Chapter 38: Origins of the Cold War

(the “grim struggle for world power between the U.S.A. and the U.S.S.R. in the

post World War II world”)

How did the United States and the Soviet Union become Cold War

adversaries?

Roots of the Cold WarPhilosophical Differences• Philosophical differences between the USSR and the USA reached

back to the 1920s.• USSR: communism, totalitarian dictatorship, the state makes the

economic decisions so the proletariat (working class) can share society’s wealth (collectivism = equality)

• United States: free-enterprise capitalism, republic, democracy, business owners decide what to produce and consumers decide what to buy (competition = inequality)

World War II Conflicts• Allies during the war, but not truly friends• Soviets wanted British and Americans to open a second

European front earlier in the war.• U.S. atomic bomb plans worried Soviet Union.

1945: A Key Year in World History

• Yalta (February)– Stalin, Churchill and FDR meet– Agree to divide Germany into

4 zones of occupation– Agree to support self-government

and free elections in Eastern Europe• FDR was hopeful the wartime

allies would maintain friendlyrelations

1945: A Key Year in World History• Potsdam (July)– Stalin, Attlee and TRUMAN (FDR died in April) meet– It is agreed to also divide Berlin

1945: A Key Year in World History• Potsdam (July)– Truman learns of the first successful test of our atomic bomb– He let Stalin know it because Stalin’s Soviet troops remained

in Eastern Europe and where “free” elections were held, Communists always won

• Stalin wanted Eastern Europe to be a buffer zone offering protection from attack to the USSR– These would come to be called “satellite nations”

• Truman believed in a free Eastern Europe (allow self-determination)

• The USA stops aid to the USSR

The Cost of World War II Impacts Decision-Making: Did the USA and USSR Share the

Hardships Equally in WWII?• USSR– 20,000,000 Soviet citizens died (soldiers and civilians)• Starvation, German prisoner camps

– Soviet cities were demolished

• USA– 290,000 American citizens died– Civilian casualties only at Pearl Harbor (also the only

attack on American soil)

The Postwar World• Only the two superpowers remained after two

devastating wars in 30 years• Their size, economic strength and military

ability allows them to dominate global affairs• Nations of the world were left to align

themselves with one or the other

1946• Stalin delivers a speech that indicates that capitalism

always leads to war and conflict over scarce resources• Seemingly suggests that communism should replace

capitalism• George Kennan (Amer. diplomat/Soviet expert)– Enunciates a policy of containment in

his “Long Telegram”– The US must combat Russian

“expansive tendencies”• USSR refuses to remove troops

from Iran until pressured by the US (proof of “expansive tendencies”?)

1946• The nuclear stakes grow when the United States

detonates two more atomic weapons in the Marshall Islands of the Pacific Ocean

• The American nuclear monopoly was ending however, as the Soviets were racing to develop their own nuclear weapon

The Role of the United Nations• Bernard Baruch appeals to

the UN Atomic Energy Commission to control the raw materials used in atomic bomb creation and ban any future bomb production (remember, who has the only one…for now?)

• The USSR rejects the idea when the US refuses to destroy all of its nuclear weapons

An “Iron Curtain” Divided Europe

• 1946: Winston Churchill describes the division of Europe caused by the USSR

• Hegemony = a dominatinginfluence of one countryover another

• From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic an iron curtain has descended across the Continent.

The Truman Doctrine• Truman stressed the duty of

the United States to combat totalitarian regimes worldwide.

• His March 12, 1947 speech specifically called for $400 million in aid to be delivered to Greece and Turkey.

• The Doctrine demonstrated the new American foreign policy as a policy of containment of Soviet expansion.

• Historians often use it to mark the starting date of the Cold War.

A Clash Of BeliefsAMERICAN LEADERS BELIEVED:• Democratic governments

that protected people’s rights made countries more stable

• Economic growth was the key to world peace

• Economic growth should be promoted by increasing world trade

• The free enterprise system (capitalism) was the best route to prosperity

SOVIET LEADERS BELIEVED:• Communism was a superior

system that would replace capitalism

• Economic growth should be managed and controlled by a government that seeks to meet their peoples’ needs

• Communism should be encouraged in other nations

• Capitalist countries would try to destroy communism and should be approached with suspicion

Conflicting Points of View• For the U.S.– Communist takeovers were brutal attempts to crush

democracy– A nuclear monopoly ensured world peace

• For the U.S.S.R.– The U.S. was determined to destroy Communism – The nuclear monopoly was all about American strength

• Truman and Congress pass the National Security Act– Creates the National Security Council (NSC) to advise the

president– Creates the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to gather

information and analyze foreign intelligence

The Marshall Plan Rebuilds Europe

• The Marshall Plan was proposed to help Europe begin its ascent from the ashes of World War II ($13.3 billion by 1952 and the end of the program)

• Secretary of State George Marshall offered the same aid to the USSR and its allies, but they did not accept it.

• The hope was to opposeCommunism, spreaddemocracy, boost the American economy and win allies

• The Soviets respond with the Molotov Plan to rebuild Eastern Europe and foster mutual assistance with the USSR

Chapter 39: The Cold War Expands

Were the methods used by the United States to contain Communism justified?

The Berlin Airlift (6/1948 – 5/1949)• Remember: Post war Germany was

divided into 4 sections• The city of Berlin, was also divided

into four sectors• The USSR attempted to control all

of Berlin by cutting surface traffic to and from the city of West Berlin

• Starving out the population and cutting off their business was their method of gaining control.

• What could the USA do?• The only way in was through the air• What would Stalin do in response?

• The U.S.A. and the R.A.F. delivered 2,326,406 tons of food and supplies on 278,228 total flights

• Operation Little Vittles: over a ton of candy

• The C-47s and C-54s together flew over 92 million miles in the process.

• At the height of the airlift, one plane reached West Berlin every thirty seconds.

• Stalin “unblockades” Berlin (we win!)

NATO (1949) and Warsaw Pact (1955)• The North Atlantic Treaty

Organization (NATO) was established as an international organization for defense collaboration aligning nations opposed to Soviet expansion.

• Similarly, the Warsaw Pact was signed by eastern European nations in an effort to combat NATO.

• Both are based on the idea of collective security

This map shows the division of Europe between the NATO Treaty

(green) and the Warsaw Pact (orange). The United States and Canada are also part of NATO.

NSC-68• Argued that one of the

most pressing threats confronting the United States was the "hostile design" of the Soviet Union

• The Soviet threat would soon be greatly augmented by the addition of more weapons, including nuclear weapons.

• The best course of action was to respond in kind with a massive build-up of the U.S. military and its weaponry

The Cold War in Asia• The Chinese Civil War– Mao Zedong (Communist)

vs. Chiang Kai-Shek (Nationalist)

who were allies during WWII against Japan

– The United States aided the Nationalists with massive economic loans but no

military support– Battles raged not only for territories but also for the

allegiance of cross sections of the population. – Communists field commanders defeated Nationalist

forces in the late 1940s and established the People’s Republic of China (Red China) in October 1949

(the same year the USSR gets the bomb)– The Nationalists flee to Taiwan

The United Nations Security Council

• The Council is composed of five permanent members — China, France, the Russian Federation (USSR then), the United Kingdom and the USA

• And ten non-permanent members (2 year terms)• 9 votes to approve an action BUT the five

permanent members have veto power

Korean War (1950-1953)• After WWII, Korea divided at 38th parallel– North was communist, South was not

• 1950: North Korea (supported by Soviet resources) invaded South Korea (supported by the UN and the US)

• Soviets boycotting UN for U.S. refusal to allow "Red China" into UN Security Council

• Forces led by Gen. Douglas MacArthur to push back communists

• China sends hundreds of thousands of troops to push back UN

• Result: 54,000 American killed, cease-fire and border at 38th parallel restored; still in existence today

• When Douglas MacArthur wanted to expand the war into China he was fired by Truman

Fighting the Cold War in Other Parts of the World

• The First World: The “West” (the U.S.A., Canada, Western Europe, Japan)

• The Second World: The “East” (the U.S.S.R., China and Eastern Europe)

• The Third World: poor developing countries in Central and South America, Africa and the Middle East– Many newly free colonies looking for help from

either the U.S. and our allies or the Soviet Union and their allies

• During the Cold War, many conflicts broke out around the world.

• Some were guerrilla wars and others were between rival factions in a country.

• Almost all of them, were tied directly or indirectly to the global struggle between the East and the West.

Influencing Hearts and Minds

• Cold War propaganda from the U.S.I.A.– United States Information Agency– “Radio Liberty” broadcasts, the

Voice of America• Funds for agriculture, health or

other social and economic purposes (often military aid)

• Dictators in Nicaragua and Haiti used American assistance to tighten their grip on power

• Other nations were denied aid as punishment

World War III in Egypt?• In 1956, Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser nationalizes the British

controlled Suez Canal– Nationalization is when a country takes control of a resource in that country formerly

controlled by a different country– He wanted to build the Aswan Dam on the Nile River

• Britain and France meet with Israel and plan the attack thinking they would receive U.S. support

• The U.S.S.R. threatens to back the Egyptians with military force

• When the Suez Crisis begins, the U.S. actively seeks the aid of the United Nations to get Great Britain, France and Israel out of Egypt

• Weakens the power/presence of the French and British in Africa

• The Soviets build the dam with the Egyptians

Covert Action• Covert = secret political, economic or military

operation that supports a foreign policy initiative– Gathering information through satellites, spies and

wiretapping– Francis Gary Powers flying a U-2 high altitude spy

plane was shot down embarrassing the United States and increasing Soviet distrust (page 503)

• The C.I.A. was often used to overthrow or support the overthrow of “unfriendly” governments that we needed on our side– Especially in the Middle East (oil) and Central and

South America (location)

The Deadly Arms Race• 1952: the U.S. develops the H-Bomb (500x more

powerful than the bombs dropped during the war)…it was nicknamed “The Super”

• Submarines were equipped with nuclear missiles– I.C.B.M.s (Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles)

• A New Policy with a New Secretary of State– John Foster Dulles develops the idea of brinkmanship– If you are scared to go to the brink, you are lost

• Red (mainland) China attacks Nationalist (Taiwan) China– The U.S. threatens a nuclear attack unless the Comm.

government backs off and ends the attacks– The Communist Chinese do back down

(…but what if they didn’t??)

M.A.D.• Mutually Assured

Destruction– Based on deterrence (the

U.S.S.R. would not dare attack the U.S. with the nuclear arsenal it was building)

• S.A.L.T. later in the Cold War (1970s)– Strategic Arms Limitation

Talks• I.N.F. Treaty (1980s)– Intermediate-Range Nuclear

Forces Treaty

Chapter 40: Fighting the Cold War at Home

How did anxieties raised by the Cold War affect life in the United States?

Searching for Communists in the United States (a 2nd Red Scare)

• The House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) investigated the full range of radical groups in the United States including Fascists and Communists

• Also investigated Hollywood actors, writers and directors– Feared the influence of movies in society– Blacklists: if you were suspected of being a

Communist or Communist sympathizer you could not find any more work in Hollywood

• Federal Employee Loyalty Program– Required federal employees to take loyalty oaths– All federal employee were investigated. – Those found to be disloyal to the United States

were barred from federal employment.• The McCarran Act limited the rights of

Communist organizations.• Several spy cases in the late

1940s fueled fears of communism.

Alger Hiss, Klaus Fuchs and the Rosenbergs

• Alger Hiss– State Department official and adviser to FDR at Yalta

was convicted of passing secrets to the USSR• Klaus Fuchs– Worked on the Manhattan Project and passed

information to Soviet scientists• Ethel and Julius Rosenberg– Also passed nuclear secrets to the USSR– The only American civilians executed

for spying during the Cold War

The Rise and Fall of Joseph McCarthy• Joseph McCarthy was a senator who claimed that

there were 205 known Communists working for the U.S. Department of State.

• Truman ignored him and his charges.• McCarthy’s claims were rarely backed up with any

evidence, but this didn’t stop him from gaining a reputation as being the nation’s top Communist fighter.

• A political cartoonist dubbed McCarthy’s tactic of spreading fear and making baseless charges McCarthyism.

• McCarthyism spread beyond the Senate into other branches of government, into universities, into labor unions, and into private businesses.

The Rise and Fall of Joseph McCarthy

• Finally, in 1954 McCarthy went too far when he accused both the army and President Dwight Eisenhower of being “soft on Communism”

• McCarthy was censured bythe Senate– Formally scolded/reprimanded

• He faded from the national scene but his Communist “witch hunt” caused great damage to individuals

Living with Nuclear Anxiety

Hollywood used aliens as metaphors for whom?

Civil Defense and Preparedness• Ground Zero– The impact point of a nuclear bomb

• Federal Civil Defense Administration distributed manuals and guidelines to help citizens prepare for a surprise attack– Emergency sirens, fallout shelters, bomb shelters

• Questions were raised about the evacuation of large cities and the survivability of a nuclear war

The “Duck and Cover” Generation