Have you ever wanted to accomplish something so much that you compromised your principles in order to achieve your goal?
Did the ends justify the means?
Despite being allies during WWII, the Soviet Union was still fearful that the United States and other non-Communist countries would try and destroy them.
The Soviet Union was also fearful of being attacked by Germany again.
The Yalta Conference
Poland: A government friendly to
Soviet Union, but free elections soon.
The Declaration of a Liberated
Europe: “the right of all people to choose the form of government under which they will live.”
The Declaration of Liberated Europe
Dividing Germany: Germany would be divided into four zones. The
U.S., Great Britain, U.S.S.R. and
France would each control a zone.
Berlin, the capital city would also be divided into four zones.
Tensions begin to rise: Two weeks after Yalta, Soviets pressure Romania into creating a Communist government, violating the Declaration of Liberated Europe.
April 1945 – Soviets create strong
Communist government in Poland, free elections never happen.
The Soviet Unions Security Concerns
The Potsdam Conference
The Soviets wanted Germany to pay heavy reparations, the U.S. disagreed. Compromise reached on light reparations, Soviets not satisfied.
America’s Economic Strategy
Because the Soviet troops had liberated Eastern Europe from Nazi control, they remained there and imposed their form of government on those countries. Those countries became known as
Satellite Nations
The Satellite Nations
British Prime Minister Winston
Churchill coined the phrase “Iron
Curtain” to describe the invisible barrier between the Communist countries of Eastern Europe and the Democracies of Western
Europe.
The Iron Curtain Speech
Competing Goals and Concerns.
• Soviets concerned about security.
• Germany must remain weak, and border countries under Soviet control.
• Belief in communist system.
• Feared capitalist countries trying to destroy communism
• Fear of spread of
Communism and overthrow of government.
• America has strong economic concerns. WWII caused by Depression.
• Trade reductions caused
Depression.
• Economic growth and trade was key to peace.
• Democratic governments made countries more peaceful and stable.
Section 2 Essential Question:
How did President Truman attempt to deter Communism?
April 12, 1945 –
Roosevelt dies.
New President is
Harry S. Truman
Truman is a strong anticommunist. Believes appeasement by British led to WWII, does not want to make same mistake.
“We must stand up to the
Russians.”
To stop the spread of
Communism our chief foreign policy goal was
containment. This would require a long term commitment .
The Truman
Doctrine:
…to aid “free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures.”
This was a pledge to fight the spread of
Communism.
Secretary of State
George C. Marshall proposed the
European Recovery
Program, or the
Marshall Plan. 13 billion dollars in aid was provided to the countries of
Western Europe to help them rebuild their economies.
Spring of 1948, France,
Great Britain and the U.S. merge their zones into one, officially creating the
Federal Republic of
Germany and unofficially creating West Germany.
They also combine their zones in Berlin, making
West Berlin a part of the new German Republic.
The Soviets responded by creating the German
Democratic Republic, also known as East Germany
.
June 1948, the Soviets, angered by not having received reparations from West Germany, cut off all road and rail traffic to West Berlin.
They wanted West Germany to pay reparations, or for the U.S. to abandon West Berlin, the United
States did neither.
June of 1948 until May 12, 1949 the United States flew 2 million tons of food, medicine, coal, and other supplies into West Berlin.
This became known as the Berlin Airlift.
NATO – The North
Atlantic Treaty
Organization is created in 1949.
This was a military alliance between the
U.S., Canada, Great
Britain, France, Italy,
Belgium, Denmark,
Portugal, the
Netherlands, Norway,
Luxemburg, and
Iceland.
The Chinese Revolution-
1949
Communist led by
Mao Zedong
Nationalist led by
Chiang Kai-shek
Fighting since
1920’s but worked together against
Japanese. When
WWII ended civil war continued.
The U.S. gave 2 billion dollars in aid to the
Nationalist government to prevent a Communist takeover but it didn’t work. The Nationalist government fled to the island of Formosa
(Taiwan) and in October of 1949, the Communist created the Peoples
Republic of China
The U.S. continued to recognize the
Nationalist government in
Taiwan and would not allow the
Communist government of
China to join the
United Nations.
