The Cold War (19451963) History SparkNotes General n!

o Overview Summary of Events Key People & Terms S"##ary $ %nalysis The Postwar World: 194 !1949 The Start of the "old War: 194#!19 $ The Korean War: 19 %!19 & Postwar Prosperity at 'ome: 194 !19(% Eisenhower at 'ome: 19 $!19 9 Eisenhower and the "old War: 19 4!19(% Kennedy and )i*eralism: 19(%!19(& St"dy Tools Study +uestions & Essay Topi,s +uiSu..estions for /urther 0eadin.

Overview 1

0ivalry *etween the 2nited States and the Soviet 2nion for ,ontrol over the postwar world emer.ed *efore World War 33 had even ended4 24S4 presidents /ran5lin 64 0oosevelt and 'arry S Truman and Soviet premier 7oseph Stalin never really trusted one another8 even while wor5in. to.ether to defeat the 9a-is4 This mutual mistrust a,tually *e.an as far *a,5 as 191#8 when the 2nited States refused to re,o.ni-e the new :olshevi5 .overnment after the 0ussian 0evolution4 Stalin also resented the fa,t that the 2nited States and ;reat :ritain had not shared nu,lear weapons resear,h with the Soviet 2nion durin. the war and was unhappy with the ,ountries< initial unwillin.ness to en.a.e the ;ermans on a se,ond front in order to ta5e pressure off of the Soviets4 =dditionally8 Stalin was ir5ed *y the fa,t that Truman had offered postwar relief loans to ;reat :ritain *ut not to the 2SS04 3mportant ideolo.i,al differen,es separated the two ,ountries as well8 espe,ially durin. the postwar years8 when =meri,an forei.n poli,y offi,ials too5 it upon themselves to spread demo,ra,y a,ross the .lo*e4 This .oal ,onfli,ted drasti,ally with the 0ussian revolutionaries< ori.inal desire to overthrow ,apitalism4 'avin. *een invaded *y ;ermany twi,e in the last fifty years8 Soviet leaders also wanted to restru,ture Europe so that a *uffer e>isted *etween the ;ermans and the Soviet *order4 :oth the 2nited States and the 2SS0 *elieved that their respe,tive survival was at sta5e8 and ea,h was therefore prepared to ta5e any steps to win4 =s a result8 *oth ,ountries found themselves su,,um*in. to the ,lassi, prisoners< dilemma: wor5in. to.ether would produ,e the *est result8 *ut with everythin. to lose8 neither side ,ould ris5 trustin. the other4 =t the same time8 however8 *oth the 2nited States and the 2SS0 did mu,h to prevent the "old War from es,alatin.8 as *oth ,ountries 5new how devastatin. a nu,lear war would *e4 Truman8 for e>ample8 5ept the Korean War limited *y refusin. to use nu,lear weapons a.ainst 9orth Korea and "hina8 aware that doin. so would for,e the 2SS0 to retaliate4 President 6wi.ht 64 Eisenhower 5ept his distan,e from the 'un.arian 0evolution in 19 (8 5nowin. full well that the 2SS0 would not tolerate interferen,e in Eastern Europe4 )i5ewise8 the Soviet 2nion made sa,rifi,es to 5eep the war ?,old@ *y *a,5in. down from the "u*an missile ,risis4 Aany "old War historians *elieve that *oth ,ountries wor5ed hard to 5eep ,onfli,ts limited and used ta,it si.nalin. te,hniBues to ,ommuni,ate .oals8 fears8 ,on,erns8 intensions8 and ,ountera,tions4 The "old War had an enormous impa,t on the 2nited States politi,ally8 so,ially8 and e,onomi,ally4 3n addition to spawnin. fearCindu,ed 0ed hunts and A,"arthyism in the late 194%s and early 19 %s8 the "old War also shaped 24S4 presidents< politi,al a.endas4 Eisenhower8 for e>ample8 sou.ht to redu,e .overnment spendin. at home in order to halt what he ,alled ?,reepin. so,ialism@ and to save money for more ur.ent needs su,h as defense4 Kennedy<s 9ew /rontier inspired patrioti, fervor and visions of new hope in =meri,an youth4 Even Eisenhower<s farewell warnin. of a .rowin. militaryCindustrial ,omple> within the 2nited States8 whi,h would ,ome to dominate =meri,an politi,al thin5in.8 proved to *e eerily a,,urate durin. the Dietnam War era the followin. de,ade4 =t the same time8 federal dollars feedin. this ,omple> helped produ,e one of the .reatest e,onomi, *ooms in world history4 The Buestion as to whether the 2nited States or the 2SS0 was more to *lame for startin. the "old War has produ,ed heated de*ate amon. twentiethC,entury historians4 /or years8 most historians pla,ed *lame sBuarely on Soviet shoulders and helped perpetuate the notion that =meri,ans wanted merely to e>pand freedom and demo,ra,y4 Aore re,ent historians8 however8 have a,,used President Truman of in,itin. the "old War with his a,er*i, lan.ua.e
2

and pu*li, ,hara,teri-ation of the Soviet 2nion as the .reatest threat to the free world4 =lthou.h ,onfli,t *etween the two powers was ar.ua*ly inevita*le8 the es,alation into a full ?hot@ war and the attendant threat of nu,lear annihilation mi.ht have *een avoida*le4 Summary of Events Postwar Tension 3n many ways8 the "old War *e.an even *efore the .uns fell silent in ;ermany and in the Pa,ifi, in 194 4 Suspi,ion and mistrust had defined 24S4CSoviet relations for de,ades and resurfa,ed as soon as the allian,e a.ainst =dolf 'itler was no lon.er ne,essary4 "ompetin. ideolo.ies and visions of the postwar world prevented 24S4 president Harry S Tr"#an and Soviet premier &oseph Stalin from wor5in. to.ether4 Stalin intended to destroy ;ermany<s industrial ,apa*ilities in order to prevent the ,ountry from remilitari-in. and wanted ;ermany to pay outra.eous sums in war reparations4 Aoreover8 he wanted to ere,t proCSoviet .overnments throu.hout Eastern Europe to prote,t the 2SS0 from any future invasions4 Truman8 however8 wanted e>a,tly the opposite4 'e *elieved that only industriali-ation and demo,ra,y in ;ermany and throu.hout the ,ontinent would ensure postwar sta*ility4 2na*le to ,ompromise or find ,ommon .round8 the world<s two remainin. superpowers inevita*ly ,lashed4 Trumans Postwar Vision Truman wor5ed tirelessly to ,lean up the postwar mess and esta*lish a new international order4 'e helped ,reate the World 'ank and the nternational (onetary )"nd ( ()) and funded the re*uildin. of 7apan under ;eneral *o"+las (a,%rth"r4 =fter prose,utin. 9a-i war ,riminals at the N"re#-er+ trials8 Truman in 194# also outlined the (arshall .lan8 whi,h set aside more than E1% *illion for the re*uildin. and reindustriali-ation of ;ermany4 The Aarshall Plan was so su,,essful that fa,tories in Western Europe were e>,eedin. their prewar produ,tion levels within Fust a few years4 Stalins Postwar Vision =lthou.h Stalin Foined with the 2nited States in foundin. the /nited Nations8 he fou.ht Truman on nearly every other issue4 'e protested the Aarshall Plan as well as the formation of the World :an5 and 3A/4 3n defian,e8 he followed throu.h on his plan to ,reate a *uffer *etween the Soviet 2nion and ;ermany *y settin. up proC"ommunist .overnments in Poland and other Eastern European ,ountries4 =s a result8 the soC,alled iron ,"rtain soon divided East from West in Europe4 Stalin also tried unsu,,essfully to drive /ren,h8 :ritish8 and =meri,an o,,upation for,es from the ;erman ,ity of :erlin *y *lo,5in. hi.hway and railway a,,ess4 6etermined not to let the ,ity fall8 Truman ordered the 'erlin airli!t to drop food and medi,al supplies for starvin. :erliners4 Containment The :erlin ,risis8 as well as the formation of the 0astern -lo, of SovietCdominated ,ountries in Eastern Europe8 ,aused forei.n poli,y offi,ials in Washin.ton to *elieve that the 2nited
3

States needed to ,he,5 Soviet influen,e a*road in order to prevent the further spread of "ommunism4 3n 194#8 Truman in,orporated this desire for ,ontain#ent into his Tr"#an *o,trine8 whi,h vowed to support free nations fi.htin. "ommunism4 'e and "on.ress then pled.ed E4%% million to fi.htin. "ommunist revolutionaries in ;ree,e and Tur5ey4 3n 19498 Truman also ,onvin,ed the Western European powers to Foin the North %tlanti, Treaty 1r+ani2ation (N%T1)8 so that they mi.ht mutually defend themselves a.ainst the dan.er of Soviet invasion4 Threatened8 the 2SS0 sponsored a similar treaty of its own in Eastern Europe8 ,alled the Warsa3 .a,t8 in 19 4 Truman at Home 3n the domesti, poli,y arena8 Truman si.ned the National Se,"rity %,t in 194# to restru,ture =meri,a<s defenses for the new "ommunist threat4 The a,t reor.ani-ed the military under the new offi,e of the se,retary o! de!ense and the new &oint Chie!s o! Sta!!4 3t also ,reated the National Se,"rity Co"n,il to advise the president on .lo*al affairs and the Central ntelli+en,e %+en,y to ,ondu,t espiona.e4 Truman<s leadership in ,onfrontin. the Soviet 2nion and re*uildin. Europe ,onvin,ed 6emo,rats to nominate him a.ain for the 194G ele,tion4 'is )air *eal domesti, poli,ies and support for ,ivil ri.hts8 however8 divided the 0epu*li,an Party and nearly ,ost Truman the ele,tion4 Red Hunts

6evelopments in Eastern Europe8 the fall of China to "ommunist revolutionaries in 19498 and the Soviet 2nion<s development of nu,lear weapons terrified =meri,ans8 who feared that "ommunists would try to infiltrate or atta,5 the 2nited States from within4 "on.ressman 4i,hard (5 Ni6on and the Ho"se /n7%#eri,an %,ti8ities Co##ittee led the earliest 4ed h"nts for "ommunists in the .overnment8 whi,h ,ulminated with the prose,ution of federal employee %l+er Hiss and the e>e,utions of suspe,ted spies &"li"s and 0thel 4osen-er+4 Truman initially supported these inBuiries and even esta*lished a 9oyalty 4e8ie3 'oard to assist in the sear,h4 'e eventually *e.an to e>press ,on,ern8 however8 that the 0ed hunts were Bui,5ly devolvin. into wit,h hunts4 The Korean War "old War tensions *etween the 2nited States and the 2SS0 eventually e>ploded in :orea when SovietC*a,5ed 9orth Korea invaded South Korea in 19 %4 6etermined not to let "ommunism spread in East =sia8 Truman Buadrupled military spendin. and ordered ;eneral Aa,=rthur to reta5e the southern half of the peninsula4 Aa,=rthur su,,eeded and then pushed the 9orth Koreans almost up to the "hinese *order4 Threatened8 over a million soldiers from "ommunist "hina poured into Korea8 for,in. Aa,=rthur to retreat *a,5 to the 3;th parallel8 whi,h had ori.inally divided 9orth Korea from South Korea4 When Aa,=rthur *e.an to ,riti,i-e Truman pu*li,ly for his unwillin.ness to use nu,lear weapons in Korea8 Truman was for,ed to fire his top .eneral for insu*ordination4 2nited States for,es remained entren,hed at the &Gth parallel for two more years8 at the ,ost of more than %8%%% =meri,an lives4 :oth sides de,lared a ,easeCfire only after the new 24S4 president8 *3i+ht *5 0isenho3er8 threatened to use nu,lear weapons in 19 &4

Postwar Prosperity Eisenhower<s ele,tion in 19 $ ushered in an unpre,edented era of e,onomi, .rowth and prosperity in the 2nited States4 The avera.e national in,ome dou*led durin. the 19 %s and then dou*led a.ain the followin. de,ade8 primarily due to ,ontinued defense spendin. and to the 1944 (ont+o#ery G5 5 'ill8 whi,h helped returnin. veterans *uy homes and .o *a,5 to s,hool4 The postwar <-a-y -oo#= ,ontri*uted to population .rowth8 while the Great (i+ration of =fri,anC=meri,ans to northern ,ities8 <3hite !li+ht= from the ,ities to the su*ur*s8 and the rush to the S"n 'elt altered population demo.raphi,s4 :y 19(%8 most =meri,an families had a ,ar8 a television8 and a refri.erator and owned their own home4 Popular television sit,o#s li5e Leave It to Beaver and Ozzie and Harriet .lamori-ed su*ur*ia and ,onsumerism4 Creeping Socialism ?35e@ Eisenhower had entered the White 'ouse determined to *lo,5 the ,reation of new so,ial welfare pro.rams8 whi,h he ,alled <,reepin+ so,ialis#4= 'e did not8 however8 ,ut federal fundin. from e>istin. 9ew 6eal pro.rams4 3n fa,t8 he e>panded So,ial Se,"rity and the )ederal Ho"sin+ %d#inistration and even set aside tens of millions of dollars for the ,reation of the first interstates under the )ederal Hi+h3ay %,t4 Still a ,onservative8 thou.h8 Eisenhower refused to endorse the *lossomin. ,i8il ri+hts #o8e#ent and si.ned the 9andr"#7Gri!!in %,t8 also 5nown as the )a*orCAana.ement 0eportin. and 6is,losure =,t8 in the wa5e of numerous %)97C 1 la*or union s,andals in the midC19 %s4 McCarthyism /irstCterm Wis,onsin 0epu*li,an senator &oseph (,Carthy8 meanwhile8 e>ploded onto the national politi,al s,ene in 19 %8 when he a,,used more than $%% federal employees of *ein. "ommunists4 Even thou.h A,"arthy had no proof to support these ,laims8 =meri,ans supported his endeavors to find more ?Soviet a.ents@ hidin. in Washin.ton4 Thousands of former 9ew 6ealers and 0edChunt ,riti,s from all wal5s of life were wron.fully perse,uted4 A,"arthy<s influen,e eventually waned after he humiliated himself durin. the nationally televised %r#y7(,Carthy hearin+s in 19 44 I es !ew "oo 3n addition to haltin. ?,reepin. so,ialism@ at home8 Eisenhower also wanted to <roll -a,k= "ommunist advan,es a*road4 =lon. with Di,e President 4i,hard (5 Ni6on and Se,retary of State &ohn )oster *"lles8 Eisenhower devised a Ne3 9ook at forei.n poli,y that emphasi-ed the use of nu,lear weapons8 rather than ,onventional weapons and troops8 to ,ontain "ommunism4 Eisenhower threatened the 2SS0 with <#assi8e retaliation8= or nu,lear war8 a.ainst Soviet a..ression or the spread of "ommunism4 Eisenhower also made full use of the newly ,reated C % to help overthrow unfriendly .overnments in developin. ,ountries4 'e resolved the S"e2 ,risis pea,efully *efore it led to war and ,ommitted =meri,an funds to fi.htin. Ho Chi (inh<s proC"ommunist for,es in >ietna# after the /ren,h defeat at 6ien :ien Phu in 19 44 The Soviet laun,h of the Sputni5 satellites in 19 # started the spa,e ra,e8 promptin. Eisenhower to ,reate the National %erona"ti,s and Spa,e %d#inistration (N%S%)8 and si.n the National *e!ense 0d",ation %,t4 3n his farewell address in 19(18 he warned =meri,ans of the .rowin. #ilitary7
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ind"strial ,o#ple6 that threatened to restri,t ,ivil li*erties and dominate =meri,an forei.n poli,y ma5in.4 Kennedy and the !ew #rontier /a,in. term limits8 Eisenhower endorsed Di,e President 4i,hard Ni6on for the 0epu*li,an presidential nomination in 19(%4 6emo,rats ,ountered with World War 33 hero and Aassa,husetts senator &ohn )5 :ennedy4 =fter a ,lose ra,e8 Kennedy defeated 9i>on8 than5s in lar.e part to the =fri,anC=meri,an vote and Kennedy<s polished performan,e in the firstC ever tele8ised presidential de-ates4 =s president8 Kennedy pushed for a pa,5a.e of new so,ial welfare spendin. pro.rams that he ,alled the Ne3 )rontier4 'opin. to inspire a new .eneration of youn. =meri,ans8 he told them to ?as5 not what your ,ountry ,an do for youH as5 what you ,an do for your ,ountry4@ 0epu*li,ans and ,onservative southern 6emo,rats8 however8 *lo,5ed most 9ew /rontier le.islation in "on.ress4 #le$i%le Response :e,ause Eisenhower<s threat of ?massive retaliation@ had proved too strin.ent and *indin.8 Kennedy and his forei.n poli,y team devised a new do,trine of <!le6i-le response= desi.ned to .ive the president more options to fi.ht "ommunism4 3n addition8 Kennedy ,ommitted thousands of =meri,an troops to South Dietnam to support N+o *inh *ie#<s ,orrupt re.ime *ut ,laimed the troops were merely ?military advisors4@ 3n )atin =meri,a8 Kennedy too5 a different approa,h8 funnelin. millions of dollars into the %llian,e !or .ro+ress to thwart "ommunists *y endin. poverty4 6espite the new do,trine8 Kennedy was una*le to prevent Soviet premier Nikita :hr"sh,he8 from ,onstru,tin. the 'erlin Wall in 19(14 The Cu%an Crises Kennedy<s .reatest "old War ,hallen.e ,ame in C"-a4 'opin. to topple "u*a<s new proC "ommunist revolutionary leader8 )idel Castro8 Kennedy authori-ed the "3= to train and arm a for,e of more than 18%%% "u*an e>iles and sent them to invade "u*a in the sprin. of 19(14 When this 'ay o! .i+s in8asion failed em*arrassin.ly8 Kennedy authori-ed several unsu,,essful assassination attempts a.ainst "astro4 Outra.ed8 "astro turned to the 2SS0 for e,onomi, aid and prote,tion4 Khrush,hev ,apitali-ed on the opportunity and pla,ed several nu,lear missiles in "u*a4 Kennedy ,onseBuently *lo,5aded the island nation8 pushin. the 2nited States and the 2SS0 to the *rin5 of nu,lear war4 Khrush,hev ended the terrifyin. C"-an #issile ,risis when he a.reed to remove the missiles in e>,han.e for an end to the *lo,5ade4 Kennedy also removed =meri,an missiles from Tur5ey and a.reed to wor5 on redu,in. "old War tensions4 Tra.i,ally8 Kennedy was assassinated in late 19(&8 Fust as tensions were risin. in DietnamI whi,h would prove to *e the ne>t8 and most ,ostly8 theater of the "old War4 The Postwar World: 19451949

