Bell Ringer• What are 5 differences between Communism

and Democracy or the United States and the Soviet Union?

Harry Truman and the Cold War

Truman Becomes President

• FDR dies on April 12, 1945– Warm Springs, Georgia– 2 weeks before the first United Nations meeting– Had been in poor health– Death shocked the world

• Truman had served 10 years in Congress– Only VP for a few months– Not involved in any foreign affairs

The Postdam Conference

• Outside of Berlin• Truman’s first visit with Stalin• Churchill was replaced with Clement Attlee–Elected new PM

• Truman wanted elections promised to Poland– tells Stalin of the Atom Bomb test in New Mexico•Manhattan Project

–Tensions over Poland would continue to rise

Conflicting Postwar GoalsAmerican View• Americans had fought to bring

democracy and economic opportunities to the conquered nations of Europe and Asia

• America wanted an economically strong and politically open world

• Hoped this would serve American interest and create new markets

The Soviet View• Lost 17 million people during

WWII and suffered widespread destruction

• Wanted to rebuild in ways that would protect their interests

• Established satellite nations– Countries subject to Soviet

domination– On the western border of the

USSR to act as a buffer zone

• Wanted to spread communism across the world

Soviets Spread Communism• Satellite Countries– Albania – 1944– Bulgaria and Czechoslovakia– 1948– Hungary – 1947 – Romania – 1947 – Yugoslavia – 1945– Iron Curtain – the division between communist and non-

communist life in Europe• Finland – signed Treaty of Cooperation in 1948 with

the Soviets– Would remain neutral in foreign affairs– Would manage own domestic affairs

Communism Containment

• George Kennan – American diplomat stationed in Moscow, analyzed and sent letter to Truman– Soviets had no interest in coexisting with democracy– Believed Communism would eventually rule the world– “cannot be easily defeated or discouraged by a single

victory on the part its opponents . . . But only by intelligent long-range policies.”

– “United States policy toward the Soviet Union must be that of a long-term, patient but firm and vigilant containment of Russian expansive tendencies.”

Communism Containment• Containment– American policy of resisting further expansion of

communism around the world• Eastern Europe had already fallen to Communism• Many wanted the US to liberate Eastern European

countries• Kennan – “[communism] bears within it the seeds

of its own decay”• Became the cornerstone of America’s Cold War

foreign policy

The Truman Doctrine• A result of the Containment Policy• Soviet Union was threating Turkey– Stalin wanted control of the Dardanells – narrow strait

that would give the USSR ports on the Black Sea and access to the Mediterranean Sea

• Civil War in Greece – Communist were trying to overthrow the gov’t formed after WWII

• February 1947 – Great Britain declared it could not longer aid Greece and Turkey against the Communist– Only 2 powers remained in the world – USA & USSR

The Truman Doctrine

• Delivered to a joint session of Congress on March 12, 1947

• Statement of principles the became known as the Truman Doctrine

• Congress approved $400 million in aid for Greece and Turkey

• US would establish military bases in both countries

• The US would aid any country fighting communism

Truman Doctrine• “Nearby every nation must choose between alternative

ways of life. The choice is often not a free one. One way of life is based upon the will of the majority. . . . The second way of life is based upon the will of a minority forcibly imposed upon the majority. . . . I believe that it must be the policy of the United States to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation [conquest] by armed minorities or by outside pressures. I believe that we must assist free peoples to work out their own destinies in their own ways.”– Truman Doctrine, March 12, 1947

The Marshall Plan

• Unveiled by Secretary of State George C. Marshall

• Response to American concerns that communist political parties would grow stronger in Europe

• Reflected the Truman Doctrine

The Marshall Plan• “It is logical that the United States should do

whatever it is able to assist in the return of the normal economic health in the world, without which there can be no political stability and no assured peace. Our policy is directed not against any country or doctrine but against hunger, poverty, desperation, and chaos. Its purpose should be the revival of a working economy in the world so as to permit the emergence of political and social conditions in which free institutions can exist.”– George C. Marshall, June 5, 1947

The Marshall Plan

• Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav– vicious American scheme to “buy its way” into

European affairs• Congress approved the plan becomes known

as the European Recovery Program– 17 European Countries join

• 13 billion given in grants/loans to western Europe

The Berlin Airlift• 1948 – US, GB, and French leaders merge their

portions of Germany to form the Federal Republic of Germany – West Germany– Soviets made it clear they were not going to allow

Germany to be reunited as 1 country– Democratic gov’t

• In response the Soviet Union formed East Germany, German Democratic Republic– Communist

