Ch 37 The Cold War Begins 1945-1952

Jiang Jieshi

(1887-1975) Leader of the Guomindang, or Nationalist Party in China. Fought to keep China from becoming communist, and to resist the Japanese during World War II. He lost control of China in 1949, and fled to Taiwan where he setup a rival government. Also known as Chang Kai Shek.

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.

Harry S. Truman

(1945-1949) and (1949-1953), Succeeded Franklin D. Roosevelt upon his death. Led the country through the last few months of World War II, and made the controversial decision to use two atomic bombs against Japan in August 1945. After the war, Truman was crucial in the implementation of the Marshall Plan, which greatly accelerated Western Europe's economic recovery. Created the CIA

House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC)

1938-1975: an investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives, when abolished functions went to House of Judiciary Committee, anti-communist investigations not directly linked to Joseph McCarthy.

IBRD International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank)

1944; Established as part of the Bretton Woods system. Created to finance reconstruction after WWII. Since 1950s it has let money to lesser developed countries to finance development projects and humanitarian needs.

NSC

1950; National Security Council Memorandum 68 recommended that the US quadruple defense spending to meet the challenges of the Cold War. Initially this recommendation was ignored, but the Korean War cleared the way for its implementation. By 1953 defense spending took up two-thirds of the federal budget.

Berlin Blockade (1948)

A Soviet attempt to starve out the allies in Berlin in order to gain supremacy. They stopped all the traffic. Was a high point in the Cold War, and it led to the Berlin Airlift. Lifted in 1949

"Baby Boom"

A cohort of individuals born in the decade after WWII, which was a time of relative peace and prosperity. Female participation in the work force declines and birthrates began to rise. This rise did not last, and began to decline by the end of the 1950s. Birth control contributed to this decline.

Federal Housing Administration (FHA)

A federal agency established in 1943 to increase home ownership by providing an insurance program to safeguard the lender against the risk of nonpayment.

"Sunbelt"

A fifteen state area stretching in a smiling crescent from Virginia through Florida and Texas to Arizona and California. This region increased its population at a rate nearly double that of the old industrial zones of the Northeast.

Alger Hiss (1948)

A former State Department official who was accused of being a Communist spy and was convicted of perjury. The case was prosecuted by Richard Nixon

Internal Security Bill (1950)

Also known McCarran Act it was passed even with Harry Truman's veto for containing and destroying Communism

Gen. Douglas MacArthur

American general and field marshal of the Philippine Army who was Chief of Staff of the United States Army during the 1930s and played a prominent role in the Pacific theater during World War II.

Marshall Plan (1947)

An ECONOMIC form of containment. The US spent $13b (600 billion in today's dollars if adjusted for inflation0 serious money indeed) to help rebuild WESTERN Europe. This was a very expensive but successful program. Europeans ended up buying a whole lot of American products and this helped revive the world economy. Most importantly, WESTERN Europeans were thankful and decided to become or remain friends with the US. For economic recovery after World War II, proposed by U.S. Secretary of State George C. Marshall in 1947 and implemented in 1948 under the Economic Cooperation Administration.

International Monetary Fund (IMF)

An international organization of 183 countries, established in 1947 with the goal of promoting cooperation and exchange between nations, and to aid the growth of international trade.

Yalta Conference (February 1945)

Approved Declaration of a Liberated Europe (Soviets did not follow); approved establishment of UN; Soviets promised to help Americans against Japan; Germany would be divided up into 4 occupation zones

Julius and Ethel Rosenberg

Arrested in the Summer of 1950 and executed in 1953, they were convicted of conspiring to commit espionage by passing plans for the atomic bomb to the Soviet Union.

CIA

Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. Its primary function is obtaining and analyzing information about foreign governments, corporations, and persons in order to advise public policymakers formed september 18, 1947

Communist China (1949)

China in 1949 became one of the communist countries

U.N. "police action"

Congress supported the use of U.S. troops in the Korean crisis but failed to declare war, accepting Truman's characterization of U.S. intervention as this term.

Strom Thurmond

Democratic governor of South Carolina who headed the State's Rights Party (Dixiecrats); he ran for president in 1948 against Truman and his mild civil rights proposals and eventually joined the Republican Party.

Henry A. Wallace

Former vice president of the U.S. whose 1948 campaign as a pro-Soviet liberal split the Democratic party

Hermann Goering

German nazi leader and one of Hitler's top assistants; he played a key role in presecuting Jews and in making German a totalitarian Nazi state before and during World War II. He was the highest ranking officer tried and prosecuted at the trials

German Occupation Zones

Germany was divided in four military occupation zones, each assigned to one of the Big Four Powers (France, Britain, America, and the USSR).

