Chapter 16: The Cold War

Douglas MacArthur

A WW2 hero, he had a bold plan to drive the North Korean invaders from South Korea. He suspected that the rapid advance of the North Korean troops had left North Korea with limited supply lines. He decided to strike at this weakness by launching a surprise attack on the port city of Inchon, well behind enemy lines. Because this city was such a poor landing site, this general knew the enemy would no expect an attack there. His gamble payed off handsomely.

Hollywood Ten

A group of left-winged writers, directors, and producers, who refused to answer any questions, asserting their Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination. The hearings of these ten turned into a war of attacks and counterattacks as HUAC members and witnesses yelled at each other and pointed accusatory fingers. After the hearings, they were cited for contempt of Congress and were tried, convicted, and sent to prison.

Julius and Ethel Rosenberg

Accuse of passing on atomic secrets to soviet agents. Was one of the nation's most sensational spy trials. Were from the poor, lower east side of Manhattan. After 26 months on death row for something they pledged they didn't do, both wife and husband were electrocuted in 1953. In the 1990's, solid evidence emerged indicating that he was guilty, while his wife only played a small role in the espionage.

Alger Hiss

Accused of stealing government documents. Was one of the nation's most sensational spy trials. He had been educated at Johns Hopkins University and Harvard Law School. Until 1948, his career seemed flawless. A dedicated government servant, had worked on several New Deal agencies and helped organize the United Nations. Wittaker Chambers disrupted his image. He was tried for perjury. And later sentenced to 5 years in prison.

Nikita Khrushchev

After Joseph Stalin died on March 5th, 1953, he became the head of the Soviet Union. Although he was a communist and a determined opponent of the United States, he was not as suspicious or as cruel as Stalin. He condemned the excesses of the Stalin regime and inched toward more peaceful relations with the democratic west. In July of 1955, he met with Eisenhower at a conference in Geneva Switzerland, and although the meeting had few results, it did seem to be a small move toward "peaceful co-existence" of the two powers.

Satellite State

After WW2 all the lands occupied by the Soviet Red Army in the spring of 1945 remained under Soviet control. The Eastern European countries of Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria, as well as the eastern portion of Germany, became controlled by the Soviet Union.

Cold War

After the Potsdam Conference the United States and the Soviet Union built up a rivalry, after the alliance between the two countries fell apart. Truman thought the Soviet Union was planning "World Conquest" and throughout this 46-year struggle the two superpowers never faced each other directly in a "hot" military conflict.

NATO

Also known as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which formed in 1949, and provided the military alliance to counter Soviet expansion. This pact also pledged to defend one another if attacked. Twelve Western European and North American nations agreed to act together in defense of Western Europe. In 1955, West Germany became a part of NATO.

SEATO

Also known as the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization, which was a defensive alliance aimed at preventing the spread of communism. Its members included Pakistan, Thailand, the Philippines, Australia, New Zealand, France, Britain, and the United States.

Iron Curtain

An important speech given by Winston Churchill was delivered on March 5th, 1946 at Fulton College in Missouri. Churchill said this had descended across Europe. He was afraid the Soviets were trying to spread communism to Western Europe and East Asia. He declared the only way to stop them was for the U.S. and other democratic countries to stand firm.

Mao Zedong

Communist leader of North Korea, who was supported by the Soviet Union. He eventually won increased support from the people, by promising to feed them. In 1948, Mao's forces dominated the civil war between North and South Korea in the beginning.

Marshall Plan

Congress approved this in early 1948. Over the next 4 years the U.S. gave about $13 billion in grants and loans to nations in Western Europe. This plan provided food to reduce famine, fuel to heat houses and factories, and money to jump-start economic growth. Aid was also offered to the Soviet satellite states in Eastern Europe, but Stalin refused to led them accept it.

Containment

Created by George F. Kennan in July of 1947. Its main goal was to keep communism contained within its "existing borders"

Smith Act

Created in 1940 to cripple the Communist Party in the U.S.. This act made it unlawful to teach or advocate the violent over throw of the U.S. government. In 1949, a New York jury found 11 communists guilty of violating this act and sent them to prison.

NASA

Created in July of 1958, and made in order to coordinate the space-related efforts of American scientists and the military. Created after the Sputnik 2, Soviet Union launch, which shocked many Americans, who had long believed that superior technology would keep the United States ahead of the Soviet Union.

Mutually Assured Destruction

During the next 4 years the U.S. and the Soviet Union developed and stockpiled increasingly powerful nuclear weapons. They armed planes, submarines, and missiles with nuclear warheads powerful enough to destroy each other many times over. Both sides hoped this program would prevent either country from actually using a nuclear device against the other. Still, the threat of nuclear destruction seemed to hang over the world like a dark cloud.

HUAC

In 1938 Congress created the House Un-American Activities Committee to investigate possible subversive activities by fascists, Nazis, or communists. After the war, the committee conducted several highly publicized hearing on communist activities in the United States. The investigators probed the government, armed forces, unions, education, science, newspapers, and other aspects of American life. The best known committee hearings targeted the movie industry in 1947, where they uncovered people who had been communists during the 1930s-40s.

