APUSH Chapter 27 "The Cold War"

Describe postwar inflation

Although there was no new Depression b/c of consumer demand, there was serious inflation. Prices rose at rates of 14 to 15% annually. Truman veto an extension of the authority of the OPA, eliminating price controls. And inflation soared to 25% until he relented a month later and signed a bill little different from the one he had rejected.

Describe America's postwar vision

America's postwar vision was in tune with the Atlantic Charter of 1941. So a world in which nations abandoned their traditional beliefs in military alliances and spheres of influence, and governed their relations with one another through democratic processes. An international organization was to serve as the arbitrators of disputes, and the protector of self-determination. This vision was part inspired by Wilson and appealed to many.

Describe the plot to restore Japan

American was beginning to consider Japan as the alternative to China, as the strong pro-Western force in Asia. So they abandoned the strict occupation policies of the first years after the war, and lifted restrictions on industrial development. They began encouraging rapid economic growth in Japan, brining the vision of an open united world with a strong pro-American sphere of influence to light in Asia.

Describe conflicting views held about nuclear power

Americans greeted atomic weapons with awe, fear, and expectation. There was the a dark image of the nuclear war that many Americans feature would be the result of a rivalry with the Soviet Union. But there was also the bright image of a dazzling technological future that atomic power might help to produce.

Describe the 'China Problem' and Chang Kai-Shek's declining authority

Americans hoped for an open, peace world rested on a strong, independent China. However, Chiang's government was corrupt and incompetent with feeble popular support. Chiang was unwilling to face the problems surrounding him, and the communist armies of Mao Zedong were winning control of the population.

What events propelled the Cold War into new directions?

An announcement came in Sept that the Soviet union had successfully exploded its first atomic weapon, years earlier than predicted. The collapse of Chiang Kai-shek's nationalist government in China, also occurred with startling speed in the last months of 1949. Chiang Kai fled to what is now known as Taiwan, and the Chinese mainland came under the control of a communist government, considered an extension of the Soviet Union. The U.S refused to recognized the new regime and instead increased attention into revitalizing Japan as a buffer against Asian communism.

Describe the measures designed to maintain American military power (in tune with containment policy)

At Truman's request congress approved a new military draft and revived the Selective Service System. The U.S having failed to reach an agreement with the Soviet Union on international control of nuclear weapons, also redoubled in its efforts in atomic research. The Atomic Energy Commission was established in 1946 and it oversaw all nuclear research both civilian and military. In 1950, the Truman administration approved the development of the hydrogen bomb, which was far more powerful than the bombs used in 1945.

Describe the underlying tensions between the U.S and the Soviet Union and their effect on the Korean War

Before the end of WWII both the U.S and the USSR had sent troops into Korea to try and weaken Japanese occupation. Once the war was over and the Japanese expelled, the U.S and the USSR both began supporting different governments. The U.S supported a pro-Western gov in the South, and the Soviets a communist regime in the North. This divided the nation along the 38th parallel. Later when Russians left in 1949 they left a behind a communist government with a Soviet army. The U.S later also left and handed control over to Syngman Rhee, who was anticommunist but only nominally democratic. (used military to suppress opposition)

Describe the anti-communist efforts of the HUAC

Beginning in 1947, the House Un-American Activities Committee held publicized investigated to prove that under Democratic rule, the government had tolerate communist subversion. The organization first turned to the movie industry and argued that communists had infiltrated Hollywood. Writers and producers, some of them former communists, were called to testify, and when some of them (Hollywood 10) refused to answer questions about their political beliefs and that of their colleagues, they were jailed for contempt. Some writers were barred from employment in the move industry, when Hollywood tried to protect its public image by adopting a blacklist

Describe the Soviet Union and Great Britain's postwar vision

Britain had been uneasy about self-determination b/c of its large empire. The Soviet Union wanted to create a secure sphere for itself in Central and Eastern Europe to protect against possible western aggression. So both Churchill and Stalin envisioned a society in which the great powers would control areas of strategic interest to them. -Similar to traditional European balance of power

Describe postwar labor unrest

By the end of 1945 there had been major strikes in the automobile, steel, and electrical industries. In 1946, John Lewis led the UMW on strike, shutting down the coal field for 40 days, until Truman forced the miners to return to work by ordering government seizure of the mines. -He pressured mine owners to grant the union most of its demand although called them inflationary The nation's railroads also suffered a total shutdown, the first in the nation's history, as 2 major unions walked out on strike. By threatening to use the army to run the train, Truman pressured the workers back to work.

