Brinkley’s a Survey of Us History Chapter 29: the Cold War Essay

1) Origins of the Cold Wara) Sources of Soviet-American Tensionsi) Rivalry emerged b/c of different visions of postwar world * US foresaw world where nations got rid of conventional beliefs, such as military everyiances, and used an inter case government which would fade out disputes * Soviet Union sought to contain areas of strategic influence * mistily similar to traditional europiuman balance of power * Churchill similarly portrayed thisb) Wartime Diplomacyi) Tensions began in 1943 b/c of Allied refusal to distri thate spot lie through attack of France * at Tehran Conference, Roosevelt and Stalin do dear relationship * Stalin agreed to help US in Pacific once war with Ger more was over in exchange for the opening of the second front in France * But, dispute over governance of Po pour down showed signs of future disagreements existence distinctly visible * Roosevelt and Churchill were willing to give Soviet Union well-nigh of Po bestow, scarcely privationed th e Polish govt in exile in GB to deal run into again * Stalin precious pro commieic govt to take control c) Yaltai) Meeting of Big Three at Yalta in 1945* In vacate for Stalins promise to help the US out in the Pacific, Roosevelt promised Stalin land back down that was lost in the Russo Japanese War* Also conduct to plan to create United Nations* General Assembly and p conductge Council* only(prenominal) member was recognized in the General Assembly* In atomic number 16urity Counsel, at that place were 5 permanent representatives (USA, GB, France, Soviet Union, mainland China), each of which would have disallow power ii) There was also a lot of disagreement* whizz was over future of Polish govt (indep sackent and democratic vs. communisticic) * Stalin eventually agreed to allowing an unspecified number of democratic Poles into the govt and consented to hold free and unfettered elections on an unspecified future date * preferences did not take attri exclusivelye for more(prenominal) than 40 years * An different was over the future of Germany* US wanted a reconstructed and reunited Germany * Stalin wanted heavy reparations and to ensure a permanent dismemberment of the nation * finally agreed to commission and each Ally precondition German zone * decision on reparations would be decided at a future commission * and at an unspecified date, Germany would be reunited (but there was no agreement on how the reunification would occur * as for the future of the rest of europium, the conference produced a murky accord that the establishments of govts slackly representative of all democratic elements and responsible to the will of the muckle * Soviet interpretations of the accords differed sharply from those of the Anglo-American interpretation * In the weeks following, Roosevelt watched with growing alarm as the Soviets brocaded pro communist govts all over central and eastern Europe and refused to make the changes to Poland as he promised2) The Collapse of the Peacea) The Failure of Potsdami) afterwards Roosevelts death in April 1945, bracing Pres Truman decided US ask to Get Tough w Soviets to honor Yalta accords * Truman had slim leverage to hold the Soviet Union to listen to him, whence he was forced to pin down with little ii) Potsdam Conference in July shuttinged w/ Stalin receiving increased land w/ new Polish-German border * US refused to allow German reparations from other Allies zones to go to Soviets but US recognized new communist Polish govt chthonian Soviet influence * Allied zones would unite as one country (West Germany) and be separate from Soviets cleave of Germany (East Germany) b) The China Problemi) US had vision of open world policed by major powers * But vision troubled by unpopular and bodge Chinese govt under Chiang Kai-shek ( domiciliateed by US attention during well-mannered war) who battled communists under Mao Zedong * By 1945, communist controlled of the population* Because US did nt want to prevail communists, they were forced to support Chiang ii) B/c Kai-shek govt sure to collapse, US sought to create new, Pro-West Japan by encouraging industrial development, bristle trade restrictions * Vision of open, united world was giving way to an credence of a divided world with a sanitary, pro American sports stadium of influence c) The Containment Doctrinei) US no drawn-out sought open world but rather set out to contain Soviet expansion * As Stalin tried to win control over the critical sea routed in the Mediterranean ( misfire), communist forces threatened to overthrow govt in Greece * new Truman Doctrine sought aid for those forces ($400 million) in Turkey and Greece opposing take-over of Communist forces under Soviet influence * its basis was that the US should support free people who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or outside twinge * it worked, Soviet pressure taken off of Turkey and Greek govt regained controld) The