United States History

Chapter 28:The Cold War

OccupationThe Allies agreed that, to best prevent World War III,

supervision of gov’t establishment and rebuilding must take place

Germany was divided into four zones at the Potsdam Conference in 1945The United States, Britain, France and USSR controlled a

section of the nationBerlin, within the Soviet zone, was also dividedSet out to destroy the Nazi Party, reorganize gov’t and

rebuild the nationJapan was occupied solely by the United States from

1945-1952Emperor Hirohito remained at the helm, but had no powerGov’t was led by American Gen. Douglas MacArthur, his

staff and a Japanese congressEstablished a new constitution that reformed society and

the economy and banned a military

War CrimesThe Allies also agreed that war criminals had to be

punished for their roles in the warGerman trials were held in Nuremberg in 1945-46

High ranking Nazi officials were tried for several crimes

Thousands of others were also tried and jailed/fined for their roles in the war and Holocaust

12 Nazi leaders were sentenced to death, 7 prison, and 3 acquitted

Some escaped into hidingJapanese criminals were tried in 1946-48

Seven gov’t officials were sentenced to death, including Tojo Others were given life in prison

The trials set a new standard in international law that you couldn’t commit crimes just by “following orders”

The United NationsIn April 1945, delegates from 50 nations met for

the first time as the United NationsThe charter for the UN created a body that

renounces war and attempts to address social, economic, political and military issues of member nations

Created a General Assembly and a Security CouncilGeneral Assembly includes all member nationsSecurity Council includes five permanent members

(US, Russia, China, France, Great Britain), and a set of ten rotating members Approves or vetoes actions taken by the General Assembly

Approved by the US Senate in Oct. 1945 and is headquartered in New York City

IsraelAfter the war, many of Europe’s Jews moved to

PalestinePalestine is claimed by Jews and Arabs as the

homelandIn 1948, the UN created a Jewish state in the

Middle East called Israel, against Arab protestImmediately, it led to a war between Arabs and

IsraelAfter bitter fighting, a shaky cease fire went into

effect in 1949However, the fighting over Israel and Arab lands

continues today, often times killing numerous innocent people

The Cold WarAfter WWII, a “cold” war broke out between the United

States and USSRThe conflict was over economic and political

disagreementsWhile actual fighting never occurred, the threat of war,

especially nuclear war, was very high from 1946-1991Stalin insisted that areas occupied during WWII by the

Soviets needed to remain friendly to created a buffer zone between the capitalist nationsCreated several satellite nations that remained under

direct Soviet control for nearly 50 yearsBritain, France and the US insisted on protecting free

nations from Communist control in a policy of containmentChurchill described the Communist takeover as an Iron

CurtainPrevent other nations from falling and Communism would

eventually crumble

The Cold WarNuclear weapons were key to the Cold War

Stalin was upset that the US didn’t share news about the bomb before using it

He set out developing weapons for the Soviets, successfully testing in 1949

Terrified many into thinking that nuclear war was a possiblity

President Truman insisted on helping nations around the world to fight communismKnown as the Truman DoctrineDirected Gen. George C. Marshall to devise a plan

to help Europe rebuild and stay away from communism (Marshall Plan)

However, Eastern European nations fell one after another to Communist control

The Cold WarTensions increased in Germany between the Allies and

Soviets, leading to the creation of a new West German nation

However, the Soviets refused to give in to Western ideals, forming their own East German nationBlocked all ground transportation routes linking West

Germany and Berlin in 1948Cut off fuel, food, medical supplies, etc. from Berliners,

hoping to drive the Allies outThe US and Britain responded with the Berlin Airlift

For 10 months, planes brought supplies to BerlinThe Soviets lifted the ban in May 1949

To combat communism, in 1949,the US, Canada, Iceland, and 9 western European nations formed a military pact, with the Soviets following suitNorth Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)Warsaw Pact

NATO, 1949

United States, Canada, Iceland, Portugal, United Kingdom, Norway, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Italy, Denmark and Luxembourg

ChinaA US ally during the war, revolution swept China in

1911 and left them unstable Free Nationalist forces led by Chiang Kai-Shek (aka

Jiang Jieshi), went up against Communists led by Mao Zedong

The battle intensified after WWIIThe US sent aid to ChiangHowever, more and more began to support MaoIn 1949, Mao was able to proclaim a Communist gov’t,

with Chiang fleeing to TaiwanThe US refused to recognize Mao, instead standing

by Chiang in exile on TaiwanThis Communist revolution gave the Soviets a strong

ally in Asia

KoreaAfter driving the Japanese from Korea during the

war, the US and Soviet occupied the peninsulaIn 1948, two separate Korean nations, a Communist

North, and a free South, were created Both the US and USSR withdrew troops, but had

built up strong armies that were dangerously close to war in 1949 along the division line of the 38th parallel

War broke out in June 1950North Korean troops invaded South KoreaThe UN demanded a cease fire or UN action would be

takenWith the Soviets boycotting the Security Council, a US

led coalition of UN troops agreed to go to Korea to end the hostilities

Five short years after WWII ended, the US is involved in another brutal war across the world