Describe the sources of the (2nd) Red Scare

Communism was no longer an imagined enemy, and had tangible share through Stalin and the USSR. America had encountered setbacks in the battle against communism: Korean stalemate, the "loss" of China, and the Soviets development of an atomic bomb. So many people were in search of someone to blame, and attracted to the idea of a communist conspiracy within America. There were also other factors rooted in American domestic politics as the Republican party was searching for an issue in which to attack the Democrats.

Describe elements of Truman's Fair Deal that were approved

Congress raised the legal minimum wage. Approved an expansion of the Social Security system. And it passed the National Housing Act of 1949 which provided for the construction of low-income housing and long term rent subsidies. (was inadequately funded)

Describe the new American policy of containment

Containment emerged as the replacement of postwar world ideals constructed through the Atlantic Charter. Rather than attempting to create a unified, open world, the U.S and its allies would work to 'contain' the threat of further Soviet expansion. The American commitment to this helped ease Soviet pressure on Turkey and Greek, and it established a basis of American foreign policy for 40 years.

Describe the introduction of Chinese communists into the Korean War

For weeks, the invasion of North Korea was going smoothly but the communist government of China, which was alarmed by the movement of American forces toward its border intervened. 8 division of the Chinese army entered the war, and American forces were outnumbered, allowing the communists to recapture Seoul. Truman who was determined to avoid a new world war began seeking a solution to the struggle. But General MacArthur resisted any limits on his military discretion and argued that China itself should be attacked, and bombed at the north of its border. In the meantime, the stalemate continued.

Describe Truman's individual battles in combating racial discrimination, aside from the Fair Deal

He ordered an end to the discrimination in the hiring of government employees. He began to dismantle segregation within the armed forces. And he allowed the Justice Department to become actively involved in the court battles against discriminatory statues. EX: Shelly V Kramer (1948) court ruled that courts could not be used to enforce private 'covenants' made to bar blacks from residential neighborhoods

Who was Joseph McCarthy?

He was a Republican senator from WI who burst into national prominence. In the midst of speech in Wheeling, West VA he raised a sheet of paper and claimed to hold a paper with a list of 205 known communist working in the U.S State Department. He continued to repeat and expand his accusations, and became the national leader of the crusade against domestics subversion.

Describe the HUAC's investigation of Alger Hiss

He was a former high-ranking member of the State Department. In 1948, Whittaker Chamber a former communist agent who turned against the party and became an editor at the Times magazine, told the committee that Hiss had passed documents to the USSR. Hiss sued him for slander, and Chamber produced microfilms to eh documents called 'pumpkin papers' Hiss couldn't be tried for espionage b/c of the statue of limitations, and b/c of the efforts of Richard Nixon a member of the HUAC and a Republican congressman. Hiss was instead charged with perjury.

Describe elements of Truman's Fair Deal that were ignored

He was not able to get congress to accept the civil rights legislation he proposed in 1949. It would have made lynching a federal crime, providing federal protection of black voting rights, abolish the poll tax, and establish a new Fair Employment Practices Commission to curb discrimination in hiring.

Describe John Foster Dulles opposition to containment

He would become the secretary of state during the Eisenhower administration, and he wrote the foreign policy plank of the Republican platform in 1952. He argued that containment was a policy of weakness that allowed communist to take over much of the world. Dulles was more interested in rollback, but Eisenhower did not share his belief. -Government continued containment policy from 1950s and beyond

Describe the start of the Korean War

In 1950, the armies of communist North Korea invaded the pro-Western half of the peninsula to the South. The weakness of the South encouraged the North to try and invade it to reunite the country, and this temptation grew stronger when the U.S implied that South Korea was not within its own defense perimeter. Within days they had occupied much of South Korea including its capital, Seoul. The U.S committed itself to defeating the North Korean offensive, and it became the U.S's first military engagement of the Cold War.