Marshall Plani) Sec of State George Marshall 1947 plan to provide aid to all Eur nations (for humanitarian reasons, to rebuild and ensure it could become self reliant again, to create markets for US goods, and to strengthen Pro-US govts against communists) * this included the Soviet Union, but was rejected by them and their east satellites * was accepted by 16 Western European nations* April 1948, congress pass creation of the Economic Cooperation Administration to administer the Marshall Plan * channeled meridianions of $ to aid scotch revival * by end of 1950, European industrial output had risen 64%, communist strength in member nations declined, and opportunities for US trade reanimated e) militarisation at Homei) US maintained wartime military levels, established Atomic Energy Commission to continue atomic research * social intercourse approved new military draft and revived the Selective Service System * Nuclear heavy weaponry became central place in US arsenal* In 1950, Tru man admin. Approved the development of the new hydrogen bomb * A nuclear weapon far more powerful than anything the US used in WWIIii) National credential represent of 1947 reshaped major military and diplomatic institutions * created Department of defensive structure to oversee and immingle all armed services * created National Security Council (NSC) in light House was created * would govern unknown and military policy* created Central password Agency (CIA) to collect information * As Cold War progressed, they also engaged secretly in political and military operations on behalf of American goals f) The Road to NATOi) Truman merged German Western zones into the West German republic * Stalin responded on June 24, 1948 by blockading Western Berlin * Truman, unwilling to risk war by militarily challenging the blockade, responded w/ airlift to re-supply inhabitants * In spring of 1949, Stalin lifted the now ineffective blockade * Federal body politic became govt of west Germany , antiauthoritarian Republic of east ii) To strengthen military impersonate US and Western Eur nations in April 1949 created trade union Atlantic Treaty nerve (NATO) as alliance to protect all members against threat of Soviet assault (12 nations agreed to take part) * Attack against one would be attack against all* Countries would provide a standing military force in Europe in case of Soviet attack * Soviet Union and communists responded by in 1955 forming similar Warsaw Pact g) Reevaluating Cold War indemnityi) 1949 saw Soviet Union explode first atomic weapon and collapse of Nationalists in China to Maos Communists ii) To reevaluate foreign policy, National Security Council released report NSC-68 saying that the US could no longer rely on other nations to take initiative in resisting fabianism * US should lead noncommunist world and oppose communist expansion everywhere it existed * Also called for US to expand military power dramatically* Defense budget was now 4 times th e previously projected consider 3) American Society and Politics After the Wara) The Problems of Reconversioni) After end of war Truman attempted to cursorily return nation to normal economic conditions, but problems ensued ii) No economic collapse (many position nation would go back into a depression) b/c of several things * increase in pass on consumer goods from savings gathered during war * a $6 billion govt tax cut* Servicemens Readjustment Act of 1944 (GI card of Rights) * provided education + economic aid to go soldiers that further increased spending iii) Problems because of spending lead to high inflation* Caused Truman to sign a bill similar to wartime Office of Price Admin. (OPA) * Inflation also caused substance strikes in automobile, electrical, steel, railroad (shut down whole nations railroad line), and digging industries (led by John L. Lewis * Truman used military and govt power to stop the strikes (military on railroads, govt on mine workers) * displacement o f some minorities and women b/c of returning soldiers to labor * 80% of them wanted to keep working* Postwar clubhouse in which many women had to provide for themselves created a high demand among them for gainful work * Many went into service sectorb) The Fair bed spurnedi) After Jap surrender Truman proposed Fair Deal to enact all-inclusive reforms * included raising minimum lock, enacting Fair Employment Practices Act, expanding Social Security, a program to ensure full employment through use of federal spending, public housing and slum clearance, govt protection of scientific research, and creating nation wellness insurance plan ii) Fair Deal opposed by republican conservatives who gained majority in two Houses of Congress in 1946 elections * Repubs sought to get over govt spending (get rid of New Deal programs) and economic controls, cut taxes for wealthy, refused to nip and tuck wages * Also refused to increase SS, provide more funds to education, or support power pr ojects in West * As inflation soared, Republicans middling a good deal just told the public to deal with it (Sen. Robert Taft)iii) Repubs wanted to decrease powers unions gained in 1935 Wagner Act * passed Labor-Management Relations Act of 1947 (Taft-Hartley Act) * made closed-shop illegal (a workplace in which no one could be hired unless they were part of a union) * Although it stil permitted union shops, it allowed states to pass right to work laws which prohibited this * Outraged workers and union leading denounced the measure as a slave labor bill * Truman vetoed it, but both houses easily overruled him * Did not destroy labor movement, but it damage light-coloreder unions in lightly organized industries * Made more difficult the organization of workers who had never been union members at all (women, minorities, most workers in the South)c)The Election of 1948i) Truman sought to make re-election about reforms but electorate saw him as weak * Tried to pass reforms leading u p to election but they were all struck down by Congress * Didnt have much support within even his own party* Southern Dems (Dixiecrats) crack off and formed the States Rights Party after they became hot under the collar(predicate) with Truman over his proposed accomplished rights bill * Gov. Strom Thurmond was their presidential nominee * Progressives also broke off and formed new Progressive Party with Henry A. Wallace as their candidate * another(prenominal) Dems who didnt break off attempted to dump Truman in 1948* The Americans for Democratic Actions (ADA) attempted to persuade Dwight D. Eisenhower to contest the nomination, but he refused * Dems were forced to read Truman as their nominee ii) Repubs nominated Thomas Dewey and seemed to be in strong position to win, but intense campaigning by Truman and his platform to nullify inflation, help common man, repeal Taft-Hartley Act, help farmers, and his strong civil rights support for blacks allowed him to win Pres * Dems als o won both Houses of Cd) The Fair Deal Revivedi) New Dem Congress allowed for minimum wage increase, Social Security expansion, and housing (National Housing Act of 1949provided the construction of 810,000 homes for low income families) * but were distant to Fair Deal programs expanding education aid, national healthcare, and civil rights * rejected civil rights bill that would have made lynching a federal crime, abolished the cap tax, and established a new Fair Employment Practices Commission (FEPC)ii) Truman did end govt hiring discrimination, desegregated armed forces * Supreme Court in Skelley v. Kraemer rules community covenants meant to bar blacks from residential neighborhoods were now unenforceable by courts e) The Nuclear Agei) Nuclear weapons viewed w/ maintenance b/c of threat from Soviet Union * show in pop culture, film noir (things such as The Twilight Zone, fishy books about super heroes), and govt preparations for nuclear attack (air raid drills, emergency tune r broadcast drills, fallout shelters) * but public also awed by technological potential of nuclear power (Dreams of prosperity and un confine + low-priced electricity) 4) The Korean Wara) The Divided Peninsulai) Korea divided at thirty-eighth couple by US and Soviets into Communist northerly and Southern government of capitalist Syngman Rhee (supported by US) * north had a strong, Soviet equipped army* sulphur had small one that only dealt with internal affairs ii) Nationalists in North invaded S in 1950 in effort to reunite countries * unknown if North asked for Stalins approval, but once it began, the Soviets certaintly supported them * on June 27, 1950, US won UN resolution calling for support of S. Korea armies * Russia unable to veto b/c boycotting Security Council at time for their refusal to allow communist China into Council * On June 30, 1950, US ordered their ground forces into Korea* Gen. Douglas MacArthur was to assume command over UN forces there * War was seen as containment effort but also as a liberation * After US beat North troops back into North Korea, Truman ordered to pursue the communists into their own territory * Wanted to create a unified, independent and democratic Korea b) From Invasion to Stalematei) Gen MacArthur (head of UN forces) able to leave far into North, but new communist Chinese govt apprehensioned American forces and therefore entered conflict in Nov 1950 * UN offensive stalled and then collapsed* Through Dec of 1950, outnumbered US forces fought a bitter, losing battle against the Chinese, constantly retreating ii) Within weeks, UN armies forced to retreat to thirty-eighth parallel * Eventually took back land lost and got back to 38th parallel once more * Long standstill then ensued until 1953iii) Truman wanted peace and not new world war w/ China* Gen MacArthur publicly opposed peace effort (Martin letter) and was relieved of command by Pres in April 1951 * He believed that we should have attacked China through e ither an invasion or