U.S. History- Chapter 26
Potsdam Conference
The final wartime meeting of the leaders of the United States, Britain, and the Soviet Union was held at Potsdamn, outside Berlin, in July, 1945. Truman, Churchill, and Stalin discussed the future of Europe but their failure to reach meaningful agreements soon led to the onset of the Cold War.
U-2 incident
The incident when an American U-2 spy plane was shot down over the Soviet Union. The U.S. denied the true purpose of the plane at first, but was forced to when the U.S.S.R. produced the living pilot and the largely intact plane to validate their claim of being spied on aerially. The incident worsened East-West relations during the Cold War and was a great embarrassment for the United States.
military-industrial complex
The military establishment as it developed links to the corporate and scientific communities, employing 3.5 million Americans by 1960.
Deterrence
The policy of maintaining the military power of the US and its allies so strong that no enemy would attack for fear of retaliation, resulted in the escalating development of powerful nuclear weapons.
President Harry Truman
The president who presided over the end of World War II (ordered droppings of atomic bombs); "New Deal liberal" -> favored direct government intervention into economy; "Fair Deal"; National Housing Act; ended racism in government hiring and armed forces; wanted national health insurance program; Taft-Hartley Act; NATO; NSC-6
collective security
The principle of mutual military assistance among nations.
arms race
a competition between nations for superiority in the development and accumulation of weapons, especially between the US and the former Soviet Union during the Cold War.
Douglas MacArthur
(1880-1964), U.S. general. Commander of U.S. (later Allied) forces in the southwestern Pacific during World War II, he accepted Japan's surrender in 1945 and administered the ensuing Allied occupation. He was in charge of UN forces in Korea 1950-51, before being forced to relinquish command by President Truman.
Mao Zedong
(1893-1976) Leader of the Communist Party in China that overthrew Jiang Jieshi and the Nationalists. Established China as the People's Republic of China and ruled from 1949 until 1976.
Marshall Plan
(1948) massive transfer of aid money to help rebuild postwar Western Europe; was intended to bolster capitalist and democratic governments and prevent domestic communist groups from riding poverty and misery to power; the plan was first announced by Secretary of State George Marshall at Harvard's commencement in June 1947
Yalta Conference
(FDR) 1945, want quick end to war "The Big Three" FDR, Churchill and Stalin met at Yalta. Russia agreed to declare war on Japan after the surrender of Germany and in return FDR and Churchill promised the USSR concession in Manchuria and the territories that it had lost in the Russo-Japanese War, Stalin broke promise on free elections and representative govt.
What were the postwar goals of the United States and the Soviet Union?
-Americans had fought to bring democracy and economic opportunity to Europe and Asia. -An economically strong and politically open world would also serve American interests by providing markets for its products. -The Soviet Union was determined to rebuild in ways that would protect its own interest by establishing satellite nations on the western borders of the Soviet Union that would serve as a buffer zone against attacks. -The Soviet Union also looked forward to the spread of communism throughout the world. -Stalin installed or supported totalitarian Communist governments in Eastern Europe.
How did the Marshall Plan help to achieve American goals in postwar Europe?
-Called for the nations of Europe to draw up a program for economic recovery from the war. -The United States would support with financial aid. -Was a response to American concerns that Communist parties were growing stronger across Europe, and that the Soviet Union might intervene to support more of these Communist movements. -The plan reflected the belief that United States aid for European economic recovery would create strong democracies and open new markets for American goods.
How did Communist expansion in Asia set the stage for the Korean War?
-Civil war began in the mid-1920s and intensified after World War II. -Mao Zedong won support for the Communists by redistributing land and offering schooling and healthcare. -Jiang Jieshi's Nationalist Party lost support because of harsh treatment of the population, high taxes, and corruption. -When the Communists took power in 1949, the Nationalists fled to Taiwan. -World War II ended before a plan could be made for Korean independence from Japan. -Korea was temporarily divided at the thirty-eighth parallel, the latitude line running through approximately the midpoint of the peninsula. -A pro-American government formed in South Korea, while a Communist government formed in North Korea.
How did NATO help to achieve American goals in postwar Europe?
-In 1946, the Canadian foreign minister, Louis St. Laurent, proposed creating an "association of democratic peace-loving states" to defend Western Europe against attack by the Soviet Union. -American officials expressed great interest in St. Laurent's idea. -Truman did not want the United States to be the only nation in the Western Hemisphere pledged to defend Western Europe from the Communists. -For this reason, a Canadian role in any proposed organization became vital to American support. -In April 1949, Canada and the United States joined Belgium, Britain, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, and Portugal to form the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). -Member nations agreed that "an armed attack against one or more of them ... shall be considered an attack against them all."
