The Cold War

1. The Cold War Chapter 29

2. Origins of the Cold War A. Soviet-American Tensions • Soviet-American Tensions • WWII = a break in the hatred… long history of mistrust • Reasons for American hostility towards USSR • fundamental hatred towards communism • anti-private property • limited capitalist expansion • Soviet regime first act was treaty that took them out of WWI • Soviet call for world revolution against capitalism • Stalin and the Great Purges

3. Soviet-American Tensions Continued • Reasons for Russian hostility towards USA • Fundamental hatred towards capitalism • inhumane economic expansion • USA sent troops to fight against Bolsheviks during revolution • West excluded Russia from policy after WWI • Versailles 1919 • Munich 1938 • WWII good for relations • Americans portrayed Stalin as “Uncle Joe” • Russians portrayed American troops and FDR as brave and heroic

4. Soviet-American Tensions Continued Again • WWII bad for relations • Russia • allied with Germany • invaded Finland and Baltic states • brutality towards Polish allies • United States • delayed invasion of western front • Opposing visions of post war world • Atlantic Charter 1941 • One World model put forward by USA • self determination • no military alliances, but one international organization to protect every country • Russia (and Britain) had different ideas • control territories important to strategic interest • each “great power” secures spheres in the interest of each country • peacemaking process would become a form of warfare

5. Wartime Diplomacy • USA and Britain separate war plan from Russia: Morocco Jan 1943 • Stalin wanted immediate invasion on Western Front • USA and UK refused but promised Axis surrender • Nov. 1943 Teheran, Iran: all three meet • Problems • FDR bargaining tool, gone: Russia now pushing back Germans • One World double standard: Stalin allowed no say in Italy • Future of Poland unresolved • Success • Stalin agrees to help in Pacific once Europe is done • FDR promises invasion in less than six months • All three agree to international organization

6. Yalta • . from tension to amicability • Churchill and Stalin meet in Moscow (no FDR) over Civil War in Greece • February 1945 all three meet in Yalta • FDR in bad health • Stalin power play • Russian troops miles from Berlin • USA needs help in Pacific • No interest in international organization • Agreements • Kurile Islands and other lost territory to Japan • New international organization… “United Nations”

7. Yalta Continued • Unresolved Issues • Poland: “London” vs “Lublin” • Germany • reparations demanded by Stalin • dismemberment wanted by Stalin • “zones of occupation” • Berlin in Russia’s zone • Conclusions • only a loose set of principles • each country has different interpretation • Soviet Union began to move to set up pro-communist government in Eastern Europe shortly after Yalta • United Nations • General Assembly • Security Council of five (USA, France, England, Russia, China)… each member with “veto” power • United Nations Charter created in San Francisco

8. II. The Souring of the Peace A. The Failure of Potsdam • Roosevelt believed that Stalin could be reasoned with… Truman did not… in office two weeks before he announces that he’s going to “get tough” on communism • believes USSR violated Yalta • attacks Soviet Prime Minister over Poland issue • Limited leverage for Truman to stand on • USSR already in Poland • Germany already divided • USA still in a war in Pacific • Conceded Poland • Truman, Churchill/Altee and Stalin meet in Postdam • USA refuses reparations • Ensures Germany is to remain divided

9. The China Problem Chiang Kai-shek • Chiang Kai-shek head of nationalist government • corrupt • ignorant to problems • Mao Zedong, a communist revolutionary, rising in power • USA sends military aid to Chiang • “China Lobby” in the United States • Rather than send full military assistance to help the failing Nationalists, USA decided to assist in rebuilding Japan

10. The Containment Doctrine • shift from ideal of unified, “open” world to “contain” threat of communism • GB announces it will no longer support democratic governments in Greece and Turkey • Truman Doctrine • influenced by American diplomat George Kennan • assisting “people resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities” • $400 million to Turkey and France • Caused Russia to withdrawal aid to communist forces in Turkey and Greece • Result would influence US foreign policy for the next 40 years • expansion of communism seen as threat to democracy (and capitalism) • fear of “domino effect” : one country falls (all) others will fall • attack all forces of communism everywhere