In September of
1949 the Soviet
Union announced it had successfully tested an atomic bomb. It achieved this from information gained by its spies in the United
States.
1950 – The
Communist governments in
China and the
Soviet Union sign a treaty of friendship and alliance, creating fear in the U.S.
With the Communist takeover in
China, the U.S. put great emphasis in getting Japan’s economy up and running again.
The Korean War
June 1950 – July 1953 over 36,000 U.S. soldiers killed many more Koreans and Chinese are killed.
The U.S. and the U.S.S.R. entered Korea at the end of WWII. Korea was divided along the 38 th parallel.
The Soviets created a
Communist government in the North and the U.S. created a Democratic government in the South.
Reunification talks broke down.
On June 25, 1950, with help from
Soviet military aid, North Korean forces invade South Korea.
President Truman sees this as a test of the containment policy and sends the military into action. American troops stationed in Japan are sent to Korea.
Truman also called on the United
Nations to act against the aggression.
After surviving near defeat, U.S. and South Korean forces, Under the leadership of
General Douglas
MacArthur, push the North Korean forces back across the 38 th parallel and close to the
Chinese border.
China feared the approaching U.S. and U.N. troops and warned them to halt their advance. The U.S. continued to pursue to North
Koreans close to the Chinese and the Chinese responded by sending hundreds of thousands of troops across the border.
The Chinese pushed the U.N., U.S. and S.K. forces back across the 38 th parallel. By the fall of 1951, a stalemate developed near the 38 th parallel with neither side gaining much ground. The war would last another 2 years though.
• When the Chinese attacked, General
MacArthur urged the president to attack
Chinese cities with atomic weapons.
Truman was committed to a limited war and did no want to expand the conflict into China.
Truman eventually fired
MacArthur for publicly criticizing him.
The Korean War expanded the Cold
War into Asia, it demonstrated our commitment to use force to stop the spread of Communism, it triggered a military buildup in the U.S., and it led to our giving aid to the French who were fighting Communists in Vietnam.
Section 3 – The Cold War and
American Society
A New Red Scare –
* Igor Gouzenko defects
* fear of Communist subversion
* loyalty review program for federal employees. (loyalty was questioned because of books read, films watched, group affiliation, travel overseas, etc.)
House Un-
American
Activities
Committee
(HUAC)
Used by the FBI to investigate
Communists and Communist sympathizers.
Hollywood was targeted because of its powerful influence over American culture. Many actors, writers, directors and producers were investigated and many had their careers ruined because of mere speculation. (Blacklisted)
Alger Hiss and the
Rosenbergs
Hiss was a minor spy.
Julius Rosenberg was a major spy.
Doubt remains about
Ethel Rosenberg.
Julius and Ethel were executed in 1953.
McCarthyism – (to make vague and unfounded charges against someone with the result of casting doubt on them and damaging their reputation)
Joseph McCarthy of
Wisconsin used this tactic to get elected to the U.S.
Senate.
He made a name for himself by making unsubstantiated accusations of Communist ties against government officials.
McCarthy used his position in the Senate to investigate and accuse innocent
Americans, ruining many reputations and careers.
In 1954, when
McCarthy went looking for spies in the U.S.
Army, the American people had finally had enough. McCarthy was censured by the Senate, disgraced and humiliated. He died in
1957.
Fallout Shelters, Movies, Television and
Music
• The Five Stars – Atom Bomb Baby
Fear of “The Bomb”
Duck-and-Cover
R.A.F.T.
• Role: (Sen. Joe McCarthy, a Hollywood director, a news reporter, a student learning to “duck and cover”, etc.)
• Audience: (depends on your role)
• Format: (your choice, ex: news report, diary entry, letter to the editor, letter to Congress, letter to your parents, etc.)
• Topic: the Red Scare in the United States.
Section 4 – Eisenhower’s Cold War
Policies
“More Bang for the Buck” and Massive Retaliation
Nuclear weapons were more cost effective than conventional military forces.
Brinkmanship – Eisenhower’s willingness to threaten the use of nuclear weapons in order to contain
Communism.
Taiwan and Suez Crisis
The CIA and covert operations in developing nations.
The 1956 - Hungarian Revolt
1957 – Sputnik launched
1960 – U-2 (U.S.)spy plane shot down