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Ch 15 Sec 2. The Early Cold War Years. Containing Communism. Overall, it becomes the goal of the US to contain communism everywhere that it pops up around the world, which is a lot of places because of the Soviets aggressive policies - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Ch 15 Sec 2
The Early Cold War Years
Containing Communism • Overall, it becomes the goal of the US to contain
communism everywhere that it pops up around the world, which is a lot of places because of the Soviets aggressive policies
• By contain we mean prevent politically, economically, and militarily using all of our available resources
The Long Telegram • After WWII in 1946, Russia was not cooperating
with the US at all • The Truman was confused by Russia’s behavior
because the two nations had worked so well together to win WWII, plus all of the conferences between the two nations had supposedly worked out many of their disagreements
The Long Telegram • The US State Department then asked the US
embassy in Moscow what was going on with the Soviets and the lack of cooperation
• George Kennan responded with what came to be known as the “Long Telegram”
The Long Telegram • Kennan stated that: –Russia was insecure – They feared the West (US and Europe)–Communist believe that they were in a historic
battle against capitalism – It was impossible to reach full negotiations – Eventually the US would outlast communism
because of some of the flaws in their economic system, as long as we contained it over time–Communism could be defeated without ever
fighting a war with Russia
The Long Telegram • After looking at the 5,540 word
analysis of Kennan, the beliefs and statements of the telegram became the policy of Truman and the US
• In the document, Kennan used the term “containment,” which ends up being the big word used when we talk about preventing the spread of communism
Crisis in Iran • During WWII, the US occupied Southern Iran, and
the Soviets occupied Northern Iran to secure the supply lines of US aid to Russia
• After the war ended, the Soviets did not withdraw as they promised
Crisis in Iran • In what basically become typical Russian procedure,
they set up separate communist government and start making crazy demands like access to the Iranian oil reserves
• The US responds by sending a strong message demanding a Soviet withdrawal, and the US sends the battleship USS Missouri as a display of force
• Russia eventually withdraws on the promise of access to some oil that Iranian government later went back on, so Russia got no oil and the US took a firm stance
Trouble in Turkey • After his failure in Iran, Stalin turned his conquest
dreams toward the country of Turkey that is located at a key strategic point for Russia because of the Straits of Dardanelles where ships need to pass through to get to the Black Sea and Russia
• Stalin then demanded joint control of the Dardanelles with Turkey
Trouble in Turkey • Truman then made another show of force when he
sent the aircraft carrier USS Franklin D. Roosevelt to join the Missouri
• While the US was supporting Turkey, Britain was supporting the nearby country of Greece
The Truman Doctrine • Great Britain was in bad shape after the war, and
could no longer keep troops in Greece • The US feared that if Greece fell to communism
then so would other countries like Turkey • Truman then asked congress for $400 million to
help fight communism in the Mediterranean
The Truman Doctrine • Truman’s policy then became known as “The
Truman Doctrine” = the US will help any country or people resist communism around the world
• Greece and Turkey were able to remain non communist because the US’s help
• The Truman Doctrine was just the US’s first step toward helping war torn Europe
• The US soon saw all of the problem in Europe – Food shortages -Need of raw materials – Fuel shortages -No real industry
• George C. Marshall then came up with the Marshal Plan to help rebuild Europe
• Russia and most of Eastern Europe (The Satellite Nations) declined the aid and set up their own economic plans
• The nations of Western Europe embraced (loved) the offer and took advantage of it
The Marshall Plan• The plan was to give aid to
Europe for 3 main reason 1. Prevent the spread of
communism2. Help Europe rebuild itself
from roads to factories 3. Build a good foreign market
geared toward the US’s economy so that we could trade with them
Gen. George C. Marshall--- Also Truman’s Sec of State
A Divided Germany • The US felt that a united Germany was key to a total
European recovery after the war• Russia still wanted to take as much as they could in
reparations, so there was a conflict of interests• The US, France, and Britain then decided to merge
their sectors into one German republic• West Germany became the Federal Republic of
Germany and East Germany became the German Democratic Republic
A Divided Germany • The Soviets saw this unification of West Germany as
a clear sign that they were not going to get any more reparations
• They then decided to close off all roads and railroads into Berlin to isolate the Allies’ sector of Berlin to either force them out or convince them to give more to Russia
• Truman then sent atomic bombs to bases in Britain as a show of force
What Truman then did…• Truman saw it as a display of US determination to
stand by containment, and launched the Berlin Airlift to face communism
• The airlift resulted in the US supplying Berlin with everything it needed by flying it in to the isolated city
What all did they need?• Between 2200 and 4700 tons a day• One plane every three minutes, twenty-four hours a
day seven days a week • 278,000 flights• During winter, more “fuel” was needed• During the peak….8000+ tons a day• June 27, 1948 to May 12, 1949
-Just know that it was almost a year
NATO• NATO Relied on collective security, which means if
you attack one, you attack all• All members agreed to increase their military
strength • NATO’s true power was not in numbers or
