THE COLD WAR Chapter 28

1. THE COLD WARChapter 28

2. "He that answers a matter before he hears it, it is folly and shame to him. . . . He that is first in his own cause seems just; but his neighbor comes and searches him out." How does this ancient proverb relate to the story of the Cold War of the 20th Century?

3. Adam Ulam, Harvard Historian • The inability of the U. S. and the Soviet Union to communicate in the absence of a common enemy; a frozen, mutual unfriendliness; both were convinced of the other's aggressive intent and designs

4. Warren I. Cohen (left), former Michigan State University's Center for Asian Studies Director • A confrontation between the U. S. and U. S. S. R. which became an anti-Communist crusade • Dr. Cohen presently is the Distinguished Professor of History at Dr. Cohen presently is the Distinguished Professor of History at the University of Maryland in Baltimore he University of Maryland in Baltimore

5. Stalin’sTraits and Characteristics ·A realist • Cunning • Cautious • Furtive • He intended to rebuild Russian industry with German reparations

6. The Major Components of the Cold War • Ideology—not the most important element • Geopolitical Considerations--notions of power and countervailing power, the existence and/or disturbance of power and power positions • Atomic Weaponry

7. Adam Smith & Capitalsim • Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations--the Bible of laissez-faire capitalism and the free market economy--formed the foundation on which Western economic growth progressed

8. Marx, Lenin, & Communism • Karl Marx’s Communist Manifesto, published in the mid-19th century provided an alternate view. • In Russia, Lenin was the first European to put Marxist to practical use.

9. Liberal-Capitalist-Democratic vs. Soviet-Communist-Stalinist-Totalitarian • Both side invoke anti-Imperialism • Both parties feel their ideology has a universal validity • George Kennan (right)—U.S. ambassador to Soviet Union; believed Stalin feared being encircled by hostile capitalist nations; that the U.S. should contain aggressive Soviet action by applying counterforce at strategic points

10. Geopolitical Considerations--notions of power and countervailing power • Many American theorists characterized the Cold War as a struggle for power. • Foremost among these was Hans Morgenthau. • The war is over concerns of Balance of Power, raw materials, collective security, self-protection.

11. Robert Tucker of Princeton University • Power prompts expansion, especially to fill power vacuums when major power centers are destroyed • Any government, regardless of ideology, is interested in security of state • the Cold War becomes a nature, predictable event • Given Soviet security needs Russia saw Eastern Europe as a buffer state"

12. Atomic Weaponry • The existence of atomic weapons heightened the insecurities resulting from 2. above • It created frustration because insecurity could not now be reduced by going to war, which was too destructive to contemplate as a rational solution • situation has engendered new concepts: limited war, escalation, deterrents, co-existence, i.e., to avoid nuclear war and incite/justify wars of national liberation

13. MINOR CONSIDERATIONS The decrease in Western Europe's power heightened insecurity in the U. S. Uncertainties of the political affiliations and allegiances in 3rd World nations The 1949 Communist victory in China The Berlin Blockade

14. The Berlin crisis marked the end of the initial phase of the Cold War. June 20,1948—Russia cuts off all rail and highway traffic to Berlin Truman responds to Berlin Blockade by massive shipments of food, fuel, and supplies by airlift into Berlin By early 1949, the Soviets conceded victory to the U.S. Truman’s resolute leadership through the crisis gave him an unexpected edge in the 1948 presidential election

15. HISTOR-IOGRAPHY of the COLD WAR • Traditional View of the 1950s • Revisionist View of the 1960s • Post Revisionist View of the 1970s

16. The Traditional View • A highly nationalistic view • An aggressive, expansionist Soviet Union bent on world domination was solely to blame • A view rooted in applying the lessons of the 1930s—the folly of appeasing Hitler—to the post-World War II era • U.S. was the protector of the free world • The belated U.S. response to Soviet expansion fit America’s traditional isolationist history in 1917 and 1941

17. Traditionalist View • Sees communism as monolithic and under Moscow's control • The Cold War is the fault of Russia, who exploited the opportunity provided by the war by promoting subversion • The U. S. was without alternatives--had little choice but Containment and the use of economic power in self-defense, i.e., the U. S. is blameless

18. Walt W. Rostow • Leading adviser to Robert McNamara during the Vietnam War • Economic historian at University of Texas • Stalin consciously exploited opportunities to expand; the power vacuum in Eastern Europe

19. Winston Churchill in Fulton, Missouri delivering the famous Iron Curtain Speech • His goal was wishful thinking at Gallipoli, and responsibility that others put on him for this failure • He was also keen on preserving the Empire by securing the Mediterranean area • His “Iron Curtain” speech in Fulton, Missouri in March 1946 came a month after a speech by Stalin condemning the warlike nature of capitalism—he used this speech to veil his true motives • Churchill was a Cold War Warrior from way back, a “die-hard” anti-Communist who pushed for intervention in 1917-1919

20. The Revisionist View • The U.S. provoked the conflict in an effort to establish a post-1945 Pax Americana • An escalation of U.S. involvement in Vietnam after 1965 spawned a mood of doubt as well as generating public dissent • Tensions were a product of the transition from the diplomatic, experienced FDR to the foreign policy novice Truman who antagonized the Russians by challenging the Soviet concerns in Eastern Europe(concessions that FDR was willing to make0 • Truman used the atomic bomb to intimidate the Russians • America’s challenge of Soviet control in Eastern Europe was part of a U.S. capitalist drive to dominate world markets and expand economic influence overseas

21. Revisionist View • U. S. aggressiveness provoked Russia • Anti-Soviet motives behind the use of the A-bomb • The European Left reflected the malleable state of post-war Europe--it was ignored by the U. S. • The U. S. made a drive for worldwide capitalist hegemony--was against self-determination and wanted to subordinate the weaker nations

22. The Atomic Bomb and the Nuclear Dilemma The intensity of the Cold War conflict is in large part explained by “the existence of a new weapon of vast destructive power [that] added an unknown element to the international arena. . . . Hiroshima not only ended the Second World War; it also created the unstable diplomatic climate that gave rise to the Cold War.”

23. Revisionists see Eastern European expansion as part of the legitimate, minimal security needs of the Russians • Stalin’s determination to extract reparations—the systematic removal of plants and factories from areas of postwar Soviet control—from defeated Germany was partially based on the American withdrawal of lend-lease shipments in May 1945 • He no doubt felt entirely justified against the immediate backdrop of the 15-20 million Russians who had lost their lives during the course of World War II

24. Russian Security Need: A Charitable View • Brzezinski (left, a.k.a., “Ziggy”) was National Security Adviser, 1977-1981 • The move into Eastern Europe came only after the U. S. exhibited disinterest in the area and Anglo-French impotence became evident

25. Russia only wanted friendly--not necessarily Communist--governments • Her move into Eastern Europe came only after Britain retreated and the U. S. moved into Turkey and Greece (Harvard’s Ernest May, left) • Richard J. Barnet, Co-Director of Institute for Policy Studies in Washington, D. C. argued that the Soviets had little to do with Communism in Eastern Europe

26. Gabriel Kolko from York University in Toronto, Canada • The U. S. was out to re-create the world in its own image, committed to post-war U. S. dominance through an Anglo-American alliance even before December 7, 1941 • She had the need for unhindered expansion and used the opportunities the war presented to gain this • Her goals were worldwide in contrast to limited Soviet ones (what about the Comintern?).

27. U. S. Treatment of the BritishAlternate Views • FDR gave Britain the atomic secrets hoping to keep her in the role of a Great Power • U.S. wanted British cooperation with the U. S. after the war vs. • U. S. wanted to de-imperialize the British Empire, to break down the Imperial Preference System

28. Post-Revisionist View of 1960s • Took a broader view that explained the Cold War as inevitable • In the confusing aftermath of World War II, the U.S. mistook Stalin’s security needs as Hitlerian expansionism and designs of world conquest • Truman introduced a policy of “Containment” to preserve the balance of power in postwar Europe • There ensued a vicious cycle with each nation perceiving the actions of the other as threatening • There must be shared responsibility for the Cold War

29. The Middle Ground -- John L. Gaddis: The underlying the Cold War • Economic forces • Domestic politics • Bureaucratic rivalries • Personality quirks • Perceptions of the intentions of the opposition

30. “Cold War Warrior” • Gaddis is a traditional Cold War historian, a "safe liberal" • He takes a comprehensive view of the causes underlying the Cold War

31. Who to Blame? Neither side is solely responsible, but Stalin and the Soviets had more flexibility in policy and are thus more responsible

32. University of Chicago historian William McNeill • Suggested that the postwar alienation of allies in was commonplace in history • Soviet expansion into Eastern Europe was a logical filling of the power vacuum created by the removal of Hitler’s Germany • U.S. was bound to object to such a development

33. The Truman Doctrine “The Truman Doctrine marked an informal declaration of cold war against the Soviet Union. Truman used the crisis in Greece to secure congressional approval and build a national consensus for the policy of containment. . . . The American commitment to oppose communist expansion, whether by internal subversion or external aggression, placed the United States on a collision course with the Soviet Union around the globe.”