Describe the Teheran Conference

In Nov 1943, Roosevelt and Churchill traveled to Iran Teheran for their first meeting with Stalin. By now, Roosevelt's military leverage over Stalin was now removed, and the Soviets were launching their own offensives. Within the conference, Stalin agreed to an American request that the Soviet Union enter the war in the Pacific after the end of hostiles in Europe. Roosevelt in return promised that there would be a second front established in 6 months.

Describe Truman's Fair Deal

It called for the expansion of Social Security benefits, the raising of the legal minimum wage, a program to ensure full employment, a permanent Fair Employment Practices Act, public housing and slum clearance, long-range environmental and public works planning, and government promotion of scientific research. Later he added other proposals including federal aid to funding the St. Lawrence Seaway, nationalization of atomic energy, and most importantly: National Health Insurance. So in effect, the president was declaring an end to the wartime moratorium on liberal reform.

Describe the provisions of the National Security Act of 1947

It reshaped the nation's major military and diplomatic institutions. It cared a new department of Defense to oversee all branches of the armed services, combining functions previously preformed separately by the War and Navy Departments. A National Security Council would operate out of the White House and oversee foreign and military policy A Central Intelligence Agency, would replace the wartime Office of Strategic Defense and be responsible for colleting information through open and covert means. (secretly engaged in political and military operations) So the NSA, gave the president expanded powers with which to pursue the nation's international goals.

Describe the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947 or Labor-Management Relations Act

It was a bill passed to assault the Wagner Act of 1935. It made illegal the closed shop, or a workplace where workers must first join a union. And although it permitted the creation of union shops, where workers must join a union after being hired, it allowed states to pass 'right to work' laws prohibiting even that. Outraged workers and union leaders denounced the measure as a slave labor bill, and Truman vetoed it, but the House and Senate overruled him.

What was the GI bill?

It was also known as the Serviceman's Readjustment Act of 1944. It provided economic and educational assistance to veterans and increased spending even further.

Describe the John Birch society

It was an anticommunist organization with its leader being Robert Welch. Welch was so fearful of communism that he believed some of the most important leaders of American government were trying to undermine the U.S by collaborating with the Soviets. (treason) Among the sources of treason, Welch claimed were the United Nations and other international institutions. Many Americans considered the John Birch organization extremist.

What was the McCarran Internal Security Act

It was passed in 1950 and it required all communist organizations to register with the government. Truman vetoed the bill, but Congress easily overrode his veto.

What did American intervention in Korea helped to express?

It was the first expression of the newly expansive foreign policy outlined in NSC-68. The administration quickly went beyond it and began to see the war as an attempt at liberation and not just containment. So Truman have MacArthur permission to pursue the communists in their own territory, to create a 'unified, independent and democratic Korea'

Describe the Truman-MacArthur controversy

MacArthur wrote a letter indicating his unhappiness with Truman to House Republican leader Joseph W Martin. More than once, the president warned the general to keep his objections to himself. The release of the Martin letter struck the president as insubordination, and in 1951 he relived MacArthur of his command. Public opinion was in support of MacArthur, and he televised a farewell. Public outrage was somewhat abated when several military figures publicly supported Truman's decision.

Describe the Rosenburg case

Many people were convinced that there was a conspiracy to pass American atomic secrets to the Russians. In 1950, Klaus Fuchs a young British scientists seemed to confirm this when he testified that he delivered Russian details of the manufacture of the bomb. The case settled on an obscure NY couple, Julius and Ethel Rosenburg, who were members of the communist party. The case against them rested on a testimony by Ethel's brother, a machinist who had worked at the Manhattan Project. Greenglass admitted to giving information to the USSR, and his sister and brother in law had planned the espionage. The Rosenburgs were sentenced to death by electric chair.

