Transcript Truman and the Cold War, 1945-1952

Chapter 26 AMSCO
 Themes
 Containment
 Communism
 UN
 Nuclear Proliferation
Introduction
 WWII
 Isolationist to military superpower, world affairs leader
 Revitalized American Economy
 Cold War
 Democratic United States vs. Communist Soviet Union
I. Postwar America
A. 15 million American Soldiers returning
 Need jobs and housing
B. Economic Boom
 Increased Per Capita Income
 Increased Savings Accounts

Few consumer goods to buy during war
 Consumer demand for autos = roads and
economic/growth and prosperity
 Standard of Living

Americans had the highest in history by 1950s
C. GI Bill – Help for Veterans
 1) Economic Expansion
 Causes by gov. investment in ed and construction
 2) Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944 (GI Bill of
Rights)
 Education


Half of 15 million paid by government
2 million attended college
 Boom in higher ed
 Low Interest Loans – government backed

Bought houses, farms, and started businesses
3) Baby Boom
 Explosion in marriages and births
 50 million babies born between 1945-1960

Baby Boom Generation
 By 1960, 1/3 of women worked outside the home
4) Suburban Growth
 Levittown
 17,000 mass produced houses on Long Island
 Low interest rates on mortgages
 Gov. insured and tax deductible
 City to suburb move became affordable
 Single generation, majority of Americans became
suburbanites

Caused the development of the inner-city
 Increasingly poor and racially divided
5) Rise of the Sunbelt
 Southern States from Florida to California
 Warmer climate, lower taxes, and defense related jobs
attracted GI’s and families to the Sunbelt states from
Florida to California
 Military spending during Cold War

Helped shift industry, people , and political power
II. Postwar Politics
 A. Truman
 Democratic Senator from Missouri
 Decisive leader, honest, and unpretentious
 Attempted to continue New Deal Tradition of FDR
B. Economic Programs and Civil
Rights
1) Employment Act of 1946
 Truman proposed progressive measures: national health
insurance, increase in minimum wage, a bill to maintain
full employment.
 Bill was debated
 Watered down version enacted in of Employment Act
1946

Created Council of Economic Advisers
 Advised president and congress
 Conservative Congress throughout next seven years
hindered Truman’s domestic program
2.Inflation and Strikes
 Inflation
 Truman wanted to continue price controls and limit
inflation.
 South Dems. and Republicans recalled the OPA

Inflation rose 25% in first year and a half of peace
 Strikes
 4.5 million workers on strike in 1946


Railroads and mine strikes threatened national safety
UMW Strike
 Truman sent soldiers to keep mines operating
3. Civil Rights
 Truman was first modern president to utilize executive
office to challenge racial discrimination
 Established Committee on Civil Rights in 1946
 Strengthened Civil Rights division of Justice Dept.

Helped desegregate schools
 1948 – Ended racial discrimination in the gov. and
segregation in the military
 Supported funding for FEPC
 Block by Southern Dems.
B. Republican Control of Eightieth
Congress
 1) Republicans Congress
 1946 - Elected majorities in both houses



Shift to conservative referendum
Attempted to pass two tax cuts for wealthy
 Vetoed by Truman
Attempted to push back the New Deal
 2) 22 Amendment (Ratified 1951)
 President two full terms in office
 3) Taft Hartley Act (1947)
 Republican sponsored law to limit unions
 Truman vetoed law twice as, “slave labor”




Outlawed close shop (requiring workers to join a union)
Permitting states to pass right to work laws outlawing the
union shop
Outlawing secondary boycotts
Presidential ordered – 80 day “cooling off” period
 4) Election of 1948
 Progressive party