How did Eisenhower, as a military leader, recognize the risks of confronting the Soviets?
-In Eisenhower's judgment, the United States could not intervene in the affairs of the Soviet Union's Eastern European satellites. -So when East Germans revolted in 1953, and Poles and Hungarians in 1956, the United States kept its distance as Soviet troops crushed the uprisings. -Eisenhower felt that any other response risked war with the Soviet Union. -He wanted to avoid that at all costs. -Thus containment remained an important part of American foreign policy in the 1950s.
How was the Cold War waged in Southeast Asia during the 1950s?
-In July 1953, Eisenhower fulfilled a campaign promise to bring the Korean War to an end. -The sudden death of Stalin in March and the rapid rise of more moderate Soviet leaders contributed to the resolution of this conflict. -Meanwhile, the United States began providing substantial military aid to support France, which was trying to retain control of its colony, Vietnam. -When an international conference divided Vietnam, like Korea, into a Communist north and an anti-Communist south, the United States provided aid to South Vietnam, but resisted greater involvement.
Who fought in the Korean War, and what were the three stages of the war?
-In June 1950, the Korean War broke out when North Korean troops invaded South Korea, aiming to reunite the nation by force. -A UN resolution, which passed because the Soviets were not there to veto it, called on member states to defend South Korea and restore peace. Roughly 80 percent of the troops who served in the resulting UN police action were American. -By attacking North Korean supply lines, General Douglas MacArthur was able to gain an advantage and push north. -However, a stalemate developed after China helped the North Koreans push the UN forces back into South Korea.
How did Communist advances affect American foreign policy?
-In September 1949, Truman announced that the Soviet Union had successfully tested an atomic bomb. -In response, the United States began developing the even more powerful hydrogen bomb, reestablishing itself as the world's leading nuclear power. -The newly formed Federal Civil Defense Administration distributed information on how to survive a nuclear attack; this information was ridiculed by experts. -The Communist takeover of China also came as a shock to many Americans. -The Truman administration at first provided economic and military assistance to Jiang. -While continuing to give some aid to Jiang, the United States decided to focus instead on saving Western Europe from Soviet domination. -In early 1949, China's capital of Peking (now Beijing) fell to the Communists. -A few months later, Mao proclaimed the creation of a Communist state, the People's Republic of China. -The defeated Jiang and his followers withdrew to the island of Taiwan, off the Chinese mainland.
How was the Cold War waged in the Middle East during the 1950s?
-Jews in Palestine proclaimed the new nation of Israel. -The U.S. supported Israel. -The U.S. also worked to prevent oil-rich Arab nations from falling under the influence of the Soviet Union. -In 1952, a nationalist leader gained control in Iran. -The United States backed groups that overthrew the nationalist government and restored the pro-American Shah of Iran to power. -When Egypt's ruler, Gamal Abdel Nasser, sought Soviet support, the United States and Great Britain cut off their aid to Egypt. -Nasser responded by seizing the British-owned Suez Canal. -In late 1956, British and French forces attacked Egypt to regain control of the canal, despite prior assurances they would not rely on force. -Reacting to Soviet threats of "dangerous consequences," a furious Eisenhower persuaded his NATO allies to withdraw from Egypt, which retained control of the canal. -To combat further Soviet influence in the Middle East, the President announced the Eisenhower Doctrine in January 1957. -This policy stated that the United States would use force "to safeguard the independence of any country or group of countries in the Middle East requesting aid against [Communist-inspired] aggression."
The Rosenbergs
-Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, a married couple who were members of the Communist Party, were accused of passing atomic secrets to the Soviets during World War II. -After a highly controversial trial, the Rosenbergs were convicted of espionage and executed in 1953.
Why was 1945 a critical year in United States foreign relations?
-Poland was the most difficult issue at Yalta. -The Red Army had occupied that country and supported the Communist-dominated government. -The Yalta meeting stalled until Stalin agreed on elections to let Poles choose their government, using the Communist-dominated regime as a framework. -However, disputes about Poland were not over; they would continue to strain American-Soviet relations for years to come.
How did the iron curtain tighten the Soviet Union's hold over Eastern Europe?
