Chapter 23 - The United States and The Cold War

ORIGINS OF THE COLD WAR: The Two Powers

Accounting for half of the world's manufacturing capacity, and the only country to possess the atomic bomb, the United States emerged from WWII as the world's greatest power. The only power that could rival the United States was the Soviet Union, who occupied most of eastern Europe at the time, feeding on the population's desperate struggle for independence. This was not enough however. If the Soviet Union wanted to overcome the United States, they were going to increase their sphere of influence in eastern Europe.

Taft-Harley Act of 1947

Act passed by Congress, over presidential veto, to reverse some of the gains made y organized labor in the past decade...authorized the President to suspend strikes and instead issue an eighty-day cooling off period, also banning sympathy strikes and secondary boycotts...Also outlawed closed shops, authorized right to work laws, forced union officials to swear that they weren't communists. Contributed to the decline of the organized labor's share of the nation's workforce.

North Atlantic Treaty Organization of 1949

After the Truman Doctrine, the Marshall Plan, the Berlin Airlift and the Soviet acquisition of the atomic bomb, the United States, Canada and ten western European nations established the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, pledging mutual defense against any future Soviet attack. West Germany became a crucial part of NATO (Remember like NW), and when this happened, the Soviets formalized their own eastern European alliance, the Warsaw Pact, in 1955.

McCarran-Walter Act of 1952

Against presidential veto, the McCarran Walter Act of 1952 kept national quotas in place, authorized the deportation of Communist immigrants, which was in many ways the inspiration for Operation Wetback.

THE TRUMAN PRESIDENCY: The Republican Resurgence

Alarmed by the labor turmoil 1946 became the year when voters voted mostly Republican...they would control both houses of Congress for the first time since the 1920's. This was all because the intentions of Operation Dixie had failed.

General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade of 1947

An agreement that proposed to stimulate freer trade among the participants, creating an enormous market for American goods and investment.

Iron Curtain of 1946

Britain's former wartime prime minister, Winston Churchill, declared that an Iron Curtain had descended across Europe, separating the free West from the communist East.

Dixiecrats of

Conservatives in the Democratic Party began to move to the increasingly conservative Republican Party. Meeting in Birmingham, Alabama, the Dixiecrats nominated South Carolina governor Strom Thurmond as their presidential candidate, and Mississippi governor Field J. Wright, as their vice-presidential nominee....they represented the anger with the lack of progress in the labor force...

ORIGINS OF THE COLD WAR: Cold War Critics

Eventually, Stalin came to the scene, with a brutal dictatorship that jailed and murdered millions of Soviet citizens, fractured the artistic framework and proved it was the opposite of democracy and free enterprise. In response, Walter Lippmann, a prominent American journalist, identified that to truly beat the Soviets, President Truman and Americans in general would have to continuously intervene in the politic affairs of outer countries, as an extension of containment, though their efforts would likely be misunderstood.

THE TRUMAN PRESIDENCY: The Fair Deal

Following World War II, a primary task for Truman was to make a transition from a wartime to a peacetime economy. At the time, more than 12 million men remained in uniform, simply wanting to return home, but when they did, the transition was difficult. Many went back to the work force, went to college, got divorced...The progress of the New Deal had slowed, and he needed another deal to raise the same concerns. Congress turned down Truman's Fair Deal program, instead enacting tax cuts for wealthy Americans, and passing the Taft-Harley Act (see vocabulary term)

Decolonization Between 1950 and 1960

Following World War II, it was made clear that these many countries beard the right to self-government, and they weren't being afforded it. Therefore, Liberal Democrats and black leaders urged Truman to be the first icon of worldwide decolonization, or the removal of colonies and empires...Unfortunately, their efforts did lightly to sway Truman's mind, as the Cold War turned his attention elsewhere, and he deemed those countries allied with him and the anticommunist policy as members of the Free World, no matter how oppressive the individual leaders were to their people.

THE TRUMAN PRESIDENCY: The Postwar Strike Wave

In 1946, there was Operation Dixie, which was a campaign to bring unionization to the South and shatter the hold of anti-labor conservatives..200 labor organizers entered the area, from the textile and steel industries...the opposite effect happened, there was a removal of price controls, their income dropped, and they walked off their jobs, demanding wage increases...this represented the largest single walkout in American history to that date.

Hollywood Ten of 1947

In 1947, the House Unamerican Activities Committee launched a series of hearings about communist influence in Hollywood, given that well known producers like Walt Disney identified the existence of Communists in the film industry. Well known screenwriters, directors and actors were called to appear before the committee. Of these called in, ten "unfriendly witnesses" refused to answer the committee's questions about their political beliefs and refused to name names about what they knew. They said that it violated their freedom of speech, and these ten prominent individuals served a 6 to 12 month prison sentence for having communist sympathies.

ORIGINS OF THE COLD WAR: The Reconstruction of Japan

In 1948, Japan underwent the adoption of a new democratic constitution, giving women the right to vote for the first time in Japanese history, renouncing the policies of war...The United States oversaw the economic reconstruction of Japan...at first, they planned to dissolve their industrial corporations, which contributed so much to the war effort, but then decided that rebuilding their economic frame would be a strong base of anticommunist strength in Asia.

