History Final Studyguide
1. Why did the wartime alliance between the Soviet Union and the United States break
down so quickly in the immediate postwar years? As part of your answer, be sure to
include a discussion of wartime tensions and the difficulties posed by the problems of
Eastern Europe, Germany, and the atomic bomb?
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Before the war started the Soviet Union and the United States were very
suspicious of each other. Americans were suspicious because the Soviets were
communists and America is very anti-communism. Soviet was suspicious of
America because they were a democracy. The only reason Soviet and America
were ever allies is because they had a common energy.
Early in the war the US tells the Stalin that if we win the Soviets can have a
sphere of influence in Eastern Europe.
o US believe this to be an “open sphere” of influence. Which means just
watching and making sure nothing bad happens
o Soviets end up taking over Eastern Europe and takes away all of their
freedom. These countries include Poland, East Germany, Hungry,
Czechoslovakia
Another reason the Soviets were suspicious of the Americans is because America
made the atomic bomb but doesn’t tell the Soviets. Stalin knows the entire time
and thinks that the US could be planning to use them on the Soviet Union because
the US kept them a secret.
During the Yalta Conference in 1945 they agree to divide up Germany into zones.
Soviets get Eastern Europe. Berlin sits in the middle of East Germany and the
allies decide to divide it
o The Soviets want a weak Germany so they cannot rise up against the
Soviets
o US and Britain want a strong Germany so that they can have a strong
trading partner
2. Discuss the Cold War foreign policy of Harry Truman. What is the Truman
Doctrine and how does it embody the key assumptions of containment? What role did
the Marshall Plan play in the development of the early Cold War?
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Truman has absolutely no foreign policy experience but is attracted to the idea of
being more aggressive towards the soviets
The Truman Doctrine: Truman’s stagey to stop communism from spreading
o It was basically a containment doctrine to stop the Soviets from spreading
communism. He built a wall to stop it from expanding
Marshall Plan 1948
o Europe is in chaos and is in the verge of a communist revolution
o The US gave aid to Western Europe to help their economy grow and resist
communism
§ 13 billion dollars to European Nations
2 3. How did the Cold War shape American domestic relations from roughly 19451954? What steps did the Truman Administration take to combat alleged domestic
subversion? What role did Joseph McCarthy play in these years and what was
McCarthyism? What does this era tell us about the nature of freedom in the postwar
period? As part of your answer, include a discussion of what the Robbins article tells us
about the Cold War in Oklahoma.
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The Cold War made America very wary of communism.
Politics
o Loyalty and security act 1947: established loyalty board for the public
§ If you were thought to be a communist you could be called to the
board and your loyalty would be questioned
o Loyalty oaths were also used, you must sign an oath before you get a
government job
McCarthy was very anti-communism and knew how to work the press
o Wrote a speech “I have in my hand…” says he has a piece of paper with
205 names of communist in the state department
§ He has no proof to back any of this up
o McCarthy sources of support include conservative wing of republic party
and the catholic church
Congress investigates McCarthy and finds out that he has no proof. Edward R
Murrow, a famous TV news castor exposes McCarthy for being a bully, distorting
facts and ruining lives.
4. Why is it necessary to go back to World War II to understand the Vietnam War? In
the minds of U.S. policy makers, what was at stake in Vietnam? How would you contrast
and compare Kennedy’s, Johnson’s, and Nixon’s Vietnam policies? Why did the U.S.
ultimately lose the Vietnam War.
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Vietnam is part of larger cold war struggle (containment).
Vietnam was under the power of the French until WWII when they lost power and
Ho Chi Minh gains power in Vietnam
o Vietminh – Minh’s nationalism and communism organization
o Minh asks for recognition from the US but is denied because he is a
communist (cannon trust him). Instead the US decides to support the
French’s decision to re-colonize in Vietnam
o Minh struggles against the French, while the US starts to financially back
the French
o The Geneva accords ended the war and decided that they would divide
Vietnam in ½. Elections are supposed to be held in 1956, but they are
canceled by the US because they are afraid that Minh will win
Kennedy: He is a cold warrior. JFK wants to fight communism more aggressively
on the communist’s turf
o Assassinated Nov 22 1963 and LBJ becomes president
Johnson: He is very torn about the war but if Vietnam falls then his administration
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would be to blame.
o So he passes the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution which gave the President
power to “take all necessary measure to repeal any armed attack and
prevent further aggression”
§ Never declared war
o However after the Tet offensive, Johnson lost all of his credibility and the
public no longer supported him
Nixon: elected in 1968 attacks the war with the idea of “peace and honor”. He
believed that the Vietnam war should be fought by the Vietnamese, not the US.
o Continues to widen the war by invading Cambodia, but creates a very antiwar sentiment
o Congress begins to take control by turning down requests for more troops,
repealing the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, cutting funding for the war.