Describe McCarthy's appeal

McCarthy conducted highly publicized investigations o subversion in many areas of the government, assisted by Roy /Cohn and David Schine. He would ruthlessly badger witnesses and destroy publics careers without every actually producing solid evidence of communist subversion. Still many adored him b/c of his 'fearless' assaults on a government that many Americans considered elitist, arrogant, and even traitorous. Republicans also used his claims to associate Democrats as being responsible for treason, indicating that only a change of parities could rid the country of it. So McCarthy provided his followers with an issue they could challenge their own resentments into: fear of communism, animosity towards 'eastern establishments' and partisan ambitions

Describe opposers of the containment policy

Not everyone believed containment was the right approach to take. Some Americans on the left believed that containment was unnecessarily belligerent and that the U.S could have made peace with the Russians. But greater opposition to containment came from conservative Americans who believed that it was too weak a response to communism, and saw it as a kind of appeasement. Some argued that instead of containing communism, the U.S should be pushing back the borders of communism, despite the possibility of another war. -"rollback"

Describe the formation of NATO

On April 4 1949, 12 nations signed an agreement establishing NATO and declaring that an armed attack against 1 member would be considered an attack against all. The NATO countries would maintain a standing military force in Europe to defend against the threat of a Soviet invasion. The formation of NATO eventually spurred the Soviet Union to create an alliance of its own with the communist governments in Eastern Europe. -Warsaw Pact

What effect did the Taft-Hartley Act have on labor organization?

Repealing the controversial Section 14b of the bill remained a goal of the labor movement for decades. But the Act did not destroy the labor movement as many union leaders had predicted, but it did damage unions in relatively lightly organized industrials. EX: textiles, chemicals It also made it more unionization more difficult for workers who had never been union members especially minorities and women in the South.

Describe the Republican Party candidate in the election of 1952

Republicans turned to Dwight Eisenhower, a military hero and commander of NATO who had no previous identification with the party. He chose Richard Nixon as the running mate, a man who gained prominence for his crusade against Hiss. So Eisenhower was to attract support through his pledge to settle the Korean conflict. While Nixon exploited the issue of communist subversion. (he had early accusations of financial improprieties that he dismissed) He was also a harsh attacker of Democratic 'cowardice' and treason. Eisenhower run the election, with Nixon as vice president.

Describe the Casablanca Conference.

Roosevelt and Churchill met in Casablanca (1943) to discuss Allied strategy during WWII The two leaders did not accept Stalin's demand for an opening of a second front in Western Europe. Instead they tried to reassure him by announcing that they would accept nothing less than an unconditional surrender of the Axis powers. (Wouldn't negotiate a separate peace treaty and leave Soviet to fight on its own)

Describe the disagreements over the future of Germany

Roosevelt wanted there to be a reconstructed and reunited Germany. Stalin wanted to impose heavy reparations on Germany and to ensure a permanent dismemberment of the nation. The final agreement was vague and unstable

Describe the ways in which the threat of nuclear war became built into the daily lives of Americans

Schools and office buildings had regular air raid drills to prepare. Radio stations tested the emergency broadcast systems regularly. Fallout shelters sprang up in public buildings and private homes, stocked with water and canned goods. So American began to be filled with anxiety.

Describe the Marshall Plan

Secretary of State, George C Marshall announced a plan to provide economic assistance to all European nations including the Soviet Union. (Russia and its Eastern satellites rejected the plan) Congress then approved the creation of the Economic Cooperation Administration, an agency to administer the plan. Over the next 3 yrs, the plan channeled over 12 billion of American aid into Europe. This helped to spark an economic revival, and European industrial production rose. The communist strength in many member nations also declined and the opportunities for American trade revived. https://youtu.be/4lPuvKUpdZo

Describe Truman's response to the 'China Problem'

Some Americans urged the government to find a third force to support as an alternative to Chiang or Mao. A few argued that the U.S try to reach some accommodation with Mao. Truman however, reluctantly continued supporting Chiang and sent money and weapons to Chiang when the conflict developed into a civil war. General George Marshall was sent to study the issue and recommend a policy for the U.S. But even after being pressured to expand American military presence to prevent communist expansion, Marshall believed only an all-out war would actually defeat the communists. -Did not want Truman to accept such a war

