The Cold War:

The United States and East Asia

By Mary Jansen

Douglas A. MacArthur

-Led the Allies in the occupation of Japan

from 1945 to 1952-September of 1945:

took charge of Supreme Command

of Allied Powers (SCAP)

-MacArthur had the final say in all

decisions-Considered on of History's Greatest

Men

Japan-1880-1964

-Spent his entire life with the Army

-Grew up in the remote areas of New Mexico

where his father was in charge of an infantry

-As a teen, MacArthur won the Congressional

Medal of Honor for leading an assault up

Missionary Ridge in Tennessee

-Attended the West Texas Military Academy

Life"You couldn't shrug

your shoulders at Douglas MacArthur,"

observes historian David McCullough.

"There was nothing bland about him,

nothing passive about him, nothing dull about

him. There's no question about his

patriotism, there's no question about his

courage, and there's no question, it seems to

me, about his importance as one of

the protagonists of the 20th century."

Quote

Reconstructing JapanAfter WWII United States General Douglas MacArthur led

the Allies in occupation and Rehabilitation of Japan:

Enacted military, political, economic, and social reforms

United States, Great Britain, Soviet union, and Republic of China called for japan surrender in the Potsdam Declaration:

Achieved by August 1945

The reconstruction of Japan is considered to have three Parts:

Punish and Reform, Revise Economy, and Peace treaty and Alliance

Reconstructing Japan: Phase 1

Punishment• War crime trials in

Tokyo

Government

• Japanese army was dismantles

government reformed

• A new Japanese constitution was made by Allies

Economic

• Land reform was introduced

• A free trade market was

created

The Punishment and Reformation of Japan 1945-47

Reconstructing Japan: Phase 2

The Revising of the Japanese Economy,

“The Reverse Course” 1947-50

Biggest problem: Where to store raw

materials for Japanese industries and markets

Korean war in 1950 answered this problem: when the UN entered

this war, Japan became their supply depot

This confined Japan to the united States and made sure no threat would be made on

Japanese soil

Economic crisis emerged and there

were concerns about the spread of

communism in Japan

Weakening economy addressed by tax

reform and controlling inflation

Reconstructing Japan: Phase 3The Formation of a Peace Treaty and an Alliance 1950-51

The political and economic future of Japan was deemed

as firmly established

• Now a formal peace treaty for end of war and occupation was needed

This treaty allowed the USA to maintain its bases in Okinawa

• Japan was promised a bilateral security pact

In 1951, 52 nations net in San Francisco and 49 signed the

treaty

• The USSR, Poland and Czechoslovakia did not sign

Primary Source

Origin

• Japan: 1945-1951

Purpos

e

• To show how destroyed Japan was after WWII and how greatly reconstruction was needed.

Value

• This gives viewers a look into the lives of Japanese citizens. We can see how despite the rubble around them, people tried to continue on with their normal lives.

Limitation

• This is a picture of a rural area in Japan. We are not able to see how the urban population or the government reacted to the destruction of their city or the need for reconstruction.

The Chinese Civil War (1945-1949)Nationalist Party vs. Communist Party

-Led by Chiang Kai-Shek

-Took control of urban and industrial

areas in the south -Nationalists

popularity decreased as inflation grew and

moral plummeted

-Led by Mao Zedong -Took control of rural

areas in the north: strong in Manchuria-Most peasants and

former soldiers joined the communist movement

After japan left Chinese

soil, both groups

rushed to control the

formerly occupied

areas

The Chinese Civil War

-300,000 nationalist troops

surrendered to Communists in

Manchuria-Two months later,

66 nationalist divisions were

captured-Communists formed the

People’s Republic of china

-In response, Nationalists formed the

Republic of China

-Millions of citizens killed in war,

millions killed by starvation and

disease-The largest country

(through population) was now communist This war

impacted USA foreign policy: formation of the domino

theory

1948

1949

Effects

USA

The National Security Council Paper #68

After WWII, it was decided that the United states and the Soviet Union were the two dominant world powers

With the rise of communism, it was evident that the USA needed to review their national security strategy-they came up with NSC-68

Top secret report made by U.S. Department of State’s Policy Planning Staff April 7, 1950

Stated that the most pressing threat was the “Hostile design” of the USSR because the addition of nuclear weapons to the Soviet’s arsenal

Argued that the USA needed to massively build up its military and weaponry

United States Objectives and Programs for Nationals Security” or “NSC-68

NSC-68 included several possible ways of dealing with the Soviet Union

Isolationism Rejected: USA did not want USSR to dominate Eurasia

War Rejected: USA felt that this would not destroy the USSR’s military offensive but instead devastate western Europe

Diplomatic Efforts Not completely ruled out: May cause the Soviet union to pursue military solutions in the Cold War

Buildup of Arms Ruled the only plausible way to deal with the cold war conflict

Opposition to NSC-68: Many argued

that the USA could dominate the USSR

through political and economic

measures and no new military

arsenal was needed

However, after invasion of South Korea by USSR in

1950, NSC-68 recommendations

became policy

The defense expenditures almost tripled

between 1950 and 1953 (5%-14.2%)

“The Domino Theory”

Domino Theory

Governed most of

United states foreign policy

in the early 1950s

Said that one communist

victory would lead to a chain

reaction of communist takeovers

This theory was used to justify USA’s intervention

in foreign countries

Ex. Support of non-communist regime in South Vietnam against the communist regime in North

Vietnam

Communism failed to spread throughout the

rest of Southeast Asia

President Eisenhower

was the first to refer to the spread of

communism as domino in 1954

“Chinese Civil War: In Depth.” filebox.vt.edu. 3 April 2014. <http://filebox.vt.edu/users/bgilkers/digitaltimeline/chinesedepth.html>“Domino Theory.” history.com. 3 April 2014. <http://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/domino-theory>“Domino Theory.” princeton.edu. 3 April 2014. <https://www.princeton.edu/~achaney/tmve/wiki100k/docs/Domino_theory.html>Gaddis, John Lewis. The Cold War. Penguin Publishing Press, 2005. Print. “General Douglas MacArthur (1880-1964).” 2009, pbs.org. 3 April 2014. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/macarthur/peopleevents/pandeAMEX96.html>“NSC 68: United States Objectives and Programs for National Security.” mtholyoke.edu. 3 April

2014. <https://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/nsc-68/nsc68-1.htm>“NSC-68, 1950.” history.state.gov. 3 April 2014. <http://history.state.gov/milestones/1945-

1952/NSC68>“Occupation and Reconstruction of Japan, 1945–52.” history.state.gov. 3 April 2014. <http://history.state.gov/milestones/1945-1952/japan-reconstruction>

Bibliography