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US involvement in World War II:

US involvement in World War II: 12,2 million soldiers : both volunteers (38,8%) and draftees . 420,000 dead (USSR: 24 million). V-E May 8, 1945 Success of the Grand Alliance (USA, UK, USSR). But… War in the Pacific not finished : Japan had not surrendered ,

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US involvement in World War II:

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  1. US involvement in World War II: 12,2 million soldiers: bothvolunteers (38,8%) and draftees. 420,000 dead(USSR: 24 million) V-E May 8, 1945 Success of the Grand Alliance (USA, UK, USSR) But… War in the Pacific not finished: Japanhad not surrendered, Kamikazes on US ships. • Little Boy and Fat Man. Why? • Officially to end the warquickly and makeJapansurrender. • To demonstrate the nuclear / military power of the USA : American hard power. • Unofficially, to beat the USSR by a nose. End of the Grand Alliance First step to the Cold War Beginning of the arms race

  2. U.S. share of Global GDP, IMF

  3. 1944 Bretton Woods Conference: the Dollar became the backbone of international exchanges

  4. Yalta Conference(February 1945) - War in Europe not finished - Position of strength: USSR - Agreement on the division of Germany and Berlin Picture of the map the BigThreeused at the Yalta conference, Churchill’s Cabinet WarRooms, London (withtranslucentpaper on top of it)

  5. 1945 US stamp Commemorating the San Francisco Conference (the olive branchembodiesPeace)

  6. Postdam Conference(July-August 1945) - War in Europe finished - Truman dropped the bombduring the conference: American position of strength - No final agreement over Eastern Europe: Soviet zone of influence, free elections to beorganised in countries freed by the RedArmy - Tensions, end of the Grand Alliance Free electionswererigged in EasternEuropean countries: establishment of populardemocracies (misleadingword), puppet states belonging to the Soviet bloc (Poland, East Germany, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Bulgaria). Iron Curtain across Europe “From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the Continent”, W. Churchill, March 5, 1946.

  7. Great winner of World War II Nuclearunchallenged power Prestige of the savior of Western, Europe USA’sleading position in 1945 Political leader: actor of the main post-warConferences Economicleading position (growth of GDP, preeminence of the Dollar, etc.)

  8. How to containCommunism? Truman Containment Doctrine triggers/leads to… Democracy, politicalstability Economicprosperity Economicproblems, disarray, poverty, misery triggers/leads to… Totalitarianism Communism Good versus Evil Pattern Fascism Nazism, Hitler Communism, USSR, Stalin Terrorism, Al Qaeda, Bin Laden, IS The USA and its allies

  9. The Marshall Plan $13.6 billion Gifts, loans, equipments to Europe Official politicalaim : to containcommunism(by establishingeconomicproperity following the Truman doctrine) Official economicaim: to turn Europe into a strongeconomicpartner It alsoconveyed the American model (consumer society) and to benefited US privatefirms. 16 Western European countries accepted the aid StalinobligedEasternEuropean populardemocracies to refuse

  10. Edwin Marcus, « Can he block it? », ca 1947

  11. Doc. – A 1905 American cartoon by Louis Dalrymple Uncle Sam straddles the Americas while wielding a big stick labeled 'Monroe Doctrine’.

  12. Map of the Rio Pact, 1947 Ecuador, Venezuela, Bolivia, Mexico, Nicaragua withdrewsinceitscreation

  13. Map of NATO (NorthAmericaexcluded), created in 1949

  14. Map of ANZUS (Australia, New Zealand, USA), 1951

  15. Map of SEATO – Manilla Pact (South East Asia Treaty Organisation), 1954

  16. Map of CENTO – Bagdad Pact (Central TreatyOrganization), 1955

  17. Soviet ICBMs (long-range missiles) on parade in Moscow's Red Square, 1961

  18. US military bases in Europe (today) Nukes: nuclearweapons

  19. PolarisSubmarine, able to fire SLBM

  20. Sputnik • Launched on October 4, 1957 • 58 centimeter-wide, 83 kilos • Orbitaround the Earth for 22 days • Provided simple information: measuredtemperatures and atmophericdensity (pressure)

  21. Doc. – A cartoon by Edwin Marcus, “Awake at last?”, October 1957

  22. William Pickering (left), James Van Allen, and Wernher von Braun (right) brandish a model of Explorer 1 over their heads

  23. Van Allen Belts • Explorer • Launched on January 31, 1958 • Operated for 105 days • Revealed the existence of the Van Allen Belts, first major discovery in space

  24. OrbitVostok 1 (Yuri Gagarin), April 12, 1961 (108 minutes)

  25. Alan Shepard, May 5, 1961

  26. Neil Armstrong, Apollo 11, July 20, 1969 “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind”

  27. Political system: liberaldemocracy People chose theirrulers by voiting for them in free elections Economic system: capitalism Privateproperty of the means of production Corporations in competition, willing to make profit Marketeconomy American model Soft power Consumer society, land of plenty American Dream Technological, scientificadvance American way of life (suburbanAmerica, urbansprawl)

  28. West Berlin: enclave/outpost of 2 million inhabitantswithin the Soviet zone

  29. Decision of Western zones to gather and adopt a commoncurrency (the Deutsche Mark) Blockade: all land communications cutbetween West Berlin and West Germany, June 1948 Airliftsettled by the Allies, mostlyimplemented by the US Air Force American B29 bombers in Europeanmilitary bases to deterStalinfrompreventing the airflit After 318 days, Stalinlifted the blockade in May 1949 Creation of GFR / NATO Creation of GDR / WarsawPact Victory for the USA and allies: technologicalfeat and blockadelifted