Truman’s aggressive foreign policy threatened world peace
Nominated Henry Wallace
 Dixiecrats
 Southern Dems. Nominated Strom Thurmond
 Republicans
 Nominated NY Governor Dewey
 Campaigned Cautiously
 Democrats
 Truman campaigned vigorously
 NY Times mistakenly declared Dewey the victor
 Truman won with 2 million in popular vote, 303 -189 electoral vote
 5) Fair Deal (1949)
 Truman proposed:
 National health care insurance
 Federal aid to education
 Civil rights legislation
 Funds for public housing
 New farm program
 Min wage and more workers under social security - only
aspect passed
 Most aspects defeated b/c of Conservative Congress
and pressing foreign policy concerns
III. Origins of the Cold War
A) Dominated International Relations from the late
1940s to the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991
 Occasional limited armed conflict
 Several instances dangerously close to nuclear war.
B) Truman’s Supporters
 Reasonable response to Soviet efforts to increase
Communist influence
C) Truman’s Critics
 Misunderstood and overreacted to USSR
 Conservatives said he was being soft on communism
 D) Soviet Relations to 1945
 Bolshevik Revolution was considered a threat to all
capitalistic countries
 US – Red Scare of 1919
 US did not recognize the Soviet Union Until 1933
 Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact
 Allies in WWII



US Soviet Alliance was one of convenience not of mutual trust
Stalin wanted a western front earlier
Conflicts were evident during the Big 3 Conferences at Yalta
and Potsdam
 E) The U.N. – Postwar Cooperation
 Founded in 1945
 General Assembly

Created to provide representations to all member nations
 UN Security Council



15 Members
Responsible for maintaining international security
5 Permanent Seats (Fiver Major Allies of WWII)



US, Great Britain, France, China, and the Soviet Union
 Hope was that nations would compromise on international issues
Atomic Energy Commission
Soviets rejected Bernard Baruch’s plan to regulate nuclear energy and
eliminate atomic weapons

Critics cited this as a lack of peaceful Soviet intentions
 UN World Bank (1944)


Created to fund re-building of the war torn world
Soviets declined to join
 Nuremberg Trials


Soviet participated in prosecution
22 Nazi War Criminals put on trial
 F. Satellites in Eastern Europe
 Soviet military forces occupied countries of Eastern and
Central Europe
 Elections were held by the Soviets as promised by Stalin at
Yalta


Results were manipulated in favor of the Communist candidates
Dictators loyal to Moscow were installed in power
 Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, and
Albania
 Apologists said Soviets needed buffer states (satellites) to protect
against another Hitler-like invasion
 Alarmed US and British
 Regarded Soviet Actions as the antithesis of FDR’s four freedoms
 Especially wanted independence for WWII
 G. Occupation Zones in Germany
 Division was meant to be temporary
 Controlled by Soviet, French, British, and the US
 Eastern Zone under Soviet Occupation

Evolved into a new Communist State
 (German Democratic Republic – Oxymoron?)
 Soviets wanted a weak Germany for security and war
reparations
 US refused war reparations – not to commit the same
mistakes of WWI
 Attempted to control all of Berlin
 H. Iron Curtain
 US Gets tough on Soviets


Canadian spy ring – atomic secretes
Soviet occupation of Northern Iran
 Churchill espoused that the Iron Curtain had fallen on
Europe


Called for Western democracies to halt the westward
expansion of communism
Did Churchill’s speech anticipate or help cause the cold war?
IV. Containment in Europe
A) Truman adopted the advice of three top advisers to
“contain” soviet aggression
 Sec. of State – General George Marshall
 Undersecretary of State – Dean Acheson
 Expert on Soviet Affairs – George Keenan
 Patience and containment of Russian expansionism would cause the
Soviets to back of world domination and live in peace with other
nations
B) Critics of Containment
 Walter Lippmann – some areas were vital others were not
C) Containment Supporters
 We had learned the lesson of Munich
 D. The Truman Doctrine
 Implemented for two reasons


1) A communist led uprising against the government in Greece
2) Soviet demand for Turkey’s Dardenelles
 The Doctrine

Truman asked Congress in March 1947 for 400 million in aid
to Greece and Turkey against “totalitarian” regimes.
 Gained bi-partisan support
 E) The Marshall Plan