&'ents 1945 !n"ted #at"ons forms #urem$er% tr"als $e%"n &a'an surrenders 194 To(yo tr"als $e%"n 194) *arshall Plan "m'lemented 194+ ,srael $e-omes a nat"on Truman orders .erl"n a"rl"ft Key People Harry S Truman / 33rd !0S0 'res"dent1 su--essfully -arr"ed out end of World War ,, after 2345s death1 hel'ed -reate new 'ostwar 'ol"t"-al and e-onom"- world order Joseph Stalin / Sov"et 'rem"er1 o''osed re"ndustr"al"6at"on of 7ermany outl"ned "n the *arshall Plan1 ordered .erl"n $lo-(ade Douglas MacArthur / !0S0 8rmy %eneral1 -ommanded 8ll"ed for-es "n the Pa-"f"dur"n% World War ,, and su$se9uently led !0S0 o--u'at"on of &a'an Postwar Predicaments =s World War ,om*at operations ,eased in Europe and the war drew rapidly to a ,lose in the Pa,ifi,8 the 2nited States and its new president8 Harry S Tr"#an8 fa,ed many new ,hallen.es4 War ,riminals had to *e punished8 Europe and 7apan had to *e re*uilt8 the .lo*al e,onomy had to *e restru,tured8 and the 2nited States had to ensure that another world war would not erupt4 =t first8 Truman seemed unfit to solve these pro*lems4 The produ,t of a Aissouri politi,al ma,hine8 he had minimal e>perien,e with international affairs8 havin. served only as senator and then Fust months as /ran5lin 64 0oosevelt<s fourthCterm vi,e president4 6espite his relative ine>perien,e8 however8 Truman Bui,5ly a,,limated to his new position and proved ,apa*le of ta,5lin. these postwar pro*lems4 The Bretton Woods Conference The pro,ess of re*uildin. Europe *e.an almost a year *efore Truman *e,ame president8 when the 2nited States invited =llied dele.ates to dis,uss the postwar world in 'retton Woods8 9ew 'ampshire8 in 7uly 19444 =t the ,on,lusion of the ,onferen,e8 dele.ates had ,reated two maFor world finan,ial institutions: the World 'ank8 to help stimulate development in third world ,ountries8 and the nternational (onetary )"nd ( ())8 to re.ulate e>,han.e rates4 The United Nations Stalin<s representatives were8 however8 involved in the formation of the /nited Nations8 whi,h was intended to promote international se,urity and prevent future .lo*al ,onfli,ts4 Aeetin. in =pril 194 8 Fust days after /ran5lin 64 0oosevelt<s death and Truman<s su,,ession to the presiden,y8 dele.ates drafted the or.ani-ation<s foundin. ,harter8 whi,h ,losely resem*led the ,harter of the failed 9ea+"e o! Nations after World War 34 :e,ause World War 33 had proved that the 2nited States ,ould no lon.er remain isolated from world affairs8 the new ,harter passed easily throu.h the Senate ratifi,ation pro,ess that summer4 =,,ordin. to
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the ,harter8 the 2nited States8 ;reat :ritain8 /ran,e8 "hina8 and the 2SS0 ea,h would have a permanent seat and veto power on the .overnin. Se,"rity Co"n,il4 Israel One of the first tas5s for the 2nited 9ations was the ,reation of the 7ewish nation of srael4 "arved out of :ritish .alestine alon. the eastern Aediterranean8 this new state *e,ame the home for millions of displa,ed 7ews who had survived ,enturies of perse,ution4 'opin. to 5eep the Soviet 2nion out of 3srael8 win 7ewishC=meri,an votes8 and ,apitali-e on the =meri,an pu*li,<s postwar sympathy for the 7ewish people8 Truman i.nored his forei.n poli,y advisors and offi,ially re,o.ni-ed 3srael in 194G4 =lthou.h the de,ision .ave the 2nited States a strate.i, foothold in the Aiddle East8 it also ruined relations with the =ra* ,ountries in the re.ion and Auslim nations around the world4 Rebuilding Japan The pro,ess of re*uildin. &apan *e.an almost as soon as the war ended4 The ,ommander of the =llied for,es in the Pa,ifi,8 24S4 =rmy .eneral *o"+las (a,%rth"r8 spearheaded the demo,rati-ation and re,onstru,tion pro,essIa dauntin. tas5 ,onsiderin. the widespread devastation throu.hout 7apan4 Aa,=rthur rounded up ran5in. offi,ers in the 7apanese military leadership and tried them as war ,riminals in the Tokyo trials5 The 7apanese8 for their part8 a,,epted defeat and wor5ed hard to re*uild their ,ountry under 24S4 .uidelines4 Within a year8 Aa,=rthur and the 7apanese drafted a new demo,rati, ,onstitution8 and the 2nited States pled.ed military prote,tion in e>,han.e for a promise that 7apan would not rearm4 The new ,onstitution and reforms allowed 7apan to re,over Bui,5ly from the war and eventually *oast one of the lar.est e,onomies in the world4 Rebuilding German 0e*uildin. Ger#any proved to *e a far more diffi,ult tas54 =t the time of the ;erman surrender in 194 8 :ritish8 /ren,h8 =meri,an8 and Soviet troops o,,upied different re.ions of the ,ountry4 =lthou.h lo,ated deep within the SovietCo,,upied -one in the east8 the ;erman ,apital ,ity of 'erlin also ,ontained troops from ea,h of the other three ,ountries8 o,,upyin. different distri,ts4 =lthou.h all four nations a.reed that it was ne,essary to punish the 9a-i leadership for war ,rimes at the N"re#-er+ trials8 none of the powers wanted to relinBuish ,ontrol of its o,,upied territory4 3t Bui,5ly *e,ame ,lear that the pro*lem of ,ontrol in ;ermany would simply remain unresolved4 The :ritish8 /ren,h8 and =meri,an o,,upation -ones eventually mer.ed into the independent West Ger#any in 19498 while the Soviet half ultimately *e,ame 0ast Ger#any4 =ll four powers8 however8 ,ontinued to o,,upy :erlin FointlyI li5ewise splittin. it into West :erlin and East :erlinIuntil ;ermany was finally reunified in 199%4 The !arshall Plan The Soviet 2nion in parti,ular wanted to e>a,t reven.e on ;ermany *y dismantlin. its fa,tories and demandin. outra.eous 3ar reparations4 Truman reali-ed8 however8 that
+

punitive a,tion would only desta*ili-e ;ermany further8 Fust as it had after the si.nin. of the unfor.ivin. Treaty o! >ersailles that had ended World War 34 3n 194#8 Truman<s se,retary of state8 Geor+e C5 (arshall8 pled.ed that the 2nited States would .rant more than E1% *illion to help re*uild Europe if the European nations themselves wor5ed to.ether to help meet this end4 ;reat :ritain8 /ran,e8 3taly8 and ;ermany ,omplied and ,ame to.ether to lead postwar EuropeIan early pre,ursor to the 0"ropean Co##"nity and 0"ropean /nion that would ,ome later4 The (arshall .lan8 as it ,ame to *e 5nown8 sta*ili-ed Western Europe finan,ially and prevented e,onomi, ,ollapse4 Within ten years8 European fa,tories had e>,eeded prewar produ,tion levels8 *oostin. the standard of livin. and ensurin. that "ommunism would not ta5e root4 The Iron Curtain =lthou.h the 2nited States and the Aarshall Plan ,ontrolled West ;ermany<s fate8 Stalin di,tated poli,y in o,,upied East ;ermany4 6etermined to *uild a *uffer *etween ;ermany and Aos,ow8 the Soviet 4ed %r#y esta*lished "ommunist .overnments in the eastern ,apitals it o,,upied at the end of the war4 =s a result8 the 2SS0 ,reated an <iron ,"rtain= that effe,tively separated East ;ermany8 Poland8 'un.ary8 "-e,hoslova5ia8 Ju.oslavia8 25raine8 :elarus8 0omania8 :ul.aria8 )atvia8 Estonia8 and )ithuania from the West4 The Berlin Crisis and "irlift 3n 194G8 Stalin attempted to drive :ritish8 /ren,h8 and =meri,an for,es out of :erlin *y ,uttin. off all hi.hway and railway a,,ess to the WesternC,ontrolled portion of the ,ity4 Truman refused to withdraw 24S4 troopsH ,ontrol of :erlin had *e,ome su,h an enormous sym*ol in the 24S4CSoviet standoff that Truman ,ould not afford the politi,al ,ost of ,avin. under Stalin<s threats4 3nstead8 he ordered =meri,an airplanes to drop millions of tons of food and medi,al supplies to West :erlin<s residents in 194G and 19494 =meri,ans and Europeans hailed the 'erlin airli!t as a maFor vi,tory over the Soviet 2nion4 Stalin eventually ended the 'erlin ,risis when he reopened the roads and railways in 19494 The Start of the :old War: 194)1952 &'ents 193+ ;ouse !n/8mer"-an 8-t"v"t"es :omm"ttee -reated 194) 3o-tr"ne of -onta"nment emer%es Truman art"-ulates Truman 3o-tr"ne :on%ress 'asses #at"onal Se-ur"ty 8-t 194+ 8l%er ;"ss a--used of $e"n% a Sov"et o'erat"ve Truman "s reele-ted 1949 #8T< "s formed :h"na falls to :ommun"st for-es 195= :on%ress 'asses *-:arran ,nternal Se-ur"ty ."ll 1951 &ul"us and Ethel 4osen$er% -onv"-ted of es'"ona%e 1952 !n"ted States develo's f"rst hydro%en $om$
9

Key People Harry S Truman / 33rd !0S0 'res"dent1 announ-ed Truman 3o-tr"ne "n 194)> wh"-h sha'ed !0S0 fore"%n 'ol"-y for four de-ades Thomas E. Dewey / #ew ?or( %overnor who ran unsu--essfully on the 4e'u$l"-an Party t"-(et a%a"nst Truman "n 194+ George F. Kennan / State 3e'artment analyst who develo'ed -onta"nment do-tr"ne "n 194)> ar%u"n% that :ommun"sm and the !SS4 -ould not $e allowed to s'read1 th"s do-tr"ne $e-ame the $as"s of !0S0 fore"%n 'ol"-y strate%y dur"n% the :old War Richar M. !i"on / 4e'u$l"-an -on%ressman and 'rom"nent mem$er of ;!8: "n the late 194=s1 su--essfully 'rose-uted 8l%er ;"ss for $e"n% a :ommun"st Alger Hiss / 2ormer federal em'loyee 'rose-uted $y ;!8: "n 194+195= for $e"n% a :ommun"st and Sov"et s'y Julius an Ethel Rosen#erg / *arr"ed -ou'le -onv"-ted of es'"ona%e "n 1951 after $e"n% wron%fully -onv"-ted of sell"n% nu-lear se-rets to the !SS41 e@e-uted "n 1953 $hiang Kai%she& / Aeader of :h"na5s #at"onal"st %overnment when :ommun"st for-es drove "t out of ma"nland :h"na "n 1949 Mao 'e ong / Aeader of :ommun"st revolut"onar"es who $rou%ht down :h"na5s #at"onal"st %overnment "n 19491 $e-ame ruler of Peo'le5s 4e'u$l"- of :h"na as leader of :h"nese :ommun"st Party Containment 3n 194#8 State 6epartment analyst Geor+e )5 :ennan penned a hi.hly influential essay on the Soviet 2nion that transformed fear of the 2SS0 into a ,ohesive forei.n poli,y4 =r.uin. that inse,ure 0ussians had always had the desire to e>pand and a,Buire territory8 Kennan wrote that the Soviet 2nion would ta5e every opportunity to spread "ommunism into every possi*le ?noo5 and ,ranny@ around the .lo*e8 either *y ,onBuerin. nei.h*orin. ,ountries or *y su*tly supportin. "ommunist revolutionaries in politi,ally unsta*le ,ountries4 Kennan also wrote8 however8 that the 2nited States ,ould prevent the .lo*al domination of "ommunism with a strate.y of <,ontain#ent4= 'e su..ested maintainin. the status Buo *y thwartin. "ommunist a..ression a*road4 Kennan<s ,ontainment do,trine rapidly *e,ame the root of the dominant 24S4 strate.y for fi.htin. "ommunism throu.hout the "old War4 6ifferent presidents interpreted the do,trine differently andKor employed different ta,ti,s to a,,omplish their .oals8 *ut the overall strate.y for 5eepin. "ommunism in ,he,5 remained the same until the "old War ended in the early 199%s4 The Truman #octrine Truman Bui,5ly lat,hed onto the do,trine of ,ontainment and modified it with his own Tr"#an *o,trine4 3n a spe,ial address to "on.ress in Aar,h 194#8 Truman announ,ed that
1=