Army-McCarthy Hearings of 1954

In February of 1950, Joseph McCarthy, a lier of a Senate member, declared that he had a list of 205 communists working for the State Department. He never named names, and he had absolutely no evidence, but he used his resources to bring his accusations to the forefront of political concerns. In 1954, however, a Senate committee investigated his accusations...then, the nationally televised Army-McCarthy hearings revealed McCarthy to be a bully who had no actual facts.

Marshall Plan of 1948

In an action similar to that of President Truman, Marshall pledged the United States to contribute billions of dollars to finance the economic recovery of Europe, given that the continent still lay in ruins just two years after World War II, which unfortunately strengthened the communist parties of France and Italy. He said: "our policy is directed not against any country or doctrine, but against hunger, poverty, desperation and chaos"...it was one of the most successful economic programs in history, boosting European production past the prewar levels.

Long Telegram of 1946

In his famous Long Telegram of 1946, George Kennan, an American diplomat, informed the Truman administration that the Soviets could not be dealt with as a normal government. It would be the United States, and the United States alone, that would stop Soviet Russia. This Long Telegram laid the foundation for the policy of Containment.

Truman Doctrine of 1947

In his speech in March 1947, President Harry S. Truman announced what came to be known as the Truman Doctrine, which officially embraced the Cold War as a struggle over the future of freedom, and identified containment as the foundation of American foreign policy. This doctrine came about because Britain informed the United States that it's economy had been shattered by WWII, and that they could therefore no longer provide military and financial aid to the Grecian and Turkish governments. In Turkey, the Soviets were demanding joint control of their crucial straits, so America needed to fill the vacuum. It was said that the problems in these countries were mostly homegrown, but in order for Congress to back Truman, he would have to "scare the hell" out of the American people. His rhetoric suggested that America had assumed a permanent global responsibility to support freedom loving peoples wherever communism threatened them. Therefore, the Truman Doctrine very much laid the foundation for the National Security Council, Central Intelligence Agency, Atomic Energy Commission and North American Treaty Organization.

THE TRUMAN PRESIDENCY: Postwar Civil Rights

In the years immediately following World War II, the status of black Americans enjoyed a prominence in national affairs unmatched since Reconstruction, and Truman reached out in unprecedented ways to the black community. Fair employment practices were established in eleven states, numerous cities passed laws against discrimination in the employment process, and discrimination in public accommodations. The broad civil rights coalition supported these groups. By 1952, 20 percent of blacks were registered to vote, although the areas of white supremacy did not budge at all. The best example of the was the employment of Jackie Robinson to join the Brooklyn Dodgers...Known for insubordination on public transportation, Robinson opened the door for opportunities everywhere, and gained nationwide respect by not responding to racist taunts as he played ball.

THE COLD WAR AND THE IDEA OF FREEDOM: The Rise of Human Rights

Issues regarding human rights became an issue simply because the Cold War directly followed World War II, where so many human rights had been violated. At this time, countless numbers of German officials and Nazi's were put on trial before a jury for the heinous crimes against humanity that they committed. Many were jailed or executed. Then, in 1948, Eleanor Roosevelt proposed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was a reeducation about freedom of speech, religious toleration, and protect against arbitrary government. Even though there was no method to enforce these notions, the language of freedom evolved to suggest that the nation's treatment of it's own citizens should be subject to outside evaluation.

ORIGINS OF THE COLD WAR: The Korean War

Korea was divided between Communist North Korea and anticommunist South Korea...In June 1950, the North Korean army invaded the south, hoping to bring South Korea under Communist control as well. The National Security Council was then persuaded to let Truman use brute force...With General Douglas MacArthur, the army soon occupied most of North Korea, hoping to unite Korea under a pro-American government. Thousands of Chinese troops intervened, and when MacArthur threatened even more force, indicating the use of nuclear weapons, Truman refused. Truman had him removed from the military scene, and at the conclusion of the war, there was a stalemate around the thirty-eighth parallel, though a formal peace was never the reason for the war's end. As Korea elaborated upon in many statements, the involvement of the Soviets and Americans in their land was a sure sign that the Cold War, which initially began in Europe, had become a global conflict.

ORIGINS OF THE COLD WAR: Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan

Lay out how the Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan were such critical elements of containment.

Loyalty Review System of 1947

Less than two weeks after announcing the Truman Doctrine, the president established a loyalty review system in which government employees were required to demonstrate their patriotism without being allowed to confront their accusers or knowing the charges against them. The national security system also targeted homosexuals who worked for the government because they were deemed as being "not manly enough" to fight against the Soviet influence...though the federal government displaced several hundred people from their jobs, they failed to uncover any cases of espionage.

THE COLD WAR AND THE IDEA OF FREEDOM: Ambiguities of Human Rights

One general reason that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was not easily enforced was because both higher powers refused to allow outside interference when it came to their foreign policy. Unfortunately, some rights were emphasized while others were forgotten, and the Soviet union continued to violate democratic rights and civil liberties.

