Truman/Cold War/1948 Election Terms
Issues after WWII
1. destruction in nations where fighting was 2. shape of new world and new political alliances
Two issues of US policy in Asia
1. reconstruction of Japan 2. Chinese Revolution
Berlin Crisis
Berlin was divided and "controlled" by more than one country; when England, France, and US decided to merge theirs into one, USSR imposed a blockade on it
Red Scare
Fear of a rise in Communism in the US following WWII because of nations such as China, the Soviet Union, Vietnam, and North Korea being Communist
"Do-nothing Congress"
Republican Congress elected in the 1946 midterm election that fought against Truman, but there strong anti-labor laws and opposition to Truman's policies led to his reelection
Eightieth Congress
Republicans took control of congress in the 1946 midterm elections
Domino effect
Theory by Eisenhower that if one nation fell to Communism, the surrounding nations would fall as well This theory justified containment
Truman Doctrine
Truman asked Congress for $400 million to support Greece and Turkey because they were resisting communist insurgents
Truman and Civil Rights
Truman created the President's Committee on Civil Rights and issued an executive order forbidding racial discrimination in hiring of federal employees and another order ending segregation in the Armed Forces
Truman recalls "do-nothing congress"
Truman recalled the Eightieth congress and challenged them to put their newly-drafted, very republican platform into action, which meant that for 2 weeks they passed no legislation; Truman then went about deriding them for doing nothing
Truman/Dewey Election 1948
Truman was not likely to be reelected; Truman trailed his chief opponent, Thomas Dewey; to save his chances he recalled the 80th Congress, showing that they didn't do enough; he was reelected, surprising many; carried a democratic majority into Congress
Segregationists leave Democratic party
Truman's policies supporting civil rights led many of those Democrats in the South to abandon the party and support Strom Thurmond in the 1948 presidential election This allowed for Congress to become dominated by Republicans
Proxy Wars
US in Korea and Vietnam; hot wars
Chinese Revolution
US sided with Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalist government; communists overthrew the Nationalists and exiled them to Taiwan; US did not recognize threat of Mao Zedong's communist regime
containment
US would not instigate a war with Soviet Union, but would come to defense of countries in danger of Soviet takeover
North Atlantic Treaty Organization
US's defense alliance with Canada and countries in Western Europe
Berlin Blockade
USSR tried to keep England, France, and US from taking over the city; Truman continued to send in food and supplies to the portion under Western control; continued for almost 1 year
National Security Council
a group of foreign affairs advisers who work for the president
McCarthy's downfall
accused the Army of harboring communists; revealed he was lying and made a fool of on Ed Murrow's TV show and the Army-McCarthy hearings
strikes in essential industries
annoyed many Americans because they affected all other industries and the lives of each and every citizen
Propaganda in US and USSR during Cold War
each country portrayed the other as trying to take over the world
Alger Hiss
found guilty of consorting with a communist spy; brought on further a fear of "the enemy within"
seizure of the mines
government intervened and seized the mines when a settlement couldn't be reached
Edward R. Murrow
host of TV show which exposed McCarthy
President's Committee on Civil Rights
issued a report calling for an end to segregation and poll taxes, and for more aggressive enforcement of anti-lynching laws; one of the things that Truman did which alienated voters
Mao Zedong
leader of Communist insurgents during Chinese Revolution
Army-McCarthy hearings
on TV, showed that McCarthy was lying about people, and Army members, being communist
United Mine Workers
organized strikes of mine workers; annoyed Americans because it took power away from other industries, shutting down steel foundries, plants, and more
Cold War
power struggle; no actual combat; US and Soviet Union didn't fight in the war, but US fought Proxy wars
Taft-Hartley Acts
prohibited "closed shops," restricted labor's right to strike, prohibited use of union funds for political purposes, and gave he government power to intervene in strikes; passed over Truman's veto
"Dixiecrats"
segregationist democrats, who started a racism outbreak after advances like Jackie Robinson in baseball; left the party to support Thurman for president
Joseph McCarthy
senator who became very famous; climbed to have a list of communists working for the State Department; lead a campaign of innuendo that ruined innocent peoples' lives; never actually uncovered a communist, but tried to accuse so many people with hearings; got people in all sorts of professions "blacklisted" for ever associating with a communist, preventing them from working
Marshall Plan
sent over $12 billion to Europe to help rebuild its cities and economy; in return countries were expected to become allies of America
Central Intelligence Agency
the United State's spy network
Investigations of federal employees
those found to have either previous association with communists or a "moral" weakness (alcohol, homosexuality, etc - made them easy blackmail targets) were fired on the spot
"Closed shops"
union-only work environments
Long Telegram
was the idea for containment; a telegram that Kennan sent to Washington from his duty station in Germany advising Truman to contain Communist expansion
