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COLD WAR BEGINS 1945-1960 • Fire and Ice • Some say the world will end in fire,Some say in ice.From what I've tasted of desireI hold with those who favor fire.But if it had to perish twice,I think I know enough of hateTo say that for destruction iceIs also greatAnd would suffice. Robert Frost
Potsdam July 1945 Stalin, Truman and Churchill (Atlee Replaces Churchill) meet in a Germany Stalin Lied to Roosevelt about having free elections in Poland and Truman gets angry… Truman is given the news of the success of the Atom bomb and uses this to be tough on Stalin.
The United States submitted the Baruch Plan, in 1946, which required the international inspection and supervision of the Nuclear programs for all countries, but it maintained the U.S. nuclear monopoly, and the Soviets rejected the plan. This signaled a hardening of the tensions and the beginning of the nuclear arms race
George Kennan and the Containment policy • American Diplomat who advised that we take measures to stop Soviet expansion.
Winston Churchill after WWII • A shadow has fallen upon the Scenes so lately…. An IRON CURTAIN has descended across the continent…. An Increasing measure of control from Moscow.
The TRUMAN DOCTRINE: “It must be the policy of the United States to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures.” • The Truman doctrine meant giving Aid to Turkey and Greece to prevent a communist take over.
1947 The Marshall Plan. & The Molotov Plan • 16 countries in Western Europe, including western Germany , received $13 Billion in aid over 4 years. The Russians were offered aid also, but they rejected it as a political ploy, and created their own program developed by Secretary Molotov, to give aid to Soviet Block Nation.
Berlin Blockade June 1948 • The Soviet Union closed all rail access and road access to Berlin…. Thinking the Allies would surrender all of Berlin to USSR.
Berlin Airlift • For 327 days planes took off and landed every few minutes . May 1949 The Soviets lifted the blockade.
North Atlantic Treaty Organization • NATO 11 Western European nations form military Alliance with the USA April 1949. The Soviets respond with the creation of the Warsaw Pact
1949 Crisis Year • The Russians get the Bomb • China falls to communism Americans play blame game.
The overthrow of the democratically elected government of Iranian Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh on 19 August 1953, by the CIA under the name TP AJAX Project. The coup saw the transition of Mohammad-RezāShāh Pahlavi from a Constitutional monarch to an authoritarian one who relied heavily on U.S. support to hold on to power until his own overthrow In February 1979. Mosaddegh was arrested, tried and convicted of treason. Mosaddegh's supporters were rounded up, imprisoned, tortured or executed. The 1953 Iranian coup d'état
The 1954 Guatemalan coup d'état (18–27 June ) The CIA Covert operation to Depose PresidentJacoboÁrbenzGuzmán with a paramilitary invasion by an “anti Communist army of liberation.” The Árbenz government had instituted a land-reform… the expropriation for peasant use, of unused farmlands that national and multinational corporations had earlier set aside. This threatened the agricultural monopoly of the United Fruit Company that owned 42 per cent of the arable land of Guatemala and lobbied the Eisenhower Administration to act against The Guatemalan President.
SPIES! Congressman Richard Nixon gained his reputation by prosecuting Alger Hiss, who is found Guilty of Perjury. The Statute of Limitations has run out for espionage Ethel & Julius Rosenberg are found guilty of giving atomic secrets to the Soviets . They are both put to death, leaving their Children Orphaned.
According to evidence released by the Soviets after the end of the Cold War, In “Project Venona” indicates that Julius Rosenberg and Alger Hiss in all probability guilty. Ethel may not have been. • Truman plays along with the Republican Strategy of Red Baiting by inflaming the anticommunist hysteria by issuing an executive order initiating a comprehensive investigation of the loyalty of all Federal Employees.
McCarthyism is the practice of making accusations of disloyalty, subversion, or treason without proper regard for evidence. The term has its origins in the period in the United States known as the Second Red Scare,.
The House Committee on Un-American Activities The House Un-American Activities committee (HAUC) targeted the film industry because it was high profile and because of the propaganda value of movies.
Transcripts from actor Paul Robeson’s testimony . • Paul Robeson,House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), 1956:CONGRESSMAN SCHERER: Why do you not stay in Russia?ROBESON: Because my father was a slave, and my people died to build this country, and I am going to stay here and have a part of it just like you. And no Fascist-minded people will drive me from it. Is that clear?...ROBESON: You are the un-Americans and you ought to be ashamed of yourselves.CHAIRMAN: Just a minute, the hearing is now adjourned.ROBESON: I should think it would be.CHAIRMAN: I have endured all of this that I can.ROBESON: Can I read my statement?CHAIRMAN: No, you cannot read it. The meeting is adjourned.ROBESON: I think it should be and you should adjourn this forever.