11. *Fake Smile* The Marshall Plan • integral part of containment policy was economic reconstruction of Western Europe • humanitarian concern • economic drain to US unless fixed • rebuild market for American goods • if not assisted by USA, assisted by communist forces… become communist government • June 1947 Secretary of State George Marshall announced a plan to provide economic assistance to all European nations that would join in drafting a program for recovery. • offered to USSR, but they quickly refused, along with the countries they controlled in Eastern Europe • 16 Western European countries signed up • Economic Cooperation Administration • $12 billion in aid given to Europe to spark economic revival • Results • By 1950 European Industrial production up 64% • Communist strength in participating countries declines

12. Mobilization at Home • 1947-48 series of measures designed to maintain American military power at near-wartime levels • new military draft and Selective Service System • doubled efforts in atomic research… nuclear weapons take a central role in military arsenal • Atomic Energy Commission established in 1946 supervisory body charged with overseeing all nuclear research • National Security Act 1947 expanded powers of the government to pursue international goals • Department of Defense oversee all branches of the armed services • National Security Council (NSC) operating out of White House to advise president on foreign and military policy • Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) responsible for collecting information through both open and covert methods

13. The Road to NATO • Truman agrees with England and France to merge the three western zones of Germany into a new West German republic • Marshal Tito leads Yugoslavia into a separate communist state… USA offers assistance • Stalin responds by imposing a tight blockade around western sectors of Berlin • Stalin wanted western powers to abandon post in Soviet controlled territory • Truman refused to comply • didn’t want to risk war through military response • airlift supplies to west Berliners

14. The Road to NATO Continued • Berlin Airlift • food, fuel and supplies • lasted ten months and transported nearly 2.5 million tons of material • Spring of 1949 Stalin lifts now ineffective blockade • October 1949 official division between Germany (Communist East and Republic West) became official

15. The Road to NATO Continued Again • Division in Germany accelerated the consolidation of what was already in effect an alliance among the United States and the countries of Western Europe….April 4, 1949 twelve nations signed an agreement establishing the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) • declared that an armed attack on one member would be considered an attack against all • fused European countries that had been fighting one another for centuries into a strong and enduring alliance • Spurred USSR to create it’s own alliance with all the communist governments of Eastern Europe: 1955 Warsaw Pact

16. The Open-Ended Crisis • USA believed to have the upper hand… series of events change things • Sept 1949 USSR detonates atomic weapon… years earlier than predicted • Collapse of Chiang Kai-shek’s nationalist gov’t… rise of Mao and communism in China • NSC-68… a national security council report that USA must establish a firm and active leadership in a non communist world • report also called for a major expansion of American military • defense budget four times greater than previously projected… BUILD UP is on

17. III. American Politics and Society After the WarA. The Problems of Reconversion • use of atomic weapons in Japan ended war sooner than expected and it hurt the economy • Truman was in a tough position to heal the economy quickly, against the advice of economic planners • fear that there would be a return to Depression after war, but that didn’t happen • Consumer demand helped compensate instant decrease in war contracts

18. The Problems of Reconversion Continued • GI Bill of Rights” Servicemen’s Readjustment Act • Inflation • Labor Unrest • John Lewis led UNW on strike shutting down coal fields for forty days • Railroads suffer a total shutdown • Reconversion very hard for women and minorities who would lose jobs to make room for white males

19. The Fair Deal Rejected • Outline of Plan • expansion of Social Security benefits • raising of the legal minimum wage from 40 to 65 cents an hour • programs to ensure employment through aggressive federal spending and investment • Fair Employment Practices Act • Long range environmental and public works planning • And…. National Health Insurance • “Had Enough?” Republicans win control of both houses of Congress in 1946

20. The Fair Deal Rejected Continued • New Congress quickly moves to do away with New Deal reforms • “Eat less” Senator Robert Taft • limited Social Security • limited education • limited reclamation and power projects in the West • attacked Wagner Act of 1935… resented power of unions • Taft-Hartley Labor Act of 1947 made illegal the “closed shop”…. Places where people couldn’t be hired without joining a union first • Truman vetoes it but both Houses overrule him on the same day • Made difficult the organizing of workers who had never been in unions before: women and minorities

