Global Insecurities at War’s End
- WWII created an international interdependance - one country’s actions affected others
- Opposing national interests made a continuing Soviet-US alliance impossible
“The American Century”
- Many economists feared an economic downturn similar to the one following WWI
- 1944 - Reps from 44 Allied countries met to create the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund to help rebuild Europe
- As US was main contributor to both agencies, they could control the world economy
- When the Soviet Union refused to join the World Bank or the IMF, it isolated itself
The United Nations and Hopes for Collective Security
- US wanted to join the UN, because they did not join the League of Nations (mistake)
- Designed to promote collective security
- Eleanor Roosevelt - one of the first US delegates to the UN
- Nuremburg Trials - Nazi leaders tried for their war crimes and atrocities
- Nuremburg Principle - no human should follow orders that conflict with human rights
- Could not be enforced
The Division of Europe
- Atlantic Charter (1941) - made Allies renounce new territories claimed by war
- Violated by Allied leaders before the war had even ended (spheres of influence)
- Western powers wanted to rebuild Germany as a trade partner, Soviets didn’t
- West Germany became capitalist; much like the US - E. Germany was like Sov. Union
- Fulton, Missouri - 1946 - Churchill states that “an iron curtain has fallen across Europe”
The Policy of Containment
- Many feel that FDR would have been able to help in US-Soviet relations
- Truman lacked FDR’s diplomacy and desire for peace
- Under Truman, Containment became the key facet of US foreign policy
- Remained this way for several decades
The Truman Doctrine
- 1947 - Mediterranean crisis - Truman decides to take over area before Soviets can
- Convinces US that personal freedoms rely on the containment of communism
- Became known as the Truman doctrine
The Marshall Plan
- Common name for the European Recovery Program
- Began a series of US attempts to use economic policy to contain communism
- Began in 1947 by chief of staff George C. Marshall
- Under this plan, most of the nations of Western Europe became capitalist and open to trading with US markets
- Stalin denounced the plan as an attempt to make West Germany into an anti-Soviet bloc
- Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan worked hand-in-hand
The Berlin Crisis and the Formation of NATO
- When Stalin saw the allies uniting their sectors of West Germany, he blockaded West Berlin, which although controlled by the allies, was located deep in East Germany
- Allies began Operation Vittles, airlifted 2,000,000 tonnes of supplies to the West Berliners
- May 1949 - Soviets lifted blockade
- NATO was formed to strengthen economic ties between allies and to keep Soviets out
- Huge step away from isolationism
- Soviets and homies form the Warsaw Pact in May 1955 - essentially an anti-NATO
- Completed the division of the East and the West
The Cold War in Asia
- In exchange for economic help, US was allowed to keep military supplies in Japan
- Let the US keep a close eye on the Soviets
- US gave lots of money to leaders they supported, allowing them to crush rebellions, etc
- MacArthur saw the US as “a bulwark of Christianity in the Far East”
- US supported Chiang Kai-Shek, who ignored advice to step aside and fought commies
- Mao destroyed the nationalists, and China “fell” to Communists
- Republicans were enraged at Truman for “losing” China
Atomic Diplomacy
- After the bombs had been used, they could no longer remain a secret from the world
- 1946 - Atomic Energy Act - Gave Atomic Evergy Commission control over production
- 1950 - The US’s atomic arsenal could reproduce far more than WWII in a single day
- 1949 - Soviets tested their first atomic bomb
- New hydrogen bombs were more than 1000x more powerful than the ones in WWII
The Truman Presidency
- Truman saw the conflict with the Soviets as a need for a strong president
- Truman tried to make himself as a strong president while remaining loyal to Roosevelt
“To Err is Truman”
- Within a year of assuming office, Truman’s popularity was lower than any presidents except Hoover, who was blamed for the Depression
- Truman refused to let many military people return home after WWII
- He relented after there was a huge public outcry
- Post-war demand for supplies created rampant inflation - prices rose
- This let to boycotts of stores and strikes
- Truman wanted to induct striking workers into the army - Congress defeated this plan
- 1946 - Truman’s popularity drops to 32%
- In the wake of anti-Democrat sentiment, Republicans pushed to turn back the New Deal
- Republicans also set a limit of two terms in office for a president
- Even Democrats began to suggest that Truman resign
The 1948 Election
- Americans for Democratic Action - Liberal group formed by Eleanor Roosevelt and others; became an important liberal lobbying group supporting the Democrats
- Truman fired most of the popular people who worked under FDR
- The deepening Cold War made people more supportive of Truman, due to his sternness
- Americans wanted someone who would stand up to the Russians
- Truman’s actions in desegregating the military lost him many Southern votes
- In the end, Truman won because of people who supported FDR’s ideas
The Fair Deal
- Truman said that everyone had the right to a “fair deal” from the government
- As the Cold War took increasing priority, Truman lost interest in liberal policies
- By the end of Truman’s second term, defense costs made up 10% of the GNP
- This was made possible by intense anti-commie campaigning at home
The Cold War at Home
- 1946 - Attn. Gen. Tom C. Clark announced that the US was part of a commie plot
- 1950 - Sen. McCarthy claimed to have a list of communists serving in government
- These fears led the nation’s leaders to become obsessed with national security
The National Security State
- More and more resources were poured into national defense
- Central Intelligence Agency - formerly the Office of Strategic Services - spy network
- Estimates are that budget and employees were more than State Dept
- 1947 - Federal Employees Loyalty and Security Program
- Banned communists, fascists, and gays from federal employment
- Employees could be fired for belief that they were disloyal
- Clark published a list of potentially subversive organisations
- Effectively outlawed these groups, even if they had done nothing wrong
- Many catered to the interests of minorities
- Internal Security Act - severely limited freedoms of speech and press
- Made Comm. organisations register with Subversive Activities Control Board
- Banned people deemed “subversive” or “homosexual” from visiting the US
The Red Scare in Hollywood
- Fears arose that there was a communist plot centered around Hollywood
- House Un-American Activities Committee - investigated the entertainment industry
- Many people were interrogated and asked to give info regarding potential threats
- “Unfriendly Witnesses” - people who would not cooperate with investigators
- Many anti-communist films were released, however, few became popular
Spy Cases
- Whittaker Chamers - editor of Time magazine, former columnist
- Confessed to spying for the Soviet Union in the 1930s
- Named Alger Hiss (former Roosevelt aide) as an accomplice
- Many Democrats dismissed the allegations as a Republican ploy to make them look bad
- Julius and Ethel Rosenberg - accused of stealing and trying to convey atomic secrets
- 1951 - found guilty of espionage; 1953 - died in the electric chair
- Many world figures pleaded for their release (Einstein, pope, etc)
McCarthyism
- 1950 - Joseph R. McCarthy declared that there was a conspiracy against the US
- Accused more than 200 State Dept employees of being communists
- McCarthy had no names of communists and no one in the State Dept was convicted
- McCarthy was against New Deal Democrats and silenced all critics of the Cold War
- Encouraged “patriots” to prepare themselves for atomic war
- McCarthyism targeted minority groups such as blacks, Jews, and gays, not the elite
- Huge anxieties arose about “abnormalities” such as homosexuality, and “perversions”
- McCarthy used smear tactics to win support in his elections
- When McCarthy failed to produce any substantial evidence, he appeared deranged
- Even in the wake of McCarthyism, any dissent was now dangerous
Age of Anxiety
- After WWII, Americans had a lot of the world’s wealth; many were middle-class
- WWIII seemed imminent, fears fueled by politicians such as Truman & McCarthy
- Fallout shelters - Many families built bunkers attached to their homes in case of war
The Two-Income Family
- Because of all the anxieties of the times, Americans focused on their own lives more
- People began to be more thankful of what they had and not to take it for granted
- Baby boom
- Many couples got married
- New appliances became very popular - T.V.s, automatic washers, cameras, etc
- Baby boom + high rate of consumer spending = many families with a working mother
- Some people tried to stop women working because Soviet women were known workers
- Dr. Spock - Published a parenting book which told parents to essentially spoil their kids
- After the war, women lost their high wages and prominence in colleges
Religion and Education
- Billy Graham - first “televangelist” - led revivals of Christianity
- Elementary school teachers re-worked the curriculum to promote US, boo Soviets
- Kids were taught to value the virtues of capitalism - private property, etc
The Cultural Noir
- New movies dealt with the current worries felt, and the emotions of returning from war
- Called “noir” films because of their sombre mood
- Many were banned from Hollywood
- Many UFO sightings and new movies about commie subversion emphasized fears
End of the Democratic Era
- Truman’s career was killed by the Korean War
- He took a tough line with the Cold War, but the Korean War was not easily winnable
The Korean War
- June 1950 - N. Korea attacked S. Korea
- Truman had to live up to his talk about being “tough on communists”
- Truman got approval from the Security Council to send in troops under MacArthur
- Although the UN quickly regained South Korea, Truman wanted to take all of it
- MacArthur miscalculated the Chinese potential to aid the N. Koreans
- White House debated using the atomic bomb
- MacArthur pressed for a war against China
- 1951 - Truman dumped him for insubordination
The Legacy of “The Sour Little War”
- Truman’s actions in the Korean War bypassed Congress and were widely criticized
- Truman justified this using NSC-68, a bill devoted to repelling communists
- The Korean War set up the US and China as enemies for the next twenty years
- Many Americans became disillusioned after the stalemate in Korea
Truman’s Downfall
- Polls indicated Americans were frustrated with Truman’s handling of the war
- After Truman dismissed MacArthur, many people sought his impeachment
- A short-lived “MacArthur for President” campaign followed his dismissal
- Truman announced in 1952 that he would not run for reelection
- When Eisenhower refused the Democratic nomination, they asked Adlai E. Stevenson
- “Ike” Eisenhower decided to run for the Republicans
- Eisenhower told voters that he wanted peace, and wouldn’t get into another war
- Richard Nixon used television to his and Eisenhower’s advantage during the campaign
- Appealed to voter’s emotions and spread their message widely
- The Republican victory was more a sign of Eisenhower’s popularity than anything else
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
 Chpter26.doc | 40 KB |
Subject:
Subject X2:
