Download The Cold War

The Cold War
Mrs. Carter
United Nations
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A system of collective security
Allied leaders
Limited ability to carry out mission
General Assembly
Security Council
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Maintain international peace and security
Perm. Members: US, GB, SU, France
6 temp. members- elected for 2 yr terms
United Nations
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Each perm member had absolute veto
power
Western nations dominated and blocked
communist nations
Humanitarian programs were successful
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Universal Doctrine of Human Rights
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Inalienable rights of all people to religious and civil
liberty
Nuremberg Trials
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Trial of war crimes for the holocaust
GUIILTY- “war crimes and atrocities”
Nuremberg Principle
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No soldier or civilian could be
required, or should obey, an order
that conflicted with basic
humanitarian tenets.
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France and the Soviet Union opposed the
reunification of Germany
US and GB wanted to rebuild Germany
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as a counterforce to the Soviet Union
as a strong market of American and British
goods
Winston Churchill
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Iron Curtain speech at Westminister
College in Missouri
http://www.authentichistory.com/1950s/s
peeches/19460305_Winston_Churchill_Iro
n_Curtain_Speech.html
Iron Curtain
Containment
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To contain Communism; to prevent
the spread of Communism
A doctrine uniting military, economic and
diplomatic strategies to turn back
communism and to secure for the United
States the leading role in world affairs
NSC-68
George Kennan
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“Long Telegram”
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Feared expansion of Soviet control in Eastern
Europe
Stalin’s speech- inevitability of war with
capitalist powers
US objective must be “a long-term, patient,
but firm and vigilant containment of Russian
expansive tendencies.”
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Urged Truman to deploy it’s economic and
military resources to prevent the Soviets from
expanding beyond their sphere of influence
REGRETS- looking back Kennan regretted
not including the following info in his
reports:
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Failure to emphasize the difficulties that
Moscow would face in trying to rule East. And
Central Europe
Failure to recognize that his essay would add
to the fear of Communism
Truman Doctrine
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Military and economic aid to Turkey and
Greece
Congress agreed to $400 million in aid
2 “alternative ways of life”- Truman
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Democracy & freedom OR totalitarianism,
terror & oppression
Aid program was successful at resisting
Moscow
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Goal was to prevent the Soviet Union from
gaining a stronghold in either Greece of
Turkey
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Prevent SV from gaining the Strait of
Dardanelles (access to the Med. Sea)
Opposition:
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Henry Wallace- unfounded fear of Soviet
Union
Fiscal conservative- concerned about the cost
Feared deeper, longer lasting foreign
“entanglements”
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Support:
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Dean Acheson- “Not since Rome and
Carthage….. [ has there been ] such a
polarization of power on this earth”
Must help those that wish to be democracies
Marshall Plan
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Background- Europe- post WWII
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Inflation
Starvation
Crippled industry & infrastructure
Battered & shaken are the strongholds of
democracy
Offered a program of massive US
economic assistance to Western Europe
Marshall Plan
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George C. Marshall
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US humanitarian relief
Aid return of economic health and political
stablility
Claimed “not against any country or doctrine
but against hunger, poverty, desperation and
chaos.”
Marshall Plan
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Further Goals
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To promote European unity and to end
national rivalries
Only a united Europe could present a strong
front against Soviet expansionism
Draft a unified recovery program- leading to
an American-style of capitalism
Opposition- Andrei Vyshinski
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“split Europe into two camps” , denied
European nations their “inalienable rights”
Marshall Plan
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US benefit- $$$$$$$
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Increased US export to Europe
Decreased European exports
US sent exports on CREDIT b/c Europe lacked
credit
Europe ordered farm equipment, industrial
machinery, and other goods = $ to help
American business
Marshall Plan
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Europe’s benefits
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rebuild Europe’s economy
Create jobs
Better living conditions
Revival of world trade
Emergence of multinationals
Another front against Communism
Events
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June 1948- Western allies allow W.
