The Cold War Begins

1945 - 1960

Chapter 21

Section 1-1

Main Idea

The atomic bomb and the end of WW II led to disagreements among the “Big Three” wartime Allies and a shift in American attitudes toward the Soviet Union.

Section 1-5

A Clash of Interests

• The United States and the Soviet Union became increasingly hostile, leading to an era of confrontation and competition that lasted from about 1946 to 1990 known as the Cold War.

Section 1-6

• Soviets feared future attacks from Germany.

• They also wanted all countries around the USSR to be under Soviet control.

• Soviets believed that communism was superior to capitalism.

• They were suspicious that capitalism would lead to war and eventually destroy communism.

Section 1-9

The Yalta Conference

• A meeting of FDR, Churchill, and Stalin at Yalta had been held in early 1945 to plan the postwar world.

• Some agreements made there would later become key in causing the Cold War.

Section 1-10

• FDR and Churchill agreed to recognize Poland’s Communist government set up by the Soviets.

• Stalin agreed that free elections would take place in Poland.

• FDR, Churchill, and Stalin issued the Declaration of Liberated Europe - people have the

right to choose their form of government.

Section 1-12

• At Yalta, it was decided to divide Germany and Berlin into four zones, with Great Britain, the United States, the Soviet Union, and France each controlling a zone.

• It was also agreed that Germany would pay reparations for damage caused by the war.

• Arguments about reparations and economic policy in Germany would become one of the major causes of the Cold War.

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Section 1-13

• Tensions rose when the Soviets broke agreements made at Yalta. Soviet- American relations began to deteriorate.

• Then, in spring of 1945, President Roosevelt died and Vice President Harry S Truman became President.

Section 1-15

• Truman insisted that Stalin keep promises he made at Yalta.

• July 1945 – Truman, Churchill and Stalin met near Berlin at the Potsdam Conference to work out a deal regarding Germany.

• Truman opposed heavy reparations on Germany; he felt

that reparations would not allow

German industry to recover.

Section 1-16

• Truman then told Stalin that the US had successfully tested an atomic bomb. Stalin thought it was a threat to get him to agree to the deal.

• Stalin agreed, but tensions rose.

Section 1-17

• Stalin broke his Potsdam promises and forced pro-Soviet Communist governments upon Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia.

• These Communist countries of Eastern Europe became known as the satellite nations.

"Beware ... time may be short ... . From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the Continent."

- Winston Churchill, Fulton, Missouri, 1946

Section 1-18

• As Communists took over Eastern Europe, Winston Churchill’s term, the “iron curtain,” was used to describe separation of the Communist nations of Eastern Europe from the democratic West.

Section 2-1

As the Cold War began, the United States struggled to oppose Communist aggression in Europe and Asia through political, economic, and military measures.

Soviet satellite countries behind the Iron Curtain

Section 2-5

Containing Communism

• The State Department asked the US Embassy in Moscow to explain Soviet behavior.

• In February 1946, U.S. diplomat George Kennan responded with the Long Telegram, a 5,540-word cable message explaining Soviet goals, insecurity, and fear of the West and why it was impossible to reach an agreement.

George Kennan

Section 2-6

• He proposed a long-term control of Soviet expansion.

• This led to Truman’s policy of containment – keeping communism within its present territory through diplomatic, economic, and military actions.

Section 2-7

• After World War II, Soviet troops stayed in northern Iran, demanding access to Iran’s oil.

• They helped the Communists in northern Iran set up a separate government.

• The U.S. demanded their withdrawal and sent a U.S. battleship into the eastern Mediterranean.

• The Soviets withdrew from Iran.

2.Section 2-8

• 3/12/47 - Truman asked Congress for $400 million to fight Soviet aggression in Greece and Turkey.

• Became known as the Truman Doctrine - the United States’ pledge to stop the growth of communism in the world.

Moment in History 1

• Postwar Western Europe faced economic ruin and starving people.

• In June 1947, Secretary of State George C. Marshall proposed the European Recovery Program called the Marshall Plan.

• Billion$ of US dollar$ would go to rebuild Europe and hopefully prevent chaos that might lead those countries to turn to communism.

Section 2-12

The Berlin Crisis

• 1948 - The US, Great Britain, and France merged their zones in Germany and in Berlin, which became West Berlin, allowing Germans there to have their own government.

• The new nation became West Germany with a separate economy from the Soviet zone, which became known as East Germany.

Sect ion 2-13

• June 1948, Soviets closed all traffic to West Berlin, hoping to force US to give up Berlin.

• Truman sent long-range bombers with atomic weapons to bases in Britain.

• Truman then ordered the Berlin airlift.

• For eleven months, cargo planes supplied Berliners with food, medicine, and coal.

• Stalin finally lifted the blockade on May 12.

Section 2-14

• In April 1949, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), a mutual defense alliance, was created with twelve countries joining.

• The members agreed to come to the aid of any member nation that was attacked.

NATO Flag

Section 2-15

• The U.S. and its allies allowed West Germany to join NATO.

• Soviet leaders responded with their own military alliance in Eastern Europe known as the Warsaw Pact.

Section 2-17

The Cold War Spreads to East Asia

• The Cold War spread to Asia.

• In China, Communist forces and Nationalist forces had been battling since the late 1920s.

• They stopped their civil war during WW II to resist Japanese occupation.

• With the end of WW II, civil war broke out again.

• Nationalists were defeated after poor leadership caused US to stop sending aid.

Section 2-18

• 1949 - Communists set up the People’s Republic of China.

• China’s Nationalist leaders fled to Formosa (Taiwan) and set up a government there.

• 1950 - China and USSR signed an alliance treaty.

• The U.S. kept “Red” China out of the UN while allowing Nationalists from Taiwan to retain their seats.

Section 2-19

• The U.S. saw Japan as its key in defending Asia from more communism.

Gen. Douglas MacArthur was put in command of the US occupation of post- WWII Japan. He literally ran the government and virtually wrote Japan’s new constitution himself.

He was able to gain the respect of the Japanese people.

The Korean War

At the end of World War II, American and Soviet forces entered Korea to disarm Japanese troops stationed there.

The Allies divided Korea at the 38th parallel:

* Soviet troops controlled the North and installed a Communist government.

* US troops controlled the South and installed a democratic government.

• On June 25, 1950, North Korean troops invaded South Korea.

• Truman asked the UN to act against the Communist invasion of South Korea.

• American, UN, and South Korean troops pushed back advancing North Korean troops.

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• The Communist Chinese government saw the UN troops as a threat and demanded that they stop advancing.

• After being ignored, China began a massive attack with hundreds of thousands of Chinese troops heading across the border, driving UN forces back.

Section 2-24

• General MacArthur demanded approval to expand the war against China. (use nukes?)

• Truman refused MacArthur’s demands.

• MacArthur was fired after publicly criticizing the president.

• Truman was committed to waging a limited war, a war fought to achieve a limited objective such as containing communism.

TRUMAN FIRES MACARTHUR

Section 2-25

• By 1951 UN forces had pushed Chinese and North Korean troops back across the 38th parallel.

• War slugged on for two more bloody years with little progress on either side.

• An armistice was signed in July 1953.

(pages 663–665)(pages 663–665)

Section 2-26

• The Korean War was an important turning point in the Cold War.

• Instead of just using political pressure and economic aid to contain communism, the United States began a major military buildup.

• Korean War expanded the Cold War beyond Europe and into Asia.

Section 3-1

The Cold War heightened Americans’ fears of Communist infiltration and atomic attack.

A New Red Scare

• During the 1950s, rumors and accusations in the United States led to fears that Communists were attempting to take over the world.

• The Red Scare began in September 1945, and escalated into a general fear of Communist subversion – an effort to secretly weaken a society and overthrow its government.

• Early 1947, Truman established the loyalty review program to screen all federal employees for their loyalty.

• The program’s aim was to calm Americans’ fears.

• Instead, it led to the fear that Communists were infiltrating the U.S. government.

Section 3-7

• FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover went to the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) to urge them to hold public hearings on Communist subversion.

• The FBI sent agents to investigate suspected groups and to wiretap thousands of Americans' telephones.

HUAC’s investigations took on a circus-like atmosphere as suspects were ordered into the House Committee and asked the question...

“Are you now, or have you ever been, a member of the Communist Party?”

The film and entertainment industry was a major target of HUAC. Some of Hollywood’s biggest names were accused of having Communist ties. These men actually served jail time for lying under oath. They were known as the “Hollywood Ten.”

Many others were blacklisted and never worked in the industry again.

HUAC

HISS AND THE ROSENBERGS

Section 3-8

• A prominent lawyer and diplomat named Alger Hiss was investigated.

• Hiss had served in FDR’s administration, attended the Yalta conference, and helped with the organization of the UN.

• Hiss denied the charges, but he was convicted of committing perjury, or lying under oath.

• The search for spies intensified when the Soviet Union produced an atomic bomb.

• A British scientist, admitted giving information to the Soviet Union.

• This led to the arrest and conviction of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, who were Communists.

• They were charged with heading a Soviet spy ring and were executed in 1953.

“A Conspiracy So Immense”

• In 1949, with the Soviets testing an atomic bomb and China falling to communism, Americans felt they were losing the Cold War.

• Senator Joseph McCarthy alleged that there were Communists inside the government.

• He had won his Senate race after accusing his opponent of being a Communist.

MCCARTHYISM

Section 3-17

• Senator McCarthy became the chairman of the Senate subcommittee on investigations.

• His investigation turned into a witch hunt as he searched for disloyalty based on poor evidence and fear.

• He ruined reputations without real evidence.

• This tactic became known as McCarthyism.

Section 3-18

• In 1954 Americans watched televised Army- McCarthy hearings and saw how McCarthy attacked witnesses. His popularity faded.

• Finally, an army lawyer named Joseph Welch stood up to McCarthy.

“Until this moment, Senator, I think I never really gauged your cruelty or your recklessness. You have done enough … Have you no sense of decency?”