• West Germany and East Germany became symbols of the Cold War

West Germany

East Germany

The Berlin Airlift• Berlin was also divided into East and West Berlin• New Currency was introduced to West Germany

and West Berlin– Stalin saw this new money as a threat to East Germany• Blocked routes from West to East Germany• Also included blockade of supplies and goods

• Blockade brought on a shortage of food to 2.5 million people

• Truman did not want the military to get involved – fear military would = war

The Berlin Airlift• Truman decided on an airlift to move supplies from

West Berlin to East Berlin• 15 months• 200k flights with flood, fuel, and other supplies• 13k tons of goods daily• Soviet blockade ended in May 1949 and airlift

ended in September• Marshall Plan had already help stabilize rebuilding

European countries– Including West Germany

NATO

• North Atlantic Treaty Organization• Formed in April 1949 as a result of the Soviet

Union constantly using veto power in the United Nations

• 12 Founding Members– USA, Canada, Belgium, Britain, Denmark, France,

Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway and Portugal

• US signs military treaties for the first time since the Monroe Doctrine

• Would fight against the spread of Communism

NATO

Communist Advances

• Soviet Union develops their atomic bomb August 1949– 2 major enemies now had atomic bomb capabilities– Truman orders for the development of the hydrogen

bomb• 1952

– Federal Civil Defense Administration• Put out posters on how to survive a nuclear attack• Bomb shelter blue prints• Instructions for air raid drills in schools

Communist Advances

• China Falls to the Communist– Struggle between Nationalist and Communist

began in the 1920s– After WWII fighting between the 2 sides resumes– 1949 Peking falls to Communist forces• Now Beijing• Mao Zedong declares China a communist state–The People’s Republic of China

• Chinese gov’t escapes and continues to run from Taiwan

Dividing Korea

• During WWII Japan had annexed Korea– Korea wanted to be restored to one country

• Japanese above the 38th Parallel surrendered to the Soviets

• Japanese below the 38th Parallel surrendered to the Americans

• 38th Parallel – latitude line running across the middle of Korean Penninsula

• No plans had been developed for Korean Independence before Japan surrendered

Dividing Korea

• Was suppose to be a temporary fix • Pro-Soviet gov’t would form in Northern Korea• Pro-American gov’t would form in Southern

Korea• American and Soviet troops would withdraw

from their occupied zones between 1948-49

The Korean Conflict• Both sides wanted to unify into one country– With their own governments

• War breaks out in June 1950– North Korean troops storm over the 38th Parallel – Planned by the Soviet Union

• Americans were surprised by the attack• “If this [invasion of South Korea] was allowed to go

unchallenged, it would mean a third world war, just as similar incidents brought on the second world war.”– Truman

The UN Police Action• Soviets walked out of previous UN meetings over

Communist China not allowed to join– Would form the Warsaw Pact– Could not veto President Truman’s issue of aggression

against North Korea• Unanimous approval to aid and defend South Korea• Truman immediately sends the 17th Fleet to protect

Taiwan• Air, land, and naval support for the South Koreans– 80% of UN troops

• Truman does not ask Congress but still supported the decision

Waging the War in Korea

• General Douglas MacArthur leads UN forces in Korea

• North Koreans quickly pushed south– All but the port city of Pusan was taken by the North

Koreans• Caused the supply lines to be stretch thin– MacArthur decided to attack the supply line– Plan worked and the North Koreans retreated to the

38th Parallel

Waging the War in Korea• As South Korea is pushing north, Communist

China did not want a Democratic neighbor• China warns MacArthur not advance more• MacArthur ignores the threat and announces his

“Home for Christmas” offensive push– Push back the North Koreans across the Yalu River into

China• The Chinese keep their promise and join the war

pushing the UN forces south creating a stalemate

Douglas MacArthur

• Want to break the stalemate by using a second front– Chinese forced on Taiwan to return to China to attack

the Chinese Communist• Truman turns down this plan to prevent all out war

in Asia• MacArthur writes a letter to House Minority Leader

Joseph Martin attacking Truman’s policies– Martin makes the letter public and Truman fires

MacArthur on April 11, 1951

The End of the War• A truce would not be signed until Dwight D.

Eisenhower would become President– Talks had stalled but he threatened to use an atomic

bomb to get talks going again• 34k troops killed, 103k wounded• No nuclear war• Communism had been contained• First American war blacks and whites served in the

same units• Relations between US and Communist China would

be sour for 20+ years