Henretta • Brody • Dumenil
America’s History
Sixth Edition
CHAPTER 26
Cold War America
1945-1960
Copyright © 2011 by Bedford/St. Martin’s and
Matthew Ellington, Ruben S. Ayala High School
Chapter 26: The Cold War, 1945-1960
1.
The Cold War
A. Descent into Cold War, 1945-1946
B. Kennan and the Containment Strategy
C. Containment in Asia
2.
The Truman Era
A. Reconversion
B. The Fair Deal
C. The Great Fear (The Second Red Scare)
3.
Modern Republicanism
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
They Liked Ike
The Hidden-Hand Presidency
Eisenhower and the Cold war
Containment in the Post-Colonial World
Eisenhower’s Farewell Address
Part 1: The Cold War
Section 1A: Descent into Cold War, 1945-1946
• Causes: differences between US & USSR, fate of Eastern Europe,
Russia’s desire for a buffer against invasion, WWII conflicts,
Truman’s toughness, Stalin’s ruthlessness, eventual arms race
• Yalta and Potsdam
conferences showed the
growing differences
between US and USSR
Potsdam Conference, 1945
Part 1: The Cold War
Sec. 1B: George Kennan and Containment Strategy
• Kennan’s “long telegram” urged containment of USSR/communism
• Truman Doctrine pledged US support
against communism and gave aid to
Greece, Turkey
• The Marshall Plan provided $13
billion to rebuild Western Europe
• The Berlin crisis led to a massive
airlift and eventually NATO
• NSC-68 urged a massive US military
spending increase in response to
Soviet atomic bomb and Cold War
Part 1: The Cold War
Sec. 1C: Containment in Asia
• MacArthur oversaw demilitarization
and economic rebuilding of Japan
• 1949 communist victory in China was
blamed on the Democrats
• The Korean War:
– stalemated after initial seesawing
– MacArthur was fired for insubordination
– set precedents of not using atomic bombs
and undeclared presidential wars
Part 2: The Truman Era
Section 2A: Reconversion
• The sudden end of WWII led to a brief period of inflation and strikes
• Republicans and Southern Democrats blocked Truman’s New Deal
commitment and passed Taft-Hartley Act weakening unions’ power
• Truman was reelected in 1948 in an upset despite Southern
conservatives (Dixiecrats) nominating their own candidate
WWII vets fight for coal mining jobs, 1946
Part 2: The Truman Era
Section 2B: The Fair Deal
• Truman desegregated the military and federal government
• Employment Act of 1946 asserted government’s role in the economy
• The Cold War & Congressional conservatives blocked the Fair Deal
New
Jersey
Phalanx
building
photograph
Part 2: The Truman Era
Section 2C: The Great Fear (2nd Red Scare)
• Recent research reveals that Soviet spying was prevalent and the
fears of that spying and Cold War tensions led to the 2nd Red Scare
• Truman’s loyalty program investigated 3 million Americans
• HUAC looked into communist influence, especially in Hollywood
• Senator McCarthy became a powerful symbol of anti-red hysteria
Part 3: Modern Republicanism
Section 3A: They Liked Ike
• Eisenhower easily won the 1952 election with his huge war popularity
• Eisenhower mostly kept New Deal policies as Democrats remained
the majority party, controlling Congress for most of Ike’s tenure
Part 3: Modern Republicanism
Section 3B: The Hidden Hand Presidency
• Eisenhower tried to avoid controversy (i.e. McCarthy, civil rights) and
worked behind the scenes while seeming above the fray
• National Highway Act, NASA, HEW increased government spending
• Eisenhower Republicans were part of the “liberal consensus”
Eleanor Roosevelt at the
Tuskegee Institute
Part 3: Modern Republicanism
Section 3C: Eisenhower and the Cold War
• Eisenhower’s “new look” foreign policy tried to save money and be
more effective by relying on brinksmanship and threat of nuclear war
• Results: H-bomb, ICBMs, SAC, DEW, nuclear triad, and MAD
First H-bomb, 1951
Hungarian Uprising, 1957
Part 3: Modern Republicanism
Section 3D: Containment in the Post-Colonial World
• US desire to contain communism often led to siding with repression
• US signed alliances promising to defend dozens of countries
• “Domino Theory” led US into Vietnam after the French were beaten
• Eisenhower Doctrine: the
US would aid any Middle
Eastern country under a
communist threat
Part 3: Modern Republicanism
Section 3E: Eisenhower’s Farewell Address
• Eisenhower famously warned of the dangers of the growing “militaryindustrial complex” on American civil liberties in his farewell address
• Cold War Impact: climate of fear, arms race, rise of military-industrial
complex, economic growth, and expansion of federal government