Cold War Review

1. Cold War Review TRUMAN & EISENHOWER

2. Recognize the fear of communism in the late 40’s and early 50’s, and the lengths that people went to in order to “protect” the country from them: • HUAC - House Un-American Activities Committee was created to look for Communists both inside and outside the government. • Rosenberg’s – Husband and wife that were members of the American Communist Party and were both executed for espionage.

3. McCarthyism- Named for a Republican Senator who claimed that Communists were taking over the federal government.

4. How did post WWII mechanization impact the work force? As technology increased, more Americans began to work in white-collar jobs versus blue-collar. Less people are needed to work in the factories or on the farms. There is a shift to the service sector. (jobs that provide a service)

5. 2. Recognize the attempts that the Soviets used to push the U.S. out of West Berlin, and U.S. response to the Soviets actions. The Soviets cut off all transportation to West Berlin in the hopes that the Allies will give up the idea of German reunification. For 327 days, planes brought food and supplies to West Berlin. Finally, the Soviets gave up the blockade.

6. 3. What were/are the goals of the United Nations? NATO? Warsaw Pact? • United Nations - Peacekeeping body of nations • NATO – North Atlantic Treaty Organization is a defense military alliance of the United States, Canada and 10 European nations. • Warsaw Pact – Military alliance of the Soviet Union and its satellite nations. Established in response to the formation on NATO.

7. 4. What is meant by mutually assured destruction? brinkmanship? • Mutually assured destruction is the concept that since more than one country has the ability to destroy the other with a few stokes of a keypad, this assures peace. • Brinkmanship is the willingness to go to the edge, or brink of war.

8. 5. What were real fears of the American people post WWII? What were real fears of the government? Which one proved to be true? • Collectively, Americans felt threatened by the rise of Communism in Europe and Asia, but for many the REAL fear was how the post WWII economy was going to impact them. A real fear of the government globally was the spread of communism…which the government then applied to the U.S., which made it easier to increase military spending, etc.

9. 6. What preparations did the U.S. government put in place to address the millions of returning soldiers post WWII? • The G.I. Bill of Rights provided financial and educational benefits for WWII veterans.

10. 7. How did the Soviets successful testing of the atomic bomb change foreign policy and the nature of war? • MAD (mutually assured distruction)! So what do you do?

11. 8. How did the launching of Sputnik impact the United States? • U.S. began to work frantically to catch up to the Soviets. Funding for math and science programs also increased.

12. 9. What factors motivated the creation of the Dixiecrats in 1948? • Southern Democrats formed their own political party under the leadership of Strom Thurmond (SC) because President Truman supported civil rights.

13. 10. Be able to cite advantages of the Interstate Highway Act. • New suburbs were developed • High-speed, long- haul trucking became possible (decline in RR’s) • Towns near the new highways prospered. • The system of highways helped to unify and homogenize the nation

14. 11. What policy did the United States take to address post WWII communist expansion? How was this policy used in: Europe; the Middle East. • A policy of containment was enacted. In Europe, some examples are the Marshall Plan, Truman Doctrine (Greece and Turkey) and the Berlin Airlift. In the Middle East, the U.S. stated that it would defend against a communist attack (Eisenhower Doctrine).

15. 12. What were major features of Truman’s Fair Deal policy? Why was it not embraced by the American people? • The Fair Deal was Truman’s domestic policy. This program included economic and social reforms, such as national health insurance and subsidies for farmers. These were defeated by Congress. Many Americans felt that there was not a need for social programs following the boom of WWII.

16. 13. What factors allowed for the shift to the suburbs? What did the move to the suburbs represent? Did everybody have the option of moving out of the inner-cities? • Suburbia allowed for affordable housing, fresh air, low crime and good schools. The closeness to major cities for jobs and culture promoted this movement. Having the ability to move was seen as a step up. Not everyone could afford this move out of the cities and the inner cities began to decline.

17. 14. The Korean War was a proxy war. What does this mean? • Even though the war was being fought by North and South Korea, the bigger issue was between the U.S. and Soviet Union.

18. 15. Did Truman embrace the Taft Hartley Act? Be able to explain. • Truman vetoed the Taft-Hartley bill and it was passed with a 2/3 majority in Congress. This bill overturned many rights won by the unions under the New Deal.

19. 16. How did the Chinese Civil War shake up the permanent Security Council of the United Nations? • The United Nations refused to recognize Mao’s government as the true government of China. As a result, the Soviet Union walked out in protest and was unable to veto the vote that allowed Chiang Kai-Shek and his government on the island of Taiwan the seat on the Security Council.