-Stalin established the Cominform, an agency intended to coordinate the activities of Communist parties around the world. -Churchill called on Americans to help keep Stalin from enclosing any more nations behind the iron curtain of Communist domination and oppression. -These two speeches of 1946—by Stalin and by Churchill—set the tone for the Cold War, the competition that developed between the United States and the Soviet Union for power and influence in the world. -However, United States military forces did engage in combat in other nations as part of the American effort to defeat Soviet-supported uprisings and invasions wherever they occurred.
What did the charter adopted in April 1945 for the UN state?
-That members would try to settle their differences peacefully and would promote justice and cooperation in solving international problems. -They would try to stop wars from starting and "take effective collective measures" to end those that did break out.
How was the Cold War waged in Latin America during the 1950s?
-The United States acted to support pro-American governments and to suppress Communist influences in Latin America, especially where American companies had large investments. -In Central America, United States troops had invaded Nicaragua and Honduras to prop up leaders who supported American interests. -In 1947, the United States signed the Rio Pact, a regional defense alliance with 18 other nations in the Western Hemisphere. -The next year, the United States led the way in forming the Organization of American States (OAS) to increase cooperation among the nations of the hemisphere. -In 1954, the CIA helped overthrow the government of Guatemala on the grounds that its leaders were sympathetic to radical causes. -The CIA takeover restored the property of an American corporation, the United Fruit Company, which had been seized by the Guatemalan government.
What did Roosevelt and Stalin agree on at Yalta in February 1945?
-The division of Germany into American, British, French, and Soviet occupation zones. (Later, the American, British, and French zones were combined to create West Germany. The Soviet zone became East Germany.)
How did the arms race develop?
-Throughout the 1950s, the United States and the Soviet Union waged an increasingly intense struggle for world leadership. -Nowhere was this competition more dangerous than in the arms race, the struggle to gain weapons superiority. -In August 1953, less than a year after the United States exploded its first thermonuclear device, the Soviet Union successfully tested its own hydrogen bomb. -As part of the policy of deterrence begun by President Truman, Eisenhower stepped up American weapons development. -Deterrence is the policy of making the military power of the United States and its allies so strong that no enemy would dare attack for fear of retaliation. -Between 1954 and 1958, the United States conducted 19 hydrogen bomb tests in the Pacific. -One of these explosions, in March 1954, was over 750 times more powerful than the atomic bomb that had been dropped on Nagasaki in World War II. -The test was a chilling warning that nuclear war could threaten the entire world with radioactive contamination.
How did the Truman Doctrine complement the policy of containment?
-Truman had an opportunity to apply the policy of containment by establishing the Truman Doctrine that would guide American actions in the Cold War. -Responding to Truman's appeal, Congress approved $400 million in aid for Greece and Turkey. -In addition, the United States soon established military bases in both countries. -During the next four decades, the Truman Doctrine and the policy of containment would lead the United States into controversial involvements in both "hot" and "cold" conflicts around the world.
What were the effects of the Korean War?
-Warfare — Limited war, limited victory -Integration of the Military — First war in which white Americans and African Americans served in the same units -Increased Power of the Military — A military-industrial complex developed as the military established links with the corporate and scientific communities. -Foreign Policy in Asia — September 1951 peace treaty signed with Japan; relations worsen with Communist China
What were the characteristics of the McCarthy era?
-Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy, up for reelection raised the specter of Communist conspiracies within the United States. -The famous list of 205 known State Department Communists turned out to be the names of people who were still employed by the government, even though they had been accused of disloyalty under Truman's loyalty program. -When pressed for details, the senator reduced the number from 205 to 57. -Nevertheless, McCarthy's accusations sparked an anti-Communist hysteria and national search for subversives that caused suspicion and fear across the nation. -Piling baseless accusations on top of unprovable charges, McCarthy took his crusade to the floor of the Senate and engaged in the smear tactics that came to be called McCarthyism. -McCarthy charged that even the army was full of Communists. -Army officials, in turn, charged McCarthy with seeking special treatment for his aide. -The Army-McCarthy hearings began in late April 1954. -Democrats asked that the hearings be televised, hoping that the public would see McCarthy for what he was. -Americans were horrified by McCarthy's bullying tactics and baseless allegations. -By mid-June 1954, McCarthy had lost even his strongest supporters. The Senate formally condemned him for his actions
Where did Roosevelt and Stalin meet in February, 1945?
-Yalta, Russia
Cold War
1945-1991 A conflict that was between the US and the Soviet Union. -Democratic vs Communism -The nations never directly confronted each other on the battlefield but deadly threats went on for years.
