The Cold War

(1945-1960)

American History

Part I: Settling the War

The start of the Cold War is rooted in the

diplomacy and relationships between

Russia and the United States in the final

months of World War II. FDR’s untimely

death fundamentally changed both: the

diplomacy and the relationship.

The Yalta Conference (Feb. ‘45)

• Big Three meet (FDR, Stalin, and Churchill) for the last time, at the end of the war

• Goals: – Free elections in Poland

– Establish sovereign governments in former Nazi Germany

– Divide Germany and Berlin into 4 zones

– Write United Nations Charter and create Security Council

– Create War Crimes Tribunal for “crimes against humanity”

Collective Hopes

Division of Germany

and Berlin

Germany divided into four zones: British, American,

French, and Russian.

Berlin also divided into four zones, but stuck in the

Russian-controlled part of Germany

The United Nations

Created as a new, improved League of Nations

• to govern international affairs

• to provide collective security

• to promote international development

• to further human rights

Security Council comprised of 15 members

• 5 Permanent Members (France, U.K., U.S.A,

Russia, and China)

• 10 Members on two year rotation

• All 5 permanent members can veto ANY

Security Council Resolution

Different Philosophies U.S.S.R. vs. U.S.A.

The Union of Soviet

Socialist Republics

• Communist

• Totalitarian

• Censorship of the Press

The United States of

America

• Capitalist

• Democratic

• Free Press/Speech

• Free Market

So What?

The war time alliance was based on mutual defense against a common

enemy. It was necessary. The U.S.A. didn’t trust Stalin because he was

allied with Hitler and was a murdering bastard. The U.S.S.R. didn’t trust

FDR because we were greedy bastards who only helped the British.

Shifting Expectations

Russia expected • Reparations

• A Defensive Buffer

U.S expected • Free Trade

• Economic Development

Stalin cancels free elections in occupied countries

(Bulgaria, Romania, Czechoslovakia, and Poland)

FDR dies of a cerebral hemorrhage, and V.P. Truman

takes over, bringing a new hard-line, no negotiation, style

of leadership.

By April 15, 1945

The Update: July, 1945

• Roosevelt Dead, Hitler Dead

• Germans surrender--V.E. Day (May 8)

• Europe faced with overwhelming issues – Reconstruction of cities, factories, and railroads

– Refugees and displaced people

– Widespread disease, hunger, famine

– Shame of widespread genocide (Russia: 12 million; Germany: 6.5 million Jews, and others)

– Power vacuum in Germany, Italy, and Eastern Europe

• Successful war in the Pacific--U.S. attacking Tokyo, near atomic decision

The Potsdam Conference (July, 1945)

• Truman argued that

Germany was essential to

the economic development

of Europe

• Stalin argued that Germany

should pay reparations

• Truman learned of the

successful atomic test and

told Stalin

• Stalin felt bullied and

announced the end to free

elections in Soviet occupied

Europe

An Iron Curtain Descends (March, 1946)

• Stalin forced Communist revolutions in Bulgaria, Romania, Czechoslovakia, and Poland

• Stated that all “satellite” nations must remain loyal to Communist government

• Churchill, on tour in the U.S., contends that an “iron curtain has descended in Europe”, extinguishing liberty

Part II: The Cold War

Heats Up (1946-1949)

Following the Potsdam Conference, the Cold

War gets more intense, as Stalin takes control of

Eastern Europe and the threat of Communism

spreads to Greece, Turkey, Iran, and Asia.

Truman takes a hard-line approach by sending

money, aid, and military support to America’s

allies.

The Policy of Containment

• George Kennan’s “The Long

Telegram” (Feb. ‘46)

• A very long telegram

response to the American

Ambassador to the Soviet

Union

• Outlined America’s

diplomatic position to

Russia

The Long Telegram

• U.S.S.R is fatally insecure

• U.S.S.R. is completely opposed to Capitalism

• There is no room for compromise

• Russian Communism is expansionary: IT WILL SPREAD!