Totalitarianism (World War II Onward)

Originating first in Europe between the World Wars, this term was used to describe fascist Italy and Nazi Germany, for they were aggressive, ideologically driven, and they sought to subdue all of civil society, including voluntary associations, to their control. Over time, this became a general term fit for describing anyone on the Soviet side throughout the Cold War. Moscow stood for the exact opposite of freedom, and the term "socialized" could never be associated with them.

Fair Deal of 1949

September 1945 - Following the New Deal's lack of momentum after World War II, Truman proposed the Fair Deal, which focused on improving the social safety and raising the standard of living for ordinary Americans. It would increase the minimum wage, enact a program of national health insurance, expand public housing, Social Security and provide aid for education.

ORIGINS OF THE COLD WAR: The Roots of Containment

Soviet efforts to spread Communism began in the Middle East, where troops had occupied parts of Iran, hoping to pressure the country to grant it access to it's rich oil fields. Unsuccessful, Stalin withdrew these forces and then installed procommunist governments in Poland, Romania and Bulgaria. In their mind, this was no different from the American domination of Lain America. It was then that George Kennan sent out the Long Telegram (see vocabulary term), and Winston Churchill coined the term Iron Curtain (see vocabulary term). Containment then became an official American policy with the Truman Doctrine (see vocabulary term).

Freedom Train

The Freedom Train was a traveling exhibition of 133 historical documents that first opened in Philadelphia on September 16, 1947. The train embarked on a sixteen-month tour of over 300 American cities, using the documents to symbolize President Truman's embrace of freedom in contrast to Hitler's destruction of liberty. Since the acquisition of government funding raised fears of propaganda claims, the Freedom Train was turned over to the American Heritage Foundation. This, however, rose controversy over the definition of freedom, as the AHF removed the Wagner Act (union rights), Four Freedoms Speech, Fourteenth and Fifteenth amendments from the train. The only documents in relation to African Africans were the Emancipation Proclamation, the Thirteenth Amendment and a criticism of slavery. The controversy was so great that segregated audiences were prohibited, and the train avoided the states of Memphis, Tennessee and Alabama, where the segregation was indeed encouraged. The Freedom Train therefore revealed how the Cold War helped to reshape freedom's meaning, identifying it ever more closely with anticommunism, free enterprise and the defense of the socio-economic status quo.

National Security Council of 1947

The National Security Council (NSC) is the President's principal forum for considering national security and foreign policy matters with his senior national security advisors and cabinet officials. Since its inception under President Truman, the Council's function has been to advise and assist the President on national security and foreign policies. The Council also serves as the President's principal arm for coordinating these policies among various government agencies.

Containment of 1946

The policy known as Containment set out to "contain" the spread of the Communist ideology throughout eastern Europe, and frankly, the rest of the world. The United States, through social and economic means, would prevent the further expansion of the Soviet empire.

THE TRUMAN PRESIDENCY: To Secure These Rights

Unfortunately, Congress and Truman fought while trying to secure these rights...To Secure These Rights was a document that wanted to abolish segragation and ensure equal treatment in housing, employment, education and the criminal justice system...To achieve this, Truman proposed national laws against lynching and the poll tax, and equal access to jobs and education. Congress fought him, so Truman instead issued an executive order to desegregate the armed forces...this was the first major change seen, and the Korean War was the first war fought with an integrated army.

ORIGINS OF THE COLD WAR: The Berlin Blockade and NATO

Unlike before, the Cold War suddenly took a militaristic turn. At the conclusion of World War II, each of the four powers assumed control of a section of Germany and Berlin....The United States, Britain and France introduced a separate currency into their zones, as a precursor to the West German government that would eventually side with them. In response, the Soviets cut off road and rail traffic from the zones of occupied Germany to Berlin. These three powers responded with an eleven-month airlift, causing Stalin to lift the blockade, and resulting in Truman's major victory. East and West Germany emerged, following in Berlin's footsteps and taking a chosen side in the Cold War.

NSC-68 of 1950

When Mao Zedong emerged victorious in the long Chinese civil war, the Truman administration refused to recognized the People's Republic of China, the new government that had formed, and the National Security Council, after all these many events, created a 1950 manifesto describing the Cold War as an epic struggle between "the idea of freedom" and the "idea of slavery under the grim oligarchy of the Kremlin".

ORIGINS OF THE COLD WAR: Imperialism and Decolonization

World War II increased American awareness of the problem of imperialism, and movements began to emerge, using the language of the American Constitution to demand their right to self-government. Liberal Democrats and black leaders urged Truman to set the ball running with worldwide decolonization, for a free world should not include colonies and empires. Unfortunately, the development of the Cold War meant that the United States lost focus when pressuring others to enforce the right to self-government, instead embracing the notion that those countries united with America in an anticommunist alliance, would be considered a member of the Free World, no matter how repressive the individual states were to it's people.

THE COLD WAR AND THE IDEA OF FREEDOM: Freedom and Totalitarianism

Yet another Cold War battlefield was the American understandings of history and culture...In America, the film and history industries produced movies such as "The Red Menace", to eliminate any embrace of Communism deep within America, and to appeal to other countries, the CIA secretly funded overseas publications, conferences, concerts and arts exhibits.