the 2nited States would support forei.n .overnments resistin. ?armed minorities@ or ?outside pressures@Ithat is8 "ommunist revolutionaries or the Soviet 2nion4 'e then ,onvin,ed "on.ress to appropriate E4%% million to prevent the fall of ;ree,e and Tur5ey to "ommunist insur.ents4 "riti,s8 *oth at the time and loo5in. *a,5 in retrospe,t8 have ,har.ed that Truman<s adoption of the ,ontainment do,trine8 ,oupled with his own Truman 6o,trine8 a,,elerated the "old War *y polari-in. the 2nited States and the 2SS0 unne,essarily4 Aany have ,laimed that the 2nited States mi.ht have avoided fifty years of ,ompetition and mutual distrust had Truman sou.ht a diplomati, solution instead4 6efendants of Truman<s poli,y8 however8 have ,laimed that the Soviet 2nion had already *e.un the "old War *y thwartin. =llied attempts to reunite and sta*ili-e ;ermany4 Truman8 they have ar.ued8 merely met the e>istin. Soviet ,hallen.e4 Other supporters *elieved that Truman used polari-in. lan.ua.e in order to prevent 24S4 isolationists from a*andonin. the ,ause in Europe4 Whatever his motivations8 Truman<s adoption of the ,ontainment do,trine and his ,hara,teri-ation of the "ommunist threat shaped =meri,an forei.n poli,y for the su*seBuent four de,ades4 The National $ecurit "ct The possi*ility of a war with the Soviet 2nion prompted "on.ress8 Truman8 and the military leadership to drasti,ally reor.ani-e the intelli.en,eC.atherin. servi,es and armed for,es4 3n 194#8 "on.ress passed the landmar5 National Se,"rity %,t8 whi,h pla,ed the military under the new ,a*inetClevel se,retary o! de!ense4 "ivilians would *e ,hosen to serve in the post of se,retary of defense and as the se,retaries of the individual military *ran,hes8 while the hi.hestCran5in. offi,ers in the armed for,es would form the new &oint Chie!s o! Sta!! to ,oordinate military efforts4 The 9ational Se,urity =,t also ,reated the ,ivilian position of national se,"rity ad8isor to advise the president and dire,t the new National Se,"rity Co"n,il4 The new Central ntelli+en,e %+en,y *e,ame the primary espiona.e and intelli.en,eC.atherin. servi,e4 The %lection of &'()

Even thou.h he had initially ,omplained a*out his new responsi*ilities as president after 0oosevelt<s death in 194 8 Truman de,ided to run for reele,tion as the prospe,t of another world war loomed4 Party leaders nominated him only halfheartedly after World War 33 hero 6wi.ht 64 Eisenhower refused to run on the 6emo,rati, ti,5et4 "onservative southern 6emo,rats in parti,ular disli5ed Truman<s 9ew 6eal!esBue ,ommitment to la*or8 ,ivil ri.hts8 reform8 and so,ial welfare spendin.4 When Truman re,eived the formal party nomination8 southern 6emo,rats split from the party and nominated their own ,andidate8 ;overnor Stro# Th"r#ond of South "arolina4 Pro.ressive 6emo,rats also nominated former vi,e president Henry Walla,e on a proCpea,e platform4 The 0epu*li,ans8 meanwhile8 nominated 9ew Jor5 .overnor Tho#as 05 *e3ey4 Aost 6emo,rats and even Truman himself *elieved vi,tory to *e impossi*le4 On ele,tion ni.ht8 the Chicago Tribune printed an early version of the ele,tion returns8 pro,laimin. a 6ewey win with the infamous headline ?6ewey 6efeats Truman4@ =s it turned out8 however8 Truman re,eived more than two million more popular votes than his nearest ,hallen.er8 6ewey8 and
11

&%& ele,toral votes4 'e owed his vi,tory in part to his adoption of the poli,y of ,ontainment *ut mostly to his ,ommitment to e>pand So,ial Se,urity and provide in,reased so,ial welfare spendin. as part of his proposed )air *eal pro.ram4 "ontinued 0epu*li,an and southern 6emo,rat opposition in "on.ress8 thou.h8 *lo,5ed the maFority of /air 6eal le.islation durin. Truman<s se,ond term4 N"T* and the Warsaw Pact With the mandate from the ele,tion8 Truman pushed ahead with his pro.rams to defend Western Europe from possi*le atta,54 3n 19498 the 2nited States Foined ;reat :ritain8 /ran,e8 3taly8 "anada8 the 9etherlands8 )u>em*our.8 :el.ium8 6enmar58 9orway8 3,eland8 and Portu.al in formin. a military allian,e ,alled the North %tlanti, Treaty 1r+ani2ation (N%T1)4 The 9=TO ,harter pled.ed that an atta,5 on one of the mem*er nations ,onstituted an atta,5 on all of the mem*ers4 ;ree,e and Tur5ey si.ned the treaty in 19 $8 followed *y West ;ermany in 19 4 Perhaps the .reatest si.nifi,an,e of 9=TO was the fa,t that it ,ommitted the 2nited States to Western Europe and prevented 24S4 ,onservatives in the future from isolatin. the 2nited States from the world as they had after World War 34 Outra.ed and threatened8 the 2SS0 and the Soviet *lo, ,ountries it dominated in Eastern Europe made similar pled.es of mutual defense4 The +all of China Aeanwhile8 events unfoldin. in China had enormous reper,ussions on the 2nited States and ultimately on the "old War itself4 /or de,ades8 the 9ationalist .overnment of Chian+ :ai7 shek Lsometimes written as 7ian. 7ieshiM had *een fi.htin. a lon. ,ivil war a.ainst "ommunist re*els led *y (ao ?edon+ Lor Aao TseCtun.M4 The 24S4 .overnment under 0oosevelt and Truman had *a,5ed the 9ationalists with money and small arms shipments *ut overall had little influen,e on the war4 Aao<s revolutionaries8 however8 finally mana.ed to defeat .overnment for,es in 1949 and too5 ,ontrol of mainland "hina4 While "hian. and his supporters fled to the island of Taiwan8 "ommunist Party ,hairman Aao *e,ame the head of the new .eople@s 4ep"-li, o! China (.4C)4 The soC,alled !all o! China was a ,rushin. *low for the 2nited States8 primarily *e,ause it suddenly put more than a Buarter of the world<s population under "ommunist ,ontrol4 Aoreover8 previous 24S4 support for "hian. KaiCshe5 also meant that the P0" would not loo5 favora*ly upon the 2nited States4 The "rms Race =lso in 19498 Truman announ,ed that the Soviet 2nion had su,,essfully tested its first ato#i, -o#-8 sooner than =meri,an s,ientists had predi,ted4 Even thou.h it would have *een diffi,ult for the 2SS0 to a,tually drop a nu,lear *om* on 24S4 soilInu,lear missiles would not *e invented for another de,adeIthe Soviets< dis,overy ,ost Truman the diplomati, upper hand4 Whereas the 2nited States had lorded its nu,lear superiority over the Soviets< heads in the past8 it ,ould no lon.er do so4 To re.ain the upper hand8 Truman poured federal dollars into the 19 $ development of the hydro+en -o#-8 an even more devastatin. weapon than the ori.inal atomi, *om*4 3ts
12

developers feared this weapon would *e,ome a tool for .eno,ide4 The Soviet 2nion responded in 5ind with its own 'C*om* the followin. year8 rat,hetin. the sta5es even hi.her4 The 2nited States and the 2SS0 ,ontinued ,ompetin. a.ainst ea,h other with the development of .reater and more destru,tive weapons in an ar#s ra,e that lasted until the end of the "old War4 The $econd Red $care The fall of "hina8 the Soviets< development of nu,lear weapons8 and the ,rises in Europe all ,ontri*uted to =meri,ans< .rowin. fear of "ommunism at home4 0emem*erin. the :olshevi5 revolutionaries< ,ry for the .lo*al destru,tion of ,apitalism8 fri.htened =meri,ans *e.an huntin. for "ommunist revolutionaries within the 2nited States and elsewhere4 President Truman had already ,reated the 9oyalty 4e8ie3 'oard in 194# to investi.ate all federal departments8 and the State 6epartment in parti,ular8 to un,over any hidden Soviet a.ents wor5in. to overthrow the .overnment4 The *oard went into overdrive at the end of the de,ade8 and thousands of inno,ent individuals were wron.fully a,,used and perse,uted as a result4 Red ,unts =s a mem*er of the Ho"se /n7%#eri,an %,ti8ities Co##ittee (H/%C)8 "on.ressman 4i,hard (5 Ni6on of "alifornia helped spearhead the sear,h for "ommunists in the .overnment4 3n 194G8 he prose,uted former federal employee and a,,used "ommunist %l+er Hiss in one of the most dramati, ,ases of the de,ade4 'iss<s trial dra..ed on for two more years and ended with a fiveCyear prison senten,e for perFury4 Prose,utors also ,har.ed hus*and and wife &"li"s and 0thel 4osen-er+ with havin. .iven =meri,an nu,lear se,rets to Soviet a.entsIan alle.ation that8 thou.h de*ated for de,ades after the trial8 was ,orro*orated *y Soviet intelli.en,e do,uments released in the 199%s4 The 0osen*er.s were ,onvi,ted in 19 1 and sent to the ele,tri, ,hair in 19 &8 *e,omin. the first =meri,an ,ivilians ever e>e,uted for espiona.e4 =lthou.h the 0ed hunts resulted in the ,apture of le.itimate spies su,h as the 0osen*er.s8 Truman *e.an to reali-e *y the end of his presiden,y that the fear of "ommunism had ,aused widespread and undue pani,4 'e tried to tame the 0edChunters in 19 % when he vetoed the (,Carran nternal Se,"rity 'ill8 whi,h he *elieved would .ive the 24S4 president too mu,h power to su*vert ,ivil li*erties4 0epu*li,ans in "on.ress8 however8 overrode Truman<s veto and passed the *ill into law later that year4 The Borean War: 195=1953 &'ents 195= Borean War $e%"ns !0S0 for-es land at ,n-hon *a-8rthur reta(es South Borea :h"nese troo's for-e *a-8rthur $a-( to Seoul 1951 Truman f"res *a-8rthur 1952 3w"%ht 30 E"senhower "s ele-ted 'res"dent

13

1953 Borean War ends w"th s"%n"n% of arm"st"-e Key People Harry S Truman / 33rd !0S0 'res"dent1 was -ommander "n -h"ef dur"n% most of Borean War Dean Acheson / Se-retary of state dur"n% Truman5s se-ond term1 announ-ed "n 195= that Borea was outs"de the !0S0 defense 'er"meter Douglas MacArthur / !0S0 %eneral and -ommander of !n"ted #at"ons for-es who drove #orth Borean for-es $a-( 'ast the 3+th 'arallel after ma("n% ,n-hon land"n% Dwight D. Eisenhower / 34th !0S0 'res"dent1 ele-ted "n 1952 after serv"n% as %eneral "n World War ,, and as su'reme -ommander of #8T<1 se-ured -ease/f"re "n Borea North and $outh -orea With 'itler and Aussolini defeated in Europe in 194 8 the 2nited States and Soviet 2nion turned to fi.htin. 7apan later in the year4 =fter 7apanese for,es surrendered to ;eneral *o"+las (a,%rth"r8 the 2nited States and the 2SS0 shared ,ontrol of the nei.h*orin. :orean .enins"la8 whi,h had *een under 7apanese ,ontrol sin,e the turn of the ,entury4 They divided Korea at the 3;th parallel8 with the Soviet 2nion ta5in. ,ontrol in the north and the 2nited States in the south4 :oth sides also armed the Koreans and ere,ted new .overnments friendly to ea,h respe,tive superpower4 The $tart of the -orean War 3t seemed that Korea mi.ht *e,ome a flash point in the "old War8 *ut then Truman<s se,retary of state8 *ean %,heson8 effe,tively announ,ed in 19 % that the 2nited States had no interest in Korea *e,ause it had no .eopoliti,al si.nifi,an,e4 The Soviet 2nion8 however8 may have interpreted =,heson<s remar5s as .ivin. the 2SS0 ,arte *lan,he re.ardin. Korea and therefore allowed the 9orth Korean "ommunist .overnment in Pyon.yan. to invade South Korea in 7une 19 %8 with some Soviet support4 Outnum*ered and out.unned8 the South Korean for,es retreated to the ,ity of ."san on the peninsula<s southern shore4 Truman wat,hed8 stunned8 as the 9orth Korean for,es ,aptured almost the entire peninsula within the span of a few months4 'e ,apitali-ed on the Soviet 2nion<s a*sen,e in the 2nited 9ations Se,urity "oun,il8 however8 to ,onvin,e the other mem*ers that 9orth Korea had *een the sole a..ressor4 =fter a vote of unanimous approval8 the Se,urity "oun,il as5ed all mem*er nations to help restore pea,e4 N$C./) :oth ,onservative and li*eral forei.n poli,y ma5ers in the 2nited States viewed the 9orth Korean invasion as eviden,e that the Soviet 2nion did in fa,t hope to spread "ommunism and as a threat to =meri,an efforts to re*uild and demo,rati-e 7apan4 The invasion thus made ;eor.e /4 Kennan<s theories a*out ,ontain#ent all the more pertinent: Truman worried that if the 2nited States failed to a,t8 the Soviet 2nion would ,ontinue to e>pand and threaten demo,ra,y4
14

3n order to ,he,5 this feared e>pansion8 Truman<s new 9ational Se,urity "oun,il su*mitted a ,lassified do,ument 5nown simply as National Se,"rity Co"n,il (e#orand"# 6; (NSC7 6;)8 whi,h su..ested that Truman Buadruple military spendin. for purposes of ,ontainment4 The president readily ,onsented and as5ed "on.ress for more funds and more men4 Within a few years8 the 24S4 armed for,es *oasted more than & million men8 and the 2nited States was spendin. rou.hly 1 per,ent of its .ross national produ,t on the military4 The Inchon 0anding Truman made sure that ;eneral Aa,=rthur8 who had *een an effe,tive in overseein. o,,upied postwar 7apan8 was made ,ommander of the 29 for,es sent to Korea4 Truman then ordered Aa,=rthur to pull 24S4 troops out of 7apan and reta5e South Korea *elow the &Gth parallel4 3n Septem*er 19 %8 Aa,=rthur and his troops flan5ed the 9orth Koreans *y ma5in. an amphi*ious landin. at 3n,hon8 near Seoul4 The surprise n,hon landin+ allowed 24S4 for,es to enter the peninsula Bui,5ly8 without havin. to *rea5 throu.h the enormous for,es surroundin. Pusan4 "au.ht entirely off .uard8 the 9orth Korean for,es pani,5ed and fled north8 well past the &Gth parallel4 Truman ordered Aa,=rthur to ,ross the parallel and pursue the 9orth Koreans4 #isaster at the 1alu Ri2er

