ap chapter 36

The Cold War Begins

American Pageant

Chapter 36

1945-1952

Postwar Economic Anxieties

• Americans feared end of war would return country back to depression

– 1946-1947: • 33% inflation (war price controls lifted)

• GNP slumped

• 4.6 million strikers

• Taft Hartley Act:

– Outlawed closed shops

– Union’s liable for damages

– Union leaders required to take noncommunist oath

• Efforts to unionize in South & West--unsuccessful

• Government economic intervention:

– Employment Act (1946) • ―Promote maximum employment,

production, and purchasing power‖

• Council of Economic Advisors – Provide president with data &

recommendations

– Servicemen’s Readjustment Act (1944) • Also known as ―GI Bill of Rights‖ or ―GI Bill‖

– Worried about 15 million veterans wanting jobs

– Government aid to veterans for higher education

– $14.5 billion; 8 million helped

• Also gave $16 billion in loans for housing & businesses

Postwar Economic Anxieties

Economic Boom 1950-1970

• National income doubled in 1950s & again in 1960s

– U.S. is 6% of world population but controls 40% of the wealth

– Increased social mobility

– New welfare programs, i.e. Medicare

– New world leadership

– Size of ―middle class‖ doubled from pre-depression days & included 60% of population

• 90% own TVs; 60% own homes

– Women benefitted the most

The Roots of Postwar Prosperity

1. War Crisis—reopening

factories

2. Colossal military budgets

a) Defense spending 10% of GNP

b) Technological industries&

scientific research

3. Cheap energy

a) double oil consumption

b) Increase 6x the electricity-

generating capacity

4. Increased productivity

a) Rising educational level

b) Could produce 2x as much in 1 hour

in 1970 than in 1950

c) Doubled average of U.S. standard of

living

d) Agriculture: Machines, fertilizer,

agribusiness, price supports &

subsidies

• 2% of population provided

agriculture for U.S. & much of the

world

The Roots of Postwar Prosperity

• Population redistribution

– 30 million people moved/year

– Changed family dynamics • i.e. Dr. Benjamin Spock’s The

Common Sense Book of Baby & Child Care—advice usually passed on from grandmothers, etc.

• Sunbelt: 15 states from VA to CA

– Population doubled;

– CA– 1/5 of U.S. population growth; largest state by 1963 (1 of every 8 Americans)

– North no longer had hold over U.S. politics

The Rush to the Suburbs

The Postwar Baby Boom

• 1945-1960: Huge leap in birthrate; peaked 1957

– Postwar: increased # of marriages

– 50 million babies by end of 1950s

– Distorted certain areas of life, i.e.: • Increase elementary school enrollments

followed by school closures as that generation moved through

• Basis of ―youth culture‖ of 60s

• 1980s job markets & social mobility

• 1990s ―secondary boom‖ of children

• Future: Huge strain on social security system

– ―By 1973 fertility rates dropped below the point necessary to maintain existing population figures. If the downward trend persisted, only further immigration would lift the U.S. population above its 1996 level of 264 million.‖ (859)

Harry S. Truman

• VP to FDR when he died

• No college education

• Honest, hardworking, folksy,

stubborn, fiery

• “The average man’s average man.”

• “Scrappy little cus”

• “…if he was sometimes small in the

small things, he was often big in the

big things” (863).

Yalta: Bargain or Betrayal?

• February, 1945: Big three met at Yalta to discuss postwar plans:

– Occupation zones in Germany

– Stalin agreed that Poland, Bulgaria, & Romania would have free elections (broke promise)

– Stalin would help fight Japan after Germany conquered

• In return: USSR received some land in Manchuria

• Leads way to overthrow of Chiang Kai-Shek (Jiang Jieshi)

• Conference not intended to be solidified deal, but to test countries’ reactions

The United States & the Soviet Union

• End of war leads to end of collaboration: – Ideological beliefs too different (both

believed in universal applicability)

– Suspicion & rivalry

– Stalin’s spheres of influence • Soviet Union wants to have friendly

nations on its borders (after invasions of WWI & WWII)

• U.S. views that as desire for ill-gained empire

– U.S. stops vital lend-lease program to USSR in 1945

• Also refuses a $6 billion loan for reconstruction…

• While giving British $3.75 billion)

Shaping the Postwar World

• Bretton Woods Conference:

– Western Allies met at in New

Hampshire (1944)

– International Monetary Fund

(IMF)

• Encourage world trade

– International Bank for

Reconstruction &

Development (World Bank)

