Download CHAPTER 25 Cold War America 1945–1963 I

CHAPTER 25
Cold War America
1945–1963
I. Containment and a Divided
Global Order
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
I. Containment and a Divided
Global Order
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.
I. Containment and a Divided
Global Order
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.
I. Containment and a Divided
Global Order
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,
I. Containment and a Divided
Global Order
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;
I. Containment and a Divided
Global Order
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
I. Containment and a Divided
Global Order
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
I. Containment and a Divided
Global Order
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
II. Cold War Liberalism
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
II. Cold War Liberalism
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.
II. Cold War Liberalism
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.
II. Cold War Liberalism
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.
II. Cold War Liberalism
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
II. Cold War Liberalism
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;
II. Cold War Liberalism
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
III. Containment in the
Postcolonial World
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
III. Containment in the
Postcolonial World
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.”
III. Containment in the
Postcolonial World
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
III. Containment in the
Postcolonial World
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
III. Containment in the
Postcolonial World
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.
III. Containment in the
Postcolonial World
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