Richard M. Nixon

He was a committee member of the House of Representatives, Committee on Un-American Activities (to investigate "subversion"). He tried to catch Alger Hiss who was accused of being a communist agent in the 1930's. This brought Nixon to the attention of the American public. In 1956 he was Eisenhower's Vice-President.

Dean Acheson

He was an American statesman and lawyer; as United States Secretary of State in the administration of President Harry S. Truman during 1949-1953, he played a central role in defining American foreign policy during the Cold War. Especially for the Marshall plan and the Truman Doctrine

"Levittown"

In 1947, William Levitt used mass production techniques to build inexpensive homes in surburban New York to help relieve the postwar housing shortage. Levittown became a symbol of the movement to the suburbs in the years after WWII.

Berlin Airlift (1948-1949)

In response to a Soviet-led blockade of West Berlin, the Americans and British initiated this that flew in supplies into the besieged city for nearly a year before the Soviets retracted their forces and opened the city to resupply. The incident convinced the western democracies of the need of a military alliance - later called the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

Gross National Product (GNP)

Is the measure of a country's economic performance or what its citizens produced and whether they produced these items within its limits

"Iron Curtain"

It symbolized the dividing Europe into two separate areas at the end of WWII (1945) and till the end of the cold war in 1991. A political barrier that isolated the peoples of Eatern Europe after WWII, restricting their ability to travel outside the region

North Korean attack (1950)

June 25, 1950, spearheaded by Soviet-made tanks, North Korean army columns rumbled across the 38th parallel. The South Korean forces were shoved back southward to a dangerously tiny defensive area around Pusan, their backs were to the sea.

Sen. Joseph R. McCarthy

Led the search for communists in Washington, conservative politicians at the state and local levels discovered that all manner of real or perceived social changes.

VA loans

Loans made out for the veterans from the military. Made by the Veteran's Administration to buy homes, farms, and small businesses.

MacArthur firing (1951)

MacArthur wanted to open up war with China as well, the Defense Dept. didn't want to, MacArthur retaliated and called Truman names, Truman had to fire him

MacArthur's Inchon Landing (1950)

MacArthur's bold gamble on September 15, 1950, succeeded brilliantly; within two weeks the North Koreans had scrambled back behind the "sanctuary' of the 38th parallel and there seemed little point in permitting the North Koreans to regroup again. THe U.N assembly tacitly authoried a crossing by MacArthur whom Pres. Truman ordered northward, provided that there was no intervention in force by the Chinese or Soviets.

Employment Act (1946)

Made it government policy "to promote maximum employment, production, and purchasing power.". Created a three-member Council of Economic Advisers to provide the president with the data and recommendations to make policy a reality.

Bretton Woods (1944)

Meeting of Western allies to establish a postwar international economic order to avoid crises like the one that spawned World War II. Led to the creation of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, designed to regulate currency levels and provide aid to underdeveloped countries.

NSC-68

National Securtiy Council memo #68 US "strive for victory" in cold war, pressed for offensive and a gross increase ($37 bil) in defense spending, determined US foreign policy for the next 20-30 yrs

NATO (1949)

North Atlantic Treaty Organization; an alliance made to defend one another if they were attacked by any other country; US, England, France, Canada, Western European countries

Recognition of Israel (1948)

On May 14, 1948, Israel proclaimed its independence. The next day, Truman recognized the new Jewish homeland. Arabs were unwilling to accept being displaced from what they considered their own country

European Community (EC)

Organization of European states established in 1957; it was originally called the European Economic Community and was renamed the EC in 1967; it promoted economic growth and integration as the basis for a politically united Europe.

National Security Act (1948)

Passed in 1947 in response to perceived threats from the Soviet Union after WWII. It established the Department of Defense and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and National Security Council.

Dr. Benjamin Spock

Pediatrician and author of the Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care (1946), which emphasized children's need for the love and care of full-time mothers

Suburbs

Residential areas surrounding a city. Shops and businesses moved to suburbia as well as people.

Yalu River

River separating North Korea and China. UN forces close to the Yalu River caused Chinese intervention.

Patrick Anthony McCarran

Senator of Democratic United States Senator from Nevada from 1933 till 1954 A contributor for the McCarran-Ferguson Act also known as the Public Law. The law states which exempts the business of insurance from most federal regulation, including federal antitrust laws to limited extent. In 1945 Also known for the Internal Security Act of 1950 or McCarran Act it was passed even with Harry Truman's veto for containing and destroying Communism

Nuremberg Trials (1945-1946)

Series of trials in 1945 conducted by an International Military Tribunal in which former Nazi leaders were charged with crimes against peace, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. From the trials it prosecuted countless leaders of the Nazi's

Taft-Hartley Act (1947)

The Act was passed over the veto of Harry S. Truman on the 23rd June, 1947 ("slave-labor bill"). The act declared the closed shop (contract requiring workers to join a union before being hired) illegal and permitted the union shop (contract requiring workers to join a union after being hired) only after a vote of a majority of the employees. It also forbade secondary boycotts. (the practice of several unions giving support to a striking union by joining a boycott of a company's products)

"Fair Deal" Program

The Deal called for improved housing, full employment, higher minimum wage, better farm price supports, new TVAs, and and extension of Social Security. It was opposed by Republicans and southern democrats so it only raised minimum wage, provided public housing, and extended old age insurance.