• Economic growth in war torn &

underdeveloped areas

Shaping the Postwar World

• United Nations Conference, April 25, 1945

– San Francisco (later in NY); FDR died 13 days prior

– Security Council: Big 5 (U.S., Great Britain, France, China, & USSR) have veto power

– Assembly: Smaller countries

– Humanitarian efforts: • UNESCO (United Nations Educational,

Scientific, & Cultural Organization)

• FAO (Food & Agricultural Organization)

• WHO (World Health Organization)

• Easily ratified by senate (unlike L of N)

• Nuremberg Trials (1945-1946)

– Trials for top Nazi leaders (12 hanged; 7 long term prison)

• Germany—four military occupation zones:

– U.S., French, England, & USSR

• US, French, & British: want to unify Germany; USSR just tightens control

The Problem of Germany

The Problem of Germany

• Berlin airlift

– Berlin also divided (in

USSR zone);

• 1948 USSR cuts off west

Berlin from supplies (starve

out Allies)

• Gigantic airlift: U.S. send

thousands of supplies a day

for nearly a year

• Symbolic fight. U.S. wins.

Beginning of the Cold War

„ Iran, 1946

‟ Stalin†seeking for oil

„ Broke an agreement to remove his

troops from northern Iran

„ Aided Iranian rebels (against U.S. &

British oil interests)

„ Truman sent a “stinging rebuke”

‟ Soviets back down

„ Germany, East Europe, Middle

East

‟ Soviet “hard line” policy

„ “Psychological Pearl Harbor” to U.S.

• Containment “Truman” Doctrine (1947) – George F. Kennan Report

• Russia had always been relentlessly expansionary

• Need vigilant containment of USSR

– Truman announces doctrine to Congress March12,1947

• Asks for $400 million to bolster Greece &Turkey; and…

• “…it must be the policy of the U.S. to support the free people who are resisting subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures”

• Some critics say Truman was worried about revived isolationism—so he exaggerated the threat


„ Good v. Evil

‟ U.S. religious leaders saw Cold

War as battle between good &

evil

„ I.E. Reinhold Nieburh

„ Western Europe

‟ France, Italy, & Germany

„ Postwar economic chaos & hunger

„ Threat of internal Communist

parties


• Marshal Plan, July 1947 – Secretary of State George C. Marshall

– U.S give substantial aid to European countries if:

• European created a joint plan for economic recovery

• Led to creation of European Community (EC)

• Same aid offered to USSR—but refused

• $12.5 billion given over 4 years to 16 countries

– U.S. already giving $2 billion/year to U.N. relief organization

– Soviet coup in Czechoslovakia convinced Congress to give $

• Israel, 1948 – Despite Arab threats & oil worried…

– U.S. official recognized state of Israel


• Unification of armed forces

• National Security Act (1947): – Created Department of

Defense housed in the Pentagon:

• Secretary of Defense – New cabinet position

» Civilian secretaries of each branch served under

• Joint Chiefs of Staff – Uniformed heads of each branch

• National Security Council (NSC): – Created CIA

Threat of Soviets: Rearming the U.S.


• ―Voice of America‖

– Broadcast American radio behind iron curtain

• Selective Service System (1948):

– Draft of some 19-25 year olds

• North Atlantic Treaty Organization

– Britain, France, Belgium, Netherlands, & Luxembourg signed treaty of defense in 1948

– U.S. joined NATO, April 4, 1949

– Historic moment for U.S.: • Peace-time ―entangling alliance‖

– Greece, Turkey, and West German joined in the 50s

Reconstruction & Revolution in Asia

• Japan

– General Douglas

McArthur led rebuilding

• Japanese cooperated to a

surprising degree

• ―Dictated‖ democratic

constitution, 1946

– Renounced militarism &

included women’s rights

• ―Stunning‖ success &

economic recovery

Reconstruction & Revolution in Asia

• China: – Generalissimo Jiang Jieshi

• Struggled against communists led by Mao Zedong

• Jiang Jieshi lost confidence of people due to corruption

– Had to flee to Formosa (Taiwan) in 1949

– Fall of China • ¼ of world’s population (500 million)

controlled by communism

• Big blow to U.S.’s Containment doctrine

– Truman said we didn’t lose China—even Jiang Jieshi never controlled all of China to begin with Mao Zedong

Nuclear Build Up & Competition

• September 1949

– Soviets exploded a test atomic bomb

• H-Bomb (hydrogen):

