Truman and the Cold War, 1945-1952
Post War America
● WWI
○ Isolationist to military super power
○ Ppl wanted to return to domestic life
■ Conflict w communist of SU and US
● Cold war
○ Problem of finding jobs
○ Ppl demanded for housing and other things= econ
uncertainty
● 1940s- america's highest standard of living
● GI Bill or ​Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944
○ Wanted to help vets
■ Help 165 mil americans
■ 2 mil americans received low interest rates
■ Benefits
■ Gov backed loans
● Baby Boom(246)
○ Many marriages and babies
■ Younger marriages
■ Larger families
● 50 mil
■ Wanted to focus women intention of raising children and homemaking
● ⅓ of all women worked outside
● Suburban Growth
○ Willian J. Levitt
■ Postwar suburbia- promotion of Levittown
■ Low-priced family homes on Long Island
● NY low-interest rates on mortgages- tax deductible
○ 1960s- Boston to LA= increasingly poor cities/ racially divided
● Rise of the sunbelt
○ Postwar- moving habits
○ Warmer climate, lower taxes, econ opportunity
■ Industries wanted GI ppl and families
● Cold War helped finance the shift industry, ppl, pol power
Postwar politics
● FDR died
○ Harry Truman became prez- 1945 (demo) (547)
■ Average ppl liked him and wanted to continue New Deal Programs
● Econ Programs and Civil Rights
○ Employment Act-1946
■ Council of econ adviser was created to oversee prez and congress
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● From promoting national welfare
○ Inflation and Strikes
■ Truman wanted to control and maintain
● Southern demo and repub
○ Office of Price Admin controls
■ Increased inflation by 25%
● 4.5 mil workers on strike (1948) for increased wages
○ Truman ordered soldiers to strike
○ Civil Rights Committee 1946
■ Truman helped by using his power
■ Civil rights division in Justice Dept got stronger
● Helped black leaders end segregation
■ End of Discrimination in fed gov and forces- 1948
● Tried to create a fair employment practices so ppl would stop
discriminating against blacks
○ Southern demo blocked it
Republican Control of the Eightieth Congress
○ Congress won both congress houses-1946
■ Truman vetoed tax cuts bc they were for the wealthy(548)
○ Passed:
■ Twenty-sec Amendment-1951
● Set maximum terms for prez
■ Taft-Hartley Act-1947:
● Congress overrode truman's veto on slave labor bill
○ Required workers to join union
○ Outlawing boycotts
○ 80-day-cooling-off for prez
■ Kept repub and demo apart
The Election of 1948
○ Truman lost demos- they created own party
○ Liberal demo didn't like truman foreign policy
○ Southern demo didn't like civil rights
The Fair Deal (549)
○ Truman proposed welfare programs
■ Increased minimum wage- only thing approved
■ Truman kept w New Deal regardless of congress and ppl doubt
Origins of the Cold War
● US- Soviet Union relations to 1945
○ Alliance with WWII, Russia and the US had bad relations
○ Bolshevik Rev(1917)-- Red Scare(1919)
○ US didnt want to recognize the Soviet Union until 1933 (549-550)
● Allies in WWII
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Hitler invasion + Pearl Harbor attacks led US and Soviet to form alliance
■ Never really trusted each other
● Postwar cooperation- the UN
○ US, GB, France, China, SU got permanent seats
○ SU went along w​ Ation Energy Commission​ (US idea)
■ Rejected Baruch Plan​ (no nuclear energy)
○ SU did not participate in W
​ orld Bank​ bc capitalist
○ SU did participate in N
​ uremberg Trials​ of nazi leaders
● Satellite states in Eastern Europe
○ Hostility bc Soviets still controlled most of Central and Eastern Europe
■ Elections in favor of communism (551)
● Dictators came to power in Central and Eastern Europe countries
● US and GB were scared of the takeover
● Occupation zones in Germany
○ When Germany was divided into occupation zones- SU turned eastern zone into
communist state
■ Tight control over east germany
■ Need to keep it weak
● Iron curtain
○ Soviet spy
■ Need stricter policies in washington
■ Winston Churchill delivered Iron Curtain Speech
● Blamed soviets
● Encouraged western demo to stop expansion
Containment in Europe
● Truman Doctrine
○ A response to 2 threats
■ Communists led uprising against greek gov
■ Soviets wanted control of Turkey
● Truman asked congress for money for aid
○ Against greeks and turks
● The Marshall Plan
○ fear of Communism
■ hardships Europe faced
■ Cant be voted
● ​programs were made to provide economic aid -​ European
Recovery Program
○ cost of $17 billion, it was approved for $12 billion
● The money was to be distributed for a 4 year duration
○ The Soviets and Eastern European satellites denied the offer
● Effects
○ Successful aided the countries
○ Eliminated the possibility of Communism expansion, which deepened tensions
between the West (non-C) & the East ©
○ Increased U.S. exports to Europe
● The Berlin Airlift
● 1948 ​Berlin transports had issues ○ Soviets cut off land access
■ Truman ​ordered planes to fly in supplies and 60 A-bombs (553)
● 1949 ​the Soviets stopped the 11-month blockade
○ created:
■ ​Federal Republic of Germany(​Westside-U.S.ally)
■ German Democratic Republic(​Eastside-Soviet Satellite)
➔ NATO and National Security (553)
◆ North Atlantic Treaty Organization
● military alliance:
○ U.S. joined in 1​949
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​Warsaw Pact:
○ ​military alliance for the Communist states
● ​ National Security Act 1947
○ Had a Department of Defense to manage operations
○ National Security Council:
■ ​make foreign policy during Cold War
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​Central Intelligence Agency:​ hire spies to watch other countries
○ ​ Selective Service System & peacetime draft-1948
➔ Atomic weapons (533)
○ The U.S. were the only ones with an A-bomb for 4 years
■ In 1949 Soviets tested their first
● Truman ​approved the H
​ ydrogen-bomb​ -1952
○ a secret report
■ U.S. gov’t defense spending to 20%
■ Alliances with non-Communist countries
■ Gain approval of American public
● Evaluating U.S. policy
○ NATO ​critics: more Russian fears & unnecessary arms race
■Although it was very successful
● It checked the Soviets & kept peace until they collapsed in 1​991
(554)
Cold War in Asia
● Japan
○ Under control of the US
○ 7 war generals
■ War crime----executed
○ General Douglas Macarthur led Japan
■ Emperor Hirohito-head of state- demo
■ Japanese had limited military
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● Depended on US
US- Japanese Security Treaty (555)
■ Occupation of japan- ended bc korea claim and pacific islands
● Post occupation: US troops stayed in military base
○ Protection against communism
Philippines independence- July 4, 1946
■ US kept naval and air bases
China
○ Chiang Kai-shek used command party to control China’s central gov
○ US policy
■ Truman admin sent George Marshall to china (556)
● To negotiate an ending to the Civil War 1946
○ Two Chinas
■ Only refuge for china was Formosa
● Island indr china control
● Repubs blame demos for losing china to communist
● Stalin and Mao both communist signed pact- Sino-Soviet pact
● The Korean War
○ Invasion
■ North korea invaded south korea
■ UN send aid to south
○ Counterattack
■ UN hurt north korean army
○ Truman v MacArthur
■ Truman told mac to not make a public briefing
● Mac did
○ Armistice
■ Armistice signed in korea-1953
● Eisenhower first year as prez
The Second Red Scare
● Right after WWII
● Security and civil rights
○ Truman admin setup ​Loyalty Review board
■ Invested millions of ppl
○ Prosecutions under smith act
■ Dennis et al v US
● Smith act 1940 was constitutional
■ McCarran Internal Security Act 1950
● Unlawful to support totalitarian gov
● Restricted employment
○ Can't join communist organizations
● Authorized creation of detention camp for subversives