Aa,=rthur<s ,rossin. of the &Gth parallel trou*led the Soviet 2nion and "ommunist "hina8 espe,ially ,onsiderin. that Truman had entered the war vowin. to restore pea,e and the status BuoInot to ,onBuer the entire peninsula4 "hina therefore warned the 2nited States not to approa,h the "hinese!9orth Korean *order at the Aal" 4i8er4 'owever8 Aa,=rthur i.nored the warnin. and pursued the 9orth Koreans farther up the peninsula4 3nterpretin. this move as an a,t of war8 the "hinese sent hundreds of thousands of soldiers a,ross the Jalu to meet Aa,=rthur<s men in 9orth Korea4 Overwhelmed8 Aa,=rthur and his for,es retreated *a,5 to the &Gth parallel4 !ac"rthur3s #ismissal Stalemated on,e a.ain at the &Gth parallel8 Aa,=rthur pressured Truman to drop nu,lear *om*s on mainland "hina4 6oin. so8 Aa,=rthur reasoned8 would not only allow his for,es to ta5e the entire Korean Peninsula *ut would also topple the "ommunist re.ime in :eiFin.4 Truman and 24S4 military offi,ials8 however8 5new they la,5ed the resour,es to fi.ht a war with "hina8 defend Western Europe8 ,ontain the Soviet 2nion8 o,,upy 7apan8 and hold Korea at the same time4 They also wanted to 5eep the war limited and 5new that the deployment of nu,lear weapons would *rin. the Soviet 2nion into what ,ould Bui,5ly devolve into World War 3334 Aa,=rthur re*uffed these ar.uments and instead tried to turn the =meri,an people a.ainst Truman *y ,riti,i-in. him in pu*li,4 Truman removed Aa,=rthur from ,ommand in =pril 19 18 for insu*ordination4

15

The %lection of &'45 Even thou.h Aa,=rthur had diso*eyed orders and pu*li,ly re*u5ed the ,ommanderCinC,hief8 *lame fell on Truman for ?losin.@ Korea to the "ommunists4 Sin,e Truman had little ,han,e of *ein. reele,ted8 6emo,rats instead nominated 3llinois .overnor %dlai 05 Ste8enson for the presiden,y in 19 $4 0epu*li,ans8 meanwhile8 nominated former World War 33 .eneral and 9=TO supreme ,ommander *3i+ht *5 0isenho3er for president8 with former 0edChunter 4i,hard (5 Ni6on as his runnin. mate4 Eisenhower<s status as a war hero and 9i>on<s reputation for *ein. tou.h on "ommunists .ave the 0epu*li,ans an easy vi,tory4 They won the popular vote *y a # millionCvote mar.in and also won a landslide in the ele,toral ,olle.e8 with 44$ ele,toral votes to Stevenson<s G94 The %nd of the -orean War :y the time Eisenhower too5 the oath of offi,e in 19 &8 =meri,an soldiers had *een entren,hed in Korea for nearly three years4 3n the time sin,e Aa,=rthur<s final retreat to the &Gth parallel8 thousands more =meri,ans had died without any territorial loss or .ain4 Eisenhower eventually *rou.ht a*out an ar#isti,e with 9orth Korea8 in part *y ma5in. it 5nown that he8 unli5e Truman8 would ,onsider the use of nu,lear weapons in Korea4 6espite the armisti,e8 however8 the *order *etween 9orth and South Korea has remained one of the most heavily fortified "old War ?hot spots@ in the world for more than fifty years4 Postwar Pros'er"ty at ;ome: 194519 = &'ents 1944 :on%ress 'asses *ont%omery 70,0 ."ll 194 :on%ress 'asses Em'loyment 8-t 194) :on%ress 'asses Taft/;artley 8-t 1952 &onas Sal( develo's 'ol"o va--"ne 195 :on%ress 'asses 2ederal ;"%hway 8-t Postwar +inancial +ears =s World War 33 drew to a ,lose8 many =meri,ans worried a*out the domesti, e,onomy4 =lthou.h the war had spurred employment and produ,tion and had pulled the nation out of the ;reat 6epression8 the war e,onomy ,ouldn<t last forever4 Aoreover8 millions of veterans would soon return home in sear,h of Fo*s that mi.ht not *e there anymore4 =s inflation soared8 many feared that the immediate postwar re,ession of 194( and 194# heralded the return of the ;reat 6epression4 Truman and "on.ress too5 steps to address the e,onomi, downturn4 3n 194(8 for instan,e8 "on.ress passed the 0#ploy#ent %,t8 whi,h ,reated the Co"n,il o! 0,ono#i, %d8isors to help Truman ma>imi-e national employment4

The Taft.,artle "ct 6urin. the re,ession8 literally millions of industrial la*orers went on stri5e to protest inadeBuate wa.es4 Truman ,ontinued to support the la*or unions as he had durin. the war8 *ut ,onservatives feared that haltin. industrial produ,tion would severely ,ripple the e,onomy4 To remedy this pro*lem8 0epu*li,ans in "on.ress passed the Ta!t7Hartley %,t in 194#8 over Truman<s veto8 to restri,t the influen,e of unions4 The a,t outlawed allCunion wor5pla,es8 made unions lia*le for dama.es in,urred durin. interunion disputes8 and reBuired la*or or.ani-ers to denoun,e "ommunism and ta5e oaths of loyalty4 The !ontgomer G6I6 Bill Perhaps the most important measure ta5en in ,om*atin. the re,ession was the (ont+o#ery G5 5 'ill8 whi,h "on.ress had passed in 1944 to help the 1 million returnin. 24S4 veterans reenter the Fo* mar5et4 =lso 5nown as the Ser8i,e#en@s 4eadB"st#ent %,t and the ;434 :ill of 0i.hts8 the ;434 :ill .ave .overnment .rants to any veteran who wished to return to s,hool4 9either Truman nor "on.ress predi,ted that more than half of returnin. veterans would ta5e advanta.e of appro>imately E1 *illion in federal .rants to attend vo,ational s,hools8 ,olle.es8 and universities4 The ;434 :ill also set aside an eBual amount of money to provide veterans with loans for new homes8 farms8 and *usinesses4 'istorians have sin,e hailed the Aont.omery ;434 :ill as the most si.nifi,ant law passed to address the ,on,erns of the postwar years4 3t redu,ed fier,e ,ompetition for Fo*s after the war and *oosted the e,onomy *y helpin. millions of wor5ers a,Buire new s5ills4 Aany have ,laimed that the e,onomi, *oom in the 19 %s would never have happened at all without the ;434 :ill4 The Postwar Boom 3ndeed8 the 24S4 e,onomy re,overed Bui,5ly from the *rief re,ession of 194(!194# and then verita*ly e>ploded8 ma5in. =meri,ans the wealthiest people in the world4 /or appro>imately twenty years8 the 24S4 e,onomi, sur.e seemed unstoppa*le4 Within Fust a few years8 almost twoCthirds of =meri,an families a,hieved middleC,lass status4 Gross national prod",t (GN.) more than dou*led durin. the 19 %s and then dou*led a.ain in the 19(%s4 :y 19(%8 most =meri,an families had a ,ar8 a TD8 and a refri.erator and owned their own homeIan ama-in. a,hievement .iven that fewer than half of =meri,ans had any of these lu>uries Fust thirty years earlier4 +oundations of Prosperit

Wartime ind"strial prod",tion and unpre,edented de!ense spendin+ durin. the 19 %s and 19(%s fueled the e,onomi, *oom4 Whereas the manufa,turin. infrastru,tures in ;reat :ritain8 /ran,e8 and ;ermany had *een destroyed *y invasion and *om*in.8 =meri,an industries had remained ,ompletely untou,hed and therefore *enefited .reatly from the war4 /ederal dollars Irou.hly half of the ,on.ressional *ud.et in the 19 %s and 19(%sIlater 5ept these war fa,tories runnin. throu.hout the "old War4 )ow oil pri,es8 alon. with Eisenhower<s investment in transportation infrastru,ture with the )ederal Hi+h3ay %,t in 19 (8 also

1)

*oosted the nation<s overall e,onomi, stren.th4 3mprovements in edu,ation than5s to the ;434 :ill also improved wor5ers< produ,tivity4 White.Collar Wor7ers The shift in the e,onomi, *ase away from a.ri,ulture and manufa,turin. and toward <3hite7 ,ollar= Bo-s also ,ontri*uted si.nifi,antly to the postwar *oom4 :y 19(%8 the family homestead that had on,e dominated =meri,an e,onomi, life even up to the turn of the twentieth ,entury had all *ut disappeared4 3nstead8 ,orporate ?a.ri*usinesses@ had ta5e over a.ri,ultural produ,tion *y usin. ma,hinery that was more effi,ient than farmhands4 Similarly8 whiteC,ollar wor5ers rapidly *e.an to outnum*er ?*lueC,ollar@ manual la*orers for the first time in 24S4 history4 This transformation ,ontri*uted to the de,line o! la-or "nions in the latter half of the twentieth ,entury4 $cientific Progress 9ew s,ientifi, dis,overies and te,hnolo.i,al developments also spurred the e,onomi, *oom4 /ederal .rants en,oura.ed ,ompanies to invest in resear,h and de8elop#ent to ma5e produ,tion more effi,ient4 ;overnment money also su*sidi-ed the development of ,o##er,ial airlines8 whi,h ,ontri*uted si.nifi,antly to the e,onomy *y transportin. .oods and people a,ross the ,ountry within hours rather than days or wee5s4 The development of the transistor rapidly transformed the ele,troni,s industry and resulted in the formation of new te,hnolo.y ,orporations4 9utrition and pu*li, health also improved durin. these years4 &onas Salk<s development of the polio 8a,,ine in 19 $8 for e>ample8 effe,tively eliminated a disease that had 5illed and ,rippled hundreds of thousands of =meri,ans in the past8 in,ludin. former president /ran5lin 64 0oosevelt4 !igration and Population Boom Aeanwhile8 the 24S4 population redistri*uted itself .eo.raphi,ally and .rew dramati,ally durin. the postwar years4 3mprovements in transportation mo*ili-ed =meri,ans: whereas the railroads of the ;ilded =.e had opened the West8 interstates and airplanes developed it4 6urin. the 19 %s and 19(%s8 millions of =meri,ans left the East for the West8 South8 and Aidwest4 /ederal .rants to these re.ions ,ontri*uted to their development4 =s a result8 populations dou*led8 tripled8 and even Buadrupled in "alifornia8 =ri-ona8 9ew Ae>i,o8 Te>as8 /lorida8 and other soC,alled S"n 'elt states4 :y the early 19(%s8 "alifornia had *e,ome the most populous state in the 2nion4 On top of this mi.ration8 the postwar <-a-y -oo#= *etween 194 and 19 # in,reased the 24S4 population rapidly8 as youn. =meri,ans too5 advanta.e of the postwar pea,e and their in,reased wealth to start new families and have ,hildren4 The "frican."merican !igration :la,5s8 meanwhile8 ,ontinued to move in lar.e num*ers from the South to northern and northeastern ,itiesIa move that has *e,ome 5nown as the %!ri,an7%#eri,an #i+ration4 The ;reat 6epression8 the invention of the me,hani,al ,otton pi,5er in the 194%s8 World War 338 and the prospe,t of Fo*s in northern ,ities prompted more than a million *la,5s to leave the South4 This mi.ration improved *la,5s< overall e,onomi, status and ultimately helped ma5e the ,i8il ri+hts #o8e#ent possi*le4
1+

The Growth of the $uburbs =s *la,5s moved to the ,ities8 many whites moved out of ur*an areas and into the su*ur*s4 This pattern ,ame to *e 5nown as <3hite !li+ht4= 9ew housin. developments8 hi.her in,omes8 ;434 :ill loans to veterans8 and the ,onstru,tion of interstates all ,ontri*uted to the massive .rowth of =meri,an s"-"r-ia durin. the 19 %s4 The rapid development of shoppin. malls and fastCfood restaurants mat,hed the .rowth of the su*ur*s4 =musement par5s8 ,redit ,ards8 and the availa*ility of ,heaper ,onsumer .oods followed as well8 and =meri,ans Bui,5ly developed the world<s foremost ,ons"#er ,"lt"re4 The %ntertainment %8plosion "onsumerism8 in turn8 prompted the entertain#ent ind"stry to invent new ways for =meri,ans to amuse themselves4 :y the midC19(%s8 9% per,ent of =meri,an families owned televisions8 and more and more spent the *ul5 of their free time wat,hin. TD4 Sit,o#s8 su,h as Leave It to Beaver8 Ozzie and Harriet8 and I Love Lucy8 were parti,ularly popular *e,ause they ideali-ed the new =meri,an ,onsumer lifestyle4 The new musi,al .enre of ro,k and roll .ained popularity amon. =meri,an youth4 Se>ually ,har.ed son.s *y artists su,h as Elvis Presley8 :uddy 'olly8 "hu**y "he,5er8 and8 later8 the :eatles dominated the airwaves and transformed popular musi,4 =t the same time8 many new =meri,an writers in the 19 %s8 in,ludin. mem*ers of the 'eat Generation8 su,h as poet =llen ;ins*er. and author 7a,5 Keroua,8 ,hallen.ed the new ,onsumerist ,onformity that pervaded =meri,an life4 E"senhower at ;ome: 19521959 &'ents 1952 3w"%ht 30 E"senhower "s ele-ted 'res"dent 1954 8rmy/*-:arthy hear"n%s held Su'reme :ourt "ssues Brown v. Board of Education of To'e(a> Bansas> rul"n% 1955 82A/:,< forms 195 :on%ress 'asses 2ederal ;"%hway 8-t 195) :on%ress 'asses :"v"l 4"%hts 8-t of 195) A"ttle 4o-( -r"s"s eru'ts 1959 :on%ress 'asses Aandrum/7r"ff"n 8-t Key People Dwight D. Eisenhower / 34th !0S0 'res"dent1 e@'anded #ew 3ealera so-"al welfare 'ro%rams and 'assed 2ederal ;"%hway 8-t $ut -ut $a-( fund"n% to other domest"- 'ro%rams "n order to halt C-ree'"n% so-"al"smD Joseph Mc$arthy / 4e'u$l"-an senator from W"s-ons"n who led :ommun"st w"t-h hunts "n the early 195=s1 hum"l"ated h"mself dur"n% telev"sed 8rmy/*-:arthy
19

