The Roots of the Cold War: Truman Doctrine & Marshall Plan

Origins of the Cold War – Part II

Origins of the Cold War – #8 Kennan’s Long Telegram & Containment • Developed by a young diplomat and State Department Soviet specialist, George F. Kennan • The Long Telegram (1946) was widely circulated within U.S. bureaucracy • It influenced Washington and was a basis for the Truman Doctrine and containment

Origins of the Cold War – #8 Kennan’s Long Telegram & Containment • It said: • Communists are don’t understand the logic of reason, but understand force. They usually withdraw when strong resistance is encountered • The USSR’s was insecure, cruel, repressive, evil, and hostile to the West • The United States would resist Soviet attempts to form Communist governments elsewhere in the world

#9 Origins of the Cold War – Truman Doctrine (1947) • The Soviets appeared aggressive in Turkey and Greece • In March 1947, the Truman Doctrine was created • The policy of the United States must be to support and assist free people who are resisting conquest by armed minorities or by outside pressures • Supported containment of communism

#9 Origins of the Cold War – Truman Doctrine (1947) • The Soviet Union wanted control of the Dardanelles (straits in the entrance to the Black Sea) in Turkey and began making threats against them • In Greece, Communists fought to overthrow the non-communist government that had returned to power after WWII

Responding to the Truman Doctrine, Congress approved $400 million in aid for Greece and Turkey • Britain was usually the country that would help other, smaller countries in Europe. However, they were bankrupt from the war and unwilling to help

#9 Origins of the Cold War – Truman Doctrine (1947) • Critics have said it: • Was hypocritical because it offered support to all anticommunist regimes – even those that were undemocratic (such as those in Greece and Turkey who imprisoned and intimidated their political opponents) • Some revisionist historians want economic rather than simply factors to be considered: • Ex. Was a way for the USA to develop world markets (expand profits through capitalism)

X Article (1947) • A public version of the Long Telegram was published in Time Magazine in a famous article called the “X article” • It confirmed a policy change from isolationism to internationalism • Reaffirmed containment and Truman Doctrine

#10 Origins of the Cold War – Sovietization of Czechoslovakia • By 1948, Czechoslovakia was the only country in Eastern Europe to remain free • In March, Foreign Minister Jan Masaryk’s body had been found crumpled on the cobblestones of Prague

#10 Origins of the Cold War – Sovietization of Czechoslovakia • Britain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg signed the Treaty of Brussels three days later as a defense alliance • The Marshall Plan was finally approved by the House Appropriations Committee, where it had long been trapped • However, Congress wouldn’t yet join a European military alliance (we would finally join NATO after Berlin blockade)

Secretary of State George Marshall created the Marshall Plan Europeans who worked together for a joint plan for their economic recovery would receive aid from the U.S. Aid through the Marshall Plan was intended to: Create strong democracies Create open new markets for American goods Prevent a breeding ground for communism 17 Western European nations joined and received over $13 billion in grant and loans over the next 4 years #11 Origins of the Cold War – The Marshall Plan (1948)

#11 Origins of the Cold War – The Marshall Plan (1948) • The Soviet response to the Marshall Plan was: • Americans were buying their way into European affairs • Would’ve had to accept it on difficult terms – making vast reforms and have U.S. investigate financial records • They discouraged their satellite nations from joining as well

Molotov Plan and COMECON (1949) • Series of bilateral trade agreements aimed to tie the economies of Eastern Europe to the USSR and appease nations who wanted Marshall Plan aid • COMECON (Council for Mutual Economic Assistance) resulted from these trade agreements • COMECON is a centralized agency that linked Eastern Bloc countries to Moscow. It was designed to: • “Stimulate” and control their economic development • Support collectivization and development of heavy industry

Various Cold War Events – 1946-1948 • Truman ordered development of a hydrogen bomb • The Cominform was established to strengthen links between various communist parties • National Security Act (NSC) – the War and Navy Department were merged into a new Defense Department and the CIA was created • A peace treaty with Japan was accepted to guarantee long-term U.S. military bases • McCarthyism, a period of intense anti-communism, erupted in 1948

#12 Origins of the Cold War – Berlin Blockade (1948) • Germany was a key country due to its position in Europe and trading abilities Berlin Enlarged Germany

#12 Origins of the Cold War – Berlin Blockade (1948) • Stalin decided on the blockade because: • Berlin was an excuse for U.S. soldiers to travel through the Soviet Zone • Western aid caused the difference between West and East Berlin to be dramatic • He did not wish to risk war through an attack

#12 Origins of the Cold War – Berlin Blockade (1948) • Stalin also decided on the blockade because of the currency issue: • Currency reform in the Western zones was announced (the old currency had lost its value and barter was going on) • 10 old Reichmarks were replaced by one new Deutschmark • To the Soviets, it was an obvious step towards a pro-Western German state and an attempt to control the economy in the Eastern zone

#12 Origins of the Cold War – Berlin Blockade (1948) • Stalin closed all entrances to West Berlin by train or car in an effort to starve West Berliners into submission • The blockade lasted 318 days and forced Berliners to survive on dried potatoes and powdered eggs during the winter of 1948-49 • In response, 275,000 Allied flights carried in 1 ½ million tons of supplies • In May 1949, the Soviets lifted the blockade

#12 Origins of the Cold War – Berlin Blockade (1948) • The Berlin Blockade worsened the Cold War • By October 1949, Germany was divided into: • Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) • German Democratic Republic (East Germany) • NATO was established

#13 – Origins of the Cold War - NATO • Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium • Truman didn’t want the U.S. to be the only nation in the Western Hemisphere pledged to defend Western Europe from the Communists • In April 1949, the U.S., Britain, France, and Canada joined 8 other nations in forming NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. They agreed on collective security, meaning if one nation in NATO was attacked, it would be considered an attack on all of them • In response, the Soviet Union created the Warsaw Pact, a similar alliance with its satellite nations in Eastern Europe

Nationalists vs Communists In China • A civil war raged for years between Nationalists and communists • Washington halfheartedly supported the Nationalist government of Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek against communist leader Mao Zedong • Ineptitude and corruption within Chiang Kai-shek’s government eroded the confidence of the people and communist armies overwhelmed the Nationalists • In 1949, Chiang fled to the island of Formosa (Taiwan)

Nationalists vs Communists In China • Results of the Collapse of Nationalist China • ¼ of the world’s population (500 million) became communist. This became a huge issue in the U.S. • Republicans highly criticized Truman and the Secretary of State, Dean Acheson, for losing China to communism. They insisted that Democratic agencies were filled with communists and had deliberately withheld aid from Chiang so that he would fall • Democrats replied that when a regime has forfeited the support of its people, no amount of outside help will save it. Truman didn’t lose China, Chiang lost it because he never controlled all of China

By 1949: • Europe was now clearly divided along political, economic, and military lines • Germany was not to be reunited • The USA was no longer isolationist and was willing to resist communism around the world • Western countries had developed a greater sense of unity due to the Soviet threat • Conflicts around the world would be seen as being between Communism and Capitalism • The UN could not resolve international conflicts due to conflicting veto votes from the U.S. and USSR

The Roots of the Cold War: Truman Doctrine & Marshall Plan