US Foreign Policy
1945 – Present
What has happened?
Roosevelt has died and Truman
is now President (1945)
 Truman has brought WWII to an
end with the bombing of Hiroshima
and Nagasaki
 The aftershocks of the war were
felt and previous alliances begin to
break apart.
 Fear begins to rise about
the Soviets

The Iron Curtain

Satellite nations were set up by the
Soviet Union in Eastern Europe and
were Communist ruled

Winston Churchill coined the phrase
Iron Curtain, referring to the Soviet
foreign policy from 1945-1989
United States Reaction



The United States removed
troops after the war, leaving the
Soviet Union as the lone
superpower in Europe.
President Truman invoked the
policy of Containment in reaction
to the Soviet take over of nations
in Eastern Europe.
Reaction to policy of
containment- mistrust
The Sides
East
Communism
Satellite Nations
Soviet Union
 Mao Zedong
 Ho Chi Minh
 Fidel Castro
West
Capitalism
Free Enterprise
United States
Allies
 John F. Kennedy
 Lyndon B. Johnson
 Richard Nixon
 Henry Kissinger
 Spiro Agnew
Effects of the Cold War
• Constant state of military preparedness
• Large amounts of $ spent on military
equipment
• Large amounts of money spent on
technology to outdo the Soviets.
– Arms Race
– Space Race
NATO

v.
Warsaw Pact
North Atlantic Treaty
 Military Alliance, 1955
Organization,1949
 Allied Soviet Union
 Allied United States, Great
and all Satellite
Britain, Canada, Belgium,
Nations
Italy, France, Netherlands,
 Sped up the arms
Luxembourg, Iceland,
race
Denmark, Norway,
 Collective Security:
Portugal, Greece, Turkey,
agreement which
and West Germany.
pledged if one was
 Collective Security:
attacked all were
agreement which pledged if
attacked and
one was attacked all were
therefore all would
attacked and therefore all
help out
would help out
 General Dwight Eisenhower
commander of NATO
The Cold War
• UN established as a world peacekeeping
organization.
• Truman Doctrine (1947): Shifted the US
away from peacetime isolation and
supplied aid to Greece and Turkey, in
hopes of containing Communism
• Marshall Plan: extended the Truman
Doctrine and gave $, supplies, and
machinery to Western European
Countries that were struggling to further
contain Communism
Berlin
City was divided into East (Soviet)
controlled and West (Allies) controlled.
 Berlin Blockade - The Soviets blockaded all
traffic from West Berlin to force the Allies
to back down.
 Truman ordered the Berlin Airlift to supply
the people for 10 months
 The blockade was ended May 1949

The Cold War in Asia
Cold War In Asia
• US sought to reestablish trade and prevent
communist spread over the continent
• Philippines – US gave independence (1946) and
$ in exchange for military bases and special
business privileges
• Japan – US occupied, Douglas MacArthur
placed in charge to turn Japan into a Democratic
nation. 1951 Japan was given its
independence.
Cold War in Asia
• China –
– In hopes for peace
Roosevelt fought to give
China a seat on the UN
Security Council
– After Civil War China was
ruled by the Communist
party led by Mao Zedong
– Truman recognized the
leader of the Nationalist
government (Chiang Kaishek), pushed to Taiwan,
as the legitimate Chinese
government and they were
given the Chinese seat.
Korean War
38th Parallel -point to which
the Soviets had occupied Korea
– North Korea (north of the 38th
parallel)
isolated itself from all non-satellite nations
and strengthened its military
– UN (1948) recognized the South Korean leader as the
leader of all of Korea
– US withdrew troops in 1949 against many opinions
– June 1950, The North invaded the South and the UN
was called to draft an order of withdrawing Northern
troops.
– After 2 days of non-compliance, all UN members
were called to aid South Korea
Fighting in Korea Begins
–
MacArthur commanded the troops
and was told to keep all fighting
south of the 38th parallel
– Truman did not declare war,
but sent troops as an act of
commander in chief and under
the UN charter
– 1953 a cease fire was called
and the original borders were
reestablished
– Result was a commitment by many wavering countries to
support the United States in the Cold War.
President Eisenhower’s Approach
to Foreign Policy
• Eisenhower Approach
– Containment with force
– Diplomacy + Covert activities of the CIA
• Iran and Guatemala
– CIA funded revolts to rid the country of
unfriendly governments
• Middle East instability caused a minor
break of the Allies, which was shortly
repaired
President Eisenhower’s Approach
to Foreign Policy
• Eisenhower Doctrine (1957) $ and Military Aid
– Suez crisis: saw the need to create such a plan
– First tested in 1958 by Lebanon crisis – American
troops sent to control the country until a stable
government was put in place
• (1957)Sputnik (Soviet Satellite) was launched
causing fears as they could be monitoring U.S and
they were seemingly superior
• NASA was created to compete with
the Soviet space exploration
President Eisenhower’s Approach
to Foreign Policy
• 1959 Fidel Castro takes over Cuba
– step towards democracy?
• Fidel Castro made contact with
Communist countries and fears began to
rise.
President Kennedy’s Approach to
Foreign Policy
• *****The Cold War escalates during this period
of American History ******
• The Bay of Pigs in 1961, led
by President John F. Kennedy,
a failed attempt to overthrow
Castro by the CIA and Cuban
revolutionaries failed
• Cuban Missile Crisis (1962)– U-2 spy planes
documented Soviet Missiles in Cuba. After a
Khrushchev-Kennedy show down the Soviets
backed down.
President Kennedy’s Approach to
Foreign Policy
• Peace Corps (1961)
– fight poverty and disease throughout the
world in hopes of stopping the spread of
communism.
• Despite President Kennedy’s talks with
Khrushchev, 1961 the
Berlin Wall was constructed
to keep the people in the
Eastern portion
President Kennedy’s Approach to
Foreign Policy
• Kennedy increased the U.S presence in
Vietnam just as Eisenhower
• “The New Frontier” was a response and a
call to the younger generation of
Americans and their duty to be participants
in a global effort of peace. ASK NOT
WHAT YOUR……….
• Signed the Nuclear Test Band Treaty prior
to his assassination in November, 1963
Table of Contents
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Unit Outline
Foreign Policy Reading
Berlin Wall Project Sheet
Cold War Packet
Korean War Packet
Eisenhower
Space Race
Vietnam Packet
Since Vietnam Packet
Build up to Vietnam
• Johnson’s dilemma –
American people wanted
peace, campaign promises,
domino theory, and an
unstable South Vietnamese
government.
• Johnson approved secret
bombings of N. Vietnam
under the pressure of the
Domino Theory.
• Misled Congress in order to
coerce their approval to
enter the war
Build up in Vietnam
• Tonkin Gulf Resolution (1964) –
Congressional okay for Johnson to bomb N.
Vietnam – any means necessary to prevent
further aggression.
• Johnson saw this as a blanket authorization,
rather than a temporary measure to amend the
attack of the U.S boats.
• February 1965, Johnson
committed ground troops
to the war
Build up in Vietnam
• Unlike previous wars this War was not
supported by the global community and
thus the U.S fought the alone
• Tet Offensive – occurred on January,
1968 and was the turning point of the war
as America realized that the war was not
going to end anytime soon – demoralizing
• War continued for
another 5 years
New Type of War
• There were no battlefronts in which to
mark victory
• “dirty, ruthless, and wandering war”
• Search-and-Destroy Strategies were used
by the American troops to combat the
guerilla tactics of the Vietcong
• Use of Napalm and Agent Orange in order
to clear large portions of land

“We have to often been disappointed by
the optimism of the American leaders to
have faith any longer in the silver linings…
To say that we are closer to victory today
is to believe, in the face of evidence, the
optimists who have been wrong in the
past. To suggest we are on the edge of
defeat is to yield to unreasonable
pessimism. To say that we are mired in
stalemate seems the only realistic, yet
unsatisfactory conclusion.” (Walter
Cronkite)
President Nixon’s Foreign Policy
and the Vietnam War
• Great desire to be remembered as a
peacekeeper, and chose Henry Kissenger
to achieve this desire
• Proclaimed Détente – a relaxing of the
tensions between the U.S and the Soviet
Union.
• Proposed SALT I and II meetings between
the U.S. and the Soviet Union
to achieve the Détente

After a period of confrontation, we are
entering an era of negotiation. Let all
nations know that during this
administration our lines of communication
will be open. We seek an open world –
open to ideas, open to the exchange of
goods and people…” (President Nixon’s
Inaugural Address)
President Nixon’s Foreign Policy and
the Vietnam War
• “Vietnamization”: two fold process of removing
U.S troops and replacing them with Vietnamese
conscripts
• War Powers Act (1973) after overriding a
Presidential Veto, it required Congressional
approval for troop deployment over 60 days.
• 1973 organized a cease fire and the U.S military
presence was ended, however not until 1975
under Gerald Ford was the War over
President Nixon’s Foreign Policy and
the Vietnam War
• Negotiated improved relations with China
• Vietnam: campaign promises to end the war were
not met as it was a complicated mess
– Pentagon Papers – documented the lies that the
executive branch did not want Congress or the
people to see about the War in Vietnam.
– The Impact: Distrust and anger, led to a Supreme
Court Case
• New York Times v. United States: Should
items of National Security be allowed to be
published – it was ruled that the Pentagon
Papers were not of National Security
Carter Administration’s Foreign Policy
• Use Morality rather than secrecy and
economic might
• Signed the control of the Panama Canal over
to Panama: a symbol of the end of American
intervention in Latin America and a New
Policy toward Latin America
• Cut off military aid and $ to countries that did
not respect Human Rights. Such as China,
U.S.S.R, Latin American countries, Middle
Eastern Countries, etc.
• Used the military as a last resort, relied
heavily upon diplomacy
Carter Administration’s Foreign Policy
• Middle East: Greatest Foreign Policy
triumph and failure
– Camp David Accords: Peace
agreement between Israel and Egypt,
able to negotiate between two arch
enemies

“This is the first time that an Arab and an
Israeli leader have signed a
comprehensive framework for peace. It
contains the seeds of a time when the
Middle East, with all its vast potential, may
be a land of human richness and
fulfillment, rather than a land of bitterness
and continued conflict.” (Jimmy Carter)
Carter’s Failure in the Middle East
Iran Hostage Crisis
Not able to negotiate their release a
huge part of his defeat in 1980
Presidential election. Hostages were
held for 444 days
Reagan Administration’s Foreign
Policy
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“Star Wars”/SDI: symbol of
Reagan’s commitment to
building up the America’s
military defense
Large amounts of money was
spent on the military/defense –
growing the deficit and
increasing deficit spending
Believed the Soviet Union was
the “Evil Empire”
Reagan Administration’s Foreign
Policy
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
President Reagan and Mikhail
Gorbachev met and agreed to a
process of de-militarizing of
European countries, removing
nuclear missiles on the continent
Iran-Contra Scandal was yet
another scandal dealing with the
role of the executive and
legislative branch in foreign policy
Bush Administration’s
Foreign Policy
• Berlin Wall was torn down (198991),an act of symbolism of the era of
change and the end to the Soviet
Union (1991)
• Coordinated the international
Persian Gulf War
• The Persian Gulf War defined the U.S
role in the Post-Cold War Era
• America began to “De-militarize”
around the world as a result of the
desires of the American people, the
move toward a global economy
Clinton Administration’s Foreign
Policy
Diplomacy + Economic Pressure and if
necessary military force through the UN was the
Clinton Policy
 Conflicts in Somalia, Bosnia, Chechyna, and Haiti
were resolved
 Gains in the Arab-Israeli Conflict: PLO and Israeli
peace talks and accords
 Enter in the Global Economy:
countries interdependent upon
each other’s economy

Internationalism
• New World order was about
interdependence and cooperation
• Coalitions to fight against enemies of the
world – poverty, diseases, hunger,
genocide …..
• Somalia, Bosnia, Rwanda, Persian Gulf
• Mutual respect for each other
Current Events Articles
• Groups of 4
• Group report sheet
– Areas of the world and issue
– Actions
– Opinions
• One person records and one person
reports back to the class.
President Bush
• Intelligence + Military Force + Diplomacy + UN
• September 11, 2001
• War on Terror
– Global hunt for Al Quida and Osama Bin Laden
– U.S alone?
• Iraqi Freedom
– Weapons of Mass Destruction
– Connects with Osama Bin Laden
President George Bush
• Darfur – Food and aid to refugee camps
– UN Peace Keeping Force
• Iran – Strong encouragement of sanctions in
the UN
– "To support the aspirations of the Iranian people
for freedom in their own country."
• Mexican Border and Immigration
– Jobs
– Economy
– Rights?