Alan Brinkley American History: A Survey, 10th edition Chapter 29

1. The Cold War

2.  Origins of the Cold
War
 The Collapse of
Peace
 Society and Politics
After the Cold War

3.  Soviet-American Tensions
 Different visions of the post-war world
 US: nations shed military alliances; used democratic
international mediators
 Soviet Union: sought to control areas of strategic
influence
 Wartime Diplomacy
 1943: Tensions began because the Allied refused to invade as
the Soviets fought Germany on the Eastern front and
because disputes over the governance of Poland were
unresolved at the Tehran Conference

4.  Yalta
 Big Three
(Churchill, Truman, Stali
n) meet in 1945 to create
the UN
 Disagreements: The
future of the Polish
government; finally
agree to give each other
a German “zone”
 US: German
reconstruction
 Soviet Union: Heavy
reparations

5.  Failure of Potsdam
 The new US President Truman wanted to “get tough” with
Soviets; mentioned he had a “powerful new weapon”
 Stalin received newly independent nations
 Failure: Frequent disagreements led to future discontent
(Soviet extension of totalitarian control in new nations)
 The China Problem
 The US had a vision of an open world “policed” by the major
powers
 Problem: the Chinese government, unpopular and
corrupt, believed America had imperialist motives in China
and gave conflicting consideration to the Soviet Union and
the US

6.  The Containment Doctrine
 US no longer wanted an “open”
world but a “contained” Soviet
(and communistic) expansion
 Doctrine: Military and economic
efforts to prevent communism;
“domino theory” (if one falls, all
will fall)
 The Marshall Plan
 1947 plan by Secretary of State
George Marshall to aid all
European nations to strengthen
pro-US governments against
communism

7.  Mobilization at Home
 Established Atomic Energy Commission to control nuclear
research
 National Security Act of 1947 created the Department of
Defense and the Central Intelligent Agency
 The Road to NATO
 Truman merged German “western zones” into West Germany
 Reevaluating Cold War Policy
 NSC-68 report: US should lead the noncommunist world and
oppose communist expansion everywhere; expanded military
power

8.  German “zones” were divided
between the Soviet
Union, US, France, and Great
Britain at the Potsdam
Conference
 Berlin Blockade
 City of Berlin was also
divided into four zones
 1948-1949: Soviets blocked
aid into Berlin
 Western Allies organized
the Berlin Airlift
 “Operation Little Vittles”
Strategically, how could the Soviets take control of Berlin so easily?

9.  Problems of Reconversion
 Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944 provided education
and economic aid to returning soldiers; increased spending
prevented economic collapse
 Problems: high inflation, union strikes, and displaced
minorities and women as soldiers returned to labor
 Fair Deal Rejected
 Fair Deal: liberal reforms; opposed by Republicans who
wanted to reduce government spending, cut taxes for the
wealthy and refused to raise wages
 Republicans also sought to decrease the power of unions
through the Taft-Hartley Act, making “closed-shop” illegal
(requiring union membership before being hired)

10.  Election of 1948
 Truman sought re-election; Dixiecrats
and progressives refused full support
 Republicans nominated Dewey;
Truman won and Democrats won
House and Senate
 Fair Deal Revived
 Minimum wage increase, Social
Security expansion; desegregated
the armed forces
 Nuclear Age
 Nuclear weapons viewed with fear
though awed the public with
technological advancements

11.  The Divided Peninsula
 Korea divided at the 38th
Parallel (Communist
North, Syngman Rhee’s
South)
 North invaded south in
1950 in hopes of
reuniting; US won UN
resolution for support of
South Korean armies –
result was “containment”
and “liberation”

12.  From Invasion to Stalemate
 MacArthur advanced into the North; Chinese entered conflict
with Korea in late 1950
 UN armies retreated to 38th Parallel; stalemate until 1953
 Truman wanted peace, MacArthur opposed it (relieved of
command in 1951)
 Limited Mobilization
 War led to limited mobilization: Truman created the Office of
Defense Mobilization to combat rising inflation, the
government seized railroads and steel mills during union
strikes, and increased government spending stimulated the
economy
 Unable to quickly end a “small” war, fear grew of communists
at home

13.  When: June 25, 1950 – July 27, 1953
 What: Conflict between the Communist North (supported by the
Soviets) and non-Communists in the South of Korea (supported
by the US); the US entered the war to stop communism from
spreading (containment policy); if one country falls to
communism so too will surrounding countries (domino theory)
 Before the war: After WWII, Korea was divided along the 38th
Parallel into Soviet (North) and US (South) zones of occupation;
after awhile, their relationship grew increasingly strained and the
North invaded the South
 During the war: Frontlines went back and forth around the 38th
Parallel, agreement was made and war ended; about 5 million
soldiers and civilians died

14.  HUAC and Alger Hiss
 “Red Scare” was prompted by
fear of Stalin and growing
Communism
 Republicans sought to use
those feelings to win support
against Democrats; Congress
created HUAC
 Former State Department
official Alger Hiss was
investigated revealing he
complied with communists
further increasing fear

15.  Federal Loyalty Program and the Rosenberg Case
 1947: Truman began program to determine “loyalty” of
federal employees as the FBI monitored radicals
 1950: Congress passed the McCarran Internal Security Act
forcing communist groups to register with the government
 The Rosenberg’s were questioned following the Soviet
explosion of an atomic bomb
 Anticommunist hysteria was now at the national, state, and
local levels

16.  McCarthyism
 1951: Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy leveled charges of
communist agents in the State Department and other
agencies; his subcommittee was at the fore of
anticommunism
 Republican Revival
 Korean stalemate and anticommunism sentiments led to the
Democrats’ disappointments
 Democrats nominated Adlai Stevenson; Republicans
nominated General Dwight Eisenhower (and Richard Nixon
as his running mate)
 Eisenhower won by a huge margin; Republicans gained
control in both Houses of Congress

17.  Harry S Truman
 Truman on Ending a War: Atomic Bombs (2:55)
 The Korean War
 Unforgettable: The Korean War (5:43)
 The Cold War
 The Cold War (2:31)
 The “Red Scare”
 Project VENONA vs. Rosenbergs (2:54)
 Red Scare and HUAC (5:33)
 1950: The Hollywood Ten (15:02)
 Nuclear Weapons
 1951: Duck and Cover (9:15)