Chapter 23
1947 A 300 traveling exhibit to
celebrate the 160th anniversary of
the signing of the Constitution (an
awkward date choice, but we had
been a little depressed for the 150)
which displayed the Constitution,
the Mayflower Compact, the
Emancipation Proclamation, the
Declaration of Independence and
Gettysburg Address. Attracted 3.5
million visitors across the nation.
 Shows our patriotism and pride
after the war

As war ended US gradually assumed Britain’s former role as
world leader- especially as it related to dealing with the new
threat from the Soviets- (what we don’t know is that it is all a
front, Soviets have EVERYTHING in the window, nothing to
back it up) US will not be returning to isolationism
 Soviets see their actions as accomplishing multiple goals:
Regain lands taken at Brest Litovsk in 1917 – and FINALLY get
the recognition they have been looking for since the 1700s!
 Long Telegram 1946: George Kennan says you can’t think of
USSR as a “normal” gov’t too many other layers – and if we
don’t stop them, no one will.
 Iron Curtain: Churchill’s famous speech popularized the idea of
a long term struggle between the US and USSR





“I believe that it must be the policy of the United
States to support free peoples who are resisting
attempted subjugation by armed minorities
(internal communists) or outside pressures
(USSR)”.
Cold War becomes (as the war had been) an
ideological struggle with the “forces of liberty”
defending against the “forces of darkness”.
National Securities Act: Created the “Defense
Department” (Pentagon) to coordinate the
various branches/actions of the military , with
the National Security Council (NCS) and Central
Intelligence Agency (CIA) created in 1948/49 to
deal with the “threats” at home and abroad to
US interests.
We also maintained the draft (1st peacetime
draft) and planned to continue large scale
military spending

The Test. Both countries had internal communist
movements (not backed significantly by USSR) and
“democratic gov’ts” (I am using that loosely, neither
were really democratic- and that will be a thing in cold
war, we support a LOT of people who are not so niceas long as they are not communist) had been
supported by England- in 1947 they say they can’t
help anymore- need US to take over. We d0 (spend
about $400 million), assuming a permanent (to this
point) global responsibility



1947- US stated goal was that no
other country should become
communist (Saw USSR as a threat to
“American way of life”)
Became even more adamant after
Communist takeover of China in
1949
There was recognition that
communist ideology was not going
to change as long as Stalin was
around- they best they could do was
hold. Truman Doctrine, Marshall
plan, and NATO all part of
containment.
Greece/Turkey was new thing for us- and
we follow it with another….massive foreign
aide
 Europe was in trouble- econs were in ruin,
physical damage everywhere, food/housing
shortages.
 Marshall plan offered loans to rebuild any
European nation that asked for themincluding the communists (though USSR
won’t take or let satellites take) We spend
$12.5 billion from 1947-51 in 16 European
countries- facilitating their recovery – but
also solidifying “us” and “them”


Gen. Douglas MacArthur put in charge of
rebuilding Japan from ground up. We wrote
them a new constitution and
required them to accept.
 Created democratic gov’t
 Gave women the vote
 Required that they forever “renounce” war and
abolish military (they still don’t really have one

By 1950s recovery was well underway – along
with significant culture adjustment.
Main goal of allies was “de-nazification”, erasing the
ideology, and the crisis that had created it- again,
trying NOT to make mistakes of 1918.
 In 1945 Germany was split into 4 zones by Eng, Fr,
US, USSR for administration of surrender. When it
became clear Soviets were keeping theirs, other 3
combined into Federal Republic of Germany (West
Germany) and rebuilt as a moderate democracy. US
poured $$ into redevelopment- and they rebounded,
within 20 years econ was better than ever.
 Soviets create Democratic Republic of Germany
(East Germany) hard line communism, industry
stripped
 Berlin Airlift: 1948-49. USSR tried to cut off West
Berlin to push allies out. We respond with 277,000
flights to deliver $2 million tons of aide





New enemies require new friends
North Atlantic Treaty Organization: 1949
mutual defense treaty signed between 12
nations: US, Eng, France, Italy, Portugal,
Denmark, Iceland, Canada, Luxembourg,
Belgium, Netherlands, Norway. Collective
security. Other nations joined over time
Warsaw Pact: Soviet version- mutual
defense with their satellites- showing NATO
they don’t stand alone either (Mutual
Assured Destruction hallmark of the cold war
era) USSR, Poland, East Ger, Czech,
Romania, Bulgaria st
USSR explodes their 1 atomic bomb Sept
1949
China had been in the middle of a civil
war between communists and
Nationalists when the Japanese
attacked- agreed to pause an deal with
the outside threat
 War resumed in 1945- and in 1949 Mao
Zedong pushed Chang Kai Shek out (to
Taiwan) US refuses to recognize People’s
Republic of China from 1949-72
 Really pushes US to maintain military and
pursue a “global crusade against
communism”. We refuse to recognize
China until the 1970s. NSC-68 calls for
increased military spending to counter
the perceived threat