Describe the 'compromise' on Poland

Stalin had already installed a government composed of the pro-communist Lublin Poles Roosevelt and Churchill insisted that the pro-Western Poles be allowed a place in the regime. Roosevelt envisioned a government based on free, democratic elections. Stalin agreed to a vague compromise by which an unspecified number of pro-Western Poles would be granted a place in the government He also reluctantly consented to hold democratic election son an unspecified future date. (didn't happen for 50 yrs)

Describe the Yalta Conference

The Big Three, Stalin, Churchill and Roosevelt were present at the Soviet City of Yalta in 1945. They reached agreements on a number of issues, and in return for Stalin's promise to enter the Pacific War.. Roosevelt agreed that the Soviet should receive some territory in the Pacific that it had lost in the 1904 Russo-Japanese War.

Describe the heightened anticommunist hysteria

The HUAC investigations, Hiss Trial, and loyalty investigations, McCarran Act, and Rosenburg case, helped to intensify public far of communist subversion. The fear gripped the country and many institutions sough tot purge themselves of real or imagined subversions. People feared both communist subversion and being suspected of communist subversion.

Describe the Republican party candidate for the election of 1948

The Republicans nominated Governor Thomas E Dewey of NY whose reelection victory in 1946 made him a leading political figure. Polls showed Dewey was having a large lead and Dewey conduced a campaign that tried to avoid antagonizing anyone.

Describe the positive hopes people placed in the use of nuclear power

The U.S was excited by the innovations and the possibility that they may not only destroy, but also led to a dazzling future. EX: A poll taken in 1948 revealed that 2/3rds of ppl thought that in the long run, atomic energy would do more good than harm Nuclear power plants began to spring up in many areas, and they were welcomed as a cheap source of unlimited electricity.

Describe the 'compromise' over Germany

The Untied Sates, Britain, France, and the Soviet Union would each control its own zone of occupation in Germany. The zones would be determined by the position of the troops at the end of the war. Berlin would be divided into four sectors for each nation to occupy. And at an unspecified date, Germany would be united. The conference produced a murky accord on the establishment of government representative of the will of the people.

Describe the Yuta accords on the whole, and the aftermath.

The accords were less a settlement of postwar issues than a set of loose principles that ignored difficult questions. Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin came back from the conference convinced they had signed an important agreement. But the Soviet interpretation of the accords differed from Anglo-American interpretation. Roosevelt was then alarmed when the Soviet Union became establishing pro-communist government in European nations, but he died of a stroke before he could settle the differences.

What sentiment did the Hiss case help to reinforce?

The case discredited a prominent young diplomat, and it also cast suspicion on a generation of liberal Democrats. It made it possible for many Americans to believe that communism had really infiltrated the government.

Describe the motives for rebuilding Europe (pg.737)

The economic reconstruction of Western Europe was integral to the containment policy. Motives included: humanitarian concern for the European people, a fear that Europe would remain an economic drain on the U.S (have to pitch in), a desire for a strong European market for U.S goods. And above all, to strengthen the shaky pro-American governments in Western Europe, that might fall under the control of growing domestic communist parties

Describe the way popular culture alluded to the fear of nuclear weapons

The late 1940s and 50s showcased the film noir, a type of filmmaking from France that used dark lighting. These films portrayed the loneliness of individuals in an impersonal world, and it also suggested the looming possibility of vast destruction. Sometimes films would address nuclear fears explicitly, as through the tv series like The Twilight Zone, which portrayed the aftermath of nuclear war. Postwar comic books also depicted superheroes saving the world from destruction.

Describe the charter for the United Nations

The new United Nations would contain a General assembly, where every member would be represented, and a Security Council with permanent representatives of major powers. (China, Soviet, U.S, Britain, France) Each of them would have veto power, and the Security Council would have temporary delegates from other nations. The U.S senate ratified the charter by a vote of 80 to 2, which differed from the defeat of the League of Nations.

