Transcript Slide 1

The Cold War,
Part I: The
Origins of the
Cold War:
U.S.—Soviet
Relations During
and After WWII
What’s So Bad About Communism, Anyway?
1) Ideology
•Lenin overthrew the czar in 1917
gov’t based on:
•Atheism (anti-religion)
•No private property
•Expansive in nature
2) Methodology
•Seemed to have inspired dictatorship/poverty/oppression
•Under Stalin, Soviet Union followed policy of aggression
•Took half of Poland in 1939
•Took land from Finland prior to WWII
•Moved into Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia during WWII
•Promised elections in occupied regions, but . . . would
never truly happen
For these reasons, U.S. was generally opposed/fearful of
Communism before and after WWII
Wartime Tensions
Teheran—Nov. 1943
 The “Big Three” (FDR, Churchill, Stalin) met for the first time.
– Agreed:
• U.S. would open a 2nd front in the Spring of 1944 (doesn’t happen
until Junetension)
• USSR would invade Germany, then join war against Japan later . . .
which we’d rather avoid (see “Why is Communism so bad, anyway?”)
The Yalta Conference—Feb. 1945
 Second meeting of the “Big Three”
 Meeting was meant to try and reach an agreements on
what to do with the conquered Germany
 The Big Three agreed to:
– divide the country into four sectors
– free elections would be held in E. Europe (Sovietheld)
– USSR would enter
war vs. Japan--& we’d owe
t
them for it (luckily we won’t
need them after all!)
– the creation of a
new world peace
organization
(United Nations)
Potsdam—July 1945
 Truman, Atlee, and
Stalin.
 Agreed to:
– give Japan a warning
re: unconditional
surrender (successful
A-bomb test during
this meeting)
– hold war-crime trials
of Nazis post-war
(Nuremberg)
– Tensions increasingly
evident . . . Truman
not nice to Stalin.
Behind the Historic Meeting at the Elbe
•1941 alliance between the
U.S. and U.S.S. R. was a
marriage of convenience –
Hitler was our common
enemy.
•Tensions rose as the
promised Western front
was delayed until 1944
•Nonetheless, England,
France, the U.S., and the
Soviet Union had the right,
as victors, to decide what
post-War Europe would look
like . . .
U.S.A vs. USSR
Aims in Rebuilding Europe
USA
USSR
•
Encourage democracy
•
Encourage communism
•
Rebuild Europe to ensure
economic stability
•
Wanted to control Eastern Europe
to create a balance of power.
•
Wanted free elections and a new
world order with self-determination
•
Keep Germany divided and weak;
trouble always starts with German
unification
•
Open up new friendly economic
markets to the US.
•
•
Reunite Germany; it would be
more secure, less bitter, and more
productive
Create “friendly communist
neighbors” under Soviet “spheres
of influence” known as satellite
nations
Planning the Post-War World—
The United Nations = Uneasy Partners
•Formed in San Francisco, April, 1945—Congress quickly
accepted the charter
•Soviets insisted each of the permanent members (GB, US,
USSR, China, and France) of the 15 member Security Council
have veto power for any major UN decision
•Soviets refused membership in the new World Bank—saw it
as an instrument of capitalism.
•Meanwhile, the USSR was NOT leaving Eastern Europe, nor
were fair elections taking place . . .
In this climate, U.S. leaders and policy advisors had to decide
what U.S. foreign policy would be in this post-war world . . . a
policy that would be largely based upon our relationship with the
Soviet Union as the other major world power emerging from WWII
How should the U.S. proceed in this tense
atmosphere? How should we handle the Soviets??
Truman’s options:
1. Impose an American Peace
2. Contain Soviet Communism
3. Co-exist and Compromise
Truman, with advice from George Kennan in his
“Long Telegram” (AKA “Sources of Soviet Conduct)
CONTAINMENT
• “Communism” was a cover for
despotism/crimes
• Must meet this with “unalterable counter-
force at every point where they show signs of
encroaching upon the interests of a peaceful
and stable world.”
• Called for a “long-term, patient but firm and
vigilant containment of Russian expansive
tendencies.”
And so it began . . .
• Cold War (1946—1991): the intense
economic, political, military, and
ideological rivalry between the U.S. and
Soviet Union after WWII, hostility
usually stopped just short of military
conflict.
Churchill’s Iron Curtain Speech
March 1946
• “From Stettin in
the Balkans, to
Trieste in the
Adriatic, an iron
curtain has
descended
across the
Continent.”
The Cold War [1945-1991]:
An Ideological Struggle
Soviet &
Eastern Bloc
Nations
[“Iron Curtain”]
GOAL  spread worldwide Communism
US & the
Western
Democracies
GOAL  “Containment”
of Communism & the
eventual collapse of the
Communist world.