US exploded 1st Hydrogen
bomb in 1952.
 10x more powerful- an
atomic bomb can destroy a
city- a few Hydrogen bombs
could destroy and entire
nation or region


Soviets exploded in 1953
For the 1st time in historymankind has the power to
destroy civilization




Cold war started in Europe- got “hot” in Asia
Korea had been a territory of Japan, had been divided at 38th
parallel by US/USSR at end of war, US sets up a democratic
gov’t, USSR a communist satellite state
1950: North Korea invades South. UN, (with leadership of US)
moved to step in and support S. Korea. A big test- can it DO
something (unlike League and their “condemnations”) Able to
go b/c China not yet “recognized” and USSR is temp. boycotting
UN because it won’t recognize
Conflict is a tie- 38th parallel still border today. 33K Americans
die, 1 million Korean soldiers and 2 million Korean Civilians




Douglas MacArthur (Supreme Allied commander in Pacific
WWII) was in command of Us forces in Korea.- as we push
North Korea back over their line, he argues to not only invade
the North, but to attack China as well (push the Communists
out, reinstall nationalists) - expanding the war significantly.
Truman says no, and MacArthur makes a series of public
statement criticizing the President and his ability to handle
the fighting. Truman removes him from Command.
Superpowers have global ability to fight- and deliberately
choose NOT to use their most extreme weapons- or to allow
conflict to spread, but to limit the conflict to the region at
hand.
Threat of WWIII and nuclear annihilation hung over all
participants- there is now a type of war where NO ONE wins
The tricky thing with our perception of the Cold
War as a black/white battle between “freedom”
and “oppression” is that there is very little room
for grey area.
 George Kenan warned that that our stance made
it impossible to evaluate international crises on
an case by case basis- to us, if it’s communist- it
MUST be bad. If it is anti-communist , it MUST
be right. Again, this will lead us to supporting
some nasty people, and fighting some good
ones (like Ho Chi Mihn in Vietnam- who was
much more of a nationalist than anything else)




Europe can no longer hold their empires- they have been
through too much, lost too many resources.
Period from 1945-1960 dozens of new nations are createdsometimes peacefully, sometimes with struggle/revolution.
US made Philippines independent in 1946
Europe tries to direct what happens to colonies as they
become nations, which can either solve problems or create
them, depending on who you ask. Also- we still had a really
loose definition of what we called “democracy” to make you
part of “free world” (ex. South Africa)
“Freedom” is our favorite
word during cold war- an
inescapable theme of
academic research,
popular journalism, mass
culture, and official
pronouncements.
There are some MARVELOUS 50s
anti-communist movies – but we
also started rewriting our history
to focus on ourselves as a land of
pluralism and tolerance- ignoring
all the times we weren’t (Natives
and Slaves and Immigrants oh
my!)
 I love the idea that the CIA
sponsored modern art – including
original funding form MoMA to
prove that America had better
culture than USSR



Whatever Moscow stood for was the opposite of freedomincluding anything with the world “socialized” attached
(which is curious in an era of big government)
Also impacted the emerging idea of human rights (1st
defined at Nuremberg trials- crimes against humanity) The
idea is that a nation’s treatment of its own citizens can be
subject to international scrutiny. UN Charter on Human
Rights (Eleanor Roosevelt) defines human rights as: freedom
of speech, religious toleration, protection against arbitrary
gov’t, right to make an adequate living, access to housing,
education and medical care. This can be tricky- who has the
right to enforce the rights being violated?
Needed to transition from a wartime to
peacetime economy. 12 million men
needed to be “demobilized” (by 1946, 9
million of them were civilians and GI Bill
offered lots of new pathways)
 A return to many of the ideas of New Dealbut without the crisis. Truman called it the
Fair Deal: Focusing on improving the social
safety net and raising the standard of living
for ordinary Americans. Called on Congress
to increase the minimum wage, create
national health insurance (didn’t happen)
and expand public housing.

During war- government had supported labor- but limited
their power- b/c they needed production. Unions had been
gaining members, and in 1946 there was a wave of strikes
to increase their numbers and their power
 Nearly 5 million workers in steel, auto, coal and other
industries were on strike at various times throughout the
year- closest thing to a general strike we have ever had.
Truman did fact finding – recommended wage increases
 Concerns about labor issues created 1st widespread
Republican congressional victories since 1929. They turned
aside aspects of Fair deal, and created tax cuts for wealthy
Americans (over veto) and passed “right to work” laws
prohibiting compulsory union membership.