Truman Doctrine
1947, President Truman's policy of providing economic and military aid to any country threatened by communism or totalitarian ideology, mainly helped Greece and Turkey
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
1949 alliance of nations that agreed to band together in the event of war and to support and protect each nation involved
Joseph McCarthy
1950s; Wisconsin senator claimed to have list of communists in American gov't, but no credible evidence; took advantage of fears of communism post WWII to become incredibly influential; "McCarthyism" was the fearful accusation of any dissenters of being communists
McCarran-Walter Act
1952 bill that limited immigration from everywhere except Northern and Western Europe and stated that immigration officials could turn any immigrant away that they thought might threaten the national security of the United States.
Brinkmanship
A 1956 term used by Secretary of State John Dulles to describe a policy of risking war in order to protect national interests without actually entering the war. "wanna fight but back off"
Nikita Khrushchev
A Soviet leader during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Also famous for denouncing Stalin and allowed criticism of Stalin within Russia.
Containment
A U.S. foreign policy adopted by President Harry Truman in the late 1940s, in which the United States tried to stop the spread of communism by creating alliances and helping weak countries to resist Soviet advances
House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC)
A congressional committee created to search out disloyal Americans & Communists, investigations into communist influence in the American movie industry.
satellite nation
A country that is dominated politically and economically by another nation, especially by the Soviet Union during the Cold War
Blacklist
A list circulated among employers containing the names of persons who should not be hired
Warsaw Pact
A military alliance, formed in 1955, of the Soviet Union and its Eastern European satellite nations.
Berlin airlift
A military operation in the late 1940s that brought food and other needed goods into West Berlin by air after the government of East Germany, which at that time surrounded West Berlin, had cut off its supply routes.
iron curtain
A term popularized by British Prime Minister Winston Churchill to describe the Soviet Union's policy of isolation during the Cold War. The barrier isolated Eastern Europe from the rest of the world.
Kim Il-Sung
Communist leader of North Korea; his attack on South Korea in 1950 started the Korean War. He remained in power until 1994.
Korean War
Conflict that began with North Korea's invasion of South Korea and came to involve the United Nations (primarily the United States) allying with South Korea and the People's Republic of China allying with North Korea.
Kim Jong-Un
Current supreme leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea)
Stalin
Dictator of the Soviet Union; led the SU through World War II and created a powerful Soviet sphere of influence in Eastern Europe after the war
President Dwight Eisenhower
Domestic policy: "Modern Republicanism"; did not repeal New Deal. "New Conservatism": need for government to regulate personal behavior and restore Christian morality. Opposed by libertarian "free man" vs. "good man." Appointed Earl Warren to Supreme Court. End of Joe McCarthy yet continuation of the Red Scare. Sputnik I --> "missile gap" --> education; foreign policy: rejected isolationism: "containment" not "rollback". warned against "military-industrial complex".
Sputnik
First artificial Earth satellite, it was launched by Moscow in 1957 and sparked U.S. fears of Soviet dominance in technology and outer space. It led to the creation of NASA and the space race.
Hollywood Ten
Group of people in the film industry who were jailed for refusing to answer congressional questions regarding Communist influence in Hollywood
ICBM
Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles, long-range nuclear missiles capable of being fired at targets on the other side of the globe.
38th parallel
Line of latitude that divided Korea - Soviet Union occupied the north and United States occupied the south, during the Cold War.
How did the Cold War affect American life at home?
Loyalty Program: Truman established a federal employee loyalty program in 1947 in which all new employees hired by the federal government were to be investigated. The FBI checked its files for evidence of current government employees who might be engaged in suspicious activities. Those accused of disloyalty were brought before a Loyalty Review Board. The House Un-American Activities Committee, HUAC: Began a postwar probe of Communist infiltration of government agencies and, more spectacularly, a probe of the Hollywood movie industry. Claiming that movies had tremendous power to influence the public, in 1947 HUAC charged that numerous Hollywood figures had Communist leanings that affected their filmmaking.
Which country proved to be a difficult topic at the Yalta Conference because it had the Red Army occupied in it and supported the Communist-dominated government?
Poland
What did Stalin want that Roosevelt and Churchill rejected?
Stalin demanded that Germany pay the Soviet Union $20 billion in war damages.
McCarthyism
Term used to describe McCarthy's anti-Communist smear tactics
How did the Berlin airlift help to achieve American goals in postwar Europe?
The Berlin airlift was the U.S. response to the Soviet blockade of West Berlin. The Soviets were not allowing any supplies into West Berlin, so the U.S. and the Allies dropped supplies in from the air, which allowed West Berlin to resist communism and stay democratic.