Describe the efforts of the new Republican Congress in chipping away at New Deal reforms

The president agreed to the popular mandate to lift most remaining wage and price controls, and Congress moved to further deregulate the economy. Inflation rapidly increased, and the Republican congress refused to appropriate funds to aid education, increase Social Security, or support reclamation power projects in the West. It defeated a proposal to raise the minimum wage, and passed tax measures that cut rates for high income families and moderately for those with lower incomes. "eat less"- Senator Robert Taft, Republican conservative Only vetoes by the president forced a more progressive bill.

Describe America's entrance into the Korean War

The president appealed to the U.N to intervene, and b/c the Soviet Union was boycotting and unable to exercise its veto power, American delegates won a UN agreement. (boycotting b/c council refused to recognize communist government of China) Truman appointed General Douglas MacArthur to command the overwhelmingly American operations there.

Describe disputes over Poland

The question over the future of Poland was being debated. Roosevelt and Churchill were willing to agree to a movement of the Soviet border westward, allowing Stalin to annex some Polish territory. But they argued on the nature of the post-war government. Roosevelt and Churchill supported the claims of the Polish government in exile in London. Whereas Stalin, wished to install another pro-communist exiled government that was in Lublin, in the Soviet Union.

Describe Truman's efforts in controlling the wartime economy

The war in Korea produced only a limited military commitment abroad and a limited economic mobilization. Truman still tried to control the economy by setting of the Office of Defense Mobilization to fight inflation by holding down prices and discouraging high union wage demands. When these efforts failed he took more drastic action. When railroad workers walked off in 1951, Truman ordered the government to seize control of the rails, keeping the rails running, but it had no effect on union demands and they got mostly what they wanted. In 1952, Truman seized steel mills during a nationwide steel strike but the Supreme Court ruled that he exceeded his authority and he relented.

Describe the boost the Korean War gave the economy

The war pumped new government funds into the economy at a point in which people believed a recession was coming. But the long stalemate and 140,000 dead made many frustrated, and convinced that something was deeply wrong in the U.S. So there was a second major campaign against domestic communism.

Why did domestic opposition to the Marshall plan vanish?

There was a sudden coup in Czechoslovakia in 1948 in which a Soviet-dominated communist government was established. -Showed the evident need for the plan

Why was there no general economic collapse in 1946?

There were many predictions that peace would bring a return of Depression unemployment, as war production ceased, and soldiers returned to the labor market. But there was none. Government spending dropped sharply, and 35 billion of war contracts were canceled within weeks of the Japanese surrender. Increases in consumer demand helped compensate for this, and many workers who had saved their wages, since consumer goods had been unavailable during the war, were now ready to spend. A 6 billion dollar tax cut also pumped more money into circulation. +GI bill

What was the employee loyalty program?

To protect itself against Republican attacks and to encourage support for the president's foreign policy, the Truman administration initiated a publicized program to review the loyalty of federal employees in 1947. The president authorized sensitive agencies to fire people deemed 'bad security risks' and by 1951 more than 2,000 employees resigned under pressure and 212 were dismissed. J. Edgar Hoover, director of the FBI harassed alleged radicals, and the loyalty program established a list of supposed subversive organizations.

Describe NSC-68 "Total Commitment"

Truman called for a through review of American foreign policy and the result was a National Security Council report which was issued in 1950. The report outlined a shift in the American position, and argued that the United States could no longer rely on other nations to take the initiative in resisting communism. It must itself establish firm and active leadership of the noncommunist world, and move to stop communist expansion anywhere. The report also called for a major expansion of American military power, with 4X larger than projected defense budget.

Describe the Democratic Party candidate in the election of 1952

Truman decided not to run again considering his popularity diminished. So the party united behind Governor Adali E Stevenson of IL. He was dignified and eloquent which made him a beloved figure to intellectuals and liberals. Republicans charged that he lacked the strength or will to combat communism, and McCarthy deliberately described him as soft and confused him with Alger Hiss.