bombing * He had wide popular support, therefore when he was relieved, there was wide public outrage * 69% of American people supported himc) Limited Mobilizationi) War led to only limited economic mobilization, since it had little American military commitment. Govt still tried to control wartime economy in several ways * Truman created Office of Defense Mobilization to combat rising inflation and discourage high union wage demands * These failed* govt seized RRs and steel mills when workers walked off the job in union strikes * high-priced strikes followed (especially in Steel Mills) and workers got most of what they wanted as there was little Truman could do and his actions were both rash and ineffective * The supreme court disallowed him from continuing to seize the steel mills because they said he was exceeding his bureau * increased govt spending stimulated economy as many thought we were on the verge of a recession ii) Inability of US to quickly end sma ll war led to growth of devotions of growth of communist at home and triggered second major campaign against it * public was angry that so many lives were being lost (140,000 dead or wounded) 5) The entreat Against Subversiona) HUAC and Alger Hissi) Another Red Scare prompted by fear of Stalin and Communist growth (loss of China, Korean frustrations, Soviet development of the bomb) * many sought to blame US communist conspiracy ii) Anti Communist fervor merged from the Repubs seeking to use anticommunist feelings to win support against Dems, and Dems severe to stifle that issue * Congress created House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) in 1947 to investigate communist subversion * Created by the Repubs to prove that under Dem rule, the govt had tolerated communist subversion * Went after Hollywood firstiii) Public more interested with HUAC investigation into former State Dept official Alger Hiss in 1948 that revealed some complicity w/ communists * Were tipped by a former m ember of the communist party that was now working for the Time magazine * He had microfilms of the documents that were supposedly passed by Hiss to the Soviet Union in 1937 and 1938 * He could not be tried for espionage because crimes happen too long ago, but because of the efforts of Richard M. Nixon, he was convicted of perjury and served several years in prison * increased fear of communist infiltrationsb) The Federal Loyalty Program and the Rosenberg Case i) Truman began 1947 program to run across loyalty of fed employees * this was partly because of Republican attacks, and partly to encourage support for the Presidents foreign policy initiatives * President authorized bare-assed agencies to fire people deemed bad security risks * By 1951,more than 2,000 govt employees had resigned under pressure and 212 had been dismissed * FBI monitored radicals (J. Edgar Hoover)* 1950 Congress passed McCarran Internal Security Act forcing communist groups to file away w/ government ii) Exp losion of atomic bomb by Soviets led to famous Rosenberg trial to find out how Russia had learned of technology so quickly * Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were a communist couple whom the govt claimed had been the masterminds of the conspiracy * Despite appeals and protests from sympathizers, they both died in the electric chair on June 19, 1953 * They both proclaimed their purity to the endiii) HUAC, Rosenberg trial, Loyalty program, Hiss ordeal, McCarran Act, and international events all lead to national anticommunist hysteria at national, state, and local anesthetic level * Schools, labor unions, universities, state and local govts, all sought to purge themselves of real or imagined subversives iv) A fear settled over the country of not only communist infiltration, but being suspected of communism yourself c) McCarthyismi) Rather unknown Wisconsin Rep. Sen Joseph McCarthy in 1951 began aim charges of communist agents in State Dept and other agencies * He claimed to hold in my hand a list of 205 known communists currently working in the US State Department * Within weeks, he was also accusing other agencies* His new subcommittee was at the fore of anticommunist hysteria and partisan governing * He accused many people even though he had little solid evidence d) The Republican Revival i) Korean stalemate and fears of internal subversion led to Dem disappointments * Truman was very unpopular and therefore withdrew from the Presidential contest ii) Dems nominated Adlai Stevenson (viewed as liberal and Repubs saw him as being weak on Communism) * Repubs nominated popular Gen Dwight Eisenhower and VP Richard Nixon (became famous for his crusade against Hiss) * Eisenhower talked of Korean peace, Nixon of communist subversion * Nixon also attacked Democratic appeasement, cowardice, and treachery * Both promised to clean up the mess in Washington iii) Eisenhower won election by huge margin & Republicans gained control of both Houses of Congress