Chapter 26

1. Chapter 26 The Cold War (1945–1960)

2. Origins of the Cold War • Why was 1945 a critical year in United States foreign relations? • What were the postwar goals of the United States and the Soviet Union? • How did the iron curtain tighten the Soviet Union’s hold over Eastern Europe? • How did the Truman Doctrine complement the policy of containment?

3. 1945—A Critical Year • As the end of World War II approached, relations between the Communist Soviet Union and its wartime allies, the United States and Great Britain, grew increasingly tense. • At a meeting at Yalta in February, Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin agreed on the postwar division of Germany but disagreed on the future of Poland.

4. 1945—A Critical Year • In April, representatives of 50 countries, including the United States, adopted the charter for the United Nations, an organization dedicated to cooperation in solving international problems. • On April 12, Roosevelt died unexpectedly, making Vice President Truman the new President. Truman continued Roosevelt’s negotiations with Stalin at the Potsdam Conference in July.

5. Conflicting Postwar GoalsAmerican and Soviet Goals American Goals • Wanted conquered European nations to experience the democracy and economic opportunity that the United States had fought for during the war • Wanted to develop strong capitalist economies, which would provide good markets for American products

6. Conflicting Postwar GoalsAmerican and Soviet Goals Soviet Goals • Wanted to rebuild Europe in ways that would help the Soviet Union recover from the huge losses it suffered during the war • Wanted to establish Soviet satellite nations, countries subject to Soviet domination and sympathetic to Soviet goals • Wanted to promote the spread of communism throughout the world

7. Soviets Tighten Their Hold Communist Expansion in Eastern Europe • Albania and Bulgaria: Communists secure control by silencing opposition in Albania; Soviet troops seize Bulgaria. • Czechoslovakia: Although it desperately tried to remain democratic, Czechoslovakia became a Soviet satellite nation in 1948.

8. Soviets Tighten Their Hold • Hungary and Romania: By arresting anti-Communist leaders in Hungary and forcing the appointment of a Communist prime minister in Romania, Communists achieved power in both nations. • East Germany: To make sure Germany could not threaten his nation again, Stalin established a totalitarian government, naming the state the German Democratic Republic.

9. Soviets Tighten Their Hold • Finland and Yugoslavia: Both countries maintained their independence from Soviet control – Finland, by signing a treaty of cooperation, and Yugoslavia, by following the leadership of Tito.

10. The Iron Curtain

11. Containment and the Truman Doctrine • The competition between the United States and the Soviet Union for world influence came to be known as the Cold War. • The American policy of containment accepted the fact that Eastern Europe was under Communist control, but sought to prevent Communist governments from forming elsewhere in the world.

12. Containment and the Truman Doctrine • The Truman Doctrine, which applied the principles of containment, stated that the United States would support free peoples who resist attempted conquest. The Truman Doctrine was first applied in the cases of Greece and Turkey.

13. The Cold War Heats Up • How did the Marshall Plan, the Berlin airlift, and NATO help to achieve American goals in postwar Europe? • How did Communist advances affect American foreign policy? • How did the Cold War affect American life at home?

14. 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.

15. The Marshall Plan • Seventeen Western European nations joined the plan, receiving a total of $13 billion in aid.

16. 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.

17. The Berlin Airlift • 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.

18. 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.

19. NATO 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.

20. Communist Advances 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.

21. Communist Advances 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.

22. The Cold War at Home • During the late 1940s, fear of Communist spies created a climate of suspicion in the United States. • Truman established a federal employee loyalty program in 1947, checking the backgrounds of all new and existing federal employees.

23. The Cold War at Home • The House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) began investigating Hollywood personalities who the committee claimed, had Communist leanings. 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.

24. The Cold War at Home • Fueled by fears of disloyal immigrants from Communist countries, the 1952 McCarran-Walter Act reestablished the immigration quota system from 1924. This act discriminated against potential immigrants from Asia and Southern and Central Europe. • 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.

25. The Korean War • How did Communist expansion in Asia set the stage for the Korean War? • Who fought in the Korean War, and what were the three stages of the war? • What were the effects of the Korean War?

26. Communist Expansion in Asia The Chinese Civil War • Civil war began in the mid-1920s and intensified after World War II. • Mao Zedong won support for the Communists by redistributing land and offering schooling and healthcare. • Jiang Jieshi’s Nationalist Party lost support because of harsh treatment of the population, high taxes, and corruption. • When the Communists took power in 1949, the Nationalists fled to Taiwan.

27. Communist Expansion in Asia The Division of Korea • World War II ended before a plan could be made for Korean independence from Japan. • Korea was temporarily divided at the thirty-eighth parallel, the latitude line running through approximately the midpoint of the peninsula. • A pro-American government formed in South Korea, while a Communist government formed in North Korea.

28. The Korean Conflict • In June 1950, the Korean Warbroke out when North Korean troops invaded South Korea, aiming to reunite the nation by force. • A UN resolution, which passed because the Soviets were not there to veto it, called on member states to defend South Korea and restore peace. Roughly 80 percent of the troops who served in the resulting UN police action were American.

29. The Korean Conflict • By attacking North Korean supply lines, General Douglas MacArthur was able to gain an advantage and push north. However, a stalemate developed after China helped the North Koreans push the UN forces back into South Korea. • A truce signed in 1953 left Korea again divided near the thirty eighth parallel.

30. The Effects of the Korean War Post-Korean War Changes in America • Warfare — Limited war, limited victory • Integration of the Military — First war in which white Americans and African Americans served in the same units • Increased Power of the Military — A military-industrial complex developed as the military established links with the corporate and scientific communities. • Foreign Policy in Asia — September 1951 peace treaty signed with Japan; relations worsen with Communist China

31. The Continuing Cold War • What were the characteristics of the McCarthy era? • How was the Cold War waged in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America during the 1950s? • How did the arms race develop?

