Download The United States Responds to Soviet Communist Expansion

The United States Responds to Soviet Communist Expansion
The Soviet Union was a dictatorship under Joseph Stalin. Even though Stalin had agreed at Yalta to
release all the countries under his Armies control after World War 2, he did not. These countries, Poland,
Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and even part of Eastern Germany remained under Soviet
control and became known as Satellite States. America’s alliance with the Soviets fell apart quickly and it
appeared as if this Soviet expansion was an attempt at world domination. This set the stage for a rivalry and a
struggle for power, influence and allies known as the Cold War.
Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom,
Winston Churchill, gave a speech in America speaking
out forcefully against the Soviet Expansion. Referring to
the map below, Churchill stated that an Iron Curtain
had fallen across Europe.
In addition, Churchill feared that the Soviets
were attempting to spread communism worldwide. The
only solution was for America to reject Communism and
embrace Democracy and stand firm against the soviet
threat.
Immediately after the war, the countries of
Greece and Turkey were battling communist forces
trying to gain control. Greece and Turkey needed aid
and in 1947 President Truman and the U.S. responded
with the Truman Doctrine. Congress agreed to give
the countries $400 million in aid and military supplies to
help keep communism from spreading throughout
Europe. To follow the Truman Doctrine, in 1948 congress passed the Marshall Plan. The Marshall Plan
approved $13 billion for loans and grants to aid Western Europe. This program provided food, infrastructure,
fuel, factories, and helped to jumpstart the post war economy. This money was intended to make communism
less appealing to war torn, struggling nations.
West Berlin, the capital of Germany, was receiving aid from the Marshall Plan. However, East Berlin,
under communist control, was not doing that well. Stalin closed all roads and highways to the west. Stalin was
hoping to cut off aid to the west in hopes that they would turn to the communist aid of the Soviets. This became
known as the Berlin Blockade. However, Stalin could not block the skies. For almost a year, the United States
and their NATO ally Great Britain, supplied West Berlin with food, supplies, fuel, medicine, clothing and even
toys. This response to the Berlin Blockade was called The Berlin Airlift.
Alliances are made. In 1949, The United States formed a Military Alliance called NATO (North Atlantic
Treaty Organization). NATO provided military alliances with other democratic countries in order to counter
Soviet Expansion. These Alliances agreed to work together and respond with military action if the Soviet Union
threatened or invaded any other country in NATO. In
1955 West Germany joined NATO. In response, the
Soviet Union formed the Warsaw Pact. The Warsaw Pact
was like NATO except it contained the satellite nations of
the Soviet Union. The Warsaw Pact contained all of the
communist states of Eastern Europe except one. Like
NATO, the Warsaw Pact also had a military alliance and
agreed to military retaliation if threatened by the United
States or any country from NATO.
On the Home Front, in America, the fear of Soviet
Expansion was also very real. For the second time in our
history we had a Red Scare. Red is the communist color
so the Red Scare refers to the fear of the spread of
communism in America. Recognizing public concern for
the spread of communism President Truman created the
Federal Employee Loyalty Program. The program gave
the FBI and other federal agencies the authority to do background checks on all federal employees.
Approximately 3,000 employees were dismissed. Congress joined the search for communists and created
HUAC (House Un American Activities Committee). HUAC investigated many Americans for “suspicious”
activities. Congress even televised some of the HUAC hearing were very high profile Americans were called
into question about their political loyalties. The most famous HUAC hearings focused on a group of Hollywood
writers, directors and producers known as The Hollywood Ten. The Hollywood Ten were assumed guilty
because they refused to answer questions to congress. They were eventually found
guilty and sent to prison for not cooperating.
This Red Scare at home also prompted many
Americans to take precautions. The Civil Defense
System was put into action. Many Americans spent a
lot of money building bomb shelters, circulating flyers
warning of nuclear destruction and even practicing
“Duck and Cover” techniques in schools and
work places. The bomb shelters were built right
in backyards and contained survival kits. The
flyers offered ways to “be prepared” and the
duck and cover campaign became wildly
famous instructing people to duck and cover
themselves with a school desk or work desk in
the case of nuclear war.