Download Chapter 27 Outline

Chapter 27
THE COLD WAR AT HOME AND ABROAD
1946 – 1952
Learning Objectives:
27.1
What was the catalyst for the economic boom that began in 1947?
27.2
How was Harry Truman able to win the 1948 presidential election??
27.3
What were the origins of the Cold War?
27.4
How did the Korean War shape American domestic politics?
27.5
Why did fear of Communism escalate in the years following World War II?
Chapter Outline:
Preparatory resources addressing key topics related to this chapter:

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I.
II.
Watch the MyHistoryLab Video Series: Key Topics in U.S. History
o The Cold War: 1945 – 1953
o Origins of the Cold War
o Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan
o The Korean War
Read Personal Journeys Online
o “This Is How I Keep House,” McCall’s, April 1949. The routine of a typical
Levittown housewife.
o Erick Hodgins, Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1946). A fictional
New York advertising agent buys a house in the far edge of suburbia.
o Atlanta Housing Council, “Proposed Areas for Expansions of Negro Housing
in Atlanta, Georgia.” Papers of the Atlanta Urban League, Atlanta University
Center, Atlanta, Georgia. Reprinted in Andrew Wiese and Becky Nicolaides,
The Suburb Reader (2006). Atlanta Housing Council suggests ways to
continue residential segregation in a growing city.
Launching the Great Boom
o Watch the Video: Creating Domestic Bliss during the Cold War
A.
Reconversion Chaos
B.
Economic Policy
C.
The GI Bill
D.
Assembly-Line Neighborhoods
1.
Isolation and Discrimination
E.
Steps toward Civil Rights
F.
Consumer Boom and Baby Boom
Truman, Republicans, and the Fair Deal
o Analyze From Then to Now: The Automobile Industry
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III.
IV.
V.
VI.
A.
Truman’s Opposition
B.
Whistle-Stopping across America
C.
Truman’s Fair Deal
Confronting the Soviet Union
A.
The End of the Grand Alliance
B.
The Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan
C.
Soviet Reactions
D.
American Rearmament
o Read the Document: Harry S. Truman, The Truman Doctrine (1947)
o Read the Document: Winston Churchill, The “Iron Curtain” Speech (March
5, 1946)
Cold War and Hot War
A.
The Nuclear Shadow
B.
The Cold War in Asia
C.
NSC-68 and Aggressive Containment
D.
War in Korea, 1950–1953
o Use MyHistoryLab Explorer to answer, Why Did Conflict Come to
the Korean Peninsula?
E.
The Politics of War
1.
Consequences of the Korean War
The Second Red Scare
o Read the Document: Ronald Reagan, Testimony Before the House Un-American
Activities Committee (1947)
A.
The Communist Party and the Loyalty Program
B.
Naming Names to Congress
C.
Subversion Trials
D.
Senator McCarthy on Stage
o Watch the Video: McCarthyism and the Politics of Fear
E.
Understanding McCarthyism
Conclusion
Chapter Summary:
Chapter 27 examines the post-World War II era in American history. Topics covered in the
chapter include postwar domestic developments with an emphasis on the conversion to a
peacetime economy and the impact of the baby boom; early Cold War policy, including the
Marshall Plan and the Truman Doctrine; Truman’s domestic policy, focusing on the Fair Deal;
and the fruition of Cold War politics with the Korean War and McCarthyism.
27.1 Launching the Great Boom
Americans approached the conversion from wartime to peacetime with fear of a renewed
economic depression. Instead, the pent-up demand for housing and consumer goods and the
beginnings of the “baby boom” soon fed a new surge of economic growth, although labormanagement relations remained contentious.
27.2 Truman, Republicans, and the Fair Deal
President Truman surprised political experts and confounded Republicans by winning reelection
in 1948 against a divided opposition. His administration was able to protect the programs of the
New Deal but not to pass major new initiatives.
