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

1) Origins of the Cold War a) Sources of Soviet-American Tensions i) Rivalry emerged b/c of different visions of postwar world * US foresaw world where nations got rid of traditional beliefs, such as military alliances, and used an international organization which would resolve disputes * Soviet Union sought to control areas of strategic influence * Vaguely similar to traditional European balance of power * Churchill also envisioned this b) Wartime Diplomacy i) Tensions began in 1943 b/c of Allied refusal to open second front through invasion of France * at Tehran Conference, Roosevelt and Stalin formed good relationship * Stalin agreed to help US in Pacific once war with Germany was over in exchange for the opening of the second front in France * But, dispute over governance of Poland showed signs of future disagreements being clearly visible * Roosevelt and Churchill were willing to give Soviet Union some of Poland, but wanted the Polish govt in exile in GB to take control again * Stalin wanted pro communist govt to take control c) Yalta i) Meeting of Big Three at Yalta in 1945 * In turn for Stalin’s promise to help the US out in the Pacific, Roosevelt promised Stalin land back that was lost in the Russo Japanese War * Also led to plan to create United Nations * General Assembly and Security Council * Every member was recognized in the General Assembly * In Security Counsel, there were 5 permanent representatives (USA, GB, France, Soviet Union, China), each of which would have veto power ii) There was also a lot of disagreement * One was over future of Polish govt (independent and democratic vs. Communist) * Stalin eventually agreed to allowing an unspecified number of democratic Poles into the govt and consented to hold â€Å"free and unfettered elections† on an unspecified future date * Elections did not take place for more than 40 years * Another 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 given German â€Å"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 Europe, the conference produced a murky accord that the establishments of govt’s â€Å"broadly representative of all democratic elements† and â€Å"responsible to the will of the people† * 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 raised pro communist govts all over central and eastern Europe and refused to make the changes to Poland as he promised 2) The Collapse of the Peace a) The Failure of Potsdam i) After Roosevelt’s death in April 1945, new Pres Truman decided US needed to â€Å"Get Tough† w Soviets to honor Yalta accords * Truman had little leverage to compel the Soviet Union to listen to him, therefore he was forced to settle with little ii) Potsdam Conference in July ended 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 under Soviet influence * Allied zones would unite as one country (West Germany) and be separate from Soviet’s part of Germany (East Germany) b) The China Problem i) US had vision of open world â€Å"policed† by major powers * But vision troubled by unpopular and corrupt Chinese govt under Chiang Kai-shek (supported by US aid during civil war) who battled communists under Mao Zedong * By 1945, communist controlled  ¼ of the population * Because US didn’t want to support 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, lift trade restrictions * Vision of open, united world was giving way to an acceptance of a divided world with a strong, pro American sphere of influence c) The Containment Doctrine i) US no longer sought â€Å"open† world but rather set out to â€Å"contain† Soviet expansion * As Stalin tried to win control over the vital sea routed in the Mediterranean (Turkey), 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 â€Å"support free people who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or outside pressure† * it worked, Soviet pressure taken off of Turkey and Greek govt regained control d) The Marshall Plan i) 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 Eastern satellites * was accepted by 16 Western European nations * April 1948, congress approved creation of the Economic Cooperation Administration to administer the Marshall Plan * channeled billions of $ to aid economic revival * by end of 1950, European industrial production had risen 64%, communist strength in member nations declined, and opportunities for US trade revived e) Mobilization at Home i) US maintained wartime military levels, established Atomic Energy Commission to continue nuclear research * Congress approved new military draft and revived the Selective Service System * Nuclear weaponry became central place in US arsenal * In 1950, Truman admin. Approved the development of the new hydrogen bomb * A nuclear weapon far more powerful than anything the US used in WWII ii) National Security Act of 1947 reshaped major military and diplomatic institutions * created Department of Defense to oversee and combine all armed services * created National Security Council (NSC) in White House was created * would govern foreign and military policy * created Central Intelligence 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 NATO i) Truman merged German â€Å"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 Republic became govt of west Germany, Democratic Republic of east ii) To strengthen military position US and Western Eur nations in April 1949 created North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) as alliance to protect all members against threat of Soviet invasion (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 Policy i) 1949 saw Soviet Union explode first atomic weapon and collapse of Nationalists in China to Mao’s 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 communism * 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 the previously projected figure 3) American Society and Politics After the War a) The Problems of Reconversion i) After end of war Truman attempted to quickly return nation to normal economic conditions, but problems ensued ii) No economic collapse (many thought nation would go back into a depression) b/c of several things * increase in spending on consumer goods from savings gathered during war * a $6 billion govt tax cut * Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944 (GI Bill of Rights) * provided education + economic aid to returning 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 