• Only solution: CONTAIN COMMUNISM -- ANY WAY POSSIBLE

The Iranian Crisis

(Mar. ‘46) • Soviets take control of Iran

– Refuse to withdraw from Iran after WWII

– Take over Iranian oilfields

– Establish a new Communist government

• Will result in regional instability – CIA will start a coup in the

70s, install the Shah, resulting in the Iranian Revolution and the elevation of the Ayatollah Khomeini

– Deep hatred of the West

Greece and Turkey

(Feb. ‘46 - Mar. ‘47) • British pull financial and

military support out of Greece

• Results in a civil war between Monarchists and Greek Communists

• Americans fear spread of Communism through Greece and Turkey, resulting in the loss of the Bosporus Strait

The Truman Doctrine

(Mar. ‘47) • To prevent spread of

Communism in Greece and Turkey

• Asked Congress for $400 million to help “free people who are resisting subjugation…by an outside power

• First explicit use of American money to finance anti-Communist efforts

The Marshall Plan

(June ‘47) • The Goal:

– To prevent the spread of Communism in Western Europe, by giving over $12.5 billion to help rebuild post-war Europe

– To buy the loyalty of Western European governments

– To show American commitment to combat Communism

The Unification of Germany

• Western Allies unify

Germany into West

Germany

– American Zone, French

Zone, and British Zone

combine to unify against

Soviet East Germany

• Allies combine their

zones of Berlin, as an

outpost in Soviet

occupied E. Germany

The Berlin Blockade

(June ‘48 - May ‘49) • Threatened by the Allied

coalition

• Resenting the outpost of

Capitalism in E. Germany

• Russians blockade the

city of Berlin

– Close all railroads

– Stop all planes and close

airports

– Close all roads

– Prevent all trade and traffic

into West Berlin

The Berlin Airlift

(June ‘48 - May ‘49) Truman takes action:

– Authorized deployment of atomic bombs to British bases…just in case

– Ordered air drop of over 2 million tons of food, medicine, and fuel to W. Berliners

– Ended after 11 month standoff, when Stalin ended blockade

– Symbolized America’s commitment to a new Europe

– Crystallized aggression between Soviets and U.S.

NATO Formed

(Apr. ‘49) • The North Atlantic Treaty

Organization: The Sword and the Shield – To protect American and

her allies in Europe from Soviet hostility

– Approved mutual defense treaty, to use military to combat Communism

– Originally 12 members

– Prompted the creation of the Warsaw Pact, a Soviet military alliance

The Update

• Truman Doctrine: Truman pushes the

use of money to prevent the spread of

Communism (Marshall Plan, Berlin

Airlift)

• Communism spreading to Greece,

Turkey, and Iran

• Eastern Europe closed to the West

Part III: Asia Goes Red

(1949 - 1953)

Communism spreads through

Asia, as Mao begins a successful

revolution in China, and then

funnels money and troops to

Korea.

The Chinese Revolution

• Long struggle between Nationalist Chiang Kai-Shek and Communist Mao Zedong

• Started in the 1920s and continued through WWII

• Created a brief armistice to fight the Japanese

• U.S. contributed over $2 billion to Nationalist forces, which squandered the money

The Fall of China

(Aug. ‘49)

• U.S. stops aid to China

• Chiang Kai-Shek flees to

island of Formosa to

establish the Republic of

Taiwan

• Mao takes over Beijing

and declares the People’s

Republic of China in Oct.

• Mao signs an alliance with

Soviet Russia, 1950

The American Response

• U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. vetoes admission of Communist China to U.N.

• Only allowed seated members from Taiwan

• U.S. steps up financial aid to Japan -- to prevent the expansion of China

The Korean War

(June, ‘50 - present) Background • Americans and Russians

entered Korean Peninsula at end of WW2 to disarm Japanese

• Both sides left troops and munitions

• Both sides professed desire for Korean unification

• Korea tentatively divided along 38th Parallel

– North--Soviet control

– South--American control

Hostilities Flare

• Communist N. Koreans cross 38th Parallel and nearly take city of Pusan, June 1950

• Truman issues NSC-68 (National Security Council Memo #68) – Increase military spending to

combat Communism

– Mobilize 3.3 million troops

– Create Cold War military preparedness (which would continue through

– Saves the declining post-WW2 military

The United Nations

Intervenes • Truman calls United

Nations to action (cites mistakes of the League of Nations)

• Argues for aggressive containment of Communism

• MacArthur given command of UN forces

The Military See-saw

September 1950

• MacArthur orders invasion of Inchon

• UN forces push N. Koreans back to Yalu River, on the border of China

• China responds by sending “volunteer” soldiers to help

MacArthur Fired

(April 1951) • Truman refused to fully

engage military – The U.S. and public had lost

appetite for war atrocities

– Truman also fighting Communism at home, with espionage trials and HUAC hearings

• MacArthur argued for use of atomic weapons, and publicly criticized the president’s strategy

• Truman accepted MacArthur’s resignation

The Armistice Signed

• After MacArthur is replaced, UN forces push N. Koreans to the 38th Parallel

• War settles down – N. Koreans supplied by China,

U.S.S.R.