In the congressional elections 1946- for the 1st time since the 20s,
people voted republican. They fought Truman’s Fair Deal, enacted
tax cuts for wealthy Americans, and the Taft Hartley Act (gave the
gov’t the power to end strikes, outlawed closed shops, and required
unions to swear they weren’t communist) over Truman’s veto
 22nd Amendment 1951 “Anti- FDR” Amendment- a response to 17
years of Democratic control of the White House. Limited president
to two terms- a max of 10 years if a VP assumed presidency due to
death/departure of previous leader.

Truman was MUCH more active than FDR had beenspecifically reaching out to the NAACP and Black
community in general. Voter registration increased in
the upper south, and law enforcement officials took
lynching seriously. Integrated military through
executive order
 1947- Brooklyn Dodgers and Jackie Robinson
 1948 Truman presented a civil rights bill to congresscalling for a permanent commission, national laws
against lynching and poll tax, and action of ensure
equal access to jobs and education.
 That’s about all the southern wing of the new deal
coalition can take- and the election of 1948 is about to
get messy

Truman was not afraid to make tough choices
(which gets him a good rating) but doing what you
think is right is not going to make a politician
popular … and Truman was often the subject of
bitter debate. 1948 when Truman ran against Thomas Dewey
(gov of NY)
 Democrats beginning to split over civil rights- and that took
votes from Truman, south walked out convention and created
Dixiecrat party which ran Strom Thurman, and last elements of
the progressives who ran George Wallace. Last campaign before
tv and commercials get involved- where ideology is the
determining factor
 It looked like Truman was going down, Chicago Tribune even
printed headline…But Truman pulled out a narrow victory

Cold war encouraged a culture of gov’t secrecy and dishonesty.
Both US and USSR exposed soldiers to chemical and biological
weapons (as well as nuclear fallout) without their knowledge
Containment wasn’t JUST abroad – we were still really worried
about unorthodox ideas
“Fear” an undercurrent of cold war society. Fear
of communism leading to another war, fear of
nuclear attack, fear of another depression….
 Demagogue politicians played on and exploited
those fears for electoral gain and political power.
Sharp line between “patriotic Americans” and
the “disloyal”
 Alger Hiss (undersecretary of State) accused of
passing documents to the Soviets, which was not
proven, but jury gave him 5 years for perjury.
 Richard Nixon led prosecution- gained national
recognition and a VP nomination.



Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. Members of
the American Communist party- accused
of passing scientific information to the
Soviets which had led them to successful
development of the Atomic bomb.
“Evidence” in the case was top secret
documents- never shown to the court (or
the defense attorneys)- but though they
were not convicted of espionage they
were convicted of conspiracy and
executed. Truth of the case still unknown.





The 1950s is an age where “different” is pretty
synonymous with “dangerous”….and dangerous
means communist.
Senator Joe McCarthy of Wisconsin emerged as the head of the
anti communist crusade
1950n announced that he had a list of communists who worked
for the state department. Senate hearings started (committee on
government operations) which became a witch hunt platform for
McCarthy to search for “Reds” and “Pinkos”.
Made unsubstantiated accusations for 4 years about federal
employees, members of the armed forces, university professorseventually questioned Eisenhower’s patriotism (after soviet
summit)
Eventually hearings became televised, which is what brought
McCarthy down- everyone could see his bullying. Unfortunately
for many of the “accused” the damage was already done




House UnAmerican Activities Committee created to address
concerns about “communist influences”, specifically in the artsesp Hollywood.
Screenwriters, Actors, Directors etc questioned and required to
testify. Walt Disney, Gary Cooper, and Ronald Regan all famous
for testifying that Hollywood was full of communists. Those who
refused (Hollywood 10) were jailed for contempt, over 200
“blacklisted” as communist sympathizers.
J Edgar Hoover (director of FBI) complied “files” on thousands of
Americans- esp political dissenters, or those with alternative
lifestyles.
Lots of groups found anticommunism a convenient excuse to
crack down on people/things they didn’t like – civil rights leaders
used to get accused of communism a LOT
Anti- communist crusade filled
politics. After their unexpected defeat
in 1948- Republicans in congress used
charges of “subversion” to block Truman’s
policies- and enact their own
 McCarran Internal Security Bill: (passed over veto) Required
all “subversive” groups to register with the gov’t, denied
passports to members, and allowed deportation
 McCarran-Walter Act : (also passed over veto) New
immigration law (Truman had called for end of the quota
system) Kept Quotas, authorized deportation of
immigrants from communist countries- even if citizens
 Operation Wetback: (really????) rounding up and deporting
illegal aliens from Mexico



Cold war caused a shift in thinking and tactics
among civil rights groups. They started pointing
out idea that racism made us look bad to the
rest of the world- it was against our rhetoric of
freedom and equality. That annoyed a number
of people in the gov’t and slowed acceptance of
Truman’s policies
After 1948 things slow significantly for civil
rights. But the contrast between prosperity for
Whites and discrimination for Blacks would
inspire a Civil Rights revolution in the late 50s
and 60s- redefining American Freedom