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Chapter 19 – The Cold War
Section 2 - The Cold War Heats Up
As the Cold War intensified, American foreign policy focused on rebuilding and unifying
Western Europe. At home, Americans began to suspect Communist infiltration of their
own society and government.
The Marshall Plan
The United States wanted to help European nations recover from the war and become
economically strong democracies. It also wanted to prevent Communists from
continuing to gain power in Europe.
The Marshall Plan was created in 1947 by U.S. Secretary of State George C. Marshall
as a means to achieve these goals. According to the Marshall Plan, participating nations
would design recovery programs and would receive financial aid from the United States.
Seventeen Western European nations joined the plan, receiving a total of $13 billion in
aid.
The Berlin Airlift
As part of the postwar division of Germany, the city of Berlin, located in Communist East
Germany, was divided into West Berlin (capitalist) and East Berlin (Communist).
In June 1948, Stalin banned all shipments to West Berlin through East Germany,
creating a blockade which threatened to cut off supplies to the city.
In response, Allied nations began the Berlin airlift, which delivered thousands of tons of
food and other supplies to West Berlin via air.
Although the Soviet blockade ended in May 1949, Berlin remained a focal point of Cold
War conflict.
NATO
Why create a treaty organization?
Soviet vetoes prevented the United Nations from resolving a number of postwar
problems.
The United States sought to avoid the problems of post–World War I isolationism.
The United States did not want to be the only nation in the Western Hemisphere
committed to fighting communism. A Canadian role in the treaty organization would be
vital.
What was NATO?
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was formed in April 1949.
In joining NATO, the United States, Canada, and ten Western European nations
pledged to support one another against attack, a principle known as collective security.
In response, the Soviet Union created the Warsaw Pact, a military alliance between the
Soviet Union and its satellite nations.
Communist Advances
In 1949, two events heightened American concern about the Cold War.
The Soviet Atomic Threat
In September 1949, Truman announced that the Soviet Union had successfully tested
an atomic bomb.
In response, the United States began developing the even more powerful hydrogen
bomb, reestablishing itself as the world’s leading nuclear power.
The newly formed Federal Civil Defense Administration distributed information on how
to survive a nuclear attack; this information was ridiculed by experts.
China Falls to the Communists
During World War II, competing factions in China had cooperated, but fighting between
them resumed towards the end of the war.
At first, the United States supported Nationalist leader Jiang Jieshi against Communist
Mao Zedong. However, the United States later decided to focus on Western Europe
instead.
Many Americans viewed Mao Zedong’s creation of a Communist state in China as a
failure of Truman’s policies.
The Cold War at Home
During the late 1940s, fear of Communist spies created a climate of suspicion in the
United States.
The Loyalty Program
Truman established a federal employee loyalty program in 1947, checking the
backgrounds of all new and existing federal employees.
HUAC
The House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) began investigating Hollywood
personalities who the committee claimed, had Communist leanings.
Claiming that movies had tremendous power to influence the public, in 1947 HUAC
charged that numerous Hollywood figures had Communist learning that affected their
filmmaking. Some Hollywood personalities were or had been members of the
Communist Party.
The Hollywood Ten
When one group, known as the Hollywood Ten, refused to answer HUAC’s questions,
they were cited for contempt of Congress and imprisoned.
Hollywood studios compiled a blacklist, a list circulated to employers naming persons
who should not be hired. Blacklisted individuals came from all sections of the industry
and included anyone who seemed subversive.
The McCarran-Walter Act
Fueled by fears of disloyal immigrants from Communist countries, the 1952 McCarranWalter Act reestablished the immigration quota system from 1924. This act
discriminated against potential immigrants from Asia and Southern and Central Europe.
Spy Cases Inflame the Nation
Two famous spy cases reinforced fears that Soviet spies in the United States were
sharing American secrets with foreign Communists. These were the cases of Alger
Hiss and of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg.