cold war events

The Anticommunist Crusade

As the Cold War expanded on the global stage during the 1940s and 1950s, the nation experienced a second Red Scare comparable to the one after World War I. Fears of Communism, spies and subversion dominated the cultural landscape. President Truman attempted to confront these fears by implementing a loyalty review system in 1947, requiring federal government employees to demonstrate their patriotism. The House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), originally convened in 1938, investigated numerous private citizens and government employees over the years in an attempt to expose anyone who was involved in subversive activities. Hollywood was especially suspect because of its far-reaching ability to influence Americans. In 1947 ten members of the Screen Writers Guild refused to respond to the question "Are you now or have you ever been a member of the Communist party?" They all refused to answer the question, citing the First Amendment, and were sentenced to up to a year in prison. In Hollywood, they were blacklisted, unable to get work in the movie industry again. This culture of fear infiltrated American homes via television, radio, and print media as accusations of treason and would lead to the McCarthy trials in the 1950s. Frequently compared to witch hunts, these trials were broadcast across the nation.

The Korean War

Before World War II began, Korea had been under Japanese rule for 35 years. An agreement between the United States and the Soviet Union, reached at the Potsdam Conference, gave the part of Korea north of the 38th parallel to the Soviets and the part of the country south of the 38th parallel to the Americans. As they did with Germany after World War II, the United States and the Soviet Union set up rival regimes in the two parts of Korea, which resulted in a deadly rivalry between the two new countries. In June 1950, North Korea, with the aid of Soviet-made tanks, invaded South Korea. Surprised, South Korean troops were driven southward to the sea in a small territory surrounding the city of Pusan. By September 1950, the North Koreans controlled most of the Korean peninsula.

The Rise and Fall of MacArthur

General Douglas MacArthur, as UN commander, led the entire Korean operation. He decided in September to launch a surprise attack from the sea behind enemy lines at Inchon. This attack was successful, and the North Korean troops retreated to their own territory north of the 38th parallel. South Korean troops followed. The MacArthur forces also crossed the 38th parallel to keep the North Korean troops from regrouping and to attempt to liberate all of Korea from Communism. At this point, the Chinese got involved. They had warned that they would not sit idly by if their border with Korea was threatened. So when MacArthur moved northward, the Chinese decided to act. In November 1950, hundreds of thousands of Chinese soldiers entered the fighting. They pushed the overextended MacArthur and his troops back to the 38th parallel.

US Reaction

President Truman reacted quickly. Accused of selling out Eastern Europe and losing China, the president now had an opportunity to prove he could stand up to Communist aggression, which, remember, had been the basis of his foreign policy of containment. Although NSC-68 preceded the invasion, defense funds requested in the report were not released until actual hostilities had begun in Korea. In July 1950, NSC-76 was issued. This document discussed US options if the Soviets were to directly intervene in Korea. President Truman appealed to the United Nations Security Council directly. The Council issued Resolution 82, which condemned North Korea as an aggressor and called on all of its members to help quickly restore peace in Korea. This was the beginning of the UN police action in Korea. In a matter of days, without permission from Congress, the president moved air, naval, and land troops into action.

The End of the Korean War

The Korean police action was at a stalemate in 1951 but continued for two more years. The limited war cost the United States over $50 billion and killed more than 50,000 Americans. More than 2 million Koreans were killed, and North Korea was devastated. In July 1953, an armistice was reached that left Korea still divided at the 38th parallel. Consequences From 1950 to 1953, defense spending in the United States increased to two-thirds of the federal budget. American intervention preserved a precarious balance of power in Asia. Truman increased the powers of the presidency and set a precedent for future undeclared wars.

Foreign Policies of the Cold War

While Dwight Eisenhower was gearing up for a landslide victory in his 1956 reelection, the world's political climate remained volatile. The Soviet bloc was experiencing a "de-Stalinization" as Nikita Khrushchev strove to distance himself and the U.S.S.R. from the Stalin era. Meanwhile, pro-Stalin leaders in the satellite countries, including Hungary and Poland, led efforts to achieve independence from the Soviet Union. Poland succeeded in establishing a degree of independence; Hungary did not achieve such success. Hungary's declaration that it would withdraw from the Warsaw Pact resulted in Soviet tanks in Budapest and the ultimate execution of Hungarian revolution leader Imre Nagy in 1958. Krushchev's invitation to relax relations with the Eastern European satellites in no way allowed for secession. The United States, recognizing its power limitations, did not send military support to Hungary. Instead, Eisenhower sent a memo to Bulganin, then Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the U.S.S.R., noting "profound distress" with the news from Hungary. More importantly, the conflict exposed the limitations of the rigid New Look policy, with its dependence on the sledgehammer "massive retaliation" response of nuclear war when mobile military forces might be more effective.