  30. Koreadividedintotwo parts along the 38th parallelsince the end of WWII: - NorthKorea(freed by the USSR), communist, led by Kim Il-Sung - South Korea(freed by the USA), part of the Western bloc June 25, 1950: NorthKoreainvaded South Korea. Very efficient invasion thatsurprised the whole World Reaction of the UN, under the leadership of the USA and Gal McArthur: Theyrepeled the enemy, contained the extension of Communismoutside NorthKorea Rollback: fromOctober 1950, the UN/US troopsinvaded the North to reunitebothKoreas China entered the War in November 1950 Gal McArthurthreatened China with an atomicattack, March 24, 1951 Warreached a stalemateuntil July 1953 Conflictsolvedafter the death of Stalin Korearemaineddivided Dismissed by President Truman

  31. Cuba wasruled by dictatorBattista Client State of the USA • 1959, Fidel Castro brought to power by • a popularrevolution: • Nationalization of the Cubancompaniesexploited • by the USA (sugarmills and oilrefineries) • Communistregimesettled, close to the USSR April 17, 1961: Bay of Pigs Attempt for the USA, via Cubanexilees, to invade Cuba = Bigfailure, completedisaster Cuba isonly 90 miles far from Miami!!! Castro decidedthat Cuba needed Soviet military assistance 1962, nuclear missiles placed in Cuba

  32. The Vietnam War: when and why? • Vietnam wasdividedsince the end of the Indochinawar 1946-54 • (independencewar): • North Vietnam: communist, led by Ho Chi-Minh • South Vietnam: supported by the USA, led by Ngo Dinh Diem • Explosive situation: • Vietcong (communistguerrillas) sent to disrupt South Vietnam • through the Ho-Chi-Minh trail • Ngo Dinh Diem assassinated (Nov. 1963) • Two US warshipstorpedoed in the Tonking Gulf (Aug. 1964) • The USA wanted to avoid the Domino Theory Tonking Gulf Resolution, August 7, 1964 “like grandma’s nightshirt: it covered everything”.

  33. US large scaleinvolvement (1964-69) withJohnson: • Aerialbombing: 7 million tons of bombs, 2.5 as much as during WWII!! • Soldiersdid not know the land: conscripts, over-equipped, depending on techonology, very visible, easytargets • Usedindiscriminateweaponslike Napalm or Agent Orange. Vietcongguerrillas, meltingawayamongcivilians, invisible, poorlyequiped but very efficient Need to end the crisis: Nixonvietnamised the conflict. By 1972, all American troopshadleft the country. 1975, North Vietnam invaded South Vietnam. The American Congressbarred President Ford frominterveningagain. Vietnam wasreunified as a single communist state Failure of the Containment Doctrine

  34. Conscripts Johnson’spolicy, unadapted to the land “We are the Unwilling led by the Unqualified, doing the Unnecessaryfor the Ungrateful” Pointlesswar, not a righteous / just cause South Vietnamese, shelteringVietcongguerrillas American people: public opinion against the war

  35. Efficiency of the Vietcong, difficulty of the World’s first army to fight on the land Verycostly $300 billion Whydid the Americanslose the war? • Harshlycriticizedwithin the USA: • Drafteesfled to Canada • UUUU on American helmets • Loads of demonstrations in the USA questioning • the rightness of the war and criticising • the methods (indiscriminateweapons) Pointlesswar, frustration of the soldiers blunders, unadaptedmethods Failure of the American Containmentpolicy Trauma of the soldierscoming back from Vietnam: isolated and misunderstood Image of the USA tarnished: no longer the savior of the World

  36. Real thawing in the East-West relationships: • The arms race slowed down (ex: SALT, 1972) • A telephone hotline was set up between the two leaders • The USA recognisedMao’sPeople’sRepublic of China (1971) The Détente (1962-79) Evolution of the balance of powers • The USA stood back: • Engulfed in the Vietnam war • Economic leadership questionedwith the 1973 and 1979 oilcrisis • Civil RightsMovements in the 1960s • Democracyshakened by the Watergate scandalwhichobligedPresident Nixon to resign. • Leadership of the USA questioned in itsbackyard, Latin America: image of the USA tarnished by the factthatitsupportedsome coups (like Gal Pinochet in Chile in 1973), creation of the MERCOSUR (to promote free trade) between Latin American countries, without the USA. • The USSR assertedits power: • Produced more ICBMs (long-range nuclear missiles) • Crushed several revolutions in the popular democracies (like in Prague, Czechoslovakia, 1968) • Allied with African countries (like Libya).

  37. Context: Euromissile crisis (1977-87): both blocs renewedtheir missiles located in Europe Pershing II / SS-20 Context: war in Afghanistan (1979-88) whichinvolved the USSR Evil Empire, anti-communistpropaganda Peacethroughstrength Arms race Deterrent / intimidation force Americais back! SDI (Strategic Defense Initiative): space-based satellite shield, making the USA impervious to anynuclearattack Reagan perfectlyknewwhathewasdoing: hewanted to encouraged the USSR in an arms race itcould not afford Unrealistic but the USSR did not know that USSR exhausted, ran out of breath M. Gorbachev, Soviet Premier from 1985, found a country in tatters INF Washington Treatyto stop the arms race and destroy nuclear missiles Collapse of the USSR, an American victory?

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