○ Un-American activities
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Committee HUAC
● Find communist
Espionage Cases
○ The gov spied on communist- violated civil liberties?? (559)
○ Alger Hiss (dept official)
■ Convicted and sent to prison for lying to court about being communist
○ Rosenberg Case
■ Americans were convinced that spies helped Soviets to make atomic
bomb
● GB scientist helped
● FBI investigation traced Julius and Ethel Rosenberg
○ Executed
The rise of Joseph McCarthy
○ He feared communism to gain support
○ McCarthy’s tactics
■ Claimed there were still 205 communist
■ Kept media away from Truman Admin
■ Repubs liked
○ army - McCarthy hearings
■ Publically exposed 1954
■ Died 1957
Truman's Retirement (560)
○ He had a low probability of reelection bc of the things happening rn
○ He was blamed
EISENHOWER AND THE COLD WAR
Dulles’ Diplo
○ Believed they should use intimidation and “brinkmanship”
■ Eisenhower said no
○ Massive Retaliation
■ Supported nuclear weapons
● Saved money
■ Big weapons= no war (573)
Unrest in the Third War
○ Convert action
■ US troops became less expensive and more involved with other nations
politics
■ CIA helped overthrow gov of Iran- holding foreign oil - 1953
● Reza Pahlavi returned
■ CIA overthrew conservative gov threatened US business from guatemala1954(574)
Asia
○ Korean armistice
■ Eisenhower withdrew troops bc nuclear fear
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■ Korea was still divided
Fall of Indochina
■ French tried to take Indochina
● Cambodians and vietnamese resisted
■ Support from communist in china
● Led to anti colonial war
○ US helped France and china
○ Soviet helped Ho Chi Minh’s army
■ Geneva Conference
● France gave up Indochina
● Divided cambodia and laos and vietnam
■ Division of Vietnam
● Wait until general election
○ North to communist- Ho Chi
○ South to anti communist- Ngo Dinh diem
○ Domino Theory-​ if SV fell under comm control all nations
would also fall
■ Aus and NZ in danger
■ Southeast Asia Treaty Organ (575)
● 8 nations sign pact- defend each other- 1954
The Middle East
■ Suez Crisis
● Egypt wanted to help Aswan Dam
○ US refused- Egypt threatened Israel
■ Asked SU
● Took Suez Canal
○ Threatened connection to middle
eastern oil
○ GB, France, Iran attack Egypt- took
back
○ Eisenhower support
Eisenhower Doctrine (576)
■ US pledge econ and military ad to any Middle eastern country threatened
by comm
Organ of Petroleum Exporting Countries
■ Growing west
● Depend on middle east
● Probs w israelis and palestinians
US-Soviet Relations
■ Spirit of Geneva
● Eisenhower wanted a decreased rate in arms race
○ Atoms for peace
● Soviets also
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Summit meeting in Geneva
○ Agreed to open skies (578)
■ Soviets reject
Hungarian Revolt
○ Workers from germ and poland demanded reforms from
comm gov
■ Oct 1956 hungarian overthrew gov in moscow
■ Replace w liberal leaders
● Wanted hungary out of​ Warsaw Pact
■ Soviets invade- end cold war
Sputnik shock
○ 1957- SU sent first satellites into space
■ Sputnik 1 and Sputnik 2
● Helped by US
● Placed far missiles
■ National Defense Edu Act (NDEA)
● Gave lots of $ to educate science in schools
■ National Aeronautic and Space Admin(NASA)
● US space organ to compete w russia
Second Berlin Crisis
○ SU leader have west 6 month to pull troops out of west
germ before turning over city- 1958
■ US refusal- agreed to put off crisis w Khrushchev(
SU leader)
U-2 incident
○ Russians shot down US spy Plane- the U-2 over SU
■ Exposed US
■ Eisenhower took responsibility
Communism in Cuba (578)
○ Fidel Castro- overthrew columbian dictator-1959
■ Eisenhower cut US trade
Eisenhower’s Legacy
○ Kept peace
○ Relax comm aggression
○ Started slowing down tension
○ Limited arms usage- 1958
○ “Military-industrial complex”
■ His speech had bad impact
■ Arms race dangerous