[George Kennan]
METHODOLOGIES:
1. Espionage [KGB vs. CIA]
2. Arms Race [nuclear escalation]
3. Ideological Competition for the minds and hearts
of Third World  “proxy wars” or “hot spots”
4. Bi-Polarization of Europe [NATO vs. Warsaw Pact]
Containment in Action--$$
The Truman
Doctrine (1947)
•
Weak gov’ts in
post-war Greece
and Turkey were
facing Soviet
pressure.
•
The U.S. gave
Greece & Turkey
$400 million in
aid to stabilize
gov’t and fight
Soviet
influence—and
was successful.
Marshall Plan (March 1947)
“European Recovery
Program” designed by
Secretary of State,
George Marshall.
The U. S. should provide
aid to all European nations
that need it. This move
“is not against any country or
doctrine, but against hunger, poverty,
desperation, and chaos.”
$12.5 billion of US aid to Western
Europe secured post-war recovery...
Soviet Union refused the offer of
aid.
First Military/Political Issue Connected to
Containment: Post-War Germany
•Post-WWII, German occupation zones
were meant to be temporary
•US, UK, and France occupied W.
Germany, USSR occupied E. Ger.
•All four powers occupied Berlin, the
German capital in the Eastern zone.
•Soviets would gradually tighten their grip on
East Germany-demanding huge
reparations—whereas the U.S. did NOT
want to subject West Germany to
reparations . . . Tensions continued to rise.
Berlin Blockade and Airlift (June 1948—May 1949)
•U.S. and allies had established
the democratic “Federal
Republic of Germany” in West
Germany, and struggled to
maintain democratic gov’t in
West Berlin
•Soviets uncomfortable with
Western-style gov’t in the
middle of their zone.
•June 1948, Soviets blocked all
road, river, and rail access to
West Berlin, with the intent to
starve them out and force U.S.
and allies to abandon the city
(needed food, coal, etc,)
•Risking war with the
Soviets, British and
American planes flew 7,000
tons of supplies to Berlin
week after week for nearly
a year before Soviets lifted
to blockade on May 12,
1949.
1949: A Pivotal Year
1. The Soviet Union exploded
its first A-bomb
Now there were two nuclear
superpowers!
2. China (under Mao) became
communist!despite U.S.
efforts to fund the
nationalist cause.
 Less than 5 years after
the end of WWII, the
world was divided into two
camps…and the first “hot
spot” in the Cold War was
about to ignite . . .
The Movement Toward “Common Defense”
•NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) was created in 1949. An
attack against one was an attack against all.
 United States
 Luxemburg
 Belgium
 Netherlands
 Britain
 Norway
 Canada
 Portugal
 Denmark
 1952: Greece &
Turkey
 France
 Iceland
 Italy
 1955: West Germany
 1983: Spain
•The Soviets responded with the Warsaw Pact in 1955.
}
U. S. S. R.
}
Albania
}
Bulgaria
}
Czechoslovakia
}
East Germany
}
Hungary
}
Poland
}
Rumania
The Cold War:
Part II
Tensions Heat Up Around
the World
Korean War
[1950-1953]
The Korean War
The US Responds
• Truman believed this was where the US needed to take
a stand against communism to prove containment
worked.
• Truman called for a military response, but called upon
the UN for action.
• UN agreed and appointed General Douglas MacArthur
as leader of the military action.
The Korean War:
Results
• Peace Talks – Long & Drawn out because of:
– Disputes over boundary lines
– Issues of POWS
– Unsettled Cold War disputes
• Armistice not signed until July 1953 (Eisenhower)
• Results:
– Creation of a demilitarized zone
– 38th parallel remains in effect
– 37,000 American lives lost; 60,000 UN troops
The Domestic Polices of the Truman Era
(Post-War era)
• Democrats had split between Truman & Dixiecrats (Strom
Thurmond)
 “Give ‘em hell, Harry!”
Truman’s Fair Deal
• Outlined in the State of the Union Address in 1949.
• An extension of New Deal liberalism
• Designed to enlarge federal responsibility for economic and
social welfare for Americans
• Gave immediate attention to:
– Civil Rights
– the importance of African-Americans to the democracy of America (and
to the Democratic Party)Desegregated the military in 1948!!
– Creating a higher standard of living and other benefits to the common
American
• Congress only passed
– A higher minimum wage
– An increase and extension of social security
– The National Housing Act of 1949 Federal $$ for public housing, lowinterest loans, and urban renewal.)