- Joseph Welch to Joe McCarthy

McCarthy, now disgraced, was censured by the Senate.

Within three years, at age 48, Joe McCarthy was dead.

Section 3-20

Life During the Early Cold War

• Communism and the threat of the atomic bomb dominated life for Americans and their leaders in the 1950s.

• Americans prepared for a surprise attack.

Section 3-21

• Experts realized that for every person killed instantly by a nuclear blast, four more would later die from fallout, the radiation left over after the blast.

• Some families built fallout shelters in their backyards and stocked them with canned food.

“Duck-and-cover” drills were regularly held in American schools during the 1950s.

Section 4-1

As president, Eisenhower developed plans to reduce world tensions while containing and competing with communism.

Dwight D. Eisenhower (GOP) President 1953-1960

Section 4-5

Eisenhower’s “New Look”

• Election of 1952 – Democrat Adlai Stevenson against Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower.

• Eisenhower, the general who organized the D-Day invasion, was a national hero.

• "Ike" won by a landslide.

Election of 1952

IKE'S "NEW LOOK" POLICY:

• Believed Cold War would be won through a strong military and a strong economy.

• Conventional war would be too expensive; would hurt the economy.

• Believed reliance on atomic weapons was necessary.

• Eisenhower wanted to prevent war from happening in the first place.

Section 4-7

• A policy called massive retaliation was used to threaten use of nuclear weapons on any Communist state that tried to gain territory through force.

• Result: A cut in military spending and an increase in America’s nuclear arsenal.

Section 4-8

• The B-52 bomber could fly across continents and drop nuclear bombs anywhere in the world.

• Intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) and submarines capable of launching nuclear missiles were also created.

Section 4-9

• Then, on October 4, 1957, the Soviets launched Sputnik, the first artificial satellite to orbit the earth.

• Americans feared they were falling behind in missile technology.

Sputnik

Section 4-10

• The next year, Congress created the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

Section 4-12

Brinkmanship In Action

• President Eisenhower’s willingness to threaten nuclear war to maintain peace worried some people.

• Critics argued that brinkmanship, the willingness to go to war to force the other side to back down, was too dangerous.

Section 4-13

• The Korean War ended an armistice in 1953. This came after Eisenhower had gone to the brink and threatened to use nuclear weapons.

• The battle line became the border between North Korea and South Korea.

• Although there was no victory, it had stopped communism from spreading.

CONTAINMENT!!!

Section 4-18

Fighting Communism Covertly

• Brinkmanship would not work in all situations, and it could not keep Communists from revolting within countries.

• To prevent this, Eisenhower used covert (hidden) operations conducted by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

• CIA operations took place in developing nations (Third World) such as Iran and Guatemala.

Section 4-20

• After Stalin died, Nikita Khrushchev became the new leader of the Soviet Union in 1956.

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Section 4-23

Continuing Tensions

• Eisenhower and Soviet leader Khrushchev agreed to a summit in Paris in order to improve relations.

• Khrushchev stopped the summit after Soviets shot down an American U-2 spy plane piloted by Francis Gary Powers.

• This became known as the U-2 incident.

Section 4-4

• At first, Eisenhower denied knowledge of a spy mission over the Soviet Union.

After the Soviets proved that they were holding the wreckage of the plane and Powers (who had parachuted and survived), Eisenhower was forced to apologize.

It was then proven that the Soviets were also spying on the U.S.

Powers was sentenced to ten years in a Soviet prison but was released in 1962 when the US exchanged him for a Soviet spy that we were holding.

The U-2 incident further heated up the Cold War.

Chapter Assessment 1

Reviewing Key TermsDefine Match the terms on the right with their definitions on the left.

__ 1. the political and military barrier that isolated Soviet-controlled countries of Eastern Europe after World War II

__ 2. a shelter built with the intent to house and protect people from nuclear fallout

__ 3. a systematic attempt to overthrow a government by using persons working secretly from within

__ 4. a nation whose economy is primarily agricultural

A. Cold War

B. iron curtain

C. limited war

D. subversion

E. perjury

F. censure

G. fallout shelter

H. brinkmanship

I. covert

J. developing nation

G

D

B

J

Chapter Assessment 2

Reviewing Key Terms (cont.)

Define Match the terms on the right with their definitions on the left.

__ 5. a war fought with limited commitment of resources to achieve a limited objective, such as containing communism

__ 6. not openly shown or engaged in

__ 7. to express a formal disapproval of an action

__ 8. the ideological and often confrontational conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union between 1946 and 1990

I

F

C

A

A. Cold War

B. iron curtain

C. limited war

D. subversion

E. perjury

F. censure

G. fallout shelter

H. brinkmanship

I. covert

J. developing nation

Chapter Assessment 3

Reviewing Key Terms (cont.)

Define Match the terms on the right with their definitions on the left.

__ 9. the willingness to go to the brink of war to force an opponent to back down

__ 10. lying when one has sworn under oath to tell the truth

E

H A. Cold War

B. iron curtain

C. limited war

D. subversion

E. perjury

F. censure

G. fallout shelter

H. brinkmanship

I. covert

J. developing nation