Describe Truman's 'Get Tough Policy'

Truman decided to 'get tough' with the Soviet Inion and met with the Soviet foreign minister and accused him for violations of the Yalta accords. Truman only had limited leverage to compel the Soviet to carry out the agreements, but still insisted that America would get 85% of what it wanted. He ultimately got much less.

Describe Truman's handling of the Germany debate

Truman met in July at Potsdam, in Russian-occupied Germany, with Churchill and Stalin. Truman reluctantly accepted the adjustments of the Polish-German border that Stalin had long demanded. But he refused to permit the Russians to claim any reparations from the American, French, and British zones. This stance confirmed that Germany would remain divided, with the western zones uniting into one nation. While the Russian zone would survive as another nation with a communist government.

Describe Truman's campaigning efforts

Truman placed his hopes in an appeal to enduring Democratic loyalties, and so he proposed one reform measure after another. He dubbed Dewey a good for nothing, and told voters that the Republican Congress was responsible for inflation, and the abandoning of the middle class and workers. (called in a special session to prove it) He also went on speaking tour, called for the repeal of the Taft-Hartley Act, increase price supports for farmers, and strong civil rights protections of blacks. So in short he tried to recreate Roosevelt's new deal coalition, and was able to succeed and win by a narrow victory.

Describe Truman's attempts at reconstructing Germany, and Soviet resistance

Truman reached an agreement with England and France to merge the 3 western zones of occupation into a new West German republic. Stalin responded by imposed a tight blockade around the western sectors of Berlin, implying that the country's western government would have to abandon its outpost in the heart of the Soviet controlled eastern zone. Truman refused to do so and instead ordered a massive airlift to supply the city with food and fuel. The airlift continued for more than 10 months keeping more than 2 million ppl alive, making West Berlin into a symbol of the West's resolve to resist communist expansion. Stalin later lifted the blockade and in Oct the division of Germany became official. -The Federal Republic in the west, and the Democratic Republic in the east

Compare Truman's view of the Soviet Union and Stalin with Roosevelt's

Truman was not familiar with international issues and did not hold Roosevelt's apparent faith in Soviet flexibility. Roosevelt hoped that Stalin was a reasonable man whom a compromise could be raced, while Truman sided with those who considered the Soviet untrustworthy. Truman also viewed Stalin with suspicion and loathing.

Describe the basis of Truman's doctrine

Truman's doctrine emerged in response to events in Europe in 1946. In Turkey, Stalin was truing to win control over vital sea lanes to the Mediterranean In Greece, communist forces were threatening the pro-Western government. The British had announced they could no longer provide assistance. So Truman created a new policy based of the influential diplomat George F Kennan, who called for a 'firm and vigilant' containment of Russian expansion. Truman later came before Congress and used his warnings as the basis of the Truman Doctrine, in which he requested 400 mil to bolster the armed forces of Greek and Turkey. -measure approved

Describe the democratic party division going into the election of 1948

Two factions abandoned the party: southern conservatives reacted angrily to Truman's proposed civil rights built and to the approval at the convention of civil rights plank in the planform. The two factions formed the Dixiecraft/State's Right party, which nominated Grover Strong Thurmond of SC. The Democratic Party's left wing formed a new Progressive Party, with Henry A Wallace as its candidate. They objected to what they considered the slow and ineffective policies of Truman's administration, and his dealings with the Soviet Union. The ADA a coalition of Democratic liberals tried to get Eisenhower, the war hero to run, but he contested the nomination.

Describe postwar labor displacement

Veterans returned and employers tended to push women, blacks, Chinese, Hispanics, and other outs of plants to make room for white males. Some women left the workforce voluntarily, to return to domestic lives. But as many as 80% wanted to continue working. The postwar inflation, pressure to meet high consumption, and the growing divorce rates, left many women to care for their own economic wellbeing. And many found themselves excluded from industrial jobs and into the service sector.

Describe Truman's handling of the Poland debate

When Stalin made minor concessions to the pro-Western exiles, Truman recognized the Warsaw government, He hoped that the noncommunist government would expand their influence, but they did not until the 1980s.