Chapter 26: The Cold War beginsAmerican History

U.S. and soviet union have it out

• Even during World War II, relations between the United States and the Soviet Union were unstable• U.S. hoped that after the creation of the

United Nations, there would be peace

• The two nations became hostile over one another, and this resulted in era of confrontation from 1946-1990, known as the Cold War• Was primarily caused by both sides having

different goals• Soviet Union wanted to secure German

borders and spread communism throughout Europe

• United States wanted to secure the world economy through free trade, free enterprise, and democracy

The yalta conference• In February, 1945, with the war nearly over, Roosevelt and

Stalin met in Yalta to make plans for the postwar world• The Yalta Conference focused on three issues:

• 1) Poland• U.S. and Britain wanted to return Poland to its original leaders, while

the Soviet Union wanted to give Poland to communist supporters• 2) The Declaration of Liberated Europe

• Allies promised that the people of Europe would be able to create democratic institutions of their own

• 3) Germany• The Allies wanted to separate Germany into four zones, one for each

country in the union• The Soviet Union wanted Germany to pay reparations despite being

economically disabled, while the U.S. wanted to work with Germany to set up a payment plan

Truman takes a stand• After Roosevelt’s death, Harry Truman

came into office with a firm stance against communism

• At a conference in Potsdam, Truman gave a stern message to Stalin in regards to the German economy, stating that it needed to survive in order for the world economy to get back on its feet

• Truman also gave Stalin a compromise, which guaranteed Stalin industrial goods from the other zones in exchange for food shipments from the Soviet zone and for all zones to enter a reparations plan• Stalin accepted the deal, but relations

were further strained from the conference

The Iron curtain descends

• Despite what happened at Potsdam, Stalin made it clear that he was unwilling to work with any other power nation• Refused to uphold any stronger

commitment to uphold the Declaration of Liberated Europe

• The presence of the Soviet Union in eastern Europe, pro-Soviet governments would be established in Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia• Called satellite nations because they

had to stay friendly to the Soviet Union and follow their policies

• Winston Churchill compared these events to an iron curtain descending upon Europe

The long telegram• To further explain the Soviet’s

behaviors, diplomat George Kennan was asked to comment on the matter• Wrote a 5,540 word cable message

known as the “Long Telegram”• Explained that the Soviets were

insecure and fearful of the West • Also provided the basic American

policy for the Cold War: “a long term, patient, but firm and vigilant containment of Russian expansion• If Soviet ideologies did not expand to

other countries, the Soviet Union would eventually fall

The truman doctrine• The Soviets continued their aggressive

tactics with pressuring other countries into siding with them and adopting their policies• In Iran, the Soviets wanted to control the oil

pipelines• In Turkey, the Soviets wanted to control a

strategic route to the Black Sea• In Greece, guerilla warriors attacked the state

government, desiring a communist government

• In response to these increased tensions, Truman stood before Congress and declared his goals, known as the Truman Doctrine• To aid “free peoples who are resisting

attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures”

The marshall plan• Post-war Europe was in economic

disarray, and needed immense help from any nation willing to help

• The United States and Secretary of State George Marshall proposed a European Recovery Program, called the Marshall Plan, which gave European nations aid to rebuild their economy

• The Soviet Union rejected the program, and instead provided their own program for the countries that were in close alliance with them

Germany splits• The United States, Great Britain, and France

combine their zones to make the Federal Republic of German, or West Germany, and gave those zones the right to structure their own nation

• In response, the Soviet Union calls their zone East Germany, and make it a Soviet territory

• To cut ties with Westerners, the Soviets issued a road and rail blockade, prohibiting supplies and people from entering East Germany

• In response to the blockade, the United States participated in the Berlin Airlift, shipping supplies to Berlin for 11 months• Sent the message that they would stand by

Berlin

Nato and the warsaw pact

• With increased tensions mounting against the Soviets, a military alliance between 12 countries creates the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, or NATO• U.S., Canada, Great Britain, France, Italy,

Belgium, Denmark, Portugal, The Netherlands, Norway, Luxemburg, and Iceland

• The organization later added West Germany, allowing them to rearm

• In response to West Germany rearming, the Soviet Union sets up its own organization with its satellite nations, the Warsaw Pact

China becomes communist

• China had existing issues with their National government and Communist supporters• Put the feud on hold during World War II to focus

on fighting the Japanese

• When World War II ended, Mao Zedong erupted a Communist revolution against the National government and its corrupt leader, Chiang Kai-shek

• To prevent a communist China, the United States funded China $2 billion to use for aid• Wasted it on poor military planning and useless

resources

• The Communists quickly took over China, renaming it the People’s Republic of China, and forced the Nationalists to a small island called Taiwan

The korean war• After World War II, the country of Korea was separated at the 38th

parallel, with the Soviets controlling the north and the Americans controlling the South

• Once talks of re-unifying the country came up, both sides refused• Communist government in the north and Democratic government in

the south detested each other, and both claimed authority of the entire country

• Backed with military help from the Soviet Union, North Korea invaded South Korea on June 25th, 1950

• Truman saw this event as a great opportunity to try out his containment policy, and asked the United Nations to help control the situation• Received aid, and was granted permission to send General