32. The McCarthy Era McCarthy’s Rise to Power • Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy, up for reelection raised the specter of Communist conspiracies within the United States. • McCarthy produced a list of 250 names of presumed Communist-supporting government employees. Later, when scrutinized, this list was reduced to 57. • Although McCarthy’s accusations were usually baseless and unprovable, few were willing to risk their reputations by speaking out against him.

33. The McCarthy Era McCarthy’s Fall • In early 1954, McCarthyism, the name given to McCarthy’s crusade, reached the army. • Democrats asked that the hearings between McCarthy and the army be televised, hoping to swing popular opinion against McCarthy. • By mid-June 1954, McCarthy had lost even his strongest supporters. The Senate formally condemned him for his actions.

34. The Cold War in the 1950s United States involvement around the world, 1947–1956 • Eastern Europe— Wary of war with the Soviets, America did not support uprisings in East Germany, Poland, and Hungary. • Southeast Asia— Korean War ends; former French colony of Vietnam is divided into Communist North and anti-Communist South.

35. The Cold War in the 1950s • Middle East— United States supports Israel, backs groups that restore a pro-American Shah in Iran; the Suez Crisis in Egypt erupts. • Latin America— Organization of American States (OAS) is created; American aid helps anti-Communist leaders gain and retain power.

36. The Arms Race • Throughout the 1950s, the United States and the Soviet Union competed in an arms race, a struggle to gain weapons superiority. • Deterrence, the policy of maintaining a military arsenal so strong that no enemy will attack for fear of retaliation, resulted in the escalating development of powerful nuclear weapons. • The American policy of brinkmanship involved bringing the United States to the brink of war without actually entering into war.

37. The Arms Race in the Skies • To carry bombs to their targets, the Soviet Union developed long-range rockets known as intercontinental ballistic missiles, or ICBMs. • In 1957, one of these rockets was used to launch the Soviet satellite Sputnik, the first artificial satellite to orbit Earth. • When a Soviet guided missile shot down an American U-2 spy plane, the resulting U-2 incident shattered American confidence and prompted a desire to match—and surpass—Soviet weapons technology.

38. Chapter 27 The Postwar Years at Home (1945–1960)

39. The Postwar Economy • How did businesses reorganize after World War II? • How did technology transform life after World War II? • In what ways did the nation’s work force change following World War II? • Why did suburbs and highway systems grow after World War II? • How did postwar conditions affect consumer credit?

40. Businesses Reorganize • The postwar years were a time of great economic growth in America. Between 1945 and 1960, the per capita income, or average annual income per person, rose considerably. • American businesses switched from providing war needs to meeting increasing demand for consumer products. In order to protect against economic downturns, many formed conglomerates, corporations made up of three or more unrelated businesses. • Thefranchise system, in which small businesses contract with larger parent companies for goods and services, flourished.

41. Technology Transforms Life Developments in Technology During the 1950s • Television— Television becomes a popular and powerful medium. • Computers and Electronics— The invention of the transistor, a tiny circuit device that amplifies, controls, and generates electrical signals, revolutionizes computers and radios. • Nuclear Power— Wartime nuclear research is put to peacetime use in nuclear power plants and nuclear-powered submarines. • Advances in Medicine— Dr. Jonas Salk develops a vaccine against polio; advances in antibiotics and surgical techniques save countless lives.

42. Changes in the Work force White Collar Workers • Corporate expansion created more white-collar jobs. • Office work was less dangerous and exhausting than factory work, and provided more opportunity for advancement. • White collar workers often had little connection to their companies’ products, and often felt pressure to dress, think, and act alike.

43. Changes in the Work force Blue Collar Workers • New machines reduced the number of manual labor-intensive jobs. • Working conditions and wages improved. • Labor unions won important gains; the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations merged to form the powerful AFL-CIO.

44. The Baby Boom The baby boom, or rise in birth rates, that had begun in the 1940s continued into the 1950s.

45. Suburbs, Cars, and Highways Suburban Growth • The GI Bill of Rightsgave returning soldiers low-income mortgages, enabling many to buy homes in newly built suburbs • Developers such as William J. Levitt built entire communities quickly and on one mold, using preassembled materials. • Although most Americans enjoyed living in communities such as Levitt’s, others complained that the new developments lacked variety.

46. Suburbs, Cars, and Highways Cars and Highways • The growth of suburbs led more Americans to rely on cars for everyday transportation. • More and better roads were needed to support the increase in cars. The 1956 Federal-Aid Highway Act provided billions of dollars to build an interstate highway system. • Cars became part of American culture as new businesses such as drive-in movies emerged.

47. The Growth of Consumer Credit • Gasoline companies began offering credit cards with which consumers could purchase their product. Soon, lending agencies began to offer credit cards as well. • Consumer debt rose as Americans used their credit cards to purchase washing machines, vacuum cleaners, television sets, and other consumer products.

48. The Mood of the 1950s • Why were comfort and security so important to Americans in the 1950s? • What were the accepted roles of men and women during the 1950s? • How did some people challenge conformity during the 1950s?

49. Comfort and Security • Enjoying prosperity and recovering from war and economic depression, most Americans in the 1950s valued security over adventure. • Youth in the 1950s enjoyed more time for school, and for recreation, than youth in earlier generations.

50. Comfort and Security • Businesses marketed products such as movies and magazines to youths, reinforcing images of what it meant to be a teenager. • Partially in response to the threats of communism and nuclear war, many Americans renewed their interest in religion. References to God were added to the Pledge of Allegiance and imprinted on U.S. currency.