The Cold War
Part III:
The Cold War at Home & The
Second Red Scare
Growing Fear of Communism
• Communism takes control in China
• Korean Conflict & the 38th parallel
• Soviets Develop Atomic Weapons!!!!
•Families built fallout
shelters in their
backyards and students
practiced “duck and
cover” drills at school.
Two big concerns:
Nuclear Annihilation
Communist Conspiracy in the U.S.

Fighting the Spread at Home
• HUAC- House Un-American Activities Committee
– a congressional committee formed to search out
communists and disloyal citizens.
– Involved Congressional hearings
– Major case was that of the Hollywood Ten—
entertainers whose work criticized “American
values”
• Hollywood Ten
– 10 “unfriendly” witnesses testified with reluctance to
Congress—and refused to answer most questions.
– Led to a “blacklist” in Hollywood of actors, writers,
and directors—this was tantalizing news!
– All 10 were sentenced to 6—12 months in jail.
•  Similar activities in state/local gov’t, esp. loyalty oaths
Fighting the Spread at Home:
The Spy Cases
Alger Hiss--FDR golden boy, at Yalta, Carnegie Peace
Initiative
– 1948 Whittaker Chambers accused Alger Hiss of spying for the
USSR.
– A microfilm was produced with government documents and was
linked to Hiss’s typewriter.
– Could not prove espionage or treason, but convicted him on perjury.
– Richard Nixon led this charge.
– If HISS could be a spy . . . Who else in the State Department might
be!?
Fighting the Spread at Home:
The Spy Cases
The Rosenbergs
• 9/23/1949 – Soviets explode
Atomic bomb - - How???
• 1950 British physicist Klaus
Fuch admitted giving USSR
info on the Atomic Bomb.
• Fuchs points to Ethel & Julius
Rosenberg (Julius’ brother
worked on the Manhattan
Project).
• Rosenbergs pleaded the 5th.
• They were arrested, tried,
found guilty executed via the
electric chair in 1953.
Fighting the Spread at Home:
McCarthyism
Joseph McCarthy
• Widely known as the “worst
senator” in Congress.
• Up for re-election & looking for
a “hot topic”
• Chose communism & stated
that “communists were taking
over the government”.
• Blind accusations caused
panic.
• Public Senate hearings.
• Mistake & Downfall :
– Communists in the army
The Cold War: Part IV
The Eisenhower Era/Living on the
Edge
1952-1960
The Eisenhower Era
1952-1960
Election of 1952
• “Ike” defeats Adalai
Stevenson
• Promised to end the war in
Korea
• Well-loved war hero
• Truman seen as “wishywashy,” in comparision
Introducing Richard Nixon …
--Claimed fame during Hiss
senate hearings.
--Whispers of scandal briefly
disrupted Election 1952—until
Nixon took to the airwaves . . .
Eisenhower, “Modern Republicanism” & the
Hidden-Hand Presidency
• Worked most of his presidency behind the scenes.
• Effective at accomplishing things, just not always in the public
eye.
• Wanted to create a balance from the FDR/Truman Era.
• Hoped to decrease the need for federal intervention in social &
economic issues, but avoid harsh conservative New Deal
rollbacks—increased Soc. Sec. & min.
wage.
• Created such institutions as:
•
•
•
•
Department of Health
Dept. of Education
Dept. of Welfare
Highway Act of 1956
Eisenhower & the Cold War 1952-1960
Soviet Aggression
• Warsaw Pact--1955
• Nikita Khrushchev—took the reigns in
1956
• New Soviet leader – “peaceful
coexistence”
Rolled the tanks into Hungary!
• Sputnik
• 1957 – Soviets launch the first
unmanned satelliteNASA
• Panic strikes America
“Brinksmanship” &
“Massive Retaliation”
• W/ advice from Sec. of State
John Foster Dulles, Ike
embraces a “New Look” in our
Cold War strategy:
 fewer conventional forces,
MORE A-BOMBS and
HYDROGEN BOMBS!!
 Ideally, the thought of
“MAD” would prevent war…
“Peaceful Coexistence:” Another Near Miss . . .
• As nuclear arsenals expand, Ike & Khrushchev began arms
reduction negotiations in 1960 . . . Then the USSR shot down a
US spy plane over the Soviet Union . . . Oops!
U-2 Incident
• Spy plane (U-2) flying missions over Soviet Union
• Suppose to fly high enough to be undetected by radar
• Ike wanted these stopped – fear if caught it could hurt
USA & USSR relationship of “peaceful coexistence”
• Pilot Francis Gary Powers shot down 1,300 miles into
Russian territory
• Ike denies – weather balloon; Khrushchev calls him out
Truman
“Containment”
[George Kennan]
1.
Marshall Plan
2.
