The Cold War Around the WorldChapter 19, Section 2&3

Setting the Scene• 21 million

Europeans are homeless

• 20% of Poland’s population is dead

• 1 in 5 French and Belgian homes are destroyed or damaged

• Livestock and farm equipment were destroyed

In Europe

• Marshall Plan: A plan to fund the economic recovery of Europe (Reconstruction) because the Commies were gaining footholds in many devastated areas.

In Europe• Berlin Airlift: Stalin seals

off West Berlin (which was inside the Soviet Zone) in 1948, hoping that the U.S. would abandon it. We fly in for over 15 months, until Stalin abandons the blockade.

• 200k flights @ 13,000 tons of supplies per DAY!

In Europe• NATO is formed to

act as a barrier against Soviet aggression– Allows European

democracies to stand together (collective security)

– The Commies respond with the Warsaw Pact

In Asia

• China falls to Mao Zedong and his communist forces (they had been fighting since the 1920’s).

In Asia

• We initially help the Chinese government, but realize that the fall is inevitable, we withdraw aid

• Losing China is a BIG BLOW to the Truman administration

Nuclear Weapons

• When we learn that the Soviets have the atomic bomb, Truman authorizes research on a thermonuclear bomb, which is many times more powerful than an atomic bomb.

At home…

• Remember: Many Americans had joined communist or socialist organizations during the Depression.

• Loyalty Programs: all federal employees were subject to investigations

HUAC• HUAC: began to

probe the U.S. (Especially Hollywood) for Communist influences.

• The Hollywood Ten: group a writers, directors, actors, and producers who refused to testify before the HUAC. All were fined or jailed

Blacklists• People who were seen as un-American or

disloyal were blacklisted, which meant that no studios would hire them.

McCarran-Walter Act

• Re-instated immigration quotas from the 1920’s. Senator McCarran believed most disloyal Americans were immigrants.– This bill passed over

Truman’s veto.

Spy Cases:

• Algar Hiss was a former high ranking official who was put on trial for espionage

Spy Cases:

• Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were convicted of giving atomic secrets to the Russians. Both were executed.

• According to released Soviet documents, Julius Rosenberg and Algar Hiss were guilty, Ethel was probably not.

• Loyalty Programs, Committee investigations, Blacklists and highly publicized spy cases convinced many Americans that the threat of spies was very real and lead to a climate of great suspicion in America. Many people’s civil rights were violated during this period.

The Korean War• At the end of WWII the Russians pushed Japan

from Korea.

• The Peninsula was divided at the 38th Parallel between Communist forces in the North and American forces in the South.

• After a surprise North Korean invasion pushed U.S. and South Korean forces to the tip of Korea, the U.S. counters.

• Macarthur pushes the PRK forces all the way to the Yalu River.

• The Chinese warn us not to approach their borders

China (and secretly, the Russians) enter the war.

• MacArthur wanted to use nukes against the Chinese, which would have started WWIII

• He makes public statements criticizing Truman

• Truman Fires MacArthur for insubordination. – MacArthur returns

home to a hero’s welcome.

• The fighting eventually stalemates at the 38th Parallel.

• Americans Frustrations – Why did 33,000 American soldiers die for a stalemate?

Results of the war• Military

application of the Truman Doctrine

• De-Segregation of the Army

• Permanent increase in the military budget– Creates a

permanent “military-industrial” complex.

– Alliance of the military, industrial and scientific communities.

– The fear is that this “complex” will affect American Policy.