21. The Election of 1948 • Truman and advisors believed that America was not ready to abandon New Deal • proposed reforms in 1948 knowing they would be shot down by Congress in an effort to raise election issues • Troubles for Democrats • Southern Dems. Leave convention in response to Truman’s proposed civil rights bill • form States Rights Party… nominate Strom Thurmond as candidate for president • left wing leaves and forms Progressive Party and nominates Henry A. Wallace as presidential candidate • Democrats wanted to kick out Truman and have Eisenhower run for president Truman Truman

22. The Election of 1948 Continued • Thomas E. Dewey, governor of New York, receives Republican nomination… early favorite • had “insurmountable” lead at the polls, so most media stopped paying for the polls to take place • “statesmanlike” campaign… refused to antagonize anyone • Truman turned fire away from him and towards Republican Congress • traveled 32,000 miles • gave 356 speeches • “…I’m going to give them hell.” • Most dramatic upset in the history of presidential elections • Truman wins with 49.5% of the vote 303 electoral votes • Democrats regain both houses of Congress Thomas E. Dewey

23. Democrats in Senate more hostile to Fair Deal than Conservatives no national health insurance no increased spending in education not able to persuade Congress to accept the civil rights legislation… which would have… made lynching a federal crime provided federal protection to blacks to vote abolished the poll tax BUT Truman is able to achieve many reforms raised minimum wage from 40 to 75 cents an hour approved an important expansion of the Social Security system National Housing Act of 1949 Truman himself battled on many fronts to fight segregation (FDR 1941 – Executive Order 8802 – protected Af. Am’s in military jobs) Truman gives Exec. Order 9981 = desegregation of military! The Fair Deal Revived

24. IV. The Korean War Fair Deal plans would lose priority through a sudden change of events. June 24, 1950 the armies of communist North Korea swept across the border separating North and South Korea. South Korea was occupied by pro-Western forces. The USA would soon commit itself in it’s first battle of the Cold War.

25. The Divided Peninsula • By 1945 both Russia and USA had sent troops to North Korea and neither wanted to leave… instead they divided the country along the 38th parallel • Russians depart in 1949, but leave behind a communist gov’t in North Korea with Soviet equipped army • Syngman Rhee left in charge of South • nominally democratic • weak military used to suppress internal opposition

26. Invasion • Not clear if Russians pushed for invasion, but clear that they supported it once it began • June 27, 1950 Truman ordered limited military assistance to South Korea • UN • US appeals to UN • USSR boycotting at the time in response to decision to refuse communist China • US gains approval, gains international assistance to support Rhee gov’t • Truman appoints Douglas MacArthur to command UN operations in North Korea • First physical expression of NSC-68 • aim was not only to “contain” but “liberate” • Truman gave MacArthur permission to pursue N.Korean forces into their own territory • Goal was “a unified, independent and democratic Korea.”

27. From Invasion to Stalemate • For several weeks, things go smoothly • MacArthur takes N.Korea capital Pyongyang • China alarmed by movement of American forces towards it’s border • eight divisions of the Chinese army enter the war by November • UN offensive stalled and then collapsed • Within weeks, communist forces push Americans back below the 38th parallel and recapture Seoul • By March UN forces able to reclaim much of the territory they had recently lost • take back Seoul • push communists back North of the 38th parallel

28. From Invasion to Stalemate Continued • Stalemate • Truman wanted to avoid war with China… WWIII • General MacArthur resisted limits on his military discretion (made public comments about Truman) • wanted to attack China • bomb Chinese forces • drop series of atom bombs on the coast of China • Truman fires MacArthur on April 11, 1951 • General receives hero’s welcome on the homefront • Hostility towards Truman • Peace negotiations begin at Panmujom in July 1951… but negotiations and war would wage on until 1953