hear"n%s $y ma("n% outland"sh a--usat"ons w"th no ev"den-e1 was -ensured $y the Senate Creeping $ocialism Eisenhower entered the White 'ouse in 19 & determined to roll *a,5 /ran5lin 64 0oosevelt<s 9ew 6eal li*eralism8 whi,h he derided as <,reepin+ so,ialis#4= = 0epu*li,an8 Eisenhower wanted to redu,e the si-e and influen,e of the federal .overnment8 .ive more power to state .overnments8 and allow ,orporate profits to *oost the national e,onomy unfettered4 )ess .overnment influen,e8 he reasoned8 would put =meri,a *a,5 on tra,54 'e appointed prominent *usinessmen to top ,a*inet posts in an effort to ma5e the e>e,utive *ran,h more effi,ient4 Aost =meri,ans praised his handsCoff approa,h to .overnment after twenty years of heavy so,ial en.ineerin. under 0oosevelt and Truman4 Continuing the New #eal Eisenhower<s desire to halt ?,reepin. so,ialism@ did not8 however8 mean dismantlin. the new so,ial welfare pro.rams previously put into pla,e4 Eisenhower proved to *e a *i. proponent of pro.rams and poli,ies desi.ned to help those at the *ottom run. of the e,onomi, ladder8 who needed help the most4 'e ,reated the ,a*inetClevel *epart#ent o! HealthC 0d",ationC and Wel!are and allowed the .overnment to ,ontinue to su*sidi-e farmers so that the pri,e of farm produ,ts remained hi.h4 Eisenhower e>panded So,ial Se,"rity in order to *enefit more =meri,ans8 in,ludin. the elderly and unemployed8 and also dumped more federal dollars into the )ederal Ho"sin+ %d#inistration to help =meri,ans pur,hase new homes4 The +ederal ,ighwa "ct Aost important8 Eisenhower endorsed the )ederal Hi+h3ay %,t in 19 (8 ,allin. for the ,onstru,tion of a networ5 of interstate hi+h3ays8 whi,h would improve national transportation4 3n fewer than twenty years8 this hi.hway ,onstru,tion *e,ame the lar.est pu*li, wor5s proFe,t in 24S4 history and ,ost more than E$ *illion4 9ew ta>es on .asoline8 oil8 and tru,5s helped pay for this massive endeavor4 The new interstates had an enormous impa,t on the .rowth of the su*ur*s and prosperity *ut also severely ,rippled the development of pu*li, transportation systems4 The "+0.CI* =fraid that a 0epu*li,an in the White 'ouse would mean the end of or+ani2ed la-or8 whi,h had flourished under the 6emo,rats and durin. World War 338 the heads of the rival %#eri,an )ederation o! 9a-or (%)9) and the Con+ress o! nd"strial 1r+ani2ations (C 1) la*or unions mer.ed in 19 to ,reate the %)97C 14 This new superunion Foined *etween 1% and 1 million wor5ers under a sin.le um*rella or.ani-ation and helped millions of families a,hieve unpre,edented prosperity4 9ever a.ain have so many =meri,an la*orers *een or.ani-ed in one *ody4 S,andal after s,andal ro,5ed the or.ani-ation in the 19(%s and 19#%s8 in,ludin. the e>pulsion of the Tea#sters /nion from the =/)C"3O in 19 # for havin. ties to or.ani-ed ,rime4 The media attention tarnished or.ani-ed la*or in the pu*li, eye and ,onvin,ed millions to leave the union4 "on.ress eventually passed the 19 9 9andr"#7Gri!!in %,t in the wa5e of these s,andals to limit la*or unions< ri.hts4
2=

I7e on Ci2il Rights Eisenhower privately opposed the ,i8il ri+hts #o8e#ent and remained relatively silent as the movement *e.an to .ain momentum durin. his presiden,y4 'e made no ,omment after the Supreme "ourt ruled unanimously in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas 8 that ?separate *ut eBual@ pu*li, fa,ilities for *la,5s and whites were un,onstitutional4 'e si.ned the Ci8il 4i+hts %,t o! 195D 8 *ut only relu,tantly and only after assurin. southern le.islators that the new law would have little real impa,t4

Eisenhower did8 however8 e>ert federal authority that same year when =r5ansas .overnor 1r8al )a"-"s defied a federal ,ourt order and mo*ili-ed 9ational ;uard units to prevent nine *la,5 students from enterin. "entral 'i.h S,hool in )ittle 0o,54 Eisenhower resolved the 9ittle 4o,k ,risis *y pla,in. the 9ational ;uard under federal ,ontrol and sendin. more than 18%%% 24S4 =rmy soldiers to prote,t the students and inte.rate the s,hool *y for,e4 !cCarth ism 0epu*li,an Senator &oseph (,Carthy<s "ommunist wit,h hunt overshadowed all other domesti, issues durin. Eisenhower<s two terms in offi,e4 'opin. to *oost his own status as a national politi,ian8 A,"arthy first ,apitali-ed on =meri,ans< fears of "ommunism when he announ,ed in 19 % that the State 6epartment had *e,ome overrun with more than $%% "ommunists4 'e ,laimed that these "ommunists8 in,ludin. Truman<s own se,retary of state8 6ean =,heson8 were wor5in. se,retly to hinder =meri,an efforts a.ainst the Soviet 2nion4 =lthou.h A,"arthy never offered any a,tual proof to *a,5 up his ,laims8 <(,Carthyis#= swept a,ross the nation li5e wildfire4 Thousands of individuals8 in,ludin. li*erals8 ,riti,s of the Korean War and the "old War8 ,ivil ri.hts a,tivists8 homose>uals8 feminists8 and even ,riti,s of A,"arthy himself8 were *la,5listed and fired from their Fo*s4 The "rm .!cCarth ,earings =s a ,on.ressman and later as vi,e president8 4i,hard Ni6on fully supported A,"arthy8 as did future president 4onald 4ea+an8 who at the time held the influential position of president of the S,reen =,tors ;uild4 3n response to A,"arthyism8 author and playwri.ht %rth"r (iller8 who had himself *een *randed a "ommunist8 wrote the 19 & play The Crucible8 a ,ritiBue of the 0ed hunts dis.uised as a play a*out the Salem wit,h trials of the 1(%%s4 Eventually8 A,"arthy ruined his own name after a,,usin. hi.hCran5in. mem*ers of the 24S4 military of *ein. "ommunists4 6urin. the televised %r#y7(,Carthy hearin+s of 19 48 millions of =meri,ans wat,hed as the senator made wild a,,usations without a shred of eviden,e4 These hearin.s and the Senate<s su*seBuent formal reprimand of A,"arthy effe,tively ended the 0ed hunts4 6is.ra,ed and dis,redited8 A,"arthy *e,ame an al,oholi, and died in 19 #4 E"senhower and the :old War: 195419 =
21

&'ents 1953 :,8/$a-(ed -ou' "n ,ran 1954 :,8/$a-(ed -ou' "n 7uatemala 3"en ."en Phu falls to 'ro/:ommun"st for-es 7eneva :onferen-e s'l"ts E"etnam "nto two -ountr"es SE8T< "s founded 1955 Warsaw Pa-t "s s"%ned 195 Sue6 -r"s"s eru'ts !SS4 'uts down ;un%ar"an 4evolut"on E"senhower "s reele-ted 195) E"senhower 3o-tr"ne "s announ-ed !SS4 laun-hes Sputnik I 195+ :on%ress 'asses #at"onal 3efense Edu-at"on 8-t 19 = !/2 "n-"dent em$arrasses !0S0 %overnment 19 1 E"senhower %"ves farewell address Key People Dwight D. Eisenhower / 34th !0S0 'res"dent1 author"6ed :,8/s'onsored -ou's a$road1 -omm"tted federal funds to f"%ht"n% :ommun"sts "n E"etnam1 resolved Sue6 -r"s"s John Foster Dulles / Se-retary of state who hel'ed dev"se E"senhower5s #ew Aoo( fore"%n 'ol"-y> wh"-h em'has"6ed mass"ve retal"at"on w"th nu-lear wea'ons1 also advo-ated use of nu-lear wea'ons a%a"nst ;o :h" *"nh "n E"etnam Allen Dulles / :,8 d"re-tor Fand $rother of &ohn 2oster 3ullesG who s'onsored -ou's "n ,ran "n 1953 and 7uatemala "n 1954 to "nstall 'ro/8mer"-an %overnments !i&ita Khrushche( / Sov"et 'rem"er who too( 'ower u'on Stal"n5s death1 seen $y many o$servers as a moderate who m"%ht redu-e :old War tens"ons Ho $hi Minh / Aeader of m"d/195=s 'ro/:ommun"st revolut"on "n 2ren-h ,ndo-h"na FE"etnamG a%a"nst -orru't #%o 3"nh 3"em re%"me "n Sa"%on Gamal A# el !asser / E%y't"an nat"onal"st 'res"dent who se"6ed .r"t"sh/-ontrolled Sue6 :anal when e-onom"- a"d ne%ot"at"ons amon% E%y't> 7reat .r"ta"n> and the !n"ted States d"ssolved "n 195 Mohamme Re)a Shah *ahla(i / Pro/8mer"-an ruler who was returned to 'ower "n ,ran follow"n% :,8/s'onsored -ou' "n 1953 %isenhower3s 9New 0oo7: 3n addition to his desire to halt the advan,e of ?,reepin. so,ialism@ in 24S4 domesti, poli,y8 Eisenhower also wanted to ?roll *a,5@ the advan,es of "ommunism a*road4 =fter ta5in. offi,e in 19 &8 he devised a new forei.n poli,y ta,ti, to ,ontain the Soviet 2nion and even win *a,5 territory that had already *een lost4 6evised primarily *y Se,retary of State &ohn
22

)oster *"lles8 this soC,alled Ne3 9ook at forei.n poli,y proposed the use of nu,lear weapons and new te,hnolo.y rather than .round troops and ,onventional *om*s8 all in an effort to threaten <#assi8e retaliation= a.ainst the 2SS0 for "ommunist advan,es a*road4 3n addition to intimidatin. the Soviet 2nion8 this emphasis on new and ,heaper weapons would also drasti,ally redu,e military spendin.8 whi,h had es,alated rapidly durin. the Truman years4 =s a result8 Eisenhower mana.ed to sta*ili-e defense spendin.8 5eepin. it at rou.hly half the ,on.ressional *ud.et durin. most of his ei.ht years in offi,e4 The 0imits of !assi2e Retaliation The do,trine of massive retaliation proved to *e dan.erously flawed8 however8 *e,ause it effe,tively left Eisenhower without any options other than nu,lear war to ,om*at Soviet a..ression4 This dilemma surfa,ed in 19 (8 for instan,e8 when the Soviet 2nion *rutally ,rushed a popular demo,rati, uprisin. in H"n+ary4 6espite 'un.ary<s reBuest for =meri,an re,o.nition and military assistan,e8 Eisenhower<s hands were tied *e,ause he 5new that the 2SS0 would stop at nothin. to maintain ,ontrol of Eastern Europe4 'e ,ould not ris5 turnin. the "old War into a nu,lear war over the interests of a small nation su,h as 'un.ary4 Co2ert *perations =s an alternative8 Eisenhower employed the C % to ta,5le the spe,ter of "ommunism in developin. ,ountries outside the Soviet 2nion<s immediate sphere of influen,e4 9ewly appointed "3= dire,tor %llen *"lles Lthe se,retary of state<s *rotherM too5 enormous li*erties in ,ondu,tin. a variety of ,o8ert operations4 Thousands of "3= operatives were assi.ned to =fri,a8 =sia8 )atin =meri,a8 and the Aiddle East and attempted to laun,h ,oups8 assassinate heads of state8 arm antiC"ommunist revolutionaries8 spread propa.anda8 and support despoti, proC=meri,an re.imes4 Eisenhower *e.an to favor usin. the "3= instead of the military *e,ause ,overt operations didn<t attra,t as mu,h attention and ,ost mu,h less money4 Iran and Guatemala = "3=Csponsored ,oup in ran in 19 &8 however8 did attra,t attention and heavy ,riti,ism from li*erals *oth at home and in the international ,ommunity4 Eisenhower and the 6ulles *rothers authori-ed the ,oup in 3ran when the 3ranian .overnment sei-ed ,ontrol of the :ritishCowned =n.loC3ranian Oil "ompany4 =fraid that the popular8 nationalist8 SovietC friendly prime minister of 3ran8 (oha##ed (ossade+h8 would then ,ut off oil e>ports to the 2nited States8 "3= operatives ,onvin,ed military leaders to overthrow Aossade.h and restore (oha##ed 4e2a Shah .ahla8i as head of state in 19 &4 Pahlavi returned ,ontrol of =n.loC 3ranian Oil to the :ritish and then si.ned a.reements to supply the 2nited States with almost half of all the oil drilled in 3ran4 The followin. year8 a similar ,oup in G"ate#ala over a.ri,ultural land ri.hts also drew international ,riti,ism and severely dama.ed 24S4!)atin =meri,an relations4 The $ue; Crisis

23

3n an odd twist8 Eisenhower a,tually supported the Co##"nistCleanin. E.yptian president Ga#al %-del Nasser durin. the 19 ( S"e2 ,risis4 'opin. to ,onstru,t a new dam on the 9ile 0iver to provide ele,tri,ity and additional land for farmin.8 the 9ationalist 9asser approa,hed :ritish and =meri,an offi,ials with reBuests for e,onomi, assistan,e4 When the ne.otiations ,ollapsed8 9asser turned to the Soviet 2nion for help and then sei-ed the :ritishC ,ontrolled Sue- "anal8 whi,h lin5ed the 0ed Sea to the Aediterranean4 ;reat :ritain and /ran,e as5ed Eisenhower for military assistan,e to reta5e the ,anal8 *ut Eisenhower refused8 for,in. the two powers to Foin with srael in 19 ( to reta5e the ,anal themselves4 Eisenhower ,ondemned the atta,5 on E.ypt and e>erted heavy diplomati, and e,onomi, pressure on the a..ressors4 2na*le to sustain the a,tion in the fa,e of 24S4 disapproval and finan,ial pressures8 ;reat :ritain and /ran,e withdrew4 The %isenhower #octrine 3n 19 #8 in order to prote,t =meri,an oil interests in the Aiddle East8 Eisenhower announ,ed the 0isenho3er *o,trine8 whi,h stated that the 2nited States would provide military and e,onomi, assistan,e to Aiddle Eastern ,ountries in resistin. "ommunist insur.ents4 =lthou.h not terri*ly si.nifi,ant8 this do,trine8 as well as the restoration of Aohammed 0e-a Shah Pahlavi in 3ran8 demonstrated the .rowin. importan,e of oil in =meri,an forei.n poli,y de,ision ma5in.4 ,o Chi !inh and <ietnam = .rowin. ,risis in /ren,h ndo,hina proved to *e no less ,hallen.in. for Eisenhower than the Sue- ,risis4 Ever sin,e World War 38 Dietnamese nationalists under the leadership of Ho Chi (inh had sou.ht independen,e from /ran,e8 the ,olonial power in the re.ion4 =lthou.h ori.inally more nationalist and anti,olonial than "ommunist8 'o turned to the Soviet 2nion in the 19 %s after 24S4 offi,ials had re*uffed his earlier reBuests for help in se,urin. independen,e4 The 2SS0 supplied money and arms to the Dietminh for,es8 puttin. Eisenhower in the diffi,ult position of supportin. a /ren,h ,olonial possession in order to ,ontain the 2SS04 #ien Bien Phu When the 5ey /ren,h .arrison at *ien 'ien .h" fell to 'o "hi Ainh<s troops in 19 48 Eisenhower promised to assist the /ren,h e,onomi,ally4 Aany 24S4 forei.n poli,y thin5ers feared that if one Southeast =sian ,ountry fell to "ommunism8 all the others would fall as well8 Fust li5e a row of dominoes4 This soC,alled do#ino theory prompted Se,retary of State 6ulles and Di,e President 9i>on to advo,ate the use of nu,lear weapons a.ainst the 9orth Dietnamese4 0emem*erin. the fruitless war in Korea8 however8 Eisenhower merely responded8 ?3 ,an ,on,eive of no .reater tra.edy than for the 2nited States to *e,ome en.a.ed in allCout war in 3ndo,hina4@ 9evertheless8 Eisenhower<s finan,ial ,ommitment to ,ontain "ommunism in Dietnam after the fall of 6ien :ien Phu laid the .roundwor5 for what eventually devolved into the Dietnam War4 The &=th Parallel =n international ,onvention in ;eneva8 Swit-erland8 tried to avert further ,onfli,t in Dietnam *y temporarily splittin. the ,ountry into two ,ountries8 with the dividin. line at the 1Dth parallel4 'o "hi Ainh ere,ted his own .overnment in Hanoi in 9orth Dietnam8 while
24

