Brinkley APUSH Chapter 27 - The Cold War

House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC)

A congressional committee that held widely publicized investigations to prove that under Democratic rule, the government tolerated communist subversion.

Policy of Containment

A new American policy where the US would "contain" the threat of further Soviet expansion instead of attempt to create a unified, "open" world.

United Nations

A new international organization formed in the Yalta Conference that had a General Assembly and Security Council with permanent representatives of the five major powers (US, Britain, France, Soviet Union, China), each with veto power.

*Taft-Hartley Act

Also known as the Labor-Management Relations Act of 1937; made the closed shop illegal (workplace in which no one can be hired without being a member of a union) and permitted states to prohibit union shops (workers must join a union after being hired). Known as the "slave labor bill".

Nuclear power's use in America

Although the public feared nuclear war with the Soviets, they were excited about positive benefits of nuclear power. 2/3 believed atomic energy would do more good than harm. Nuclear power was welcomed as a source of cheap and unlimited electricity.

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

An alliance by 12 nations that would maintain a standing military force in Europe to defend against the threat of Soviet invasion. It declared that an armed attack against one member was an attack against all. This spurred the Soviet Union to create an alliance with communist governments, the Warsaw Pact.

US backed Chiang Kai-shek

Chiang Kai-shek was friendly to the US but his government was corrupt and incompetent with feeble popular support. Truman reluctantly decided that he had no choice but to continue supporting Chiang. He sent General George Marshall to recommend a policy for the US, who believed war with China was necessary to defeat communists but was unwilling to recommend the president to accept such a war.

Nationalists lose war, escape to Formosa (Taiwan)

Chiang Kai-shek's nationalist government in China collapsed and he fled to the offshore island of Formosa (Taiwan) while the entire Chinese mainland came under the control of a communist government.

Dispute over Poland

Discussed at the Teheran Conference. FDR and Churchill were willing to move the Soviet border west so Stalin could annex Poland but disagreed over the government. Roosevelt and Churchill supported the Polish government-in-exile while Stalin wanted a pro-communist government. They avoided a bitter conclusion to the conference by leaving the issue unresolved.

Truman's "Fair Deal"

Expanded on many New Deal programs, such as the expansion of Social Security benefits and a rise in minimum wage. This declared an end to the wartime moratorium on liberal reform. However, it fell victim to the same congressional conservatism that crippled the New Deal and was further reduced by the Republican Party.

McCarthysm

Joseph McCarthy was a Republican senator who claimed to have the names of 205 known Communists working in the US State Department. He belligerently badgered witnesses and destroyed public careers and was adored for his "fearless" assaults although he never produced solid evidence.

Yalta Conference

Meeting with the "Big Three" where in return for Stalin's renewed promise to enter the Pacific war, Roosevelt agreed that the Soviet Union should receive some territory in the Pacific that Russia lost in the 1904 Russo-Japanese War. They created a new international organization named the UN and agreed to partition Germany into quarters but didn't make any real accord on other issues.

Election of 1948

Much of the electorate believed Truman's administration was weak and inept. The Americans for Democratic Action (ADA) tried to elect Eisenhower but he refused, forcing them to concede the nomination to Truman. Republicans nominated Governor Dewey, a leading political figure. Truman became more aggressive and surprisingly won while Democrats regained both houses of Congress.

NSC-68

National Security Council report in 1950 that argued that the United States could no longer rely on other nations to take the initiative in resisting communism.

America's postwar vision

Openly outlined in the Atlantic Charter in which nations abandoned traditional beliefs in military alliances and spheres of influence. They governed relations through democratic processes with an international organization serving as arbitrator and tried to protect everyone's right of self-determination.

America's economy after the war

Predictions of a resurgence of the Depression were wrong. Government spending dropped sharply and abruptly but increased consumer demand compensated after consumer goods were unavailable during the war. This flood of consumer demand contributed to serious inflation.

Truman Doctrine

President Truman's policy of supporting free people who resisted attempted subjugation. He requested $400 million to bolster armed forces of Greece and Turkey, which eased Soviet pressure on Turkey and helped the Greek government defeat communist insurgents.

*Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944 (GI Bill of Rights)

Provided economic and educational assistance to veterans, increasing spending even further.

Eisenhower runs for President

Republicans turned to General Dwight D. Eisenhower, a military leader and commander of NATO. He ran with Richard M. Nixon and had a powerful campaign in which Nixon exploited the issue of communist subversion. Republicans gained control of both houses for the second time in two decades.

McCarran Internal Security Act

Required all communist organizations to register with the government. Truman vetoed it but Congress overrode it.

Teheran Conference

Roosevelt and Stalin's first meeting with Stalin. Roosevelt and Stalin established a cordial relationship and Stalin agreed to an American request for the Soviet Union to enter the war in the Pacific in return for an Anglo-American second front to open.

Marshall Plan

Secretary of State George C. Marshall's plan to provide economic assistance to all European nations. Russia rejected the plan but 16 Western European nations participated. The Economic Cooperation Administration administered the Marshall Plan, which channeled over $12 billion into Europe and sparked a substantial economic revival.

*Conservative opposition to containment

Some Americans on the left believed containment was unnecessarily belligerent and the US could have made peace with Russians. A greater opposition believed it was too weak and saw containment as some kind of appeasement. The John Birch Society was an anticommunist led by Robert Welch, who feared communism.

*Divisions within Democratic Party

The States' Rights ("Dixiecrat") Party was composed of southern conservatives who reacted angrily to Truman's proposed civil rights bill. The Democratic Party's left wing formed a new Progressive Party which objected to ineffective policies of Truman's administration and the president's confrontational stance toward the Soviet Union.

Syngman Rhee

The US and Soviet Union sent troops to Korea to weaken Japanese occupation during WWI. However, they supported different governments, dividing the nation "temporarily" along the 38th parallel. When America left, it gave control of the pro-Western government to him, who was anticommunist but only nominally democratic.

US restores Japan

The US sought to rebuild Japan along Western lines and lifted restrictions on industrial development and encouraged rapid economic growth. The US and Japan signed a treaty in 1951 that restored Japan's self-rule and ended American occupation.

National Security Act of 1947

This reshaped the nation's major military and diplomatic institutions with a new Department of Defense, which oversaw all branches of armed services, a National Security Council (NSC), which oversaw foreign and military policy, and a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), which collected intelligence and conducted secret operations..

Truman's approach with Soviets

Truman adopted a more "get tough" policy with Soviets, which could be seen when he met with Soviet minister Molotov and sharply chastised him for violations of Yalta accords. He also met at Potsdam with Church and Stalin and accepted adjustments of the Polish-German border but refused to permit Russians to claim any reparations from Allies occupation zones in Germany.

Truman and Civil Rights

Truman failed to persuade Congress to accept civil rights legislation he proposed, which made lynching a federal crime, provided federal protection of black voting rights, abolished the poll tax, and established a new Fair Employment Practices Commission. He still battled racial discrimination his own with the hiring of government employees and dismantling segregation within armed forces.

*Truman-MacArthur Controversy

Truman was determined to avoid direct conflict and seeked a negotiated solution once China entered the war. However, MacArthur argued that the US was fighting the Chinese and should attack China itself. He indicated his unhappiness in the Martin letter, and concluded that there was no substitute for victory. Truman relieved MacArthur of his command.

Berlin Crisis/Airlift

When the US merged the three western zones of occupation (Britain and France) into a new West German republic, Stalin responded with a tight blockade around Berlin. Truman ordered a massive airlift to supply the city. Stalin lifted the blockade and Germany divided into the Federal Republic (west) and Democratic Republic (east).

*Stalemate

When the capital Pyongyang fell to UN forces, victory seemed near until the new communist government of China intervened. The UN offensive stalled and collapsed and communist forces pushed Americans back below the 38th parallel, capturing Seoul a second time.

Alger Hiss

Whittaker Chambers told the committee that Hiss passed State Department documents through him to the Soviet Union. Hiss sued for slander but Chambers produced microfilms of the documents. Through the investigatory efforts of Rep Richard Nixon, he was convicted.