Truman Doctrine
3.
Berlin Airlift
4.
NATO
5.
Korean War
vs.
Eisenhower
“Brinksmanship”
[John Foster Dulles]
1.
Massive retaliation/ “New
Look”.
2.
M. A. D.
3.
“Domino Theory” early
involvement in/aid to
Vietnam
4.
CIA & covert operations—
Iran, Suez, Guatemala,
Lebanon
5.
Eisenhower
DoctrineBrinksmanship
DBQ
Analyze the responses of FDR’s
administration to the problems of the Great
Depression. How effective were these
responses? How did they change the role of
the federal government?
The Cold War:
Social Changes in America:
“Conservatism, Conformity,
and Contentment”
OR
“Anxiety, Alienation, and
Social Unrest” ??
Baby
Boom
It seems to me that every other young housewife I see
is pregnant.
-- British visitor to America, 1958
1957  1 baby born every 7 seconds
Suburban Living
Levittown, L. I.:
“The American Dream”
1949  William Levitt produced 150 houses per week.
$7,990 or $60/month with no down payment.
Suburban Living:
k 1 story high
k 12’x19’ living room
k 2 bedrooms
k tiled bathroom
k garage
k small backyard
k front lawn
By 1960  1/3 of the U. S. population in the suburbs.
Suburban Living:
The Typical TV Suburban Families
The Donna
Reed Show
1958-1966
Leave It
to Beaver
1957-1963
Father Knows Best
1954-1958
The Ozzie & Harriet Show
1952-1966
Consumerism
A Changing Workplace
Automation:
1947-1957  factory workers decreased by
4.3%, eliminating 1.5 million
blue-collar jobs.
By 1956  more white-collar than blue-collar
jobs in the U. S.
Computers  Mark I (1944). First IBM
mainframe computer (1951).
Corporate Consolidation:
By 1960  600 corporations (1/2% of all
U. S. companies) accounted for
53% of total corporate income.
WHY?? Cold War military buildup.
New Corporate Culture:
“The Company Man”
The Culture of the Car
Car registrations:
1945  25,000,000
1960  60,000,000
2-car families doubles from 1951-1958
1958 Pink Cadillac
1959 Chevy Corvette
The Culture of the Car
America became a more (seemingly)
homogeneous nation because of the
automobile.
First McDonald’s
(1955)
Howard
Johnson’s
Drive-In
Movies
1955  Disneyland opened in Southern California.
(40% of the guests came from outside
California, most by car.)
1946 
1950 
Television
7,000 TV sets in the U. S.
50,000,000 TV sets in the U. S.
Mass Audience  TV celebrated traditional
American values.
Truth, Justice, and the American way!
Television – The Western
Davy Crockett
King of the Wild Frontier
The Lone Ranger
(and his faithful
sidekick, Tonto):
Who is that masked man??
Teen Culture
In the 1950s  the word “teenager” entered
the American language.
By 1956  13 mil. teens with $7 bil. to spend
a year.
1951  “race music”  “ROCK ‘N ROLL”
Elvis Presley  “The King”
Teen Culture
“Juvenile Delinquency”
???
1951  J. D. Salinger’s
A Catcher in the Rye
Marlon Brando in
The Wild One
(1953)
James Dean in
Rebel Without a
Cause (1955)
Teen Culture
Behavioral Rules of the 1950s:
U Obey Authority.
U Control Your Emotions.
U Don’t Make Waves  Fit in
with the Group.
U Don’t Even Think About Sex!!!
Well-Defined Gender Roles
Changing Sexual Behavior:
Alfred Kinsey:
1948  Sexual Behavior in the Human
Male
1953  Sexual Behavior in the Human
Female
v
v
Premarital sex was common!
Extramarital affairs were frequent
among married couples!
Kinsey’s results are an assault on the family
as a basic unit of society, a negation of moral
law, and a celebration of licentiousness.
-- Life magazine, early 1950s
Contradictions in Women’s Lives
• Baby boom women expected to follow rigid social
gender roles.
• Men were breadwinners, women belonged in the
home
• Betty Friedan & the Feminine Mystique encouraged
a break in stereotypes which stated:
– “the highest value and the only commitment for
women is the fulfillment of their own femininity”
The Urban Crisis:
White Flight
•
New highway systems made travel to and from work easier
•
Whites began to settle in the suburbs and the cities felt the
effect
•
Tax revenues in cities shrank, there was a decay in
infrastructure, and growing racial fears developed
•
White Flight left the cities to the poor blacks and the middle
class whites moved to the suburbs.
•
Two separate America’s developed
1) White suburb society
2) Inner city populated by blacks, Latino, immigrant