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27.3 Confronting the Soviet Union
The wartime alliance among the United States, Britain, and the Soviet Union came apart in 1946
and 1947 because of differing interests and expectations for the future of Europe and the Middle
East. The United States cemented ties with Western Europe through the Marshall Plan and NATO
while the USSR took similar steps in Eastern Europe. By the end of the decade, a politically
divided world had settled into forty years of Cold War.
27.4 Cold War and Hot War
The focus of the Cold War shifted to Asia in 1949, with Communist victory in China, and in
1950, with the outbreak of war in Korea. The armed confrontation of the Korean War ushered in
a massive expansion of American military capacity and presence around the world.
27.5 The Second Red Scare
The deepening Cold War, fears of Soviet nuclear weapons, and bitter political divisions at home
fueled fears of internal subversion in the late 1940s and 1950s. The danger of Soviet espionage
was real, but efforts to ensure loyalty reached beyond what was necessary for national security.
Key Terms:
27.1
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27.2
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27.3
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Cold War The political and economic confrontation between the Soviet Union and the
United States that dominated world affairs from 1946 to 1989.
Council of Economic Advisers Board of three economists established in 1946 to advise
the president on economic policy.
Taft-Hartley Act Federal legislation of 1947 that substantially limited the tools available
to labor unions in labor-management disputes.
GI Bill of Rights Legislation in June 1944 that eased the return of veterans into
American society by providing educational and employment benefits.
Levittown Any of three large suburban housing developments built in New York,
Pennsylvania, and New Jersey in the late 1940s and 1950s.
redlining Restricting mortgage credit and insurance for properties in neighborhoods
defined as being high risk.
Dixiecrats Southern Democrats who broke from the party in 1948 over the issue of civil
rights and ran a presidential ticket as the States’ Rights Democrats.
International Monetary Fund (IMF) International organization established in 1945 to
assist nations in maintaining stable currencies.
World Bank Officially the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, an
international organization established in 1845 that assists governments around the world
in economic development efforts.
Truman Doctrine President Harry Truman’s statement in 1947 that the United States
should assist other nations that were facing external pressure on internal revolution; an
important step in the escalation of the Cold War.
Marshall Plan The European Recovery Program (1948-1951), which provided U.S.
economic assistance to European nations; named for Secretary of State George Marshall.
Berlin blockade A 300-day Soviet blockade of land access to U.S., British, and French
occupation zones in Berlin, 1948-1949.
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Agency that coordinates the gathering and
evaluation of military and economic information on other nations, established in 1947.
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27.4
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27.5
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National Security Council (NSC) The formal policymaking body for national defense
and foreign relations, created in 1947 and consisting of the president, the secretary of
defense, the secretary of state, and others appointed by the president.
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Military alliance of the United States,
Canada, and European nations created in 1949 to protect Europe against possible Soviet
aggression.
Warsaw Pact Military alliance of the Soviet Union and Communist nations of Eastern
Europe from 1955 to 1989.
National Security Council Paper 68 (NSC-68) Policy statement that committed the
United States to a military approach to the Cold War.
containment The policy of resisting further expansion of the Soviet bloc through
diplomacy and, if necessary, military action, developed in 1947-1948.
Korean War War between North Korea and South Korea (1950-1953) in which the
People’s Republic of China fought on the side of North Korea and the United States and
other nations fought on the side of South Korea under the auspices of the United Nations.
House Un-American Activities Committee Congressional committee (1938-1975) that
investigated suspected Nazi and Communist sympathizers.
McCarthyism Anti-communist attitudes and actions associated with Senator Joe
McCarthy in the early 1950s, including smear tactics and innuendo.
Topics for Essays, Classroom Discussion, or Classroom Lecture:
1.
Present a lecture examining Franklin Roosevelt’s and Harry Truman’s contributions to
the emergence of the Cold War. Compare and contrast the social, political, and intellectual
backgrounds of the two men. Discuss Roosevelt’s role at the Yalta Conference, especially
regarding the endorsement of the Declaration of a Liberated Europe. Did the endorsement of this
agreement by the Allies set the stage for the Cold War? Could the Allies have avoided granting
Stalin leverage in Eastern Europe? Discuss the extent to which Truman was prepared by
Roosevelt to take over the presidency. Finally, comment on the early Soviet policy of the Truman
administration.