Causes
 Europe lay in ruins after the war
 Harsh winter in 1946-1947
 Growth of communist party in France and Italy
 Economic depression in Europe
Details of the Plan
 Extensive economic aid to Europe
 Strengthen democratic governments
 12 billion approved by Congress for European Recovery Plan
 Soviet Union and Soviet Satellites declined economic support
Effects
 Helped Western Europe achieve sustained economic growth by the 1950s
 Ended real threat of Communism in the region
 Increased US Prosperity
 Increasing US exports to Europe
 Increased non-Communist West and the Communist East
 F) The Berlin Airlift
 Soviets cut off all land access to Berlin in June 1948
 US Response



Truman ordered US plans to fly in supplies West Berlin
Truman sent 60 atomic capable bombers to England bases
Truman’s stand was partly responsible for his 1948 victory
 Stalin’s Response
 Decided not to challenge the airlift
 May 1949 Soviets opened highways to Berlin
 Long Term Consequence
 Creation of West Germany (US Ally) and East Germany (Soviet
Satellite)
 G) NATO and National Security
 Since 1976 US avoided permanent alliances with European nations
 Truman broke tradition in 1949



Recommended the US join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
 Ten nations joined
General Eisenhower first Supreme Commander
Truman stationed troops in Western Europe
 Warsaw Pact (1955)
 Soviet answer to NATO
 H) National Security Act (1947)
 1) Created Department of Defense to coordinate Army, Navy, and Air
Force
 2) Created National Security Council (NSC) – foreign policy
 3) CIA – employ spies to gather information
 4) 1948 – permanent peacetime draft
 I) Atomic Weapons
 US and Soviet Scientists engaged in an arms race
 Vied for former German scientists who left Nazi Germany
after WWII.
 Soviet Bomb

First tested in 1949
 Hydrogen Bomb
 Approved by Hoover – 1000 times more powerful than the bomb
dropped on Hiroshima
 US National Security Council Recommendations
 Quadruple US spending on defense
 Form global alliances with non-Communist countries
 Convince public that a costly arms buildup was necessary.
 J) Evaluating US Policy
 Critics of NATO cite that defense buildup only
intensified Russian Fears and the arms race
 Supporter s of NATO


One of the most successful military alliances in history
In combination with nuclear weapons
 Outcome

Checked Soviet Expansion in Europe and maintained uneasy
peace until the Soviet Union collapsed
V. Cold War in Asia
A) Containment obtained in Europe was different to
achieve in Asia
B) Imperialist system in Asia crumbled after WWII
C) Less responsive to US influence due to legacy of
western colonialism
D) Japan became closely tied to the US defense system
 E) Japan
 Solely under control of the United States
 Douglas MacArthur – Supreme Commander for the
Allied Powers in Japan
 Tokyo Trials – Seven Japanese Generals were tried for
war crimes and executed
 Changes in Japan – new constitution (1947),
parliamentary democracy, renouncement of war,
liberated women, ended samurai feudal system, and
limited Japan’s military
 F)US Japanese Security Treaty
 Occupation of Japan ended in 1951


Japan signed a peace treaty: surrendered claims to Korea and islands in
Pacific
Second treaty ended US occupation and provided for permanent US
military bases
 G) The Philippines and the Pacific
 July 4, 1946 Philippines gained independence
 US retained important naval and air bases during Cold War
 H) China
 US supported Chiang Kai-Sheik's Nationalist party during the war

Loosing power due to inflation and corruption
 Civil war renewed between Chiang’s Nationalists and the Chinese
Communists led by Mao Zedong.

Gaining favor of poor landless peasants
 I) US Policy in China
 Sent George Marshall to negotiate the civil war
 Compromise fell apart in months
 Truman ruled out armed intervention and sent 400 million in aid to
Shek

80% of the money fell into communist hands
 J) Two Chinas
 By 1949 mainland China fell to the Communists
 Chang and the Nationalists took refuge in formerly controlled
Taiwan
 US refused to recognize Mao and the People’s Republic of China
until 1979


Republicans were alarmed and blamed the Democrats for the loss
Sino-Soviet Pact signed in 1950 served as proof of a Communist
Conspiracy
 K) The Korean War
 After the defeat of Japan
 Korea was divided at 38th Parallel


North was occupied by the Soviets
The US occupied the South
 By 1949 both armies withdrew
 North controlled by Communist leader Kim Il Sung
 South controlled by conservative nationalist Syngman Rhee
 1) North Korea Invades the South
 June 25, 1950 North Korean army surprised the world an possibly Moscow by
invading South Korea
 Truman called for a special session of the UN Security Council
 Took advantage of Soviet boycott and UN authorized force to defend South
Korea
 MacArthur commanded troops
 Congress supported use of US troops but failed to declare war.
 2) Counterattack
 North Korean forces pushed South Korean and
American forces to the tip of the Peninsula
 Inchon Assault




MacArthur led an assault behind enemy lines in North Korea
UN forces destroyed much of North Korean Army towards
China
China warned US of encroachment
1950 Masses of Chinese troops crossed border and dealt UN
and forces a defeat, one of greatest in US history, drove US out
of North Korea
 3) Truman Versus MacArthur
 MacArthur Stabilized fighting near the 28th Parallel
 Called for an expanded war




Including the bombing and invasion of mainland China
Truman cautioned MacArthur concerning public statements
MacArthur Recalled
 By Truman and Joint chiefs of Staff for insubordination
Truman and the Democrats were considered appeasers for not trying
to destroy communism in Asia
 4) Armistice
 Signed in 1953, first year of Eisenhower's presidency
 54,000 Americans had died in Korea
 5) Political Consequences
 a) Truman’s supporters believed containment policy in
Korea worked and stopped another World War
 b) Korean War used as justification for expanding the
military and building the new jet bomber (B-52) and
putting more troops overseas
 c) Republicans


Characterized Truman and the Dems. As soft on communism
“Dean Acheson's Cowardly College of Communist
Containment
VI. The Second Red Scare
 A) Truman’s administration believed Communists were
behind civil wars overseas and believed that Communist
conspirators had infiltrated the US State Department,
military, and all institutions of American Society
 B) Security and Civil Rights
 Organized Loyalty Review Board in 1947
 Investigated more than 3 million federal employees
 Thousands resigned or lost their jobs (1947-1951)
 C) Smith Act

Leaders of American Communist party jailed
 Dennis et al. v. United States
 Illegal to teach the overthrow of the gov. by force or to
associated with a group with this objectives
 D) McCarran Internal Security Act (1950)
 Over Truman’s veto Congress passed the Act



Unlawful to advocate or support est. of totalitarian gov.
Restricted employment and travel of those joining Communist
organizations
Authorized creation of detention camps for subversives
 E) Un-American activities
 Un American Activities Committee in House of Reps
 Established in 1939 to seek out Nazis, now chartered with finding
communists
 Investigated gov. officials, Boy Scouts, Hollywood film industry
 Many in Hollywood were blacklisted or tried for contempt
 ACLU
 Argued First Amendment protected free speech of unpopular
political parties
 F) Espionage Cases
 1) The fear of communist conspiracy supported by a series of cases.
 2) However methods used to identify Communist spies raised
serious questions
 3) Hiss Case (1950)




Worked for State Department
Nixon and Chambers supported charges
Accused of giving away US secrets
Public wondered?
 4) Rosenberg Case (1951)
 Klaus Fisch (UK Scientist) gave A Bomb secrets to the Russians
 Julius and Ethel Rosenberg
 Accused of providing A Bomb secrets and convicted of treason and
executed for allegedly spying for the Russians
 G) Rise of Joseph McCarthy
 1) Republican Senator from Wisconsin, used growing concern over communism
 2) In 1950 reelection speech stated that 250 Communists were still working for
US State Department.
 3) Became one of the most powerful men in America
 4) McCarthy’s Tactics


Unsupported Accusations about Communists in Government
Aimed to discredit Truman and wealthy Americans
 5) McCarthy Hearings
 1954 on Television – McCarthy was seen as a bully
 Republicans and Democrats joined in a Senate censure of McCarthy
 F) Truman in Retirement
 Second Red Scare, stalemate in Korea, the loss of China and scandals
surrounding Truman’s advisors made his prospects for reelection minimal
 In the election of 1952 he was highly criticized
 Historians now view Truman as one of the top ten US Presidents