Passed the War Powers Act which severely limited the power of the
president to wage war without Congresses approval
Finally in 1975 the war comes to an end when North Vietnam launches a huge
front and overtakes South Vietnam, uniting it as a communist country.
FIND OUT WHY WE ULTMATELY LOST THE WAR
5. What impact did the Vietnam War have on domestic politics? In other words, how
did the war shape the politics of the 1960s?
6. Discuss the key developments in the history of Civil Rights in the post-World War II
period? Why did the movement development when it did? In what way was the
movement identified with the efforts of Martin Luther King, Jr. and in what ways did the
movement transcend his efforts? Be sure to discuss key events in the history of the civil
rights movement. How does the Tyson article on Robert Williams challenge
conventional understandings of the civil rights movement? What were the key
achievements of the civil rights struggle?
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The civil rights movement developed when it did because America was fighting
for freedom, but did not have freedom within itself. It was very hypocritical that
African Americans were still under de facto segregation.
Gunder Murdal wrote a book on how America cannot fulfill its ideals if racism
continues
Frans Boaz was a leading intellectual who trained students to challenge racial
hierarchies.
Key Happenings:
o Brown v Board of Education 1954: ended de jure segregation in schools,
overturning Plessy v Ferguson. “separate but equal is inherently unequal”
§ However, this was met with massive resistance because there was
no time table for schools to be desegregated. KKK resurfaces.
o Central High School in Arkansas, 9 black children want to attend a white
school but were denied. Einshower sends in the 101st airborne to
desegregate school
o After Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on the bus, the Montgomery
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Bus boycotts began, lead by MLK
§ Victory was won after 381 days but was only limited to buses
o The sit in movement began when 4 blacks sat at a whites only lunch
counter and got arrested. This action began to be copied in many other
cities
o “Freedom Riders” 1961: rode white interstate buses in an effort to
desegregate them. They were tracked by the KKK
Martin Luther King Jr.
o Background: Christian, Social Justice and Non-violent
Tyson Article
o Story of Robert Williams, a black activist who understood that African
Americans needed to stand up and resist.
§ “armed self-reliance” only use violence when it is used against you
(defense)
• challenged MLK who was very non-violent
o Williams used the politics of the cold war to get the government to
intervene
§ Created a bad image of America fighting for freedom while blacks
were still enslaved
Key Achievements
7. Some argue the 1960s represent the triumph of liberalism; others point to more
fundamental challenges to American culture represented by various radical movements;
still others argue that the 1960s saw the dawning of a new era of conservative politics?
How can this be so? What are the various strands of political life in America in these
years? What was radical about the decade? What was liberal? What was conservative?
Here you might include in your discussion references to the Hijiya and Tyson articles.
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Liberal:
o In 1964 Johnson is elected president (runs against Goldwater)
o Passes a voting rights bill which authorizes the federal government to
regulate elections where blacks would be discriminated against and black
voting did increase greatly
o Great Society
§ Johnson’s war on poverty
§ Creates programs to aid the poor, such as job training, headstart,
and legal services
§ Gave power to the community to fight poverty
o Also created medicare (help with medical expenses for the elderly and
medcaid (help with medical expenses for the poor)
o The Warren Court
§ Chief Justice Earl Warren was very liberal with all of his decisions,
this includes: no prayer in school, the right to a lawyer, birth
control is no longer banned and considered a private matter and he
worked against all of the Jim Crow laws
Conservative:
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Nixon is elected in 1968 and starts to lay down some conservative ground work
Warren is no longer chief justice
Conservatives began to rise up and pursue the cold war more aggressively and
fight against government involvement and programs
Hijiya
Conservatives in the 1960s explains how the 1960s was not just a decade about
the importance of liberals but how the conservatives gained strength and began
gaining power
Tyson
8. If the 1960s represented the triumph of liberalism, the political culture seemed to
move toward the Right (i.e. the conservative side) in the 1970s and 1980s. What forces
gave rise to this dramatic shift in the political culture of America. What were the key
values of what we now call “Reaganism?” • Dramatic shift to conservative: o The Carter presidency had high inflation and lots of inflations. His ultimate downfall was when Iran took 50 hostages and Carter couldn’t get them back for 444 days. • Population began to shift to more conservative parts of the country, the moral majority is worried about cultural decline and everyone wants a tax cut • Reagan wins the election of 1980 and fulfills his many promises, even though it causes major debt • “Reaganism” o Cuts domestic programs including Medicare, Medicaid, food stamps, food meals o Cuts taxes § Assumed trickle down economics would occur but was mistaken • Cut the taxes of the wealthy and they would invest more which would create more jobs for more people to work and more people would pay taxes to close the deficit o Convinced that environmental regulations were hampering business and began to cut environmental programs everywhere