=meri,anCsupported N+o *inh *ie# founded a South Dietnamese .overnment in Sai+on4 This Gene8a Con!eren,e a.reement stipulated that the division would *e only temporary8 a stop.ap to maintain pea,e until national ele,tions ,ould *e held to reunite the ,ountry demo,rati,ally4 =lthou.h the 2SS0 ,onsented to the a.reement8 Eisenhower reFe,ted it4 3nstead8 he pled.ed ,ontinued e,onomi, support to 9.o 6inh 6iem and ,onvin,ed ;reat :ritain8 /ran,e8 =ustralia8 and other re.ional nations to Foin the mostly sym*oli, So"theast %sia Treaty 1r+ani2ation (S0%T1)8 modeled after the hi.hly su,,essful 9=TO4 Sputnik and the $pace Race 3n O,to*er 19 #8 Soviet s,ientists sho,5ed the world when they announ,ed they had su,,essfully laun,hed the first manCmade satellite8 Sputnik I 8 into or*it4 They followed up on this landmar5 a,hievement several months later with the laun,h of Sputnik II 4 =lthou.h the satellites themselves posed no dan.er to the 2nited States8 =meri,ans feared that the Soviet 2nion now had the a*ility to atta,5 9ew Jor5 or Washin.ton with nu,learCtipped inter,ontinental *allisti, missiles8 or C'(s8 from anywhere on the planet4 3n reality8 the Soviet 3":A development pro.ram la..ed far *ehind its =meri,an ,ounterpart4 9onetheless8 the fear that the 2SS0 would win the <spa,e ra,e= *efore the 2nited States even laun,hed its first satellite spurred Eisenhower and "on.ress into a,tion4 Eisenhower ,reated the National %erona"ti,s and Spa,e %d#inistration (N%S%) in 19 G to spearhead the =meri,an spa,e pro.ram4 "on.ress8 meanwhile8 in,reased defense spendin. and passed the National *e!ense 0d",ation %,t in 19 G to fund more s,ien,e and forei.n lan.ua.e ,lasses in pu*li, s,hools4 -hrushche2 and Camp #a2id /or a *rief period durin. Eisenhower<s final years in offi,e8 it seemed that the 2nited States and the 2SS0 mi.ht resolve their differen,es pea,efully and perhaps even end the "old War4 2pon Premier 7oseph Stalin<s death in 19 &8 Stalin<s former enemy8 Nikita :hr"sh,he88 too5 ,ontrol of the "ommunist Party and eventually *e,ame premier in 19 (4 Khrush,hev denoun,ed Stalin<s *rutal treatment of the 0ussian people and halted nu,lear testin. in order to divert more money to the stru..lin. Soviet e,onomy4 24S4CSoviet relations also improved dramati,ally after Khrush,hev spent two wee5s tourin. the 2nited States in 19 94 'e and Eisenhower even had a ,ordial meetin. at the woodsy presidential retreat at Ca#p *a8id8 in Aaryland4 Aany =meri,ans hoped that the soC,alled spirit of "amp 6avid would ease tensions *etween the two superpowers4 The U.5 Incident =fter returnin. home to Aos,ow8 Khrush,hev invited Eisenhower to visit the Soviet 2nion and hold a multilateral summit in Paris the followin. year4 The plans fell apart8 however8 after the Soviet 2nion shot down an =meri,an /7E spy plane in 19(%4 Eisenhower and the 24S4 .overnment initially denied the e>isten,e of 2C$ missions over the Soviet 2nion8 *ut then the 2SS0 produ,ed the =meri,an pilot8 whom they had ,aptured alive4 Em*arrassed8 Eisenhower refused to apolo.i-e or promise to suspend future spy missions a.ainst the 2SS04 The /7E
25

in,ident instantly repolari-ed the "old War8 reversin. the thaw that Khrush,hev<s visit had *rou.ht and for,in. the a*andonment of the Paris summit4 %isenhower3s +arewell /a,in. a twoCterm limit8 Eisenhower delivered his farewell address in 7anuary 19(14 3roni,ally8 he used his last spee,h as president to address a pro*lem that he himself had had a hand in ,reatin.Ithe in,reasin. dependen,e on nu,lear weapons as a tool of forei.n poli,y4 :y 19(%8 a .rowin. num*er of =meri,ans had *e.un to protest the 2nited States<s apparent willin.ness to wa.e nu,lear warfare4 Eisenhower had also *e.un to see nu,lear weapons as more of a threat to .lo*al se,urity than as a sta*ili-er4 =fraid that the 24S4 .overnment and even =meri,ans< ,ivil li*erties mi.ht su,,um* to the power of what he ,alled the <#ilitary7 ind"strial ,o#ple68= Eisenhower ,autioned that ?the potential for the disastrous rise of mispla,ed power e>ists and will persist4@ =lthou.h little was made of Eisenhower<s words at the time8 his words ,ame *a,5 to haunt =meri,ans durin. the Dietnam War4 Bennedy and A"$eral"sm: 19 =19 3 &'ents 19 = &ohn 20 Bennedy "s ele-ted 'res"dent 19 1 Sov"et/dom"nated East 7ermany ere-ts .erl"n Wall Bennedy -reates Pea-e :or's !n"ted States sends Cm"l"tary adv"sorsD to E"etnam .ay of P"%s "nvas"on fa"ls 19 2 :u$an m"ss"le -r"s"s eru'ts 19 3 Part"al #u-lear Test .an Treaty s"%ned Wash"n%ton/*os-ow Chotl"neD esta$l"shed #%o 3"nh 3"em "s overthrown "n South E"etnam Bennedy "s assass"nated Key People John F. Kenne y / 35th !0S0 'res"dent1 dev"sed ta-t"- of Cfle@"$le res'onseD to -onta"n :ommun"sm1 narrowly avo"ded :u$an m"ss"le -r"s"s1 assass"nated "n 19 3 Richar M. !i"on / E"-e 'res"dent under E"senhower1 lost 19 = 'res"dent"al ele-t"on to Bennedy Fi el $astro / Pro/:ommun"st revolut"onary who se"6ed 'ower "n :u$a "n 19591 formed all"an-e w"th !SS4 that led to :u$an m"ss"le -r"s"s of 19 2 !go Dinh Diem / 4uler of South E"etnam after 7eneva :onferen-e s'l"t -ountry at 1)th 'arallel1 overthrown and e@e-uted "n 19 3 !i&ita Khrushche( / Sov"et 'rem"er dur"n% :u$an m"ss"le -r"s"s1 was removed $y :ommun"st Party leaders for hav"n% $a-(ed down dur"n% the -r"s"s +ee Har(ey ,swal / *an who assass"nated Bennedy "n #ovem$er 19 3 "n 3allas> Te@as

The %lection of &'/> With Eisenhower out of the runnin.8 0epu*li,ans nominated Di,e President 4i,hard (5 Ni6on at their national nominatin. ,onvention in 19(%4 "onservatives loved the former 0ed hunter for his tou.hCtal5in. stan,e a.ainst "ommunism and the Soviet 2nion4 =s vi,e president8 9i>on had traveled a*road e>tensively to handle ?*rushfire@ ,rises and had even en.a.ed Khrush,hev in a televised de*ate in Aos,ow4 6emo,rats8 meanwhile8 nominated the relatively un5nown &ohn )5 :ennedy8 a youn. *ut a,,omplished senator from Aassa,husetts who had served with distin,tion in World War 33 and had won a Pulit-er Pri-e for his 19 ( *oo5 Profiles in Courage 4 =t only fortyCthree years old8 Kennedy e>uded a youthful ,onfiden,e that ,ontrasted sharply with 9i>on<s serious demeanorIa ,ontrast that was plainly evident in the firstCever live tele8ised presidential de-ates in 19(%4 Tens of millions of =meri,ans tuned in to wat,h the two ,andidates dis,uss the issues4 =lthou.h radio listeners mi.ht have ,on,luded that 9i>on ?won@ the de*ates8 Kennedy too5 full advanta.e of the visual television medium *y proFe,tin. stren.th8 ,oolness8 and even ,heerfulness8 whereas 9i>on appeared nervous8 pale8 and sha5en onCs,reen4 )ar.ely than5s to these TD de*ates8 Kennedy defeated 9i>on *y a slim mar.in to *e,ome the youn.est and first "atholi, president4 The New +rontier 6urin. his ,ampai.n8 Kennedy had promised voters to revive .overnment li-eralis#8 whi,h had withered under Eisenhower8 with a new set of reforms ,olle,tively ,alled the Ne3 )rontier4 The youn. president wanted to e>pand So,ial Se,urity to *enefit more =meri,ans8 help the elderly pay their medi,al ,osts8 fund edu,ational endeavors8 raise the national minimum wa.e8 and redu,e in,ome ineBuality4 3n his famous inau.ural address8 Kennedy appealed to =meri,an youth *y instru,tin. them to ?as5 not what your ,ountry ,an do for youH as5 what you ,an do for your ,ountry4@ 'e later laun,hed the .ea,e Corps to support this effort8 en,oura.in. youn. =meri,ans to assist people in developin. ,ountries4 Kennedy also responded to national fears and pressures re.ardin. the spa,e ra,e with the Soviet 2nion *y ,hallen.in. =meri,ans to put a #an on the #oon *y the end of the de,ade4 'is enthusiasm spread a,ross the ,ountry4 Challenges to 0iberalism 6espite these enthusiasti, promises and a .reat amount of pu*li, support8 Kennedy a,hieved only a few of his .oals *e,ause ,onservative southern 6emo,rats united with 0epu*li,ans in "on.ress to *lo,5 almost all 9ew /rontier le.islation4 "on.ress did raise the minimum wa.e to E14$ per hour and funneled a little more money into So,ial Se,urity8 *ut it refused to pass any maFor reforms4 The Berlin Wall Kennedy<s first forei.n poli,y ,risis surfa,ed Fust months after he too5 offi,e8 when Soviet premier Nikita :hr"sh,he8 threatened to si.n a treaty with East ;ermany that would ,ut off the ,ity of 'erlin from the 2nited States and Western Europe4 =lthou.h the Soviet 2nion never si.ned any su,h treaty8 it did ,onstru,t a massive wall of ,on,rete and *ar*ed wire around West :erlin in 19(1 to prevent East ;ermans from es,apin. to freedom in the
2)

WesternC,ontrolled part of the ,ity4 Over the years8 .uard towers were installed8 and the ?noC man<sCland@ *etween the inner and outer walls was mined and *oo*yCtrapped8 ma5in. it in,redi*ly diffi,ult for East ;ermans to es,ape to West :erlin without *ein. 5illed or ,aptured4 Over the ensuin. de,ades8 the 'erlin Wall ,ame to *e the most famous sym*ol of the "old War4 #ecoloni;ation

6urin. Kennedy<s term8 the issue of de,oloni2ation posed a parti,ularly diffi,ult pro*lem for a 24S4 .overnment ,ommitted to haltin. the spread of "ommunism4 =s more and more new8 independent ,ountries were formed from old European ,olonies in =fri,a8 =sia8 and the Aiddle East8 Kennedy fa,ed an in,reasin.ly diffi,ult tas5 of ensurin. that "ommunists did not sei-e power4 "ompli,atin. the situation was the fa,t that Eisenhower<s stated poli,y of ?massive retaliation8@ whi,h threatened to use nu,lear weapons to halt the "ommunist tide8 effe,tively tied the president<s hands4 On one hand8 Kennedy would lose ,redi*ility if he allowed "ommunism to ta5e root in any of these newly de,oloni-ed ,ountries4 =t the same time8 however8 he wanted to do anythin. he ,ould to avoid usin. nu,lear weapons4 The .rowin. "ommunist power in the Southeast =sian ,ountry of 9aos made this ,at,hC$$ very real4 =fter ,arefully ,onsiderin. his options8 Kennedy finally de,ided not to use military for,e and instead ,onvened a multination pea,e ,onferen,e in ;eneva in 19($ to end the ,ivil war that had erupted in )aos4 9+le8ible Response: Kennedy8 hopin. never to have to de,ide *etween nu,lear war and politi,al em*arrassment a.ain8 devised a new strate.y of <!le6i-le response= to deal with the 2SS04 "rafted with the aid of forei.n poli,y veteran 6efense Se,retary 4o-ert S5 (,Na#ara8 the fle>i*le response do,trine was meant to allow the president to ,om*at Soviet advan,es around the world throu.h a variety of means4 3n other words8 Kennedy ,ould send money or troops to fi.ht "ommunist insur.ents8 authori-e the "3= to topple an unfriendly .overnment8 or8 as a last resort8 use nu,lear weapons4 Commitment in <ietnam Kennedy first applied his new do,trine to the pro*lem in >ietna#8 whi,h was *e,omin. an even .reater pro*lem than )aos had *een4 The 2nited States had *een fundin. N+o *inh *ie#<s ,orrupt South Dietnamese re.ime sin,e Eisenhower first pled.ed support after the fall of 6ien :ien Phu in 19 44 Aost South Dietnamese8 however8 hated 6iem8 resented the 2nited States for 5eepin. him in power8 and threatened to overthrow him on numerous o,,asions4 To prevent "ommunistC*a,5ed insur.ents from ta5in. ,ontrol of South Dietnam8 Kennedy in,reased =meri,an ,ommitment *y sendin. appro>imately 1 8%%% 24S4 servi,emen to Sai.on8 ostensi*ly as mere <#ilitary ad8isors4= When antiC6iem sentiment ,ontinued to intensify8 however8 the 2nited States supported e>a,tly what it had tried to preventIit allowed a 19(& ,o"p to overthrow 6iem4 Kennedy<s de,ision to send ?military advisors@ to South Dietnam drasti,ally in,reased 24S4 involvement in the Dietnamese ,ivil war4 Eisenhower8 after all8 had merely funded the antiC "ommunist fa,tion8 Fust as Truman had funded su,h fa,tions in ;ree,e and Tur5ey in the late
2+

