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Chapter 28
Truman: Neither War Nor
Peace
Beginnings of the Cold War
 Dealing With a New World
 President in His Own Right
 The Korean War

Beginnings of the Cold War
Section 1
Truman
United
Nations
Controlling the Atom
Problems with the Russians
Truman Doctrine
A. Characteristics of Truman
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Missouri
No College Education
Farmer
Served in WWI
County Judge
Senator
Very intelligent, hardworking, and fair
B. Building a New World
Organization
United Nations—replaced League of
nations and goal was to preserve peace
 US Congress ratified UN Charter with a
vote of 8-2

United Nations (continued)

General Assembly—
Included delegates
from every member
nation. (town hall
meeting of the world)
– Each member got one
vote (except for Russia
which got 3)
– Responsible for budget
and electing new
members
United Nations (continued)

Security Council—eleven members
including the Big Five (police force of the
world)
– Big Five had permanent seats and right to
veto
– Others were elected to two-year terms
– Looked into disputes
C. Controlling the Atom
Bernard Baruch—
proposed a world
agency that would
oversee atomic
energy and inspect
atomic plants.
 Program failed
because of the USSR

D. Problems with the Russians
Forced Communism
on Poland
 Eastern European
Countries became
Communist
 Iron Curtain—term
used by Churchill to
describe the line
between Sovietdominated Europe
and the West.

Problems with the Russians
(continued)
Soviets prevented free passage of people,
information, and ideas across its borders.
 Turkey and Greece were both facing
Communist insurgents
 Atomic secrets had been leaked to the
Russians

E. Warnings about Russia
Containment—trying to keep the Soviet
Union from expanding its area of influence
 George Keenan—warned that Communism
must be contained because they plan to
conquer the world.

F. The Truman Doctrine
Dean Ascheson—warned that if Greece fell
to Communism, Asia, Africa, and Europe
were in grave danger
 George Marshall (along with Ascheson)—
developed a plan so this would not
happen.
 Truman Doctrine—US policy of economic
and military support to those who were
being subjugated to outside forces
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G. Greek-Turkish Aid Bill
First law giving aid to oppose Communist
expansion
 Helped defeat the influence of
Communism in their countries
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H. Marshall Plan (ERP)
US would help Europe
economically over the
next 3-4 years to
keep its economy
healthy and
invulnerable.
 Huge Success…in
addition, they were
able to buy our goods
and kept our
economy flourishing.

I. Point Four Program

Gave economic aid to the poor free
nations in Asia, Africa, and Latin America
Section 2: Dealing with a New
World
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Bringing the Boys
Home
Atomic Energy Act
Converting to
Peacetime
Taft-Hartley Act
An Active Congress
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The Fair Deal
Problems with
Germany
Berlin Blockade
NATO
Election of 1948
A. Bringing the Boys Home
1946—armed forces decreased from 12
million to 3 million
 GI Bill of Rights
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– Provided hospitals and clinics
– Payments to unemployed veterans
– Preference for federal jobs
– Free tuition, books, and on-the-job training
B. Atomic Energy Act
Transferred the control of atomic energy
from government to civilian hands
 However, all production facilities and
nuclear plants would be government
owned.
 Commission was set up to control the
peacetime development of atomic energy

C. Converting to Peacetime
1st time the nation did
not face a depression
after the war
 No shortage of jobs
 Troubled by strikes,
shortages of
resources, and
inflation.
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D. The Taft-Hartley Act
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Limited Union activities in order to prevent
strikes and corruption
– Outlawed the closed shop—had to pay dues
to join a union
– Allowed the union shop—required workers to
join a union
– Permitted states to enact a right-to-work
law—forbid the union shop in that state
– Law was passed over Truman’s veto.
E. An Active Congress
Lowered taxes (especially for the wealthy)
 Cut back on aid to farmers, social security,
and education
 22nd Amendment—limited a president to
two terms
 Presidential Succession Act—changed the
order in which someone became President
if the President dies during office.
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F. Truman’s Fair Deal
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Extension of FDR’s New Deal that included
civil rights laws.
– Desegregated armed forces
– Appointed first black governor and judge
– Fought for rights of blacks in civil rights cases
G. The Problem of Germany
After WWII, Germany
was split into 4 zones
of occupation: US,
Russia, Britain, and
France.
 US, Britain, and
France merged their
together to become
one territory
 Russia felt threatened
and started the Berlin
Blockade
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H. Potsdam Conference
Leaders met to confirm that Nazi “war
criminals” would be tried
 Many were executed.
 Many Japanese leaders later faced the
same fate
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I. The Berlin Blockade
Germany was divided into eastern and
western Germany
 Russia banned all supplies from entering
West Berlin to prevent the Western
Powers from forming a government there.
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J. Berlin Airlift
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US, England, and France supplied the city with
clothing, food and coal by air (Berlin Airlift)
Russia accepted defeat and lifted the ban
 The two sides remained separated with Eastern
Germany becoming a satellite nation of Russia.
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K. NATO
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North Atlantic Treaty Organization—
Atlantic Pact that created allies between
the US, Canada and ten other Western
European nation
– Military enforcement for the prevention of the
spread of communism
– Eisenhower is named first Commander of
NATO forces
L. The Election of 1948
Tom Dewey—R
 Truman –D
 Democrats were divided:
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– Dixiecrats—insisted on segregation of blacks
and nominated Strom Thurmond
– Progressives—believed in cooperating with
Russia and nominated Henry Wallace
– Truman still wins despite the division due to
his hard work on his campaign.
Section 3: President in His Own
Right
Truman’s Fair Deal (pros and cons)
 The Second Red Scare
 World Situation Worsens
 Rise of McCarthyism
 Protecting the United States
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A. Fair Deal
Successful: minimum
wage increase,
extension of social
security, and money
for projects to help
the poor
 Unsuccessful: civil
rights laws, national
health insurance, and
aid to farmers
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B. The Second Red Scare
House Un-American Activities Committee
(HUAC)—held public hearings against
those who were suspicious of communist
activities
 Richard Nixon—one of the most active
members of the HUAC.
 Alger Hiss—accused of providing
documents to the Russians. “Red Herring”
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C. World Situation Worsens
Soviet Union explodes an atomic bomb in
1949
 Klaus Fuchs—confessed to giving Russians
secrets about the bomb
 China becomes Communist under Mao
Zedong
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D. Rise of McCarthyism
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Joseph McCarthy—
senator who claimed
that the State
department was
infested with
Communists
E. Protecting the US
McCarran Act—required all Communist
Organizations to register with the Attorney
General
 McCarran-Warren Act—new immigration
law to keep out Communists.
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– Quota system, loyalty checks, and deportation
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Rosenbergs—sentenced to
death for giving key secrets
to Russians about the bomb.