34. Steps Leading to U.S. Policy of Containment American policy during the Truman administration; aimed at preventing expansion of communism beyond its existing boundaries • March 1946 U.S. Intervention in Greece and Turkey • June 1947 Marshall Plan—a war without bullets • April 1949 NATO

35. Greece, 1947 was the 1st test of Containment • A small communist minority supported by communists in neighboring nations wage civil war against the Greek government • Britain supplies the Greek monarchy with aid, but serious problems in Britain and at home, plus her support of Turkish resistance to the U.S.S.R. demands changes • Spring 1947, Britain announces she can no longer render aid to Greece or Turkey

36. SIGNIFICANCEof GREECE • March 12, 1947--the U. S. takes over with President Truman addressing Congress and laying down the basic tenants of the Truman Doctrine • The lesson of Appeasement had been learned; the U. S. decided to stand up against the Soviet challenge to prevent eventually facing a choice between surrender and World War III; she perceived the Soviets acting just as Hitler, Mussolini, and the Japanese had done earlier and realized if the democracies failed to act, it would only encourage continuing expansion

37. The Marshall PlanDiffering Views • Marshall Plan did much good for Europe; it sent her to new, dizzying heights of prosperity • U. S. invited Russia to join the Marshall Plan and did so in good faith • Program likely prevented another war in the wake of WW II • With its economic overtures to Eastern Europe amounts to neo-imperialism in hopes of gaining political leverage on the weakening grip of the Soviets

38. Soviet Response to the Marshall Plan • Refusal to allow any nation controlled by the Soviets to participate • A tightening of controls by the U.S.S.R. over any nation within her "orbit" “The division of Europe was an inevitable after-effect of World War II. Both sides were intent on imposing their values in the areas liberated by their troops. The Russians were no more likely to withdraw from Eastern Europe that the United States and Britain were from Germany, France, and Italy.”

39. North Atlantic Treaty Organization • Conceived as a defensive shield against Soviet aggression • NATO was seen as an aggressive tool aimed at the Soviets; would pressure those not obeying the dictates of the Anglo-American bloc • the U. S. bomb monopoly encouraged the Soviets to be pushy until 1949 when they got the bomb; then, the U. S. response was NATO

40. National Security Act of 1947 • Established a Department of Defense headed by a civilian of Cabinet rank—he presided over the army, navy, and air force • Created the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to coordinate intelligence-gathering among various government agencies • Established a National Security Council (NSC) to advice the president on matters of national security

41. NSC-68 • The Policy Planning Staff drew up a statement defining a national defense policy • assumed that the Soviet Union aimed at imposing its authority worldwide • proposed an increase in defense spending from $13 to $45 billion a year • became a symbol of Truman’s determination to win the Cold War at all costs

42. Election of 1948 • Truman barnstormed the country denouncing the “do-nothing” 80thCongress • Dewey failed to campaign aggressively • Dewey did not challenge Truman’s foreign policy • Truman reminded voters of the Democratic help they received during the Depression

43. THE KOREAN WAR—1950-1953 • On June 25, 1950, the army of North Korea invaded South Korea precipitating the Korean War • The UN Security Council declared North Korea the aggressor and called for member nations to implement collective security action • The war concluded on July 27,1953 leaving the Korean peninsula divided as it had been at the start of hostilities

44. The “Red Scare” & McCarthyism • A national anxiety about communism abroad and 5th column infiltration at home • The Soviets gained atomic power in 1949 • The Rise of Joe McCarthy and His Four and a Half Year Crusade

45. Effects of McCarthyism • Impaired effectiveness of the U. S. government and relations with both friends and allies • Made U. S. government the object of suspicion in the eyes of the world; it appeared it was trying to combat totalitarian methods by totalitarian means • Made the U. S. government the laughingstock of Communist governments • Instituted a reign of terror among officials and employees of the U. S. government—no one was above attack as this smear campaign made "Communist" an all-encompassing label to discredit anyone who was otherwise quite credible • The cry of "Wolf!" obscured the location of the real threats • Critics of McCarthy said he put the U. S. on a collision course with the Soviets

46. Communism in the Far East • Chiang’s Nationalists (the KMD) controlled Southern China • He had U.S. political and economic backing • He had official Soviet recognition • Widespread corruption in the KMD contributed to high rates of inflation and the devastation of the middle class

47. Mao Tse-Tung • Mao’s Communists controlled Northern China • He used tight discipline and patriotic appeals to gain a strong hold on the Chinese peasantry • Mao’s army drove the Nationalists out of Manchuria in late 1948

48. Hungary, 1956 • October-November 1956, the Hungarians revolt against Soviet rule • The U. S. S. R. uses its veto power in the Security Council to block intervention and after 7 days, the revolt is crushed

49. Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962 • Soviet missile installations in Cuba in the fall of 1962 • Precipitated a highly tense exchange that eventually is resolved by withdrawal of the weapons • JFK’s handling of the Missile Crisis has become a model of effective decision-making

50. Czechoslovakia in 1968 • The Czechs revolted in 1968 in hopes of overturning the Soviet sponsored regime in their homeland • As in 1956, the Soviets respond with brutal repression to subdue the revolt