equipment, but in the fact that the US was the only country with atomic bombs
But…• Russia eventually developed nukes, and organized
the satellite nations into the Warsaw Pact, which was just a communist version of NATO with Russia as the major supplier and not the US
• The arms race had begun…
Communism Elsewhere…
The Philippines • The US eventually granted them independence • We help their new government defeat communist
guerillas • Set up a favorable economic (trade) relationship
The Loss of China to Communism• Prior to WWII, China had been in a civil war
between communist and nationalist • They both fought Japan and each other during
WWII• This fighting had been going on for many years
before WWII as well
The two sides…• The US backed the nationalist – Lead by Chiang Kai-shek
• Russia backed the communist – Lead by Mao Zedong
• After WWII, the communist were a much more powerful force
The US Action • General Marshall (still a general at this time) was
sent to try and help the nationalist stabilize the country
• Chiang later asked for direct military aid, and Marshall (at this time Sec. of State) said that all of the US efforts should go to Western Europe (The Marshall Plan)
The US Action • The US soon cut aid to China
(after $2 Billion) claiming that they had too many internal problems
• The Communist soon took all of mainland China and forced Chiang and the nationalist to islands off the coast, mainly Taiwan
China and the UN • The US refused to allow communist
China into the UN, and we used our veto power that we had from being on the Security Council to prevent them from getting in
• The US’ stance was that the Nationalist government on the island of Taiwan was the only Chinese government that should be allowed in the UN
Japan• Once we lost our only truly solid ally (China) in Asia
to communism, we then decided that we needed Japan to recover even faster so that we would have another ally in the region
The Occupation of Japan • The plan was to punish their military and disarm
them • The people would then be reeducated to be
democratic • A new democratic government would be
established • US troops would stay there until this was completed
General Douglas MacArthur • He was the man put in
charge of carrying out the US goals for Japan
US Changes • Japan was now run by elected
officials• Women were given more rights and
could vote• Japan’s emperor was still a “figure,”
but not to be viewed as a god anymore
US Changes• The US redistributed a lot of land to the poor
and needy in rural Japan • Reorganized schools• Better trade and economic opportunities for
all people
By 1951 (6 years later)• Japan retook its independence in a treaty
signed in San Francisco • Only six years after being almost totally
destroyed, Japan again became the largest economy in Asia
The Korean War (Conflict)
June 25, 1950 – July 27, 1953
• Japanese forces north of the 38th would surrender to the Soviet Union and those to the south to the United States, and from here the division of the country began
The Start of the Korean War • From the division at the 38th, the Soviets started a
communist government in the North, and soon invaded the South
• Truman saw this as a challenge of the containment policy, and ordered the US military into action
• Truman then request the help of the UN • Normally the Soviet diplomat would have been able
to veto Truman’s request for military help, but he was not there because he was protesting the US’s refusal to recognize Communist China
The “Numbers”Actual involvement by UN allies
South Korea 590,911 Belgium 900USA 480,000 Thailand 1,294Ethiopia 1,271 New Zealand 1,389 Greece 1,263 Australia 17,000France 1,119 Colombia 1,068South Africa 826 Luxembourg 44 Britain 63,000 The Netherlands 3,972Canada 26,791 Turkey 5,455The Philippines 7,000
MacArthur • After rebuilding Japan, Truman put him in charge of
Korea • MacArthur did a good job, but he also got too
aggressive and is somewhat blamed for getting China involved
• Truman eventually removes MacArthur from Korea
Pusan to Inchon • At one point the US was almost pushed out of Korea
and MacArthur planed a drastic landing to take the US from the bottom of Korea (Pusan) to the top (Inchon)
• MacArthur’s plan worked and the US pushed them back as far as China, which is when it got bad…
African Americans in combat!!! • For the first time in our nation’s History, African
Americans fought in organized ground combat• This was a huge step for African Americans, and it
was another aspect that helped lead into the Civil Rights movement in America
Basically… • Korea remained divided, and the whole war was
just basically back and forth --- especially after China got involved
• It did symbolize a stand against communism and helped the US gain more allies
• The UN became stronger as a result of the conflict, and used military force for the first time as well
• Communist nations on the other hand decided to arm themselves more to resist the US and UN influence
The “Numbers”Actual Loses
• US killed 40,000US wounded 103,000Total 1,271,244 to 1,818,410 UN and South Korean casualties
• 1,858,000 to 3,822,000 Chinese and North Koreans
• 315 Soviet KIA, died of wounds or disease
(including 168 officers)
Korea Today• Both sides are still very split: Communist
North/More Democratic South• The DMZ (Demilitarized Zone) was set up at
the 38th Parallel in order to have some place for communication between the two sides
• Prior to the DMZ being created you were shot on site trying to cross the 38th parallel
• The borders of the DMZ are the most heavily guarded borders in the world
Changes in Policy • The Korean War showed the world that the US
would fight communism with more than just politics and economic pressure
• The US then began a huge military build up • Korea also showed that the Cold War was going to
involve more than just Europe
Changes in Policy • The US then set up an organization in Asia similar to
NATO called SEATO• SouthEast Asia Treaty Organization • SEATO had the same goals of NATO, but just in a
different region