2.
Discuss the emergence of the States’ Rights Party and the presidential campaign of J.
Strom Thurmond in 1948. Focus on the party’s appearance as an indication of increased racial
tension in the South after World War II and as an indication of the potential of the future Civil
Rights Movement. Address the significance of Thurmond’s political career, which involved an
early switch to the Republican Party, an indication of southern political developments to come
during the last half of the twentieth century.
3.
Discuss the connection between Cold War policies and World War II. What parallels did
the former Allies see between prewar Germany and postwar Soviet Union? What mistakes made
prior to World War II did the former Allies fear making again? Use this opportunity to have
students consider the issue of “learning from history.” Can people learn from history? Is it wise or
useful to allow mistakes from the past to determine policy for the future?
4.
In their book The Fifties: The Way We Really Were (1977), Douglas T. Miller and
Marion Nowak assert that the 1950s was a decade of conservatism, consensus, and conformity.
Have students review Chapter 27 and point out examples of these trends during the late 1940s and
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early 1950s. How did World War II moderate the liberal politics of the Depression era? Why
were Americans eager to move to the middle, and why did they find security in conservatism,
consensus, and conformity?
5.
Have students compare and contrast the postwar decades of the 1920s and 1950s. Guide
discussion to address some of the following issues:
a.
World War I has been characterized as the war that ended “American
innocence.” How so? Did the American experience in World War II have a
similar impact? Were Americans less naive and more experienced and mature as
a nation because of the role they played in World War I?
b.
Compare and contrast American foreign policy development during the decades
following the two world wars. Specifically, focus on the issues of isolationism
and active intervention as they apply to the American foreign policy of the 1920s
and 1950s.
c.
Examine the social and cultural aspects of postwar American society in the 1920s
and 1950s. How do the social and cultural values of Americans reflect their
reaction to world war?
d.
Explore developments in domestic politics in the postwar decades of the 1920s and
1950s. Which party would come to dominate national politics after World War I?
After World War II? What would come to be the American response to radicalism
after World War I? After World War II?
6.
Consider American Cold War foreign policy within the historical context of modern
American foreign policy. Students have already considered the similarities and differences
between the turn-of-the-century diplomacy of Theodore Roosevelt and the moral diplomacy of
Woodrow Wilson. How does Cold War policy compare to each of these phases of American
foreign policy development? Consider specifically the content of National Security Council Paper
68 (NSC-68). Are the guidelines proposed in this document reflective of the “big stick”
diplomacy of Theodore Roosevelt, or are they more reflective of the morally-based approach of
Woodrow Wilson? Or is post-World War II foreign policy completely different from both?
Enrichment Projects:
1.
Research the American experience in fighting wars in Asia during the twentieth century.
This project could focus on the Pacific War during World War II, the Korean War, and the
Vietnam War. Among the topics that students might examine, consider the following:
a.
The cultural differences between the East and the West. What barriers existed
that would complicate Asian and American understandings of each other’s
cultures? How would these misunderstandings complicate diplomacy?
b.
The political and military goals of Asians and Americans in war. Especially in
Korea and Vietnam, how did American global concerns complement or fail to
complement the regional concerns of the Koreans and Vietnamese? How did
regional civil wars turn into military manifestations of the Cold War?
c.
Racism and the American experience in Asia. Have students consider American
stereotypes regarding Asians. How were these stereotypes manifested during the
Pacific War, Korean War, and Vietnam War? Were Americans socially and
culturally prepared to fight for the well-being of the Asian world?
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2.
Research the emergence of the Progressive Party in 1948. Was Henry Wallace’s liberal
agenda in 1948 dated and archaic by the end of World War II, or did it foresee the domestic
reform agenda of the late 1950s and 1960s? Examine the role of the party as a link between the
progressive agenda of the depression era and the progressive agenda of the 1960s.
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