Victim of McCarthy • General George Marshall, The State Department & The US Military all came under attack. Edward R Murrow’s “ SEE IT NOW” broadcast and the Military fighting back forced the US Senate to Censure McCarthy.
POSTWAR DOMESTIC CHALLENGES • At the end of the war many were concerned that the depression would continue, but this did not happen for several reasons. • First after 4 years of war, where people earned money but could not spend on anything because of rationing. People had money to spend and were ready to spend it. • Then the Servicemen’s Readjustment act of 1944 (known as the GI Bill) provided money for education, allowing vets to stay out of the job market and get a college education so when they did reenter the job market it would be at a higher pay scale. It also allowed financing for Vets to buy Homes, which vastly increased the demand for homes and created jobs in construction.
The Marshall Plan stipulated that the money borrowed by foreign countries had to be spent in America, thus further spurning the American Economy. • The Congress also passed the Unemployment act of 1947 , allowing the government to use fiscal and monetary policies to keep the economy stable.
In 1946, Republicans gained control of both houses of congress, and began to undo New Deal Reforms. In 1947 they passed the TAFT Hartley Act, which outlawed CLOSED SHOP shops and allowed states to pass “RIGHT to WORK LAWS. It also prohibited the use of Union Dues for political activity. Finally It allowed the president to declare a 90 day cooling off period in national strikes. Even though Truman vetoed the bill, congress was able to override his veto .
I LIKE IKE! • In 1952 General Dwight Eisenhower was tapped by the Republican party as the Presidential Candidate, As president , Eisenhower maintained Social programs , and increased government activity. He typified the “Modern Republican” philosophy that emphasized a slow down of New Deal Federalism rather than a Dismantling of it. • Under Eisenhower, In 1956 Congress passed the Interstate Highway Act which authorized the building of an integrated highway system. • In 1957 The Soviets launched the first satellite, Sputnik, and began the space race. Eisenhower supported the creation of the National Aeronautics & Space Administration in 1958. • He also persuaded Congress to appropriate funds for college scholarships and for research and development in Universities and Industry.
CIVIL RIGHTS • Under Harry Truman, Civil Rights began to move forward with the assistance of the Federal Government. Truman ordered the justice department to prepare a “friend of the Court” brief in Shelley v Kraemer 1948 which ruled that “restrictive Covenants” that maintained Racial segregation violated the 14th Amendment. • Truman also made an executive order desegregating the Military, which was put into practice during the Korean War… Turns out when the enemy is firing at you, it doesn’t matter what color of skin the guy has, who is covering your butt.
When Eisenhower became President, he appointed Earl Warren to be Chief Justice of the Supreme Court . Earl Warren former Republican Governor of California turned out to be a progressive Republican and demanded a unanimous decision in the landmark Civil Rights case of Brown V Board of Education in which the case of Plessy v Ferguson which determined that Separate but equal was constitutional, Brown v Board reversed that decision saying that “Separate was inherently unequal” When Arkansas Governor OrvalFaubus called out the National guard to prevent 9 black students from admission to Little Rock High School, Rising demands to end Racial Segregation compelled , Eisenhower, to nationalize the National guard and helped to escort and protect those students on the Little rock High School Campus.
In 1955, Rosa Parks stepped into history books when she refused to stand up and let a white man take her seat. The Black Community promoted a young Black Minister, Martin Luther King Jr. to organize a boycott. But not until the Supreme Court ruled the bus segregation illegal in 1956, did the policy change. M.L. King and Other Ministers established the Southern Christian Leadership Conference a year later in 1957.
In 1960, Eisenhower became more aware of the costs and limitations of relying on Nuclear weapons to deal with the Soviet Union. The term Mutually Assured Destruction(MAD) came about to express one such limitation. Eisenhower tried to arrange for a Conference with General secretary Khrushchev , but a U-2 Spy Plane flying over Soviet Air Space was shot down, At first the U.S. Denied the incident, but the Soviets said “we Have the Plane” then the U.S. said it was an accidental off course flight… and the Soviets said; “we have the Pilot. “ and the U.S. admitted to spying, and arranged to make a trade for the Pilot, Gary Francis Powers. The Soviets used this as an excuse to cancel the Conference.
Patriotism played a role in how people viewed Nuclear Proliferation in the early years. When residents of Nevada learned an Atomic testing site would be placed in their area, they were excited. Over the years more evidence has come to light demonstrating the level of Health Risks of persons working in the Nuclear industry and those living down wind of it. Today, residents of Nevada have been fighting a plan to make Nevada a location for spent nuclear devises.
Eisenhower’s Farewell address "In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists, and will persist."