– S. Koreans supplied by U.S.

• Peace talks begin in the fall of 1951, but will last nearly two years

• Cease fire signed July 1953, still existent

Part IV: The Eisenhower

Years

(1952-1960) The Eisenhower presidency is noted for

its massive military buildup, the constant

threat of nuclear retaliation, and the idea

that constant nuclear preparedness

would result in peace.

A New Look

Dwight David Eisenhower

• Won a landslide victory for

Republican Party in 1952

• Professional soldier, general

of Normandy Invasion

• Liberator of Europe

• Trusted by the American

people and Western allies

Massive Retaliation

• The U.S. couldn’t afford small wars: Use Nukes! – Needed to flex its nuclear

muscle

– Needed to decrease conventional military spending on standing armies

– Increased nuclear arsenal from 1,000 to 18,000 warheads

– Created Strategic Air Command (SAC), super-bombers equipped with atomic bombs

The Space Race • U.S. develops Intercontinental

Ballistic Missile program (ICBMs) – Ability to launch long-range

missiles, monitored by series of satellites

– Russia tests atomic bomb in 1949

– U.S. responds by creating Hydrogen Bomb (equal to 10 million tons of TNT, 1000x more powerful than A-Bomb)

– Russia beats U.S. to space, launches Sputnik, Oct. 1957

– Ike forms National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to create space technology

Brinksmanship Brinksmanship:

– The threat of full scale nuclear war, as a national foreign policy

• Korean Armistice (1953):

– Forced prisoner exchange and N. Korea to sign armistice

• Taiwan (1954):

– Communist China threatens to take Nationalist Chinese Taiwan, U.S. threatens nuclear retaliation

• Suez Crisis (1956):

– U.S. threatens to use nukes after Communist Egyptian faction takes over Canal, but loses foothold in Middle East

• Guatemala

– CIA trains Guatemala nationalists to combat Soviet Communists, in order to protect United Farm Co.

The Hungarian Uprising

• Background

– New Soviet Premier, Nikita Khrushchev, seemed more tolerant of America

• June 1956

– Riots against Soviet rule start throughout Eastern Europe, notably in Hungary

– Soviets crushed the rebellion

– U.S. ignored Hungarian pleas for help

The U-2 Incident

(1960) • Khrushchev vows to “bury

Capitalism,” pounds shoe on podium

• U.S., NATO, and U.S.S.R. meet to discuss problems in Berlin, diffuse tension – During summit meeting,

American spy plane is shot down in Soviet airspace

– U.S. said it was a lost weather plane

– Soviets, correctly, said it was a spy plane

– Derailed summit

Cuba Goes Red

(1959) • Increased resentment

toward U.S. for not supplying financial aid to Latin America

• Claimed racism toward Hispanics

• Increased dependence on American exports devastated local economies

The Cuban Revolution

• Fidel Castro and Che

Guevara denounces

everything American

– Values

– Culture

– Imperialism

• Overthrows existing

government led by

Fulgencio Batista

Communism in Cuba

• Castro begins redistribution of land, Robin Hood style – Takes land from rich

American, or American financed, sugar planters

– Collectivizes agriculture

– Removes all traces of American culture and capitalism

– Would remain major adversary in Western Hemisphere

Castro and Khrushchev • Khrushchev promises

full financial and military support to Cuba

• Promises to send nuclear missiles to protect Cuba against American imperialism

• Will ultimately result in the Cuban Missile Crisis

The Election of 1960

• Eisenhower leaves office having – Mobilized a full nuclear arsenal

• Created ICBMs

• Highways to move nuclear arsenal

• SAC

• Massive retaliation

– Ignored pleas for help from Hungary

– Allowed Communism to spread in • Korea

• Space

• Hungary

• Cuba