– 1000x more powerful than atomic bomb

– 1952: US explode one on a South Pacific atoll

– 1953: Soviets explode one

• Nuclear competition: “Peace through mutual terror”

Red Scare 1940s-1950s

• Truman’s Loyalty Program, 1947

– Attorney General • Identified 90 ―disloyal‖

organizations – Never able to prove

false

– Loyalty Review Board • Investigated 3 million

federal employees – 3000 resigned or

dismissed

– Loyalty Oaths


• Smith Act of 1940 – 1st peace time anti-

sedition since 1798

– NY, 1949: • 11Communists found

guilty…

• For advocating overthrow of U.S. government by force

– Dennis v. United States 1953

• Supreme Court upheld their conviction


• House Un-American American Activities Committee – A.k.a. HUAC

– Congress established in 1938

– Richard Nixon, 1948 • Committee member & ―red

chaser‖

• Alger Hiss – Accused of being

communist agent in 30’s

– Demanded right to defend himself

» Caught committing perjury

» Prison—5 years

• McCarran International

Security Bill, 1950

– If there was an “internal

security emergency”…

• Bill authorized president to

arrest & detain suspicious

people

– Truman vetoed the bill

• Worried that scare was

turning into a witch hunt

– Congress overrode the veto


• Julius & Ethel Rosenberg

– Allegedly “leaked” atomic

data to Moscow

– Convicted of espionage,

1951

– Went to electric chair,

1953

• Sensationalism of trial &

concern over their orphan

children soured many

Americans on red-hunt


1948 Presidential Election

• Republicans

– Criticized ―high tax Harry‖

– Gained control of

Congress in 1946

– Nominated Thomas

Dewey

– NY Governor

– Loses 189 EV to

Truman’s 303 EV (& 3rd

party 39 EV)

1948 Presidential Election

• Democrats

– Wanted to dump Truman • ―We’re just mild about Harry‖

– Truman’s nomination splits the party

– Henry Wallace (ex-VP) also ran

– ―Dixiecrats‖ • Nominated Strom Thurmond

– States’ rights party

– Truman had little $ or active supporters • Traveled the country giving speeches: ―Give them

hell, Harry!‖

• Victory came from farmers, African Americans, and workers

Truman’s Programs

• International: – ―Point Four‖

• Truman’s ―bold new program‖

• Lend $ and aid to underdeveloped lands to teach them to be self-sufficient

• Helped Latin America, Africa, & areas in Asia

• Domestic – Fair Deal

• Improved housing, employment, minimum wage, farm price supports, TVAs, and Social Security

• Most goals did not succeed – Opposition from Republican congressmen

• Successes: minimum wage increase; Housing Act of 1949 (public housing), and extension of Social Security benefits

Korean War • 38th Parallel

– Post WWII division of Korea w/2 hostile regimes

• Dean Acheson, Secretary of State, 1950 speech – Korea ―outside U.S. defense perimeter‖

• June 25, 1950 – North Korea attacked South Korea

– Used Soviet tanks

– Sparked ―containment doctrine‖

• NSC-68 – National Security Council Memorandum #68

• Increase defense spending by 4x

• Used Korean crisis as an excuse – 3.5 million armed forces

– $50 billion/year or 13% of GNP

• Showed belief that U.S. could handle spending economically

Korean War

• UN Police Action – UN Security Council unanimously

condemned action • Soviets were absent

• U.N. asked countries to ―render every assistance‖

– Truman ordered U.S. air & naval support to S. Korea

• W/o consulting Congress

• U.S. made up bulk of UN ―police action‖

• General Douglas Mac Arthur – UN commander of entire

operation

Korean War

Korean War

• Inchon Invasion

– September 15, 1950

– Amphibious attack

– Success

• W/in 2 weeks N. Korea

was pushed back behind

38th parallel

– UN authorized pushing

farther north

Korean War

• Stalemate: November

1950 to 1953

– Tens of thousands

Chinese ―volunteers‖

aided North Korea

– U.S. forces pushed

back to Peninsula

– Fighting continued

along 38th parallel

Korean War

• Douglas Mac Arthur – Humiliated, wanted

―massive retaliation‖

– Hated ―limited war‖ • Wanted to attack China

– Joint Chiefs of Staff: ―The wrong war, at the wrong place, at the wrong time, and with the wrong enemy.‖

– Publically criticized the President’s policies

• Fired for insubordination, April 1951

• Returned to huge welcome from the U.S.

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