Massive Retaliation

In 1945,, Dulles announced this policy, in which the U.S. would responds to communist threats to its allies by threatening to use crushing, overwhelming force, perhaps even nuclear weapons.

Joseph McCarthy

In February of 1950, a little-known senator from Wisconsin made a speech in Wheeling, West Virginia. He said the state department was infested with communist agents. He said he had the names of who. During the Korean War his accusations stuck with the American public. He focused on issues happening and brought up other ones when one went away. He created McCarthyism, and became the most powerful politician between 1950 and 1945. He attacked many people even other senators. In 1945, he went after the U.S. army, and that's when he had lost many of his strongest supporters after his hearing on TV.

George F. Kennan

In July of 1947, he published and issue of the magazine "Foreign Affairs", he called himself X and published an article titles "The sources of Soviet conduct." He was an American diplomat and a leading authority on the Soviet Union. His blueprints showed an American policy known as containment.

Berlin Airlift

In June of 1948 Stalin, being determined to take over Western Berlin, stopped all highway, railway, and waterway traffic from western Germany into West Berlin. Without and means of receiving aid, West Berlin would fall to the communists. Although Stalin could barricade many things from Western Berlin, he couldn't blockade the air. The U.S. and Britain supplied West Berlin through massive airlifts that brought food, fuel, medical supplies, clothing, toys- everything the citizens needed. This demonstrated to the world how far the U.S. would go to protect non communist parts of Europe, and contain communism.

McCarthyism

McCarthy put forward his own brand of anticommunism, which became a catchword for extreme, reckless charges. By making irresponsible allegations, McCarthy did more to discredit legitimate concerns about the domestic communism than any other single american.

Blacklist

Movie directors circulated this made up of entertainment figures who should not be hired because of their suspected communist ties. The careers of those on this list were shattered .

Suez Crisis

Nasser's action threatened the flow of Middle Eastern oil to Europe. Without consulting with Eisenhower, Britain and France plotted to get the canal back into Western hands. They joined forces with Israel, a young nation that had long suffered from raids along its border with Egypt. Britain and France used this as an excuse to seize control of the Suez canal.

Jiang Jieshi

Nationalist leader who was fighting a civil war against communism led by Mao Zedong in South Korea. He was sent several billion dollars in aid from the United States. The United States feared that is he lost it would create a communist superpower spanning most of Asia. His regime seemed unequal to the task.

Truman Doctrine

One way Congress responded to the spreading of communism was by voting to give $400 million in aid for Greece and Turkey. The was President Truman's promise to aid nations struggling against communist movements. This set a new course for American foreign policy.

John Foster Dulles

President Eisenhower's secretary of state, he was an experienced diplomat who had helped organize the United Nations after WW2. He also endorsed the President's vision of the role the United States should play in the war. He also considered the spread of communism to be the greatest threat in the world. He believed that only by going to the brink of war could the U.S. protect its allies, discourage communist aggression, and prevent war.

CIA

The Eisenhower administration used this in its struggle against communism. They were created by Congress in 1947 as an intelligence-gathering organization. Eisenhower approved secret operations to protect American interests. In 1953, they aided a coup that installed a new government in Iran, and accomplished a similar mission in 1954 in Guatemala. While both operations helped place anticommunist leaders in power, they also created long-term resentment against the U.S.

38th parallel

The dividing line between North Korea and South Korea. Where communism, in North Korea, was separated from the non communist, South Korea.

Red Scare

The fear that communists both outside and inside America were working to destroy American life. This fear was not unique to the late 1940s and 1950s. There was a similar Red Scare in 1919 and 1920. However, the Red Scare that followed WW2 went deeper and wider- and lasted for much longer- that the earlier red scare.

Warsaw Pact

This group was created in response to the non communist NATO organization. This was the Soviet Union and its satellite states, as well as all the communist states of Eastern Europe except Yugoslavia. This pact pledged to defend one another if attacked. It formed a rival military alliance as well. Although members agreed on paper not to interfere in one another's internal affairs, the Soviet Union continued to exert firm control over its allies.

Brinkmanship

This was Dulles approach, which believed that only by going to the brink of war could the United States protect its allies, discourage communist aggression, and prevent war.

Arms Race

This was a reason that some scientists opposed the H-bomb, because it would only lead to this being constantly ongoing. Others also argued the Stalin would continue to develop more powerful weapons no matter what the U.S. did.

Eisenhower Doctrine

This was made in response to the Soviet influence in the Middle East and elsewhere, the President made a statement in January of 1957. This announced that the U.S. would use force to help any Middle Eastern nation threatened by communism. Eisenhower used this doctrine in 1958 to justify sending troops to Lebanon to put down a revolt against its pro-american government.

Limited War

Truman's policy that fought to achieve only specific goals. This was the reason Truman wanted to fight.

Nationalize

placing something under government control. Ex. Nasser placed the Suez Canal under government control after the Eisenhower administration withdrew its offer to fund the canal in Egypt.