194%s4 :e,ause the 2nited States sent troops8 re.ardless of what they were ,alled8 responsi*ility for the war *e.an to shift away from South Dietnam and onto the 2nited States4 The arrival of the first .roup of soldiers in Dietnam opened the flood.ates8 and additional troops soon followed4 Eventually8 Kennedy and future presidents would find it politi,ally impossi*le to re,all 24S4 for,es without havin. first defeated the proC"ommunist 9orth Dietnamese4 Kennedy<s de,ision to send ?military advisors@ ultimately proved to *e a ,ostly mista5e that entan.led the 2nited States in what would prove to *e the lon.est and least su,,essful war in =meri,an history to date4 LFor more information, see the History Spar !ote The Dietnam War4M The "lliance for Progress 3n 9atin %#eri,a8 Kennedy used a different strate.y to fi.ht "ommunist for,es4 'opin. to redu,e in,ome ineBuality and Buell proC"ommunist stirrin.s in "entral =meri,a8 South =meri,a8 and the "ari**ean8 Kennedy de,ided in 19(1 to .ive hundreds of millions of dollars in .rants to the re.ion<s nations4 This soC,alled %llian,e !or .ro+ress had very little real effe,t4 =lthou.h 6emo,rats lauded the allian,e as the Aarshall Plan for the Western 'emisphere8 the money did almost nothin. to redu,e the )atin =meri,an poverty rate4 The Ba of Pigs In2asion 'opin. to topple C"-a<s "ommunistCleanin. leader8 )idel Castro8 Kennedy authori-ed the "3= to train and arm proC=meri,an "u*an e>iles and support them in an attempted invasion of "u*a in19(14 24S4 forei.n poli,y advisors hoped that the =meri,anCarmed e>iles8 with 24S4 =ir /or,e support8 ,ould overpower "astro<s sentries and spar5 a popular uprisin.4 Shortly *efore the invasion8 however8 Kennedy privately de,ided not to ,ommit to 24S4 air support4 The "3=Ctrained e>iles8 *elievin. that =meri,an planes would ,over them8 stormed a *ea,h on "u*a<s 'ay o! .i+s in =pril 19(18 only to *e ruthlessly .unned down *y "astro<s for,es4 The invasion was a ,omplete failure and an em*arrassment for the Kennedy administration and the 2nited States4 Kennedy a,,epted full responsi*ility for the massa,re *ut ,ontinued to authori-e ,overt "3= missions to assassinate "astro8 all of whi,h proved unsu,,essful4 The Cuban !issile Crisis The followin. year8 the true ,ost of the :ay of Pi.s fias,o *e,ame apparent8 and it turned out to *e even worse than it had initially appeared4 "astro8 understanda*ly outra.ed at the 24S4 attempt to oust him8 turned to the Soviet 2nion for support4 Khrush,hev8 ea.er to have an ally so ,lose to 24S4 shores8 readily wel,omed "astro<s friendship4 3n 19($8 it was revealed that the 2SS0 had installed several n",lear #issiles in "u*a8 less than 1%% miles off the /lorida ,oast4 2pon learnin. of the missiles< e>isten,e8 a stunned Kennedy ordered the 24S4 9avy to -lo,kade "u*a and demanded that Khrush,hev remove the missiles4 Aoreover8 he threatened to retaliate a.ainst Aos,ow if "u*a laun,hed any missiles at the 2nited States4 With neither side willin. to ,on,ede8 the world stood on the *rin5 of allCout nu,lear war for nearly two wee5s4 /inally8 Khrush,hev offered to remove the missiles if the 2nited States ended the *lo,5ade4 Kennedy Bui,5ly a.reed and li5ewise offered to remove from Tur5ey =meri,an
29

nu,lear warheads aimed at the 2SS04 The C"-an #issile ,risis was the ,losest the 2nited States and the Soviet 2nion ,ame to nu,lear war durin. the "old War era4 Cooling *ff :e,ause neither Washin.ton8 64"48 nor Aos,ow a,tually wanted a nu,lear holo,aust8 they a.reed to install a <hotline= *etween the two ,apitals so that the Soviet premier and the 24S4 president ,ould spea5 to ea,h other personally durin. future ,rises4 The "ommunist Party leadership in the 2SS0 also removed Khrush,hev from power for havin. made the first ,on,ession to end the ,risis4 Aeanwhile8 Kennedy pressured the Soviets to si.n the .artial N",lear Test 'an Treaty in 19(& to outlaw atmospheri, and underwater detonation tests4 =lthou.h the treaty was mostly a sym*oli, .esture8 as it did not prohi*it under.round tests8 it nevertheless mar5ed a 5ey step toward redu,in. tensions *etween the 2nited States and the 2SS04 -enned 3s "ssassination Kennedy<s presiden,y ,ame to a tra.i, and une>pe,ted end on 9ovem*er $$8 19(&8 while the president was ridin. in a motor,ade in 6allas8 Te>as4 =rmed with a rifle and hidin. in a near*y *oo5 depository8 assassin 9ee Har8ey 1s3ald shot Kennedy as his ,onverti*le passed4 Di,e President 9yndon &ohnson was sworn in as Kennedy<s su,,essor later that day4 =lthou.h Oswald was arrested within an hour and a half of the assassination8 he himself was shot and 5illed two days later in a 6allas poli,e station Land on live televisionM *y another .unman8 named &a,k 4"-y4 "onspira,y theories a*out the assassination arose almost immediately after Oswald<s death4 = wee5 after he too5 offi,e8 President 7ohnson formed the Warren Co##ission8 headed *y "hief 7usti,e of the Supreme "ourt 0arl Warren8 to laun,h an offi,ial investi.ation into Kennedy<s death4 =lthou.h the ,ommission<s report ultimately ,on,luded that Oswald a,ted alone8 it did little to silen,e the ,laims of ,onspira,y theorists4 =nother ,on.ressional investi.ation in 19#9 Buestioned the Warren "ommission<s findin.s8 and spe,ulation ,ontinues to this day4 Study Huest"ons I Essay To'"-s "l#ays use specific historical e$amples to support your ar%uments& $tud ?uestions 10 3n your opinion8 was the "old War inevita*leN 3f not8 was the 2nited States or the 2SS0 more to *lameN =lthou.h *oth Truman and Stalin helped in,rease tensions in Europe and East =sia in the years immediately followin. World War 338 the "old War itself was li5ely inevita*le4 The allian,e that had formed *etween the 2nited States and the 2SS0 durin. World War 33 was not stron. enou.h to over,ome the past de,ades of suspi,ion and unease *etween the two
3=

nations4 Aoreover8 as *oth leaders sou.ht to a,hieve their postwar se,urity o*Fe,tives8 whi,h were often mutually e>,lusive8 neither was willin. to ,ompromise4 The 2nited States and the 2SS0 had always .enerally disli5ed and distrusted ea,h other8 despite the fa,t that they were allies a.ainst ;ermany and 7apan durin. the war4 =meri,ans had hated and feared "ommunism ever sin,e it had appeared in the :olshevi5 0evolution of 191# and had refused to re,o.ni-e the new Soviet .overnment8 espe,ially after :olshevi5 leaders promoted the destru,tion of ,apitalism4 6urin. World War 338 0oosevelt and :ritish prime minister Winston "hur,hill delayed their de,ision to open a se,ond front8 whi,h would have distra,ted the 9a-is and ta5en pressure off the 0ed =rmy entren,hed at Stalin.rad4 Stalin resented this delay8 Fust as he resented the fa,t that the 2nited States and ;reat :ritain refused to share their nu,lear weapons resear,h with the Soviet 2nion4 =fter the war8 Truman<s de,ision to .ive ;reat :ritain relief loans while denyin. similar reBuests from the 2SS0 only added to the resentment4 =nother maFor fa,tor ,ontri*utin. to the "old War was the fa,t that the 2nited States and 2SS0 were the only two powers to es,ape World War 33 relatively unharmed4 Whereas other maFor world powers su,h as ;reat :ritain8 /ran,e8 3taly8 and ;ermany lay in ruins8 the Soviet 2nion and the 2nited States still had manufa,turin. and military ,apa*ilities4 The world had *een a multipolar one *efore the war *ut was *ipolar afterward8 and this new order impli,itly pitted the already distrustful and ideolo.i,ally opposed 2nited States and Soviet 2nion a.ainst ea,h other4 Perhaps most important8 *oth powers had ,onfli,tin. se,urity .oals that neither wanted to ,on,ede4 The 2SS08 whi,h had already *een invaded twi,e in the first half of the twentieth ,entury8 wanted to set up friendly .overnments throu.hout Eastern Europe to ,reate a *uffer *etween Aos,ow and ;ermany4 3n addition to e>a,tin. enormous war reparations8 Stalin wanted to dismantle ;erman fa,tories to 5eep ;ermany wea5 and dependent4 Truman8 ,onversely8 *elieved that re*uildin.8 reindustriali-in.8 and demo,rati-in. Europe was the 5ey to preventin. another world war4 With neither side willin. to ,ompromise on these ,onfli,tin. ideolo.ies and postwar plans8 tension *etween the 2nited States and the 2SS0 was inevita*le4 20 Why has the Korean War often *een ,alled =meri,a<s ?for.otten war@N What purpose did the war serve8 and what impa,t did it haveN The Korean War has often *een ,alled =meri,a<s ?for.otten war@ *e,ause the 2nited States made no si.nifi,ant territorial or politi,al .ains durin. the war4 6espite the fa,t that tens of thousands of =meri,ans died8 the war *oth *e.an and ended with the Korean Peninsula divided at the &Gth parallel4 9evertheless8 the Korean War helped define the "old War8 esta*lished a pre,edent for 5eepin. peripheral wars limited8 and *oosted defense spendin. that ,ontri*uted to the postwar e,onomi, *oom in the 2nited States4 6espite the loss of life8 the Korean War faded from national memory8 perhaps *e,ause the threeCyear ,onfli,t ended without any territorial or politi,al .ains4 =lthou.h ;eneral 6ou.las Aa,=rthur ,aptured nearly the entire Korean Peninsula after his *rilliant 3n,hon landin.8 his ta,ti,al mis,al,ulation at the Jalu 0iver *rou.ht "hina into the war and for,ed 2nited 9ations troops *a,5 down to the &Gth parallel8 where they had started4 :oth sides *e,ame entren,hed there8 ea,h preventin. the other from ma5in. any headway4 =s a result8 neither
31

side ,ould ,laim vi,tory when ,easeCfire ne.otiations *e.an in 19 &4 The &Gth parallel remained one of the ?hottest@ "old War *orders in the world8 almost as if the war had never really ended4 The Korean War was an important ,onfli,t8 however8 *e,ause it set the tone for the entire "old War4 3n e>pandin. the draft and sendin. more than & million 24S4 troops to Korea8 Truman demonstrated to the 2SS0 his ,ommitment to ,ontainin. "ommunism at almost any ,ost4 This demonstration of massive 24S4 military for,e in East =sia for,ed the Soviets to rethin5 postwar poli,y in Eastern Europe and the rest of =sia4 Truman also set a pre,edent durin. the war of avoidin. the use of nu,lear weapons8 despite the fa,t that Aa,=rthur advo,ated usin. them a.ainst 9orth Koreans and the "hinese4 =lthou.h the =meri,an pu*li, vilified Truman for this de,ision and for firin. his insu*ordinate .eneral8 the de,ision proved to *e prudent4 The president 5new that usin. nu,lear weapons would only dra. the Soviet 2nion and "hina fully into the ,onfli,t8 whi,h would desta*ili-e Europe and initiate a third world warIone that mi.ht even lead to allCout nu,lear war4 :y refusin. to use nu,lear weapons8 Truman 5ept the war ,onfined to the Korean Peninsula4 The de,ision would later have an enormous impa,t on future presidents ma5in. similar de,isions in Dietnam4 Truman<s a,tions in Korea therefore demonstrated not only =meri,an resolve to ,ontain "ommunism *ut also a desire to 5eep the "old War from devolvin. into an open war4 The Korean War also *oosted =meri,an military spendin.8 as a result of a memorandum issued *y the 9ational Se,urity "oun,il8 5nown as 9S"C(G4 The memo re,ommended that "on.ress Buadruple military and defense spendin. in order to ,ontain the Soviet 2nion4 =s a result8 the per,enta.e of "on.ress<s annual *ud.et spent on defense soared throu.hout the followin. years8 hoverin. at rou.hly % per,ent under the Eisenhower administration4 ;overnment investment in war fa,tories 5ept employment hi.h and money flowin. into the e,onomy *etween 19 % and 19#%8 ,ontri*utin. si.nifi,antly to the prosperous e,onomi, *oom4 30 Was the 2nited States8 the 2SS08 or "u*a more to *lame for the "u*an missile ,risisN What impa,t did the ,risis have on 24S4CSoviet relationsN :e,ause the 2nited States attempted repeatedly to assassinate or overthrow /idel "astro in the early 19(%s8 the *lame for the resultin. "u*an missile ,risis falls sBuarely on =meri,an shoulders4 'ad it not *een for Khrush,hev<s ultimate willin.ness to *a,5 down and end the ,risis8 the 2nited States and the 2SS0 mi.ht a,tually have ended up in the nu,lear war that the world feared4 The 2nited States tried repeatedly to topple "astro after he sei-ed power in a popularly supported revolution in "u*a in 19 94 =meri,ans disli5ed the "astro re.ime *e,ause it threatened 24S4 e,onomi, interests in the ,ountry4 When the 2nited States withdrew its finan,ial support from "astro<s .overnment8 "astro turned to the Soviet 2nion for assistan,e4 3n order to prevent "u*a<s "ommunist influen,e from spreadin. throu.hout )atin =meri,a8 Kennedy laun,hed the =llian,e for Pro.ress8 a pro.ram that awarded )atin =meri,an ,ountries millions of dollars in 24S4 aid to ta,5le poverty4 Kennedy too5 more dire,t a,tion when he authori-ed the armin. and trainin. of 18$%% antiC"astro "u*an e>iles to invade the
32

island8 in the hopes that the invasion would ,ause a massive pu*li, uprisin. that would ultimately depose "astro4 The plan for this :ay of Pi.s invasion failed8 however8 when Kennedy de,ided not to involve =meri,an military for,es and withheld the air support he had previously promised the e>iles4 =s a result8 the "u*an army 5illed or ,aptured all of the e>iles8 and the invasion attempt was an em*arrassment for the 24S4 .overnment4 =lthou.h Kennedy a,,epted full responsi*ility for the :ay of Pi.s failure8 he ,ontinued to authori-e unsu,,essful "3=Cled assassination attempts a.ainst "astro4 9ot surprisin.ly8 "astro turned to the Soviet 2nion for support8 and in 19($8 24S4 intelli.en,e offi,ials dis,overed that the Soviet 2nion had pla,ed nu,lear missiles in "u*a4 Kennedy sent a naval *lo,5ade to ,ir,le the island8 despite "u*an and Soviet protests8 and refused to *a,5 down8 even at the ris5 of nu,lear war4 The ,risis ended only when Khrush,hev himself a.reed to remove the missiles in e>,han.e for an end to the *lo,5ade4 This sa,rifi,e ,ost him his position as head of the Soviet "ommunist Party *ut saved the world from the prospe,t of nu,lear war *etween the superpowers4 The ,risis had a si.nifi,ant impa,t on 24S4CSoviet relations8 as *oth sides wor5ed to improve their relationship in order to prevent another potentially ,atastrophi, situation from arisin.4 = Aos,owCWashin.ton ?hotline8@ for e>ample8 was installed so that the Soviet premier and =meri,an president ,ould spea5 to ea,h other personally should another ,risis o,,ur4 Kennedy also ,han.ed his rhetori, *y as5in. =meri,ans to thin5 more 5indly of the 0ussians rather than see them as enemies4 'e also pushed the 2SS0 into si.nin. the Partial 9u,lear Test :an Treaty8 a sym*oli, *ut nonetheless si.nifi,ant step that helped pave the way for dOtente in the 19#%s4 $uggested %ssa Topics 14 'ow did ;eor.e Kennan<s ,ontainment do,trine ,han.e durin. the Truman8 Eisenhower and Kennedy administrationsN Whi,h president was the most su,,essful in ,ontainin. "ommunismN $4 What were the ,auses of the =meri,an e,onomi, *oom in the 19 %sN 'ow did prosperity affe,t the nation so,ially8 politi,ally8 and e,onomi,allyN &4 Why were =meri,ans so terrified of "ommunist infiltration after World War 33N What impa,t did the 0ed hunts of the late 194%s and early 19 %s have on =meri,an politi,s and so,ietyN 44 What impa,t did the Korean War have on =meri,an forei.n poli,yN 4 Why was the laun,h of Sputni5 3 in 19 # so si.nifi,antN What did its laun,h mean for =meri,ansN +ui1 14 7oseph A,"arthy<s politi,al influen,e waned after L=M The 0osen*er.s were wron.fully e>e,uted
33

