Chapter 23 questions

How did the government attempt to shape public opinion during the Cold War?

Agencies like the CIA and Defense Department financed movies in Hollywood that negatively shaped American views of communism. These agencies also financed other art institutions like the Museum of Modern Art in New York and arranged for overseas exhibitions to persuade Europeans that the US was all about individual freedom.

How did the tendency of both the United states and the Soviet Union to see all international events through the lens of the Cold War lessen each country's ability to understand what was happening in other countries around the world?

Both the US and USSR saw themselves as spreading freedom, but each country was on an ideological crusade intervening in the affairs of nations whose political problems could not be easily understood. For example, the United States considered any noncommunist country, like South Africa, to be a part of the Free World, despite political problems that limited freedom, like Apartheid.

What accounts for the Republican resurgence in these years?

Middle-class voters alarmed by the new wave of strikes voted Republican. The conservative Congress overturned Truman's Fair Deal, enacted tax cuts, and limited union power.

Explain the differences between the United States' and the Soviet Union's application of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The Soviets violated democratic and civil liberties through corrupt elections and suppression of free speech, but also claimed to provide citizens with social and economic rights. The US, on the other hand, did not consider economic, social, and cultural rights as a quality of freedom. Freedom House, an American-based NGO, evaluated freedom in the world's nations based on the idea of open elections or ability to speak out on public issues, claiming that rights like access to unemployment, housing, education, medical care, etc. should not be included in the definition of freedom. These rights (social, economic, and cultural), though included in one of the two covenants of the Declaration of Human Rights, were not ratified by the US Congress until 1992.

President Truman referred to the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan as "two halves of the same walnut." Explain the similarities and differences between these two aspects of containment.

The Truman doctrine had a budget of $400 million for military aid to Turkey and Greece, but set a precedent for American global responsibility and led to the creation of military alliances and other security bodies against the Soviet Union. The Marshall plan was similar in that it dedicated money to the economic recovery of Europe but the language was more open: it aimed to fight "hunger, poverty, desperation, and chaos" rather than a specific country or ideology. Essentially, it was a New Deal plan for Europe. Both plans spread American power, ideology, responsibility, and markets.

What major ideological conflicts, security interests, and events brought about the Cold War?

The US and USSR were ideologically at odds; the US supported individual freedom, democracy, and capitalism while the USSR supported limited freedom in a communist dictatorship. Both superpowers wanted to spread their influence throughout the world. The first Cold War confrontation came in the Middle East when both the US and USSR wanted to gain control of Iran for its oil.

Why did the US not support movements for colonial independence around the world?

The US did not support decolonization efforts in the name of anticommunism. As revolutionary movements swept the world, communist movements were sure to come with it. By not supporting any revolution, the US would not support communist revolutions.

How did the Cold War affect civil liberties in the United States?

Truman presented a civil rights program to Congress, though it wasn't passed. Truman later ordered an executive order that desegregated the armed services. Democrats added civil rights to the campaign platform along with federal health insurance and aid to education. Civil rights organizations in some cases had to stay quiet when accusations were made so that they could preserve the image of their group. In other cases, these organizations used the mindset to their advantage to spread their ideas by claiming that it improved the American image abroad. The House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) investigated individuals suspected of being communist. At the same time, senator Joseph McCarthy began accusing communists working for the government, with many being political rivals. Because of the rampant fear, groups like white supremacists or just terrible people in general accused minorities they disliked of "eroding the country's fighting spirit."

What were the major components of Truman's Fair Deal? Which ones were implemented and which weren't?

Truman's Fair Deal focused on improving the social safety net, raising the standard of living, increasing the minimum wage, enacting national health insurance, expanding public housing and Social Security, and aid to education.

How did the anticommunist crusade affect organized labor in the postwar period?

While President Truman was trying to "out-New Deal the New Deal," a new wave of workers strikes still crossed the nation. With war production ended and high inflation, lowered wages caused massive strikes from steel and auto to Hollywood. Many people feared the spread of communism in the US, evident by McCarthyism and spy trials. Republicans used anticommunism as a justification for suppressing labor unions. Union officials were required to swear that they were not communist.