Lesson 2: The Truman Doctrine

1. Lesson 2: The Truman Doctrine

2. Warm-up (5 min) • What was the cold war? • What were some major points of the Yalta agreement • What event did we discuss that jumpstarted the Cold War?

3. Skill Building Objectives of the Unit • Analyze contrasting evidence and perspectives during the Cold War in order to create an informed argument. • Demonstrate mastery of correct paragraph structure and organization in writing

4. Announcement • You will have an essay due Wed next week so I strongly advise that you complete 12:2 questions by Monday so you can focus on your essay next week. • A few classroom activities next week will be based on your essay. Therefore, you MUST have your essay completed by Wednesday. You will not be allowed to make up the essay like other work after school unless you turn in a completed copy on Wednesday. No essay by Wednesday would mean an automatic loss of 50 points.

5. Essential Question for this Unit • Why is it necessary to consider multiple perspectives when investigating an issue, event, or time period?

6. Lesson 2: Guiding Questions: • What tensions led to the announcement of the Truman Doctrine, also known as the containment policy? • What actions/decisions did the United States and the Soviet Union take/make during the Cold War? Were these actions necessary? Moral? Immoral?

7. Rising Tensions • Stalin Election Speech (February 1946) • Long Telegram (Late February 1946) • Churchill Iron Curtain Speech (March 1946) • Novikov Telegram (September 1946)

8. Stalin Election Speech • Blames WWII on capitalism • Says that when capitalist countries feel insecure they attack other countries to gain more resources • Predicts that wars cannot be avoided while capitalist system exists • “Perhaps catastrophic wars could be avoided if it were possible periodically to redistribute raw materials and markets among the respective countries in conformity with their economic weight by means of concerted and peaceful decisions. But this is impossible under the present capitalist conditions of world economic development.”

9. Long Telegram Author: George Kennan, United States Ambassador to the Soviet Union Main conclusion about the Soviet Union: • The Soviet Union is a threat to World peace and when the opportunity presents itself, the Soviets will expand aggressively

10. Kennan’s conclusion based on following premises: • Soviets believe capitalism and communism are incompatible • Russian rulers since the Tsar have had a fear of foreign influence due to leaders need to maintain power and an authoritarian regime. Thus they portray “the outside world as evil, hostile, and menacing.” • Russian leaders are afraid that their people will be influenced by democratic systems and freedoms and therefore are hostile and aggressive towards other countries

11. Kennan’s solution: Containment of Communism • United States and other free countries must strengthen their economies and institutions or they will be susceptible to communist influence • “World communism is like malignant parasite which feeds only on diseased tissue.”

12. Novikov Telegram • Author: Nikolai Novikov, Soviet ambassador to the United States • Conclusion: “US foreign policy is… characterized… by a striving for world supremacy”

13. Novikov’s conclusions based on following premises: • US military build-up • Increase in size of the army • Increase in military spending (military budget for 1946 is10x it was in 1938) • Military expansion • Plans for bases across the World including Asia and Europe • Proof of “offensive nature” of U.S. foreign policy • Economic expansion • U.S. investment in foreign countries especially oil investments in the Middle East

14. The Eastern Bloc (also known as Soviet Bloc) • In 1946, the Communist Bloc was comprised of the following Central and Eastern European countries: Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, East Germany, Poland, Albania, the Soviet Union, and Czechoslovakia. Initially, Yugoslavia was part of the Eastern Bloc • Stalin reneges on promise during Yalta and never allows free elections in Poland

15. Truman Doctrine • Context: Greek Civil War • War reaches crescendo in March1946 between Democratic Army of Greece and military branch Greek Communist Party • Truman Doctrine is the policy of containment of communism, U.S. will provide military and economic support against nations where communism is a current or potential threat. • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xyoviiavusk

16. Behind the Truman Doctrine: The Domino Theory • Theory that if one country falls to communism, neighboring countries will fall to communism as well. • Domino theory assumed that communism was a unitary force, meaning that all the communist nations were one communist force, instead of separate nations that happened to be communist. View proved to be wrong as later China and the Soviet Union became enemies.

17. Timeline: The Truman Doctrine • 1946: Military aid to Turkey and Greece (first proxy war) • April 1948: Marshall Plan • April 1949 – Formation of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) • 1950 – 1953: Korean War • September 1954 – Formation of SEATO (Southeast Asian Treaty Organization) • Throughout 50s and 60s support of anti-communist dictatorships in: • The Philippines • Iran • Guatemala • The Congo • 1964-1974: Vietnam War

18. The Marshall Plan • Officially called the European Recovery Plan • Enormous amounts of aid given to European countries • Goal was a robust economy in Europe to prevent spread of communism • Aid was offered to the Soviet Union as well but they rejected it, and mandated that all Eastern bloc countries reject aid as well

19. The Korean War What happened? • Korea divided at the 38th parallel as result of Potsdam conference. North was communist, South was a right-wing authoritarian regime • Neither side held free elections and both sides were determined to unite the other under one rule • The Soviets & the Chinese supported the North while the United States supported the South • Unclear who attacks first, but war breaks out and US sends in troops to support the South. • When the United States army crosses the 38th parallel the Chinese send in troops to aid the North. Americans pushed back to the 38th parallel • In the end, nothing accomplished besides dead and wounded soldiers

20. Significance of Korean War • United States, according with the Truman doctrine comes to the aid of South Korea to fight the communist North • End up fighting Chinese troops in Korea

21. Today • Finish American Foreign Policy during Cold War • Discussion of what makes a quality thesis statement • Introduction of Essay due Wed • Discussion of Soviet Foreign policy during the Cold War

22. A Few Examples of CIA Covert Action During the Cold War • 1953 – Iran • 1954 – Guatemala • 1961 – The Congo

23. Iran • 1953 - CIA overthrew the democratically elected Mohammed Mossadegh in a military coup, after he threatened to nationalize British oil. Nationalize means to transfer from private ownership to state ownership. • The CIA replaced him with a dictator, the Shah of Iran, whose secret police brutally suppressed individual rights and used methods including execution and torture.

24. Guatemala • 1953 - CIA overthrows the democratically elected communist Jacob Arbenz in a military coup. Arbenzhad threatened to nationalize the United Fruit Company, an American company. This meant that the government of Guatemala would take control of the company. • Guatemala suffered under a series of repressive dictatorships for many years later.

25. Congo • 1961 – CIA assassinated the democratically elected leader of the Congo, Patrice Lumumba. A bloody civil war ensued afterward.