies of the
1950s.
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