Cold war 

1945 the end of the war. The United States did not recognize the legal existence of the Russian government. During the war the Russians and allies disagreed on strategy and the post war plans.

Yalta conference.

 Met with Roosevelt, Stalin, and Churchill to discuss the postwar affairs of Europe.  They agreed on the division of Germany into four parts, American British French and soviet. 

The United Nations was established at the end of the war. But Roosevelt dies two weeks before the first meeting and Truman becomes president.  And Truman meets with other allied leaders in Potsdam Germany. America let it be known of the testing of the atom bomb.  Stalin hid his concern that America had this use but he already knew from soviet spies in the United States.

Soviet union extends its control over the smaller countries of Eastern Europe, called satellite nations. Using these countries as buffers between Germany and Russia.  Which caused Churchill to call this buffer the “iron Curtain”. 

This started the contest known as the “Cold War”.  No more hot wars with Russia although America has become engaged in several conflicts with Russian supported countries. The thought of containment became one of the main bases for the United States aim of the cold war.

With the thought of there being two major powers now with United States and Russia, president Truman and the united states government were concerned with stopping the spread of the Russian philosophies.

President Truman made a speech know as the Truman doctrine. This stated that it must be the policy of the United States to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures.  America believes that we must assist free peoples to work out their own destinies in their own way. March of 1947.

The cold war abroad and at home

          MARSHALL PLAN:

·        AN ECONOMIC PLAN TO REBUILD EUROPE AFTER WW II

·        RUSSIA ALONG WITH ITS SATELLITES DID NOT ACCEPT THE FINANCIAL AID

·        ALSO KNOWN AS THE EUROPEAN RECOVERY PROGRAM

BERLIN AIRLIFT:

·        WEST GERMANY WAS BEING SUPPORTED BY THE FRENCH, BRITISH, AND AMERICANS

·        FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY

·        THE WESTERN PART OF BERLIN WAS TO BECOME PART OF WEST GERMANY

·        MANY EUROPEANS IN THE COUNTRIES WHICH WERE UNDER THE SOVIET AND COMMUNISTIC RULE FLED TO WEST BERLIN

·        STALIN CLOSED ACCESS TO WEST BERLIN BY BLOCKING ALL POINTS OF ENTRY

·        NOT WANTING TO RISK A WAR, TRUMAN BEGAN THE BERLIN AIRLIFT

·        15 MONTHS 200,000 FLIGHTS FLEW OVER WEST BERLIN DROPPING FOOD, CLOTHING, AND MEDICINE TO THOSE TRAPPED THERE  

NATO

·        THE UNITED STATES DID NOT WANT TO BE THE ONLY COUNTRY PLEDGED TO DEFEND WEST GERMANY IF STALIN CHOSE TO INVADE

·        COUNTRIES FROM AROUND THE NORTH ATLANTIC BANDED TOGETHER TO FORM THE NORTH ATLANTIC TREATY ORGANIZATION (NATO)

·        Created a need for a collective security which was the assisted military action

·        In contrast to this Stalin and Russia formed a pact in eastern Europe it  is Warsaw Pact

Communist threats

·                    Soviet Union tests the atomic bomb

·        United States starts a flurry of action of nuclear testing

·        Develops the hydrogen bomb

·        Federal Civil Defense Administration

·                    Which taught us how to survive a nuclear war by duck and cover

·                    Communists take over in China

·        China was an ally  now communist

·        Taiwan is the non-communist government, which is recognized by the U.S.

Cold war at home

·                    Many people in the United States join the Communist Party

·        The hunt for Reds took up any body that had connections to the Party

·        Loyalty oaths were taken by government workers

·        HUAC  HOUSE UN-AMERICAN ACTIVITIES COMMITTEE

·                    After movie producers in Hollywood

·                    Hollywood Ten

·        Disagreed to answer whether they were communists

·        These caused people to get black listed people agreed not to hire them

                   McCarran-Walter Act limited quota of immigrants from Asia and Southern and       

                     Central Europe. Truman vetoed it and congress passed it anyway.

            Spy cases Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were charged and convicted and executed records in 1991 indicated that they had been guilty.  

Chapter 26 section 3

Cold War expands. The governmental differences in philosophies carry to other parts of the world. Pro communist in North Korea and Pro American forces and government in South Korea caused an area of conflict to exist.

Mao tsu tang leader of revolution in China backed by communists and threw government out of country. Action reaction, China was not recognized by the United Nations as the government of china.

  In June 1950 North Korean troops crossed the 38^th parallel. The members of the United Nations called for troops to go to Korea. MacArthur was the leader of the American forces in Japan and the Pacific area. And became the leader of the UN forces in the pacific. His personality was one of hatred of communists. Roosevelt, Truman and Joseph McCarthy were soft on communists compared to MacArthur.

            With the rapid deployment of the Russian backed North Korean army, a strategy was developed. With only a small portion of South Korean not occupied by the North Korean army, MacArthur and others realized that their supply lines would be thin. Attacking the lines after he had reinforced the southern province, the North Koreans were routed.  The attack was so successful that the Koreans headed north so fast with the UN forces on their trail that talk of uniting Korea was started.

            China warned UN not to get to close to their border. Be home for Christmas as the plan when UN forces tried to drive the North Korean army into China, however when the UN forces got that close to the China border. The Red Chinese army swarmed over the UN forces like a colony of ants driving the UN forces to the 38^th parallel. Americans at home wondered why 35,000 men died and 113,000 were injured for no change in the area after the fighting. Many wondered about the seriousness of American anti communists talk.

            Joe McCarthy

            Senator claimed that 205 known communists worked in the State Department.

            When told to prove it could only show 57. He attacked George Marshall who was the Secretary of State. Saying that the employees of the state department were unacceptable. As Joe McCarthy accused more and more his claims were gaining supporters due to the Korean aggression. His influence grew to the point he was granted televised hearings and charging that members of society and the congress were communist pinkos. When he was on TV, the American people saw what a fanatic he was and he soon lost support from the anti communist group.

The Scary Arms Race

            During the 1950s, the United States and Russia continued to struggle for the upper hand, focusing on the greatest build up of military might. In this cold war, each was trying to stockpile the largest and most deadly weapons known to man.  The Arms Race the struggle to gain the upper hand with regards to weapon.

            Soviets and Americans began testing the nuclear weapons that would maintain equality among the world leaders. Eisenhower proposed to the United Nations that the nuclear technology be used for peaceful applications. The soviets refused to give up any of their nuclear material. More and more testing of nuclear weapons was being done. One test was 750 times more powerful than the bomb on Nagasaki.

            Brinkmanship, the art of getting ready for war and striving to avoid it and the willing ness to take it to the brink of war to safe guard our nation. ICBMs the Russian answer to the United States air force capabilities of delivering bombs.  Even though we held an edge in the delivery systems, the Russians were ahead in the missile development. Sent the first rocket to orbit the earth. The first artificial satellite to orbit earth was sputnik. Lead to the United States striving to find out what the Russians were doing. The fear of a missile carrying a weapon was realized when the U-2 spy plane was shot down over Russia.