Germany to become developed. 1 nation
instead of divided zones of occupation
Stalin felt Soviet security was threatened
and stopped all traffic to West Berlin
US & GB respond with Berlin Airlift- food
and supplies to W. Berlin
May 1949- Soviet Union lifted blockade
East & West Berlin established as separate
states
NATO & Warsaw Pact
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North Atlantic Treaty Organization
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An attack against one shall be considered an
attack against them all
Warsaw Pact
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Soviet response to NATO
Wartime alliance
Bretton Woods
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New Hampshire in July 1944
Allied nations
Began planning to rebuild a world financial
structure
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World Bank- help poor countries to develop
transportation, health and Education
International Monetary Fund (IMF)- promote
trade, monetary cooperation, and exchange
rate stability among non-Communist industrial
nations
Seen by Soviet Union as a strategy to end
Communism
Japan
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In return for sovereignty they agreed to
house US military bases and troops
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Strategic move for the US
China
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China
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Communist Red Army- Mao Zedong- mainland
China
Nationalists- Chiang Kai-Shek- Taiwan
Americans- Truman “lost China”
Stalin signed a formal alliance with Mao
Zedong ***threat of international
communism***
US/Soviet Arms Race
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US expands # of
atomic bombs
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Testing in Bikini Atoll
Soviets began testing
A-bomb in 1949
Both began testing
hydrogen bombs
(more powerful than
atomic)
On the Homefront: Truman
Truman
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Disliked by many Americans
Bring the Boys Home Movement- rapid
demobilization
Taft- Hartley Act (veto)
Won 1948 election- Americans feared a
reversal of the New Deal
Desegregated armed forces and banned
discrimination in federal civil service
Fair Deal
Truman VS. Congress
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Little headway was made
Disputes over Fair Deal programs
Disputes over Taft-Hartley Act
Variety of bills were defeated
Taft-Hartley Act
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“slave labor bill”
Reversed much of the Wagner Act
Required union officials to swear they
weren’t Communists
Made it more difficult for workers to
establish unions
Truman vetoed it
Congress overrode the veto
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Dem. Party wanted Truman to resign, to be
replaced by Eisenhower
Fair Deal
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Truman’s reform program included:
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National health care
Federal aid to education
Civil rights legislation
Funds for public housing
New farm program
Increasing minimum wage and social security
Conservatives blocked most programs
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Min. wage and ss were the exceptions
Fair Deal
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Most reforms were defeated for 2 reason:
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Conflict between Truman and Congress
Foreign policy concerns of the Cold War
On the Homefront: Subterfuge
National Security Act (1947)
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Established Department of Defense,
National Security Council
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Administer and coordinate defense policies
and to advice the president
Established Central Intelligence Agency
(CIA)
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Obtain political, military and economic
information from around the world
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Classified- secret from Congress and public
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Fear of Communist conspiracy and
subversion
Executive Order 9835- barred members of
the Communist Party & sympathizers from
the federal government
Published alist of possibly subversive
organizations
On the Homefront: 2nd Red Scare
HUAC
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House Un-American Activities Committee
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“friendly witnesses”
“unfriendly witnesses”- stood behind 1st
amendment freedom of speech
Advertisers pulled funding during particular
movies
Looked for Communists in government,
Hollywood and organizations (Boy Scouts)
Blacklists
Espionage Cases:
Alger Hiss
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Official with the State
Department
Accused of being a
Communist
Accused of giving
secret documents to a
Communist
Found guilty
Jailed
Espionage Cases:
Julius & Ethel Rosenberg
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Accused of stealing & plotting to convey
atomic secrets to Soviets during WWII
Guilty of treason & executed in 1953
Executed in 1953
McCarthyism
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Joseph McCarthy
Believed Communist
conspiracy reached
into the government
Wild accusations
Claimed Democrats
were “soft on
Communism” b/c they
had “lost” China
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Silence critics of the Cold War
Went after Jews, African Americans,
immigrants, homosexuals, women’s
groups- those that were too weak to fight
back
McCarthy’s popularity grew because of the
American fear of Communism
People were afraid to go against him
because he became so powerful
Finally seen as a bully during the televised
Army-McCarthy hearings- end of career
“witch hunt” lasted for 3 years
On the Homefront: Domestic
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Baby Boom- 1950s- 1960s
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Couples married earlier, had children earlier,
had more children
Dr. Spock “Baby and Child Care”
Consumer Spending
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2 income families = middle class= higher
standard of living= more consumer
spending
Religion
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Billy Grahamevangelical minister1st televised crusades
for religious revival
“God Centered
homes” and warned
against women who
tried to “wear the
trousers”
Movies
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Warned against
apathy toward the
threat of Communism
Korea
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1945- Korea divided at 38th parallel
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1949- USSR & US pulled out of Korea
1950 North invaded the South
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North= Soviets South= US
Civil war?
Test by the Soviets?
Truman got approval from UN Security
Council to send troops. MacArthur was
sent to stop the Communist drive
Korea
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Truman expanded war goals
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China’s response
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Push Communists back to China
Reunite Korea as a democratic society
Crossing the 38th parallel would be seen as a
security threat
MacArthur- promised a speedy victory and
the boys would be “home for Christmas”
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China entered the conflict and pushed the
US back across the 38th
Stalemate at the 38th
18 mo of negotiations and fighting
“There is no substitute for victory!”MacArthur
MacArthur was dismissed for
insubordination- nearly caused a ChineseAmerican War
Summer 1953- North and South Korea
occupied nearly identical territory as at the
beginning
Election of 1952
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Rep. Dwight D. Eisenhower “Ike”
VP Richard Nixon
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Checkers Speech
Scandal accepting personal gifts
Voters wanted peace and government
assisted prosperity
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