union strikes in automobile, electrical, steel, railroad (shut down whole nation’s railroad line), and mining industries (led by John L. Lewis * Truman used military and govt power to stop the strikes (military on railroads, govt on mine workers) * displacement of some minorities and women b/c of returning soldiers to labor * 80% of them wanted to keep working * Postwar society in which many women had to provide for themselves created a high demand among them for paid work * Many went into service sector b) The Fair Deal Rejected i) After Jap surrender Truman proposed â€Å"Fair Deal† to enact liberal reforms * included raising minimum wage, 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 health insurance plan ii) Fair Deal opposed by Republican conservatives who gained majority in both Houses of Congress in 1946 elections * Repubs sought to reduce govt spending (get rid of New Deal programs) and economic controls, cut taxes for wealthy, refused to raise wages * Also refused to increase SS, provide more funds to education, or support power projects in West * As inflation soared, Republicans pretty much 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 â€Å"closed-shop† illegal (a workplace in which no one could be hired unless they were part of a union) * Although it stil permitted â€Å"union shops†, it allowed states to pass â€Å"right to work† laws which prohibited this * Outraged workers and union leaders denounced the measure as a â€Å"slave labor bill† * Truman vetoed it, but both houses easily overruled him * Did not destroy labor movement, but it damaged weaker 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 1948 i) Truman sought to make re-election about reforms but electorate saw him as weak * Tried to pass reforms leading up to election but they were all struck down by Congress * Didn’t have much support within even his own party * Southern Dems (Dixiecrats) split off and formed the States Rights Party after they became angry with Truman over his proposed civil 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 * Other Dems who didn’t 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 enter 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 reduce inflation, help common man, repeal Taft-Hartley Act, help farmers, and his strong civil rights support for blacks allowed him to win Pres * Dems also won both Houses of C d) The Fair Deal Revived i) 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 hostile 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 poll 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 â€Å"covenants† meant to bar blacks from residential neighborhoods were now unenforceable by courts e) The Nuclear Age i) Nuclear weapons viewed w/ fear b/c of threat from Soviet Union * expressed in pop culture, film noir (things such as The Twilight Zone, comic books about super heroes), and govt preparations for nuclear attack (air raid drills, emergency radio broadcast drills, fallout shelters) * but public also awed by technological potential of nuclear power (Dreams of prosperity and unlimited + cheap electricity) 4) The Korean War a) The Divided Peninsula i) Korea divided at 38th Parallel by US and Soviets into Communist North and Southern government of capitalist Syngman Rhee (supported by US) * north had a strong, Soviet equipped army * south 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 Stalin’s 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 â€Å"liberation† * After US beat North troops back into North Korea, Truman ordered to pursue the communists into their own territory * Wanted to create â€Å"a unified, independent and democratic Korea b) From Invasion to Stalemate i) Gen MacArthur (head of UN forces) able to advance far into North, but new communist Chinese govt feared 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 38th parallel * Eventually took back land lost and got back to 38th parallel once more * Long stalemate then ensued until 1953 iii) 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 either an invasion or bombing * He had wide popular support, therefore when he was relieved, there was wide public outrage * 69% of American people supported him c) Limited Mobilization i) 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 * Costly 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 authority * increased govt spending stimulated economy as many thought we were on the verge of a recession ii) Inability of US to quickly end â€Å"small† war led to growth of fears 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 Crusade Against Subversion a) HUAC and Alger Hiss i) Another â€Å"Red Scare† prompted by fear of Stalin and Communist growth (â€Å"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 trying 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 first iii) Public more concerned with HUAC investigation into former State Dept official Alger Hiss in 1948 that revealed some complicity w/ communists * Were tipped by a former member of the communist party that was now working for the Time magazine * He had â€Å"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 infiltrations b) The Federal Loyalty Program and the Rosenberg Case i) Truman began 1947 program to determine â€Å"loyalty† of fed employees * this was partly because of Republican attacks, and partly to encourage support for the President’s foreign policy initiatives * President authorized sensitive agencies to fire people deemed â€Å"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 register w/ government ii) Explosion 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 innocence to the end iii) HUAC, Rosenberg trial, â€Å"Loyalty† program, Hiss ordeal, McCarran Act, and international events all lead to national anticommunist hysteria at national, state, and local 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) McCarthyism i) Rather unknown Wisconsin Rep. Sen Joseph McCarthy in 1951 began leveling charges of communist agents in State Dept and other agencies * He claimed to â€Å"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 politics * 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 â€Å"appeasement†, â€Å"cowardice†, and â€Å"treason† * Both promised to â€Å"clean up the mess in Washington† iii) Eisenhower won election by huge margin & Republicans gained control of both Houses of Congress