The Korean WarGeneral Douglas MacArthur was placed in command

of UN troops, mostly American and South KoreanFighting was fierce and by September, the North had

nearly overrun all of the peninsulaTroops were pushed to the southern port city of PusanHowever, MacArthur was able to organize a

counterattack Troops in Pusan were resupplied and began pushing north An amphibious landing at Inchon, near the S. Korean capital

of Seoul, chased thousands of N. Koreans back across the 38th parallel

Rather than stopping there, the UN forces drove the Communists to the Chinese border in the North, which prompted the Chinese to enter the war on the side of the Communists

With bitter fighting and a cold winter, UN forces fell back to the 38th parallel by winter 1950-51

The Korean WarGen. MacArthur wanted to expand the war

and invade ChinaSupporters claimed it would free Korea and

ChinaOpposition claimed it would allow the Soviets

to enter the warPresident Truman was strongly against

MacArthur MacArthur publically criticized Truman Truman fired MacArthur in April 1951

The war reached a stalemate by summer 1951Little land was won by either sideAmerican death tolls began to pile up

Major issue for the presidential election of 1952

Ending of the Korean WarTruman decided not to run again, giving way for

a showdown between Adlai Stevenson (D) and Dwight D. Eisenhower (R)

As the former commander of WWII, Eisenhower, vowing to fight communism and end the Korean War, won the election easily

Once elected, he made true to his promise of ending the warStepped up bombing against the NorthThreatened use of nuclear weapons

A truce was reached on July 27, 1953Set border near the 38th parallelMade many question whether 54,000 American

dead and 103,000 wounded were worth the fight

Eisenhower’s Cold War PolicyBelieved that the way to end communism was through

nuclear weapons and technologyBrinkmanship: threat of war, even nuclear, if necessaryVery secretive, using the Central Intelligence Agency to

gather info on enemiesUsed the CIA to aid pro-American gov’ts around the

worldIran: organized a coup to oust anti-American leader Guatemala: used CIA to overthrow “pro-Communist

leader”Egypt: conflict between Israel and Egypt over Suez Canal;

used the UN alleviate crisisLed to anti-American sentiment around the world

Soviets crushed uprisings in Hungary in 1956Fearing all out war, Eisenhower did not aid rebels, just

condemned Soviet actions

Soviet Russia and the Cold War Thaw In the late 1950s, the US and USSR looked to

improve relationsVice President Nixon visited the Soviet Union and

Premier Nikika Khrushchev visited the US in 1959Both sides agreed to meet in 1960 at a summit to reduce

nuclear weapons

However, the friendliness ended when the Soviets announced that they had shot down an American spy plane over the Soviet UnionAn American U-2 spy plane was spying on Soviet

military installations when it was shot downEisenhower promised to stop spy missions, but did not

apologizeKhrushchev refused to meet, ending any hope of

easing tensions between the two superpowers

The Cold War at HomeCongress created the National Security Council to advise

the president Another Red Scare ensued amongst Americans

House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC): Congressional group that accused many of being Communists

Hollywood Ten: group of actors and directors accused of being Communists Spent time in jail for refusing to talk to HUAC Blacklisted and careers were destroyed

HUAC also investigated ordinary AmericansAlger Hiss: former gov’t agent found guilty of lying to

Congress about his ties to the Communist PartyJulius and Ethel Rosenberg: executed for allegedly selling

nuclear secrets to the Soviets Internal Security Act: required Communists to register

with the gov’t and restricted immigration on suspect immigrants

The Rosenbergs

McCarthyismJoseph McCarthy, a senator from Wisconsin, fueled

the Red Scare even moreClaimed that the gov’t was infiltrated by CommunistsNever produced a list of people, but dozens were

fired for being suspect CommunistsMany Americans supported McCarthy in fear of

CommunismTelevised hearings of McCarthy began to show the

American public of his bully tactics and lack of evidence

Finally, after producing no evidence, he was condemned by the SenateFaded away nearly as quickly as he came to light

Nuclear RaceThe US and Soviets raced to develop bigger and

more powerful bombsUS successfully tested first hydrogen bomb in 19509 months later, so did the Soviets

Many looked for comfort, especially in religionGov’t began to educate the public on what to do in

case of an attackDuck and coverPamphlets, television shows, radio programs, etc

educated people on what to doFallout shelters were built everywhere

Homes, businesses, gov’t buildings, etcMade of steel and concrete undergroundHeld basics like a toilet, food, water, flashlights, first

aid kits, etc.

SputnikUS fears of Soviet technology advancement were

realize in October 1957Soviets launched Sputnik, the first satellite to orbit the

EarthAbout 200 lbsLaunched Sputnik II with a dog onboard a month later

US launched Explorer I in January 1958The thought was that whomever ruled space could

launch nuclear attacks from anywhereLed Eisenhower and Congress to create a space

program and fund more educationNational Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)National Defense Education Act

Gave money to schools for science, math and foreign language education