MacArthur to Korea, with naval and airpower

The U.s, and south korea make advance

• The Americans and South Koreans were pushed back into a pocket known as the “Pusan perimeter”, where they fought off a strong North Korean onslaught• Bought MacArthur more time to organize

reinforcements

• MacArthur made a daring invasion behind enemy lines at the port of Inchon• Very successful, causing the North Koreans

to move back across the 38th parallel

• After the invasion, Truman ordered MacArthur to invade North Korea

• In response, the Chinese entered the war, attacking UN forces at the Yalu River, driving them back to the 38th parallel

The war ends with no results

• With forces being pushed back, MacArthur demanded help from the Nationalist at Taiwan and for a blockade of Chinese ports• Truman refused, saying he did not want the war to expand to China

• In response, MacArthur spoke ill of the president, and in order to maintain his control over the armed forces, Truman fired MacArthur• Was committed to a limited war, or a war fought to achieve a

limited objective

• General Matthew Ridgeway took over in Korea, and pushed the North Koreans back to the 38th parallel

• By 1951, peace talks emerged, and upon the threat of using nuclear weapons by the U.S., an armistice was signed in July 1953, setting the borders between North and South Korea back at the 38th parallel

The red scare• A new internal threat, being that the Soviets would try to

gain support in the United States or try to extract secrets from the government, began to loom over the American public• The Red Scare• The public was afraid of subversion, or a secret method to

weaken a society and topple a government

• Truman established a loyalty review program that screened all federal employees on their loyalty to their country

• Not satisfied with the program, FBI director J. Edgar Hoover went to the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) and urged the committee to hold public hearings for those accused of treason in order to deter further support for communism

Communist witch hunt• The Red Scare provided many individuals

the opportunity to accuse others of committing treason• Whittaker Chambers accuse Alger Hiss, a

prominent diplomat, of giving Chambers secret documents from the State department

• Klaus Fuchs sold atomic secrets to the Soviet Union, leading to the capture, trial, and executions of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, members of the Communist Party

• A secret government project, codenamed “Venona”, interpreted thousands of secret messages sent from Moscow to the U.S., confirming Soviet espionage

McCarthy and his “list”• Shortly after the Soviets tested an atomic bomb

and China fell to Communism, Senator Joseph McCarthy made a stunning statement, saying he had a list of communists in the government

• Shortly after, Congress passed the McCarren Act, which made it illegal to conspire to perform any acts that would eventually lead to a totalitarian government, and also gave the government the right to arrest supposed conspirators

• McCarthy became the chairman of the Senate subcommittee on investigations, which he took full advantage of by creating a nation-wide witch hunt for conspirators

• Once McCarthy went after the Army, support for him dwindled, and he was later censured by the government

Life during the red scare

• When the Soviets tested their own nuclear and hydrogen bombs, the American public became weary of what the Soviets might do• Built bomb shelters in schools and

homes• Practiced “Duck and Cover” drills in

schools• Built fallout shelters in homes to

prevent from being exposed to fallout, or nuclear radiation after an atomic blast

• Books, movies, and newspaper articles all discussed the fears the American public had over Communism

“I like ike!”• With more Americans wanting a new

head of government, Truman decided not to run again in the election of 1954• Dwight D. Eisenhower, former

commander of Allied forces in World War II, ran for the Republican Party, and won

• Eisenhower promoted that in order to defeat the Communists, you need a stronger economy and the threat of nuclear weapons more than a strong army• Stronger economy=more money for

citizens=less support for Communism• Massive retaliation: if Communists

wanted to seize a territory by force, the threat of nuclear weapons would prevent them from doing so

New technological age• In order to complete his massive retaliation

policy, Eisenhower funded new programs to build new machines to launch nuclear weapons• B-52 bombers• Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles• Submarines

• The Americans were stunned, however, when the Soviets were the first to enter space with an artificial satellite named Sputnik

• In response to this, the U.S. created the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to coordinate research in rocket science and space exploration, and the National Defense Education Act, which funded education in science, math, and foreign languages

Brinksmanship works• Eisenhower used his theory of brinksmanship, forcing

the other side to back down upon threat of war, to eliminate Communist advances• Ended Korean War with the threat of use of nuclear weapons

• Deterred China from attacking and invading Taiwan

• Deterred British and French troops from invading Egypt and taking back the Suez Canal

• Eisenhower knew that brinksmanship would not solve all problems, so he also used covert, or hidden, operations conducted by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)

The CIa• Many of its operations took place in

developing nations, or nations with primarily agricultural economies, because they detested American capitalism and looked towards the Soviet Union for guidance and support

• Some operations were successful:• Toppled a possible coup in Iran against the

pro-American Shah• Ousted a Guatemalan Communist leader

attempting to make deals with the Soviets

• Others, however, were not as successful:• Broadcasted a speech made by new Soviet

premier Nikita Khrushchev, denouncing Stalin’s policies, in Eastern Europe, which caused the nation of Hungary to revolt

Eisenhower’s final acts in office

• After the revolt in Hungary, Khrushchev hated the Americans• Khrushchev later demanded that the U.S., Great Britain, and

France withdraw its troops from West Germany• With brinksmanship, the demands were soon thrown out

• To promote peace between the nations, Eisenhower organized a summit with Khrushchev in Washington• Khrushchev broke up the summit after learning that an

American spy plane had been shot down in the Soviet Union

• When his second term was up in 1961, Eisenhower warned, in his farewell address, of the growing relationship between the military and defense contractors• Military-industrial complex