29. Limited Mobilization • Wartime control • Railroad workers walk off the job in 1951: Truman seizes the railroad to keep economy running • Steel strike 1952: Truman seizes the steel mills • 6-3 decision, Supreme Court rules that Truman exceeded his authority • Good effects • pumped new government funds into the economy at a point that many believed a recession was about to begin • Bad effects • 140,000 Americans dead or wounded (Korean War) • USA recently wins greatest war in history, but can’t settle a minor boarder skirmish? • caused intense anxiety towards communism in USA

30. V. The Crusade Against Subversion • Reasons for Fear • the “loss” of China to communism • Korean stalemate • Soviet development of atomic bomb

31. HUAC and Alger Hiss • Republicans search for an issue to attack the Democrats • 1947 Republicans win control of Congress and hold very public meetings to prove that the government had tolerated communist subversion… name of organization: House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) • HUAC first turned to Hollywood movie industry… argued that communists had invaded Hollywood and tainted America with propaganda • “Hollywood Ten jailed” for contempt (refusal to answer questions) • Hollywood adopts a blacklist in an attempt to protect it’s public image • Alger Hiss • former high-ranking member of the State Department • accused of passing papers to high ranking communist officials, but cannot be tried for espionage because of statue of limitations (7 years passed) • freshmen congressional rep. Richard Nixon pushes for trial • Hiss convicted of perjury and forced to serve several years in prison • Impact • cast doubt on liberal Democrats • made possible for Americans to believe that communists had actually infiltrated the government

32. The Federal Loyalty Program and the Rosenberg Case • In response to Republican attacks, and due to the fact that an election was approaching, the Truman administration initiated a widely publicized program to review the “loyalty” of federal employees • In August 1950, president authorized sensitive agencies to fire people deemed “bad security risks” • by 1951 more than 2,000 government employees had resigned under pressure and 212 had been dismissed • Amid crazed public fervor, a Democrat Congress tries to show itself as “anti-communist” • Passes McCarran Internal Security Act which required all communist organizations to register wit the government and to publish their records • Detonation of Nuclear Weapon in 1949 convinces America that military secrets had been passed to the Russians

33. The Federal Loyalty Program and the Rosenberg Case Continued • Ethel and Julius Rosenburg convicted of espionage April 1951 • Klaus Fuchs confesses he passed secrets to Soviets • Ethel’s brother, David Greenglass, was a machinist on Manhattan project, testifies that Ethel and Julius masterminded delivery of information to Russians • Easy targets: both are registered in the Communist Party • Electric Chair, June 19, 1953 • FEAR • not only fear of communism, but fear of being suspected of communism • gripped entire country • judiciary • schools • universities • labor unions Ethel and Julius Rosenburg

34. McCarthyism • Joe McCarthy undistinguished first term Senator from Wisconsin • fighting for re-election • alcoholic • 1950 “I hold in my hand” a list of 205 known communist currently working in the American State Department… in the weeks that followed McCarthy repeated and expanded on his accusations and emerged as the nation’s most prominent leader in the anti-communist crusade. • 1952 McCarthy put in charge of special subcommittee and conducted highly publicized investigations of subversion • members from US embassies around the world appear in front of McCarthy’s committee… political career destroyed • McCarthy NEVER produced solid evidence that any federal employee had communist ties • growing contingency saw him as “fearless” • Accused Democrats of “twenty years of treason” (FDR recognized USSR) Joe McCarthy

35. The Republican Revival • Two big issues = 1952 bad year for Democratic party • fear of internal subversion • frustration over the stalemate in Korea • Truman withdraws from presidential contest because his popularity was so low • Adlai E. Stevenson • Governor of Illinois • Dignity, wit and eloquence • Democrat nominee • McCarthy deliberately confused his name with that of Alger Hiss in effort to slander his campaign

36. The Republican Revival Continued • Dwight Eisenhower • no previous political experience • military hero • commander of NATO • running mate was Richard Nixon • “Checkers” speech to justify financial improprieties (a horrible, HORRIBLE lie, but America buys it) • Team work • IKE = statesman • Nixon = mud thrower • 1952 Results • Eisenhower gets 55% of vote / 442 electoral votes • Republicans win back both houses of Congress • Dwight Eisenhower