GI Bill of Rights (1944)

The GI Bill of Rights, or the Servicemen's Readjustment Act, was passed in 1944 as a way to ease veterans of World War II back into the work force. The bill rewarded soldiers for their loyalty to the country and eased their fears of competition with women for jobs

Thomas E. Dewey

The Republican presidential nominee in 1944, Dewey was the popular governor of New York. Roosevelt won a sweeping victory in this election of 1944. Dewey also ran against Harry Truman in the 1948 presidential election. Dewey, arrogant and wooden, seemed certain to win the election, and the newspapers even printed, "DEWEY DEFEATS TRUMAN" on election night. However, the morning results showed that Truman swept the election, much to Dewey's embarrassment.

"Big Three"

The group of Allied leaders from the United States, United Kingdom, and Russia (FDR, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin)

The Pentagon

The headquarters of the Unites States Department of Defense in Arlington County, Virginia and The official name for the documents published by newspapers about Vietnam policy. The Supreme court eventually ruled in favor of the newspapers, so they continued to publish.

Selective Service System (1948)

The system used in the United States to draft young people into armed service. Though the United States at present has no draft, young men are required by law to register with the Selective Service when they reach the age of eighteen.

Big Five Powers

These were the most powerful countries that made up the Security Council of the United Nations: the U.S., Britain, USSR, France and China

1948 Election

Truman (Democrat) v. Strom Thrumond (States' Rights/Dixiecrat) v. Thomas Dewey (Republican); Truman won in a surprising upset

Loyalty Oaths

Truman orders background checks on 3 millon federal employees, and loyalty oaths were demanded, especially from teachers. Many citizens feared that communist spies were undermining the government.

Japanese Occupation

US troops led by General MacArthur democratized Japan, success story for US because economic prosperity was even better than it had been before war

Korea/38th parallel

When Japan collapsed in 1945, Soviet troops had accepted the Japanese surrender north of the 38th Parallel on the Korean peninsula, but both superpowers professed the want to reunify Korea, but each helped set up rival regimes above and below the parallel.

Security Council

With 15 members , Five permanent members( US, UK, France, China, USSR) with veto power in the UN. Promised to carry out UN decisions with their own forces.

"Containment" Doctrine

a foreign policy strategy advocated by George Kennan that called for the United States to isolate the Soviet Union, "contain" its advances, and resist its enroachments by peaceful means if possible, but by force if neccesary.

Baruch Plan

a proposal by the US government written by Bernard Baruch for the UN. The United States, Great Britain, and Canada all calling fro an international organization to regulate atomic energy The Soviets responded with rejecting the plan and the nuclear race began

Council Of Economic Advisers

a three-member body appointed by the president to advise the president on economic policy

George F. Kennan

an American advisor, diplomat, political scientist, and historian, best known as "the father of containment" and as a key figure in the emergence of the Cold War. He later wrote standard histories of the relations between Russia and the Western powers. Also the father of the Containment Doctrine.

H-Bomb

hydrogen bomb invented in 1950's, MORE powerful than atomic bomb, example of Cold War arms race

Soviet A-Bomb (1949)

in September 1949 President Truman announced that the Soviets had exploded an atomic bomb—approx three years earlier than many experts thought possible. Americans then began developing an H-bomb, continuing the nuclear race

United Nations (1945)

like the League of Nations except better because they had more countries participating and they were committed to maintaining international peace and security, developing friendly relations among nations and promoting social progress, better living standards and human rights. Created following WWII

Truman's "Point Four" Program

plan to lend US money and technical aid to underdeveloped lands to help then help themselves; launched in 1950; he wanted to spend millions to keep underprivileged people from becoming communists.

"Voice of America" (1948)

radio broadcasts sent behind the iron curtain in attempts to entice the people in communist countries into capitalist nations

Truman Doctrine (1947)

the announced policy of President Truman to provide aid to free nations who faced internal or external threats of a Communist takeover; announced in conjunction with a $400 million economic aid package to Greece and Turkey, it was successful in helping those countries put down Communist guerrilla movements and is considered to be the first U.S. action of the Cold War.

"White Flight"

working and middle-class white people move away from racial-minority suburbs or inner-city neighborhoods to white suburbs and exurbs