L:M The 'ouse 2nC=meri,an =,tivities "ommittee found no eviden,e of "ommunists infiltratin. the 24S4 State 6epartment L"M The =rmyCA,"arthy hearin.s L6M 'e a,,used Eisenhower<s wife of *ein. a "ommunist $4 3n *oth the 19 %s and 19(%s8 national in,ome appro>imately L=M 6ou*led L:M Tripled L"M +uadrupled L6M +uintupled &4 What did the Aont.omery ;434 :ill doN L=M 0einstated the draft after the Korean War erupted L:M ;ave money to World War 33 veterans to .o to s,hool L"M Provided disa*led veterans with .overnment pensions L6M =ll of the a*ove 44 =meri,a<s postwar e,onomi, prosperity was the result of all of the followin. e$cept L=M The Aont.omery ;434 :ill L:M "ontinued =meri,an military spendin. L"M The development of a.ri*usiness L6M The ,reation of the World :an5 4 Truman fired ;eneral Aa,=rthur for L=M /ailin. to reta5e South Korea L:M /ailin. to ta5e all of Korea L"M Su..estin. the use of nu,lear weapons a.ainst 9orth Korea and "hina L6M Pu*li,ly ,riti,i-in. Truman (4 What was the Aarshall Plan intended to doN L=M 0e*uild warCrava.ed Europe L:M 0es,ue starvin. :erliners *ehind a Soviet *lo,5ade L"M 2nify the 24S4 armed for,es L6M ;ive more powers to the president to root out "ommunist spies in the 2nited States
34

#4 Why did Truman i.nore his advisors and offi,ially re,o.ni-e 3srael as a new and independent nation in 194GN L=M 'e wanted 7ewishC=meri,an votes L:M The =meri,an pu*li, sympathi-ed with 7ews after the 'olo,aust L"M 'e wanted to 5eep the 2SS0 out of 3srael L6M =ll of the a*ove G4 The ima.inary line of se,re,y and mistrust that separated the 2SS0 and Eastern Europe from the West was 5nown as L=M The iron ,urtain L:M The :erlin Wall L"M 9=TO L6M The Warsaw Pa,t 94 The 2nited States and the 2SS0 distrusted ea,h other after World War 33 for all of the followin. reasons e$cept L=M The 2nited States had hesitated to open a se,ond front durin. the war to help save the Soviet 2nion from a ;erman invasion L:M The 2nited States had .ranted postwar loans to ;reat :ritain *ut not to the 2SS0 L"M The 2nited States and ;reat :ritain had not shared nu,lear resear,h with the Soviet 2nion durin. the war L6M The 2nited States and ;reat :ritain had wanted to assassinate Stalin durin. the war 1%4 /or whi,h disease did 7onas Sal5 dis,over a va,,ine in 19 4N L=M Tetanus L:M Polio L"M Whoopin. ,ou.h L6M Tu*er,ulosis 114 =rthur Ailler<s play The Crucible8 set in seventeenthC,entury 9ew En.land8 was a,tually a ,ritiBue of L=M The Korean War L:M "onservatism L"M A,"arthyism L6M "ommunism and totalitarianism
35

1$4 'ow did the TaftC'artley =,t hurt or.ani-ed la*orN L=M :y outlawin. allCunion shops L:M :y holdin. unions responsi*le for dama.es in,urred durin. disputes *etween unions L"M :y ma5in. union leaders ta5e loyalty oaths L6M =ll of the a*ove 1&4 3n whi,h 24S4 presidential ele,tion did television first play a maFor roleN L=M 194G L:M 19 $ L"M 19 ( L6M 19(% 144 Kennedy<s do,trine of ?fle>i*le response@ L=M /or*ade the use of nu,lear weapons durin. the "old War L:M =llowed forei.n poli,y offi,ials to use a ran.e of strate.ies to fi.ht "ommunists a*road8 dependin. on the ,risis L"M 7ustified the re,o.nition of 3srael as an independent ,ountry L6M Promised to defend Western Europe from nations in the Eastern *lo, 1 4 =t whi,h parallel did dele.ates at the ;eneva "onferen,e divide 9orth and South DietnamN L=M The &Gth parallel L:M The 1#th parallel L"M The 4 th parallel L6M The 1%th parallel 1(4 The Soviet 2nion<s *rutal response to the 19 ( 'un.arian 0evolution demonstrated the ineffe,tiveness of the 24S4 strate.y of L=M /le>i*le response L:M Aassive retaliation L"M "ontainment L6M The Truman 6o,trine 1#4 The "3= or,hestrated a ,oup a.ainst the .overnment of 3ran and restored the proC =meri,an ruler in 19 & *e,ause of
3

L=M Threats *y the 3ranian .overnment a.ainst the 2nited States L:M 24S4 fear of Soviet interferen,e in the oilCri,h Aiddle East L"M The 3ran hosta.e ,risis L6M The 3ranC"ontra affair 1G4 Why did ;reat :ritain8 /ran,e8 and 3srael laun,h a surprise atta,5 on E.ypt in 19 (N L=M E.yptian president 9asser sei-ed ,ontrol of the Sue- "anal L:M E.ypt had fallen under ,ontrol of the Soviet 2nion L"M E.ypt ,laimed to have nu,lear weapons L6M E.ypt was preparin. to invade 3srael 194 Eisenhower ,ut many federally funded .overnment pro.rams in order to ,ur* what he ,alled L=M ?"reepin. so,ialism@ L:M ?"onservatism@ L"M The ?militaryCindustrial ,omple>@ L6M ?A,"arthyism@ $%4 The fall of the /ren,h .arrison at 6ien :ien Phu in 19 4 prompted L=M Kennedy to send 24S4 ?military advisors@ to South Dietnam L:M Eisenhower to funnel 24S4 funds into fi.htin. "ommunistCleanin. 9orth Dietnamese L"M )yndon 7ohnson to send %%8%%% 24S4 troops to Dietnam L6M South Dietnam ruler 9.o 6inh 6iem to a*di,ate $14 The 2nited States tried unsu,,essfully to unite proC24S4 Southeast =sia to.ether under L=M The Warsaw Pa,t L:M The =llian,e for Pro.ress L"M 9=TO L6M SE=TO $$4 Whi,h Kennedy initiative hoped to thwart "ommunist insur.ents in )atin =meri,a *y redu,in. in,ome ineBuality in the re.ionN L=M The =llian,e for Pro.ress L:M The Aarshall Plan
3)

L"M The ;ood 9ei.h*or poli,y L6M The Warsaw Pa,t $&4 =ll of the followin. were ,onseBuen,es of the "u*an missile ,risis e$cept L=M The 2SS0 removed its nu,lear warheads from "u*a L:M The 2nited States removed its nu,lear warheads from Tur5ey L"M Kennedy authori-ed the :ay of Pi.s invasion L6M Khrush,hev was removed from power in the 2SS0 $44 The 2nited States and the 2SS0 ,ame ,losest to nu,lear war durin. the L=M Korean War L:M Sue- ,risis L"M "u*an missile ,risis L6M :erlin ,risis $ 4 What did Kennedy<s 9ew /rontier pro.ram see5 to doN L=M 3n,rease so,ial welfare spendin. L:M 6e,rease military spendin. L"M 'alt ?,reepin. so,ialism@ L6M /und antiC"ommunist insur.ents a*road $(4 The *elief that the 2nited States had to prevent the 2SS0 from e>pandin. and "ommunism from spreadin. was 5nown as L=M "reepin. so,ialism L:M Aassive retaliation L"M "ontainment L6M The Aarshall Plan $#4 3n whi,h ,ountry or ,ountries was the Truman 6o,trine first put to the test in 194#N L=M Tur5ey and ;ree,e L:M E.ypt L"M "hina L6M :erlin

3+

$G4 Why did the 2SS0 vehemently oppose the Aarshall PlanN L=M 3t wanted to stren.then 7apan first L:M 3t wanted to stren.then "hina first L"M 3t feared invasion from a newly industriali-ed ;ermany L6M 3t wanted the money for its own domesti, ,on,erns $94 9S"C(G proposed that the 24S4 .overnment should L=M =*andon the ,ontainment do,trine L:M +uadruple military spendin. L"M 2se nu,lear weapons L6M =tta,5 the 2SS0 &%4 Why did Truman veto the A,"arran 3nternal Se,urity :illN L=M 'e feared it stripped =meri,ans of many ,ivil li*erties L:M 'e didn<t thin5 the *ill .ave enou.h power to the president L"M 'e thou.ht it would in,rease military spendin. too mu,h L6M 'e thou.ht se,urity should *e left to the individual state .overnments &14 What did 0epu*li,ans in the 'ouse of 0epresentatives ,reate in order to hunt for "ommunist spiesN L=M 9=TO L:M '2=" L"M The 9S= L6M The "3= &$4 /uture president 0i,hard 9i>on *e,ame nationally prominent in the late 194%s when he L=M "riti,i-ed Truman for not usin. nu,lear weapons a.ainst "hina L:M 0esolved the :erlin ,risis L"M Prose,uted =l.er 'iss L6M :e,ame the ,ontroversial first dire,tor of the "3= &&4 The 0ed hunt and A,"arthyism in the early 19 %s were prompted *y all of the followin. e$cept L=M The fall of "hina to "ommunists
39

L:M The 2SS0<s development of the 'C*om* L"M The :erlin ,risis L6M The 2C$ in,ident &44 Why was 9=TO ,reatedN L=M To prevent another world war L:M To root out "ommunist spies in the federal .overnment L"M To ,ontain the 2SS0 L6M To unite the Western powers a.ainst possi*le invasion *y the 2SS0 & 4 The Warsaw Pa,t was si.ned L=M To unite the Western powers a.ainst possi*le invasion *y the Soviet 2nion L:M To ,reate an Eastern *lo, allian,e to ,ounter 9=TO L"M :etween the 2SS0 and "u*a after the =meri,anC*a,5ed :ay of Pi.s invasion L6M To unite proC=meri,an nations in Southeast =sia a.ainst "ommunism &(4 What did the 9ational Se,urity =,t of 194# doN L=M "reated the "entral 3ntelli.en,e =.en,y L:M 2nited the 24S4 armed for,es under the Se,retary of 6efense L"M Esta*lished the 9ational Se,urity "oun,il to advise the president L6M =ll of the a*ove &#4 Who said8 ?3t must *e the poli,y of the 2nited States to support free peoples who are resistin. attempted su*Fu.ation *y armed minorities or *y outside pressures@N L=M 6wi.ht 64 Eisenhower L:M 'arry S Truman L"M 7ohn /4 Kennedy L6M 0i,hard A4 9i>on &G4 The Soviet satellite Sputni I s,ared =meri,ans *e,ause they feared that the 2SS0 L=M Would put men on the moon first L:M "ould laun,h nu,lear 3":As L"M Would put the first man into spa,e L6M Would *uild the first armored spa,e station
4=

&94 What in,ident ruined the 19(% Paris summit *etween Eisenhower and Khrush,hevN L=M The Sue- ,risis L:M The :erlin ,risis L"M The 2C$ in,ident L6M The fall of 6ien :ien Phu 4%4 The ,ollapse of 9.o 6inh 6iem<s re.ime in South Dietnam prompted Kennedy to L=M :om* 9orth Dietnam L:M =uthori-e the :ay of Pi.s invasion L"M /orm the =llian,e for Pro.ress L6M Send =meri,an troops to South Dietnam 414 The leader of nationalist8 "ommunist for,es in Dietnam in the 19 %s was L=M Aao Pedon. L:M "hian. KaiCshe5 L"M 'o "hi Ainh L6M 9.o 6inh 6iem 4$4 The Eisenhower 6o,trine was aimed at *olsterin. 5ey nations from "ommunist insur.ents in L=M The Aiddle East L:M )atin =meri,a L"M Southeast =sia L6M Western Europe 4&4 What did the Eisenhower 6o,trine demonstrateN L=M Eisenhower<s ,ommitment to spreadin. demo,ra,y around the world L:M The .rowin. importan,e of oil in =meri,an forei.n poli,y L"M Eisenhower<s willin.ness to use nu,lear weapons L6M =ll of the a*ove 444 Why did ;reat :ritain and /ran,e halt their atta,5 on E.ypt in 19 (N L=M The 2SS0 threatened to destroy )ondon and Paris with nu,lear 3":As
41

L:M E.ypt threatened to destroy the Sue- "anal L"M The 2nited States ,ondemned the a,t and pla,ed politi,al and e,onomi, pressure on *oth ,ountries L6M 3slami, militants threatened to laun,h a holy war 4 4 7ulius and Ethel 0osen*er. L=M Were the only =meri,ans ever ,onvi,ted of *ein. "ommunists L:M Were the first =meri,ans ,ivilians e>e,uted for espiona.e L"M )ea5ed information on nu,lear weapons te,hnolo.y to "hina L6M Were prose,uted *y 7oseph A,"arthy 4(4 Truman<s li*eral domesti, poli,ies were ,olle,tively 5nown as the L=M /air 6eal L:M SBuare 6eal L"M 9ew 6eal L6M :um 6eal 4#4 =lon. with the 2nited States and ;reat :ritain8 all of the followin. nations were .iven permanent seats on the powerful 2nited 9ations Se,urity "oun,il e$cept L=M /ran,e L:M "hina L"M The 2SS0 L6M 7apan 4G4 Who ,onstituted the *ul5 of the :ay of Pi.s invasion for,eN L=M "u*an e>iles and e>patriates L:M "3= operatives and ;reen :erets L"M 29 pea,e5eepers L6M 9=TO soldiers 494 "u*an leader /idel "astro allowed the 2SS0 to pla,e nu,lear missiles in "u*a after L=M Kennedy formed the =llian,e for Pro.ress L:M 9=TO was formed L"M The :ay of Pi.s invasion
42

L6M The 2C$ in,ident %4 The "old War was fou.ht *etween the 2nited States and L=M "